Nexus 4 review
Nexus 4 review
FOR
- Beautiful, elegant design
- Excellent screen
- Android 4.2
- Unbelievable price
AGAINST
- No expandable memory
- No flash internet
- No 4G
- Camera could be better
- Google's
Nexus (ten points to anyone who can tell us if Nexi is the correct
plural) smartphones have always set the standard when it comes to a pure
Google experience.
The first Nexus One was
a true geek device. Sold only through Google directly (apart from a
brief flirtation with Vodafone), it never achieved massive sales. But it
gave the world the true raw power of Android without the bloatware of
other variants. As of January 2010, the ball was well and truly rolling.
We've had several now – and everyone, it seems, had a go: HTC, Samsung,
Asus and LG – though strangely, not Motorola, which is now part of
Google itself.
Some handsets we look forward to with much anticipation – only to feel
deflated when we actually use them. Others, we wait for with little
expectation – and they absolutely blow our socks off.
A stealth surprise. We'll lay our proverbial cards on the table here from the outset. The Nexus 4 is one of those rare devices.
The
whole front is set within a dull chrome bezel and the shininess even
extends to the rear of the handset, which has an attractive, though
unusual sparkly pattern adorning it - although newer shipments seem to
be shorn of that element now.
Think the glittery kind of jacket that you could see Cilla Black, Joan
Rivers or Shirley Bassey in at an awards ceremony, and you catch our
drift.
Since launch LG has updated the design very slightly on the rear of the
Nexus 4, with newer handsets sporting two tiny bumps at the bottom of
the phone, which elevates the handset slightly.
This means sound isn't as distorted when played through the rear
speaker, plus it stops the shiny glass back of the Nexus 4 scratching on
the surface it's sitting on.
Another
element worth pointing out here is the way the phone curves at the
sides, from the main panel into the bezel. It seems to make the screen
look even more realistic and beautiful. It's one of those things you
really have to experience to appreciate.
Round the edges, you'll find the usual adornments. A 3.5mm headphone
jack on top, volume rocker and micro SIM tray on the left, micro USB
port plus a few dubious screws on the bottom, and a perfectly placed
lock/unlock/power button on the upper right hand side.
It's just in that sweet spot where it's easy to press with the thumb if
you're right handed and not impossible if you're a leftie.There's
no way of getting the back off – so you know what that means, peeps. No
removable battery and no expandable storage. The former doesn't faze us
too much since the 2,100mAh battery pack is no slouch but the lack of
memory card allowance is annoying.
Yes, we know that ever since the Nexus S,
expandable memory is out. Google's said that it doesn't offer it
because it's confusing. But for those with lots of content who can't or
don't want to stream, it's a real pain. We don't quite buy Google's
argument.
As for the innards, LG has cut no corners here. Make no mistake, this is
a premium handset. DC-HSDPA, the very latest iteration of Jelly Bean 4.2, a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, quad-core 1.5GHz processor, A-GPS with GLONASS, NFC and so forth.But what makes this so sweet is the price. Let's just point out that sim-free, aHTC One X with similar specs will set you back around £320 (around $490/AU$475) and the Samsung Galaxy S3 can now be snapped up for £329 (around $525/AU$503).
And while last year's Galaxy Nexus will leave your wallet £299 (around
$477/AU$458) lighter, this brand new model, the Nexus 4 is priced –
almost unbelievably – at £239 ($299/AU$349) for the 8GB version and £279
($349/AU$480) for 16GB. Yes, the newer Nexus is cheaper than the year
old Nexus. Word!
We can't overestimate just how revolutionary this is and it leaves us open-mouthed at how Google is doing this. Either it's selling the Nexus 4 at a loss –
or the mark-up on handsets is now shown up as being ridiculously high.
Whichever it is, it means the Nexus 4 has a distinct advantage over the
competition.
The first Nexus One was
a true geek device. Sold only through Google directly (apart from a
brief flirtation with Vodafone), it never achieved massive sales. But it
gave the world the true raw power of Android without the bloatware of
other variants. As of January 2010, the ball was well and truly rolling.
We've had several now – and everyone, it seems, had a go: HTC, Samsung,
Asus and LG – though strangely, not Motorola, which is now part of
Google itself.
Some handsets we look forward to with much anticipation – only to feel
deflated when we actually use them. Others, we wait for with little
expectation – and they absolutely blow our socks off.
A stealth surprise. We'll lay our proverbial cards on the table here from the outset. The Nexus 4 is one of those rare devices.The
whole front is set within a dull chrome bezel and the shininess even
extends to the rear of the handset, which has an attractive, though
unusual sparkly pattern adorning it - although newer shipments seem to
be shorn of that element now.
The
whole front is set within a dull chrome bezel and the shininess even
extends to the rear of the handset, which has an attractive, though
unusual sparkly pattern adorning it - although newer shipments seem to
be shorn of that element now.
Think the glittery kind of jacket that you could see Cilla Black, Joan
Rivers or Shirley Bassey in at an awards ceremony, and you catch our
drift.
Since launch LG has updated the design very slightly on the rear of the
Nexus 4, with newer handsets sporting two tiny bumps at the bottom of
the phone, which elevates the handset slightly.
This means sound isn't as distorted when played through the rear
speaker, plus it stops the shiny glass back of the Nexus 4 scratching on
the surface it's sitting on.Another
element worth pointing out here is the way the phone curves at the
sides, from the main panel into the bezel. It seems to make the screen
look even more realistic and beautiful. It's one of those things you
really have to experience to appreciate.
Another
element worth pointing out here is the way the phone curves at the
sides, from the main panel into the bezel. It seems to make the screen
look even more realistic and beautiful. It's one of those things you
really have to experience to appreciate.
Round the edges, you'll find the usual adornments. A 3.5mm headphone
jack on top, volume rocker and micro SIM tray on the left, micro USB
port plus a few dubious screws on the bottom, and a perfectly placed
lock/unlock/power button on the upper right hand side.
It's just in that sweet spot where it's easy to press with the thumb if
you're right handed and not impossible if you're a leftie.There's
no way of getting the back off – so you know what that means, peeps. No
removable battery and no expandable storage. The former doesn't faze us
too much since the 2,100mAh battery pack is no slouch but the lack of
memory card allowance is annoying.
Yes, we know that ever since the Nexus S,
expandable memory is out. Google's said that it doesn't offer it
because it's confusing. But for those with lots of content who can't or
don't want to stream, it's a real pain. We don't quite buy Google's
argument.
As for the innards, LG has cut no corners here. Make no mistake, this is
a premium handset. DC-HSDPA, the very latest iteration of Jelly Bean 4.2, a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, quad-core 1.5GHz processor, A-GPS with GLONASS, NFC and so forth.But what makes this so sweet is the price. Let's just point out that sim-free, aHTC One X with similar specs will set you back around £320 (around $490/AU$475) and the Samsung Galaxy S3 can now be snapped up for £329 (around $525/AU$503).
And while last year's Galaxy Nexus will leave your wallet £299 (around
$477/AU$458) lighter, this brand new model, the Nexus 4 is priced –
almost unbelievably – at £239 ($299/AU$349) for the 8GB version and £279
($349/AU$480) for 16GB. Yes, the newer Nexus is cheaper than the year
old Nexus. Word!
We can't overestimate just how revolutionary this is and it leaves us open-mouthed at how Google is doing this. Either it's selling the Nexus 4 at a loss –
or the mark-up on handsets is now shown up as being ridiculously high.
Whichever it is, it means the Nexus 4 has a distinct advantage over the
competition.
copy paste worked good...
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