The Google Wallet feature is software that uses the phone's Near Field Communication chip, and will work at 100,000 participating retailers. A user who activates Google Wallet within a week of activating the phone will receive a $10 instant credit on the Google Wallet prepaid card and another $40 credit within three weeks, Sprint said.

Sprint and Google on The Nexus S last September, but the feature has been slow to catch on. Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile all support a different mobile payment system in a consortium called Isis that is slated to begin using the NFC technology this summer.

Part of what makes the Galaxy Nexus attractive to users is a pure Google experience, minus interface add-ons from Samsung or Sprint. It has a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 4.65-in. Super Amoled contoured display and dual cameras, with 5-megapixels in the rear and 1.3 megapixels in front.

While the Galaxy Nexus in today's popular smartphones, HTC and other makers are heading to quad-core processors and 12-megapixel cameras.

Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at or subscribe to . His email address is .