Nexus 4, or Nexus 5?

[BTuck123]

Hey guys, bit of a dilemma over here. I currently have a nexus 7 and an old galaxy Apollo and want a nexus phone. I would hope for it to last me three years. Now, the nexus 5 is a bit expensive for my liking and I can get a nexus 4 for much cheaper on e bay. But I'm very worried that the nexus 4's lack of 4g Will prematurely age it and render it in need of an upgrade in a few years. As I'm off to university next year I would prefer for this not to happen and am worried that as 4g increases 3g may become redundant and they'll start taking transmitters down... Being at university with no Wi-Fi that could be a real problem. The universities I'm applying for will all have 4g by the time I get there. Do what do you guys think, 4 or 5? Which will be the best value in the long term, so I won't have to get a new one as a poor student?

 

[Haalcyon]

Re: Nexus 4 or nexus 5??

I think you'll be happiest with the Nexus 5...even if you have to save a little longer to get it.

 

[BTuck123]

Re: Nexus 4 or nexus 5??

Oh, I have the money, but I don't know if the nexus 5 is worth the ?100 extra to me...

 

[Fairclough]

Re: Nexus 4 or nexus 5??

Nexus 5, the 4 i have is a year old - i tend to keep it for another year, but the question is in two years time would you want a 3 year old phone or a 2 year old phone?

 

[mxmarcus]

Re: Nexus 4 or nexus 5??

I would sacrifice some of the beer party money and get Nexus 5.

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk

 

[galfert]

First of all you can't categorize the Nexus 4 as a 3G device. The Nexus 4 is a 4G device because it supports HSPA+. Sure there is some controversy on what is 4G and what isn't. But that is not the important thing to discuss here. Look at the underlying technology, HSPA+ in this case. HSPA+ is fast enough for most people. Before I had my Nexus 4, almost a year ago, my previous two phones had LTE (HTC Vivid and then HTC One X). So before I had the Nexus 4 I had had LTE for a year. I thought at first it would be unreasonable to downgrade to HSPA+ from LTE, and and I thought about it hard. But ultimately I made the right decision, and to tell you the truth it was not a hard adjustment. HSPA+ is fast and it is not 3G. Best way to describe HSPA+ is to say that it should have been called 3.5G. You don't need to worry that HSPA+ networks are going to go anywhere anytime soon. If you get a Nexus 4 to save some cash you should be well served. The one thing I would caution you on is that the Nexus 4 is delicate with it having the glass back. Nothing would suck more than to end up with a broken phone. For that reason the Nexus 5 seems like it should be more durable.


Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4

 

[anon(13322)]

Re: Nexus 4 or nexus 5??

N5. It's more future proof than the N4. However, the N4 still can stand up to current devices out right now.

 

[BTuck123]

Re: Nexus 4 or nexus 5??

Oh, I have the money, but the Nexus 5 would take a big chunk out of my funds... I have ?320, The Nexus 4 is ?180, the Nexus 5 will be ?280...

 

[BTuck123]

Re: Nexus 4 or nexus 5??

How comparable are they then? My network has HSPA+ and will be upgrading to 4G next year for no extra charge. So it's literally the difference between having LTE and having HSPA+ for the next three years, dependent on the phone I buy.

 

[OffKilter]

Re: Nexus 4 or nexus 5??

Since you are going to university next year, by the time you actually go there the N4 will be over a year and a half old, and the N5 will have been out a while. I say spend the extra $100-150 to get a Nexus 5, the money is worth it, and I think you'll be happier with it/not have to worry about it becoming obsolete as soon.

 

[gone down south]

Re: Nexus 4 or nexus 5??

What exactly do you mean by 4G? If it's LTE, do you know what bands your carrier supports?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[BTuck123]

Re: Nexus 4 or nexus 5??

They are going to release it on 800 and 1800 MHz, and yes LTE.

 

[George Jenkinson]

Re: Nexus 4 or nexus 5??

Oh, I have the money, but the Nexus 5 would take a big chunk out of my funds... I have ?320, The Nexus 4 is ?180, the Nexus 5 will be ?280...

If you really want the phone to last you 3 years, you'll be wise to buy a BNIB from ebay and I think you'll be doing well to get a Nexus 4 16gb for ?180. If you do, do you know it's brand new and not rooted? I've been watching ebay and the best phones seem to hover around ?220-240. If you get it on ebay and it goes phut, who do you return it to? Asda still sell Nexus 4 16gb for ?249 online with a free speaker, so this will give you some consumer protection if you need a warranty claim.

In regard to 3G -v- 4G, I'd agree with other posters - unless you're a video watcher/massive gamer, you are unlikely to need 4G. I don't know how the tech side works, but I doubt they will remove the masts that quickly - look how long it's taking radio to switch to digital!

If you want to do this the really cheap way, I'd buy the phone from Asda, get a Three.co.uk PAYG 3-2-1 sim card as I reckon it has cheaper rates than virtually all other monthly deals and use the saved money to buy a Nexus 5 next year when they are reduced on Google Play!

 

[tech_head]

Re: Nexus 4 or nexus 5??

First rule of buying a phone you plan to keep for a long time is to get the best phone available.
You don't want to be a year in and wish you had bought the better phone.
Buyers remorse happens when you don't buy the best you can, not the other way around.
Also if you plan to keep it for three years, that the cost of the phone is insignificant compared to what data is going to cost.

 

[techmantoo]

Re: Nexus 4 or nexus 5??

I would buy the n4 and sell it next year before you go to university. Get a n6 next fall! Or whatever is the best value phone.