Phil's thoughts on the LG Nexus leaks ...

[Woosh]

My guess is that the Play Store version will be HSPA+.

If Google is serious about turning Nexus into a consumer brand rather than a tool for application developers, an AT&T LTE compatible one will also be available (likely through AT&T retail channels) and a Verizon and Sprint CDMA/LTE compatible one will also be available (Verizon, Sprint retail channels).

Yea, that was exactly what I was thinking. I'd imagine since the last 2 Nexii was available for other carriers that this will probably also. I just hope its available for T-Mo bands and 42+ or better HSPA+....otherwise I have to drop my unl data and pay an ETF to go back to ST.

 

[JonK]

A phone can be sold through 3rd part retail channels that works with VZW LTE. The SGS3 Dev edition is proof of that. I would like to see a VZW LTE version from the play store. A true nexus on VZW.

 

[Ry]

A phone can be sold through 3rd part retail channels that works with VZW LTE. The SGS3 Dev edition is proof of that. I would like to see a VZW LTE version from the play store. A true nexus on VZW.

I consider Samsung's sales site (and Motorola's) to be Verizon (third-party) retail channels, like Best Buy, Target, Walmart, etc.

 

[Woosh]

A phone can be sold through 3rd part retail channels that works with VZW LTE. The SGS3 Dev edition is proof of that. I would like to see a VZW LTE version from the play store. A true nexus on VZW.

Then most likely you will need to talk to Verizon about that. Working with Verizon and being able to activate on Verizon are two different things. If Google isn't working in sync with Verizon on this then there would be no point in selling a phone for their network if people can't activate it there.

The SGS3 dev edition has permission from Verizon to do just that.

I just don't see much point in Google doing it, Verizon no doubt wants their customers upgrading through them and I'd imagine its easier for Google to just sell them to Verizon and let them sell the phone rather than having to deal with extra inventory that works on only one network in one part of the world.

 

[jean15paul]

Well now. Looks like this thing's pretty solid, eh?

Since I've actually spent a few days with the LG Optimus G, I'm going to jot down a few notes on what think here, strictly based on what I can see in those pictures. (Update: Never mind. Gonna throw some other stuff in here, too.)

• The back of the phone probably is the most striking feature. And it's pretty familiar, if you've seen an Optimus G. LG's using what it calls a "crystal reflection process." The back of the phone almost assuredly is flat glass (though it wouldn't surprise me if nobody actually uses the world "glass"). But the crystal reflection process makes it look like there's texture on top of the glass -- much in the same way that the plastic battery cover on the Galaxy Nexus is textured. It's pretty cool, actually.
• LG's hardware build on the Optimus G seemed really tight. I used it for the better part of three days, and I had nary a creak. That's not a lot of time, mind you, but I had no initial concerns. I'd probably expect the same from this Nexus, though obviously things can happen. Also, I wonder what a wider body means in terms of strength. That'd leave more room for flexing, right?
• Same Linux kernel as that other leak.
• Don't worry about radio freqs just yet. Google's not going to leave anybody out, I'd imagine.
• Don't question Paul O'Brien.
  [*]Assuming hardware is on par with the new stuff today, it'll be the software that has me interested. That was the case with the Galaxy Nexus and ICS, too, of course. Nexus is all about the software. Not the hardware. Though Google's done a really good job, imho, of keeping the hardware pretty interesting, too.

I have a good feeling folks are going to be pretty surprised with what they get.

Yes! That's what I've been wondering since these leaks started. Everyone is talking about hardware, but I'm interested in software changes. What's going to be new in 4.2 (or whatever the version will be). Will it just be incremental update, or does Google have something new up their sleeve in only 6 months? If it is only an incremental updates and Android stays on "Jelly Bean", would this be the first time a Nexus device came out without also introducing a new Android version?

And the most imporant question: How long before Android Central gives one away?!?! (I love it when you guys do that. )

 

[Woosh]

Yes! That's what I've been wondering since these leaks started. Everyone is talking about hardware, but I'm interested in software changes. What's going to be new in 4.2 (or whatever the version will be). Will it just be incremental update, or does Google have something new up their sleeve in only 6 months? If it is only an incremental updates and Android stays on "Jelly Bean", would this be the first time a Nexus device came out without also introducing a new Android version?

And the most imporant question: How long before Android Central gives one away?!?! (I love it when you guys do that. )

I think it would be the first time iirc, But this year is also the first time they had 2-3 Nexus devices. So I think things have changed enough for them to just do a minor update to the OS and release a nice hardware upgrade from the last version.

Man I want this thing to be official soon.

 

[ChromeJob]

I'm with you, Phil. It's about the software, and with Google upping the ante with the "Butter" improvements, they need to leap ahead even more with battery optimization tweaks. Particularly, we need them to push out the fix for EAS mail that they broke in 4.1 (worked fine in 4.0.4). A 4.1.2 or 4.2 device with further updates coming sooner will -- I hope -- finally convince carriers and manufacturers that their slowpoke ways are a death knell.

The only hardware issue that I care about is IT'S NOT AN HTC. The crap I've gone through with my Amaze is horrific. I sat down with several other HTC owners at work, and four of us had HTC phones that couldn't connect reliably and assuredly with our Cisco APs. Samsung and Asus owners, no issues at all.

I'm probably in the minority, I don't need a MicroSD slot in mine, I'm happy with 100% ext4 partitions. 16GB for apps and data, and I'm happy, the Nexus 7 with 16 has been A-OK.

I'd also like this to be a bargain, as I'm still under contract for my HTC doorstop. I don't want to break the bank or pay an ETF to get a new Nexus phone before my doorstop's one-year anniversary (Pearl Harbor Day). I can stand plastic, I can stand "just okay" memory, I can even stand that Hanna Montana back finish we're seeing ... just make it affordable like the N7, Google, and I will make your Play store go cha-ching.

 

[crankerchick]

It's funny, everyone has their own experience and preference. I've never owned an LG phone but I've had HTC, Motorola, and Samsung and by far my worst experience for connectivity has been with Samsung. Between 3 Droid charges and a Galaxy Nexus on VZW I've seen pretty bad cellular connectivity compared to other devices. It generally seems to be in the firmware, which includes dropping data, getting stuck switching from 3G to LTE (resulting in no data), premature falling back to 3G when other phones don't, and generally just slower data, even though the received signal indicators seem to match other phones. I've never had any real issues with WiFi.

The Motorola phones (OG Droid, Droid X2, and Razr) seemed to be better, but the 2 HTC phones (Thunderbolt and Rezound) were solid. Well, the Thunderbolt wasn't at first of course, but we still have that phone and it outperforms the Galaxy Nexus in our experience.

I'm all for an HTC Nexus phone. I prefer LCD over Samsung's saturated screens. Their cellular performance seems solid, and as long as we blow away Sense, the phones are tolerable. Well, my husband likes Sense, but I'm a purist--can't stand any skins, hence me being Nexus only if I'm going with an Android device.

I'm happy without a microUSB as well but without it, I NEED the phone to have good connectivity because the worse the data connection, the more battery I burn when trying to stream my content that I'm not storing locally thanks to the lack of removable storage.

I'm more interested in the software as well, and it will be fun to see what Google has in store in the next updates to Android. I'm skipping this Nexus, as it doesn't tickle my fancy as much as my current toy. The Galaxy Nexus just has terrible battery life, so I had to move on from it. I'll wait it out on this Nexus, test drive the Android updates on my, at this point, WiFi only Galaxy Nexus, and hopefully come back to the Nexus Android train in 2013.

 

[turb0wned]

Camera is crap... Just go to Android and Me (Updated source: Google+) and look at the 48 pics they posted.

 

[TauSigmaNova]

I have an LG Optimus V- a ty low end Virgin Mobile device from 2010. Build quality couldn't be damned better- Throw it against the wall and the worst is a scrath or the battery cover will come on and you pop it back on. I like it very much aside from it being an old low end device. Hopefully it'll be below 500 so I can (hopefully!) get it for my birthday/christmas

 

[Unviersr]

Sony said there new genration cameras are to be out by Q4/2012 so i sure its going to make it for the nexus .
i guees lg cheapn out on home made sensor . yay /:.

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

The specs of the phone are great, I'm a little concerned about LG's build quality (though, it's comforting to read Phil's opinions on the Optimus G) but I'm mostly worried about the software.

I'd really like the OS to be 4.2 and have a handful of changes/improvements as Jellybean did. I'm already running 4.1.1 and if the phone was just a 4.1.2 update with minimal changes, it would lose a little bit of appeal from me.

I'm wondering what will happen this multiple Nexus rumour now. It seems that the LG Nexus is shaped like the Galaxy Nexus, will all other Nexus phones adopt the same design? Will they all have the same high-end specs of the LG version? Is the LG Nexus the 'flagship' whereas the others are just different, cheaper Nexus options?

Too many unknowns.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Sony said there new genration cameras are to be out by Q4/2012 so i sure its going to make it for the nexus .
i guees lg cheapn out on home made sensor . yay /:.

It won't be ready for phones.

The specs of the phone are great, I'm a little concerned about LG's build quality (though, it's comforting to read Phil's opinions on the Optimus G) but I'm mostly worried about the software.

I'd really like the OS to be 4.2 and have a handful of changes/improvements as Jellybean did. I'm already running 4.1.1 and if the phone was just a 4.1.2 update with minimal changes, it would lose a little bit of appeal from me.

I'm wondering what will happen this multiple Nexus rumour now. It seems that the LG Nexus is shaped like the Galaxy Nexus, will all other Nexus phones adopt the same design? Will they all have the same high-end specs of the LG version? Is the LG Nexus the 'flagship' whereas the others are just different, cheaper Nexus options?

Too many unknowns.

A hardware update makes sense. If Google wants to support newer hardware that isn't in the current Galaxy Nexus then they'll release a new phone.

I'm looking forward to a high spec'd Nexus.

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

A hardware update makes sense. If Google wants to support newer hardware that isn't in the current Galaxy Nexus then they'll release a new phone.

I'm looking forward to a high spec'd Nexus.

Absolutely. The previous Nexus phones were good, but I felt like they didn't push the hardware as much as they could. Looks like Google are taking a different approach this time and are happy going with really high-end hardware. We already know it'll run at least Jellybean, so the software is in check. The only things I'm unsure about is battery capacity, storage capacity and LG's build quality (I've had Samsung phones for 2 years.......reeeeeaaaaaalllly don't want another plastic feeling phone).

 

[pokingmon]

So HSPA+ is confirmed now. Does anyone here have an LG HSPA+ phone for TMobile they can comment on network performance?

Another thing that will make this decision complicated when the phone is finally revealed, is that TMobile is moving toward replacing their HSPA+ with their own LTE variant, correct? I'd hate to get the HSPA+ version of this phone and shortly after find out that they're flipping the switch on their new LTE tech in my city. I remember hearing that supposedly a phone could have the components to work with both HSPA+ and their new LTE tech if it were designed that way, but obviously the new Nexus won't be.

 

[Woosh]

So HSPA+ is confirmed now. Does anyone here have an LG HSPA+ phone for TMobile they can comment on network performance?

Another thing that will make this decision complicated when the phone is finally revealed, is that TMobile is moving toward replacing their HSPA+ with their own LTE variant, correct? I'd hate to get the HSPA+ version of this phone and shortly after find out that they're flipping the switch on their new LTE tech in my city. I remember hearing that supposedly a phone could have the components to work with both HSPA+ and their new LTE tech if it were designed that way, but obviously the new Nexus won't be.

AFAIK they won't be replacing their HSPA+ network....they will simply be adding the LTE network to go along side it.

No idea why they are doing it, HSPA+ seems as capable if not better than LTE. Wish they would build this out a bit more before moving on.

But yes, This phone most likely will not run LTE. Unless by some miracle it has LTE built in and radio off until it goes live. But since this is not a T-Mobile phone, I kinda doubt that.

 

[Phil Nickinson]

Camera is crap... Just go to Android and Me (Updated source: Google+) and look at the 48 pics they posted.

Fixed your link to actually point to the source instead of a site index. (Why someone would upload all of someone else's gallery AND link to it is beyond me, but whatever.)

And I'll point you to the pictures I took with the Optimus G. Also not the greatest.

 

[Ry]

So HSPA+ is confirmed now. Does anyone here have an LG HSPA+ phone for TMobile they can comment on network performance?

Another thing that will make this decision complicated when the phone is finally revealed, is that TMobile is moving toward replacing their HSPA+ with their own LTE variant, correct? I'd hate to get the HSPA+ version of this phone and shortly after find out that they're flipping the switch on their new LTE tech in my city. I remember hearing that supposedly a phone could have the components to work with both HSPA+ and their new LTE tech if it were designed that way, but obviously the new Nexus won't be.

T-Mobile is in the process of refarming their 1900 MHz spectrum for use with HSPA+. Their 1700 MHz spectrum will be used for LTE.

Network performance will vary by region.

 

[ChromeJob]

Wait, isn't this unicorn supposed to have a quad-core Snapdragon? Isn't that = the Krait? Didn't the Krait have an LTE radio on-chip, hence its choice for the One X? Or was that an option?

Okay, too many questions for one post. I'll get my coat.

 

[pokingmon]

No idea why they are doing it, HSPA+ seems as capable if not better than LTE. Wish they would build this out a bit more before moving on.

All of the articles I've read on HSPA+ vs LTE cite that the bandwidth and speed limitations of HSPA+ are lower than LTE's, so even if LTE were to be slower than HSPA+ right now (hypothetical) it would eventually be improved to become faster than HSPA+'s top speeds. That's the only reasons I'm really worried about LTE vs sticking with HSPA+ is that by adding LTE in the first place TMobile is almost implying that it's the future tech and that their HSPA+ was really more of a stop-gap solution.

I'm getting way off topic though. Only other concern with this phone now is hoping that it will have a 16gb variant even though one hasn't hit the FCC yet. (which I don't think means very much at this point)