LG and Google Announce the Nexus 4, Starts at $299
by Jason Inofuentes on October 29, 2012 12:39 PM ESTThis isn't how they wanted to do it, but LG and Google are going ahead with the announcement of the Nexus 4, and it's a steal. The lineage of the device is clear, with specs aping those of the LG Optimus G, but blessed with the latest update to Jelly Bean: Android 4.2. The Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro features four Krait cores clocked at 1.5GHz , the Adreno 320 GPU, and paired the requisite 2GB of RAM. The same 4.7" TrueHD IPS Plus display has a 1280x768 resolution, and the design is updated with a new back surface. Available in 8GB and 16GB configurations, the new Nexus will start at just $299, and top out at $349 unlocked and off-contract, through the Google Play Store on November 13th.
When Google's Galaxy Nexus was sold unlocked for $349 it was a stupendous bargain, despite somewhat dated hardware. With today's announcement, though, we have top of the line hardware being sold at prices that bend the price curve drastically against buying on-contract devices. We'll see how that all plays out over the coming months.
There's also some indication that announcements are imminent for the other devices that were in the works for today's canceled event, including the 32GB Nexus 7 and the new Nexus 10 slate from Samsung. We'll update as we hear more.
Update: And there it is! In addition to the Nexus 4, we'll also be seeing the Nexus stable expand with two new SKUs for the Nexus 7 and a brand new stablemate, the Nexus 10 from Samsung.
The first update to the Nexus 7 comes in a 32GB variant that takes the place of the original 16GB SKU at $249. The 16GB model now slots in at the $199 and both are joined by a new "mobile data" variant of the 32GB SKU that will be available unlocked for $299. The unlocked nature of the device indicates it may be 3G only, we'll dig in more in a second.
The Nexus 10 was first rumored just a few weeks ago, and piques our interest in a big way. Built in partnership with Samsung, the 10" tablet is powered by Samsung's Exynos 5 Dual (nee 5250) SoC, making it the first Android device powered by ARM Cortex-A15 cores. In this case, two Cortex-A15 cores, clocked as high as 1.7GHz, are mated to the Mali-T604 GPU and 2GB of RAM. On the front of the device you find a 2560x1600 10" display, making it the highest resolution Android tablet to date. The display is made possible by the Exynos memory subsystem that puts two-port DDR3-800 on the table for 12.8GB/s of bandwidth. The Nexus 10 will be priced at $399 (16GB) and $499 (32GB) and be available along with the rest of the line-up on November 13th on the Google Play Store. Interested shoppers can sign up for more information today through the store.
Source: Google
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fr33h33l - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
All Nexus devices - Nexus 4, 7 and 10 are amazing value at $299, $199 and $399, respectively. As Jason writes, and especially for Nexus 4 and 10 in their respective categories, we now have top of the line hardware at bargain price points. Nothing short of amazing I would say.At these price points it is also ridiculous to complain about limited storage. If you are not prepared to do some regular house cleaning, then consider waiting for an expandable, non-Nexus variant branded by the manufacturer instead (and pay hundreds of dollar more). I would say it is a great strategy by Google to offer this level of hardware at these prices, yet limit them enough (no storage expansion most notably) to not kill the high end market for their partners.
If Nexus 4 and 10 were currently available in my country (Sweden), I'd place the order right away, despite already having both a smartphone and a table with recent hardware.
ImSpartacus - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
Yes, I find it difficult that anyone can argue with the storage situation when we're talking about prices like these.Like you said, Google managed to preserve the high end by allowing its partners to overprice the 64GB and eventual 128GB devices.
MadMan007 - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
No one would argue about storage if there was an SD slot. I know Google is against SD slot for both technical and business reasons and that's why they had LG take it out of this version of the phone, it's just not the most user-friendly way to go. I can understand why LTE is out due to cost, but SD slots can't be THAT much.frenchy_2001 - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
LTE is not out because of cost, it is out because of control.Google wants to control the software and release cycle and offers the phone as unlocked and free of contract. There is no such thing as an unlocked LTE phone and no US carrier is interested in relaxing their control on the phones getting on their LTE network.
So, until you can use an unlocked phone on LTE, there will be no Nexus with LTE as it conflicts with the stated goal of the nexus: google control of software releases.
That being said, HSPA+ is already quite fast and ATT already re-branded it as 4G on the iPhone4S for example. The nexus 4 will support that.
MadMan007 - Tuesday, October 30, 2012 - link
The Verizon CDMA Galaxy Nexus had LTE. Was it not unlocked?Muyoso - Tuesday, October 30, 2012 - link
The Verizon Galaxy Nexus was initially delayed for MONTHS because Verizon wanted to launch a Droid phone. Then Verizon wouldn't allow Google Wallet on the device. Then Verizon loaded some of their crapware on the device. Then Verizon took months and months to push updates to the device.The Verizon phone was never a Nexus phone. It might have had the name Nexus, but it flew in the face of everything the Nexus stands for.
makken - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
Any word on which frequencies it supports? Being that its going to t-mobile I'm assuming it has the AWS band. I'm hoping that its pentaband and will work on AT&T as well.A5 - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
The store page says this:NETWORK
GSM/EDGE/GPRS (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
3G (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz)
HSPA+ 21
So it should work on AT&T.
EnzoFX - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
Great. Great news for TMobile users on value plans!pmartin - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
It's pentaband just like the Galaxy Nexus