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I'm an iPhone user but I think this phone is brilliant. So it's not LTE which is a little surprising in 2012, but it's also $299. That's crazy affordable for the technology. Never missed an SD card or a removable battery so I don't see that as a negative.

The only concern I would have about this trend is that Google is likely just breaking even on the hardware or the margins are razor thin. So where are they making their money? Well by advertising to you. So I'm a little wary that the entire business model rests on squeezing as much money out of me post-purchase, when my personal information is so valuable to advertisers.

Edited 2012-10-30 03:14 UTC

The fact is that tablets and phones really aren't that expensive to make. eg Just see how little Huawei phones cost in comparison to comparable models from "major" brands.

That's fine, but I wish they'd make two Nexus phones... one for the low-end, and one for the high-end. Fact is, if you want to stay with stock Android, you have less phones/tablets to choose from than iOS users do. And you know you have a problem when you're offering fewer options than Apple



Nice thing about Nexus devices is that they're super simple to root. And once you have rooted, then get this:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.adaway&hl=en

That pretty much takes care of the advertising problem, so now they can waste their time tracking me all they want

I agree with everything that you said except for the LTE part. The new Nexus 4 supports 42Mbps+ HSPA+. It's actually faster than almost all LTE networks in current existence now and for the next two to four years.

Outside of the US, a lot of mobile carrier companies will not be making truly significant upgrades in LTE until LTE Advanced (real 4G by ITU standards instead of marketing buzz) because current (3.9G) LTE carries little benefit compared to advanced UTMS networks for the majority of use cases outside of those that depend on lower latency. LTE upgrades make sense in the US because it is a major upgrade for CDMA based networks, such as those used by Verizon, Sprint, and many of the minor regional operators which make up over half of US carrier operations.

Outside of the US, focusing on improved UMTS/HSPA makes a lot more sense.

LG should probably just release a CDMA/US focused version that incorporates CDMA/LTE support.

Edited 2012-10-30 05:46 UTC

How does that equate to real-world speeds though? When I was on Verizon and had their Galaxy Nexus, I could get 15-20mbps when the reception was good. However, the radio on that phone was ass, so I switched to the GSM version.

On my GSM Gnex with AT&T, the fastest I've managed is about 4mbps, and that was after tweaking the APN settings a bit, with 4 bars of HSPA+. A friend of mine with the same phone can sometimes hit 5-6mbps on his Gnex with T-mo, but a lot of times, his speeds are lower than mine.

So you see, that's a pretty big difference. It's not a huge deal for day-to-day usage, but really sucks when tethering

Edited 2012-10-30 05:58 UTC

I guess you'll have to wait for Sony Nexus.

Actually if you fixed all the complaints about the Nexus 4:

* Add LTE support
* Add microSD card
* 32 GB flash option
* possibly switch from IPS to AMOLED (some might disagree)
* Make battery removable

Then you would almost exactly arrive at the Galaxy S3. If Google sold it at a cheaper price, they would upset Samsung. If they sold it at the same price, people would question why we need the Nexus 4 at all. (lose-lose)

Now, Google can offer a device at an unbeatable price, and the other Android manufacturers still find a niche of people who are not satisfied with it. (win-win)

Tell the carriers to settle on one...or two...or three....or hell... even FOUR LTE spectrum and then you can see LTE in a contract free, unlocked powerful phone.

No, the alternative to a nexus phone for someone who wants android is choosing a phone supported by cyanogenmod. Like any of the Galaxy S3 models that have all of the features you're complaining about.

Sorry for being a bit sarcastic, but I couldn't resist.

LTE is a US-specific thing. Most of the world doesn't care.


Valid criticisms.


Again, nobody cares. We've moved on.


Subjective opinion. Looking through the rest of your comment you make the awful impression of being a whiny kid who needs to have the latest and greatest shiny that is available on the market immediately when it's released. Perhaps the Nexus 4 isn't reason enough to upgrade for Galaxy Nexus owners, but being a 1st gen Nexus user myself, I can certainly see the appeal in the Nexus 4 (that's barely a 3 year old phone, mind you).


The quad-core CPU, 2 gigs of RAM and huge screen certainly aren't features from 2010, but it's easy to forget if you're only looking for spec-superiority in new products.


Way to dismiss a valid argument out of hand.


An Apple phone is also a lot more expensive. Oh and it also has no replaceable battery or SD card slot, but somehow it's only bad when Google does it.


Mind you, that's a piece of shit which can only, per HSPA+ spec, get up to 168Mbit/s downlink and 22Mbit/s uplink speeds. I'm sure that is something worth crying over while you watch your 2GB data cap disappear in under 2 minutes (at 20Mbit/s, regular HSPA+ speeds, you'll drain that in under 14 minutes).


The magnitude of your whining is somewhat astonishing, plus you're crying on the wrong shoulder. You shouldn't be crying over not being able to push hundreds of megabits per second through your mobile device, but rather complain to the carriers for capping your data usage at ridiculously low values or imposing crazy a FUP after some transferred amount.

LTE is a US-specific thing. Most of the world doesn't care.

"

Globe and Smart are rolling out LTE in the Philippines.

Isn't the real problem that there are multiple incompatible LTE standards? You'd have to make separate models for each version.

Yeah, I've never understand the appeal of mobile devices that run like the wind only to be forced to piffle out after a few minutes use. Why bother, why spend a small fortune...can't get my head around it.

saso,


WorknMan: "NO removable battery"

saso: "Again, nobody cares. We've moved on."

That's not true at all, electronic waste is a major problem and it's exacerbated when manufactures engineer non-user serviceable devices.