Wired's Review - "Rating: 9/10 Nearly flawless; buy it now"

[DirkBelig]

Review: Google Nexus 4 Android Smartphone by LG

Some snips: "Android has a new champion. The Nexus 4, built by LG in collaboration with Google, is the best overall Android handset currently available, and it?s one of the best phones to be released this year.

It?s a truly exemplary piece of hardware that showcases the best of what Google can offer in a smartphone when crufty user interface skins from hardware makers and bloatware from carriers are cut out of the equation.

It?s as close to perfect as I?ve seen any Android smartphone get. But the Nexus 4 falls just short of perfection due to one major omission: It?s not compatible with any LTE networks.

Living with the Nexus 4 and using it over the last week has been a joy. The first thing you notice when you pick up the handset is just how sturdy and luxurious it feels. The front and back of the device are coated in Gorilla Glass 2. I took a set of keys, a fork and a pocket knife to the front and back glass panels of the Nexus 4 and couldn?t get a scratch to show up anywhere. I also slipped and dropped the phone while pulling it out of my pocket this week, and it showed no signs of my fumble.

The display on the Nexus 4, which packs a density of 320 pixels per inch, is one of the best I?ve seen on a smartphone handset. I wouldn?t say it?s the absolute best, as I still prefer the color reproduction of the One X and the sharpness of the iPhone?s Retina display, but it?s very close. While colors do lean toward the cool side, LG?s True HD IPS LCD display is flat-out gorgeous. The level of detail and definition seen here is worthy of a flagship phone. Everything looks spectacular: apps, e-books, magazines, comics, websites, videos and photos.

It not only looks great, it runs like the wind. I couldn?t find a single stutter or hiccup during my week with the phone....The rear-facing 8-megapixel camera is also very nice, but falls just shy of greatness. The photos it takes aren?t quite as clear or detailed as the ones we?ve seen from the cameras on the HTC One X and iPhone 5. When it comes to battery life, the Nexus 4 is also performs just below the One X and the iPhone. Under normal use, I could go a day before having to charge it. If I was using the handset non-stop, I?d have to charge the Nexus 4 before I left work. This is good battery life, but not exceptional."

Read it all. Discuss.

 

[Subsound]

Review: Google Nexus 4 Android Smartphone by LG

Some snips: "Android has a new champion. The Nexus 4, built by LG in collaboration with Google, is the best overall Android handset currently available, and it’s one of the best phones to be released this year.

It’s a truly exemplary piece of hardware that showcases the best of what Google can offer in a smartphone when crufty user interface skins from hardware makers and bloatware from carriers are cut out of the equation.

It’s as close to perfect as I’ve seen any Android smartphone get. But the Nexus 4 falls just short of perfection due to one major omission: It’s not compatible with any LTE networks.

Living with the Nexus 4 and using it over the last week has been a joy. The first thing you notice when you pick up the handset is just how sturdy and luxurious it feels. The front and back of the device are coated in Gorilla Glass 2. I took a set of keys, a fork and a pocket knife to the front and back glass panels of the Nexus 4 and couldn’t get a scratch to show up anywhere. I also slipped and dropped the phone while pulling it out of my pocket this week, and it showed no signs of my fumble.

The display on the Nexus 4, which packs a density of 320 pixels per inch, is one of the best I’ve seen on a smartphone handset. I wouldn’t say it’s the absolute best, as I still prefer the color reproduction of the One X and the sharpness of the iPhone’s Retina display, but it’s very close. While colors do lean toward the cool side, LG’s True HD IPS LCD display is flat-out gorgeous. The level of detail and definition seen here is worthy of a flagship phone. Everything looks spectacular: apps, e-books, magazines, comics, websites, videos and photos.

It not only looks great, it runs like the wind. I couldn’t find a single stutter or hiccup during my week with the phone....The rear-facing 8-megapixel camera is also very nice, but falls just shy of greatness. The photos it takes aren’t quite as clear or detailed as the ones we’ve seen from the cameras on the HTC One X and iPhone 5. When it comes to battery life, the Nexus 4 is also performs just below the One X and the iPhone. Under normal use, I could go a day before having to charge it. If I was using the handset non-stop, I’d have to charge the Nexus 4 before I left work. This is good battery life, but not exceptional."

Read it all. Discuss.

Not exactly sure what my thoughts about this should be...

 

[Ry]

No LTE is going to be the dealbreaker for the mainstream.

 

[mzanette]

Read this review earlier. First all out gushing review I've seen all day. Most other reviews said it was a solid phone but had drawbacks such as spotty battery, some software glitches and the aforementioned lack of LTE seemed to really bug some reviewers. I always thought Topolsky was a huge Google fanboy but even his review was less than stellar.

I'm still getting this phone.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[ChromeJob]

No LTE is going to be the dealbreaker for the "everything + pony" crowd.

I fixed it for you.

 

[nickacs]

I still don't get WHY LTE is a minus to the phone? Yes, we ALL know it doesn't have LTE and that will eliminate a large part of the cell phone consumer community on VZW/Sprint.
But the Nexus 4 shouldn't be dinged because of this. I want to know all the Pros/Cons of the phone ITSELF as it stands. Like battery, screen, Android 4.2, photosphere, speed, etc etc. These are the things that will affect ANYONE who actually buys the phone. Not having LTE just eliminates a part of the buyer market, has 0% to do with the phone.

Ugggg.. Please stop the stupid 'OMG THIS PHONE SUCKS BECAUSE IT HAS NO LTE". No it doesn't! Get a GSM carrier, not the f-ing phone's fault!

 

[Shadowriver]

I still don't get WHY LTE is a minus to the phone? Yes, we ALL know it doesn't have LTE and that will eliminate a large part of the cell phone consumer community on VZW/Sprint.
But the Nexus 4 shouldn't be dinged because of this. I want to know all the Pros/Cons of the phone ITSELF as it stands. Like battery, screen, Android 4.2, photosphere, speed, etc etc. These are the things that will affect ANYONE who actually buys the phone. Not having LTE just eliminates a part of the buyer market, has 0% to do with the phone.

Ugggg.. Please stop the stupid 'OMG THIS PHONE SUCKS BECAUSE IT HAS NO LTE". No it doesn't! Get a GSM carrier, not the f-ing phone's fault!

Well it's still the a con whatever you look at it

 

[Woosh]

Well it's still the a con whatever you look at it

Its not a con if it kept the price at $300, and it did.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[andr0idralphie]

Good article. Thanks for sharing. Now, can I cut my old SIM card into a microSIM...?

 

[Ry]

I still don't get WHY LTE is a minus to the phone? Yes, we ALL know it doesn't have LTE and that will eliminate a large part of the cell phone consumer community on VZW/Sprint.
But the Nexus 4 shouldn't be dinged because of this. I want to know all the Pros/Cons of the phone ITSELF as it stands. Like battery, screen, Android 4.2, photosphere, speed, etc etc. These are the things that will affect ANYONE who actually buys the phone. Not having LTE just eliminates a part of the buyer market, has 0% to do with the phone.

Ugggg.. Please stop the stupid 'OMG THIS PHONE SUCKS BECAUSE IT HAS NO LTE". No it doesn't! Get a GSM carrier, not the f-ing phone's fault!

Uh. No LTE is a con.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Android Central Forums

 

[Woosh]

Uh. No LTE is a con.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Android Central Forums

No LTE is a con for YOU....I don't want to pay for something I can't use.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[tube517]

No LTE is a big issue.

However, since I am now on T-mobile, it's not a dealbreaker for me. I am still debating if I get it. I am happy with my current budget Android smartphone but I may sell that and a few other phones to get this if I still decide to buy it.

 

[nickacs]

Well it's still the a con whatever you look at it

True, it is a "con" in that it doesn't have/work on the LTE VZW market, but I guess I feel that's not a fault of the phone, it's Google deciding not to do it. Like I mentioned, I want to know more of the good/bad aspects of the phone itself, which LTE doesn't matter.
I guess I would classify it as a "drawback" because of Google's no LTE offering, not because of the Nexus 4 phone.

 

[nickacs]

Uh. No LTE is a con.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Android Central Forums

Uh, OK.

 

[gone down south]

No LTE is a fact that should be mentioned. But it's in no way a 'con' for the phone, anymore than not having, say, a built-in AM/FM radio would be a con. You can ding the phone for not having a function through error or oversight; you can't when not having that function was a conscious decision.

 

[Ry]

No LTE option is a definite con.

- Three of the big four constantly promoting their next gen networks as the best user experience, with the fourth moving to that same place

- Phones like the iPhone 4S got dinged last year for not having an LTE option

- The previous generation of the Nexus smartphone had an LTE option



Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Android Central Forums

 

[MangoPowah]

My phone doesn't do my homework, spit out rainbows, or do my chores for me. This is going back immediately.

In all seriousness though, LTE isn't really a con to those who don't even have it in their area. I would be such folk. Although I'm holding my breath for it, WiFi at home is plenty fast, and HSPA+ at school covers my needs well.

Sent from my HTC One X

 

[sidamos]

Depends on the country. Here in Germany, you can use the iPhone 5's LTE only on 1 of 4 carriers and only in bigger towns. Everything else is a different frequency.

 

[Ez Duzit]

Umm....No micro sd-card, so you're limited to only 8 or 16 GB. Deal breaker?? :-\

 

[Fairclough]

No LTE is a con for YOU....I don't want to pay for something I can't use.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

On the money, I view the same. I just went recently to prepaid. NO LTE FOR PREPAID IN AUS. Anyways, My mates in the iphone 5 were saying yeah it loads a lot faster when their on the internet but they want to find a proper way to turn it off because it kills their battery.