Google Play to sell GS-IV unlocked, with pure Android experience.

Google announced plans to sell unlocked, 16GB (w/ microSD slot) Samsung GS-IV phones with LTE, running a pure Jelly Bean 4.2 experience, directly via the Google Play Store for $649.

The crowd wasn't that excited, when they heard the price.

But on T-Mobile, you're no longer buying subsidized phones, anyway; you're either paying up-front full price or spreading out payments.  On AT&T, it's a different story.

So, if you're able to pay up-front the full price, you're getting the benefit of the pure Android experience and immediate updates to the Android OS, as soon as they're announced -- it's like having a Nexus device.

If interested, it'll be available on Google Play Store on June 26.

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A quick update.

If you buy a standard GS-IV from T-Mobile, it's $630; on AT&T it's $640.  So it's curious as to why you have to pay more for a phone that has been stripped of things that do not require Samsung support or KIES-based updates.  And if you buy it through Google Play, you have to pay for shipping.