Nexus 4 - Official - JUST ANNOUNCED $299 off contract [Merged]

[tbayrgs]

The price point for an unlocked phone is great, no denying that. However, no LTE, for me personally, is a deal breaker. I don't need better battery life than I'm getting on my iP5 and once you have LTE, it's really hard to go back. Yes, web browsing improvement is nominal but I do stream video and occasionally download larger files. It's especially noticeable when using my phone as a hotspot for my Nexus 7.

I also really can't get buy with only 16GB so I'll be looking elsewhere for a second phone--bummer as the more time I spend on my Nexus 7, the more I'm enjoying Android, just can't stand all the manufacturers skins. Next up for my consideration, Nokia Lumia 920...

 

[ChazUK]

Does this mean that every Nexus 4 is unlocked?

Should be. Every GSM Nexus I've owned has been sim unlocked by default.

Really frees you when you use GSM networks.

 

[3bs]

Should be. Every GSM Nexus I've owned has been sim unlocked by default.

Really frees you when you use GSM networks.

Not that I ever trust anything the employees at Vodafone say but they told me the Galaxy Nexus I got from them was locked. I never actually tried a different SIM card and I can't now because I don't have the phone anymore.

 

[onthecouchagain]

it fails miserably by not getting LTE in the first place

Can't make this any more simpler:

1) That's how unlocked phones are sold. Carrier-free, therefore LTE-free. Nothing matches the price point for the specs you get.

2) There will be carrier-specific versions so LTE will be available at some point.

3) The speed of HSPA+ versus LTE, at this point in time, is marginal. We're talking about differences in seconds.

4) The trade off for LTE is nearly double iPhone's battery life (15+ hours of talk time versus 8 hours talk time / 330 hours standby versus 225 hours standby). So a few second difference in speeds for nearly double the battery life? Hardly a "fail."


If LTE is that important to you, that's great, mate. Nexus 4 is clearly not for you. We'll try to party on without you.

 

[F123D]

I keep watching The Verge video of the Nexus 4 and my level of interest keeps growing. I'm trying to see if the $350 price point and NO 2 YEAR CONTRACT (plus latest google updates) is enough of an advantage to give up LTE.

What's the average downloads speeds for HSPA+?

 

[Tarzanman]

Is the discount worth not having the SD card slot?

 

[apollo1444]

Can't make this any more simpler:

1) That's how unlocked phones are sold. Carrier-free, therefore LTE-free. Nothing matches the price point for the specs you get.

2) There will be carrier-specific versions so LTE will be available at some point.

3) The speed of HSPA+ versus LTE, at this point in time, is marginal. We're talking about differences in seconds.

4) The trade off for LTE is nearly double iPhone's battery life (15+ hours of talk time versus 8 hours talk time / 330 hours standby versus 225 hours standby). So a few second difference in speeds for double the battery life? Hardly a "fail."


If LTE is that important to you, that's great, mate. Nexus 4 is clearly not for you. We'll try to party on without you.

iPhone 4S - apple does not add LTE
(press and android people) "apple sucks they are way behind" they block their users on new technologies, horrible decisions, hey my gs2 skyrocket is super fast! , "there are better and faster android phones"
"apple stops innovating lol"
"No LTE? wow apple users are sheeps why do they buy that thing"

nexus 4- google does not add LTE
omg it's such a planned decission
great battery performance to be had google are geniuses!
LTE booh nobody wants LTE? plus its not avaliable everywhere
HSPA+ is almost as fast as LTE wtf


hahahaha that is all...

 

[onthecouchagain]

I keep watching The Verge video of the Nexus 4 and my level of interest keeps growing. I'm trying to see if the $350 price point and NO 2 YEAR CONTRACT (plus latest google updates) is enough of an advantage to give up LTE.

What's the average downloads speeds for HSPA+?

I could be wrong, but the theoretical speeds are vast. HSPA+ is 42 MB/s, where as LTE is something like 100+ MB/s.

In real world use, though, at this point and time, they're both marginal. I know, I've used both. At times, HSPA+ was actually faster because less people are on it. Just my experience. When LTE is faster, it's faster by seconds.

Seconds of difference versus nearly double battery life? That's everyone's own call to make.

 

[Dave.UK]

I keep watching The Verge video of the Nexus 4 and my level of interest keeps growing. I'm trying to see if the $350 price point and NO 2 YEAR CONTRACT (plus latest google updates) is enough of an advantage to give up LTE.

What's the average downloads speeds for HSPA+?

This is quite an interesting page talking about HSPA+ and LTE and the differences.

http://www.androidauthority.com/hspa-vs-lte-which-one-is-better-78120/

 

[ChazUK]

I keep watching The Verge video of the Nexus 4 and my level of interest keeps growing. I'm trying to see if the $350 price point and NO 2 YEAR CONTRACT (plus latest google updates) is enough of an advantage to give up LTE.

What's the average downloads speeds for HSPA+?

I average around 5 Meg and peak at around 10/11 Meg on a good day. DCHSPA+ would have been a nice addition but alas, it wasn't to be.

 

[onthecouchagain]

iPhone 4S - apple does not add LTE
(press and android people) "apple sucks they are way behind" they block their users on new technologies, horrible decisions, hey my gs2 skyrocket is super fast! , "there are better and faster android phones"
"apple stops innovating lol"
"No LTE? wow apple users are sheeps why do they buy that thing"

nexus 4- google does not add LTE
omg it's such a planned decission
great battery performance to be had google are geniuses!
LTE booh nobody wants LTE? plus its not avaliable everywhere
HSPA+ is almost as fast as LTE wtf


hahahaha that is all...

2) There will be carrier-specific versions so LTE will be available at some point.

What happens then?

 

[MRU]

Does this mean that every Nexus 4 is unlocked?

Yep should be. (I know my galaxy nexus was even though it was from voda)

 

[ChazUK]

I could be wrong, but the theoretical speeds are vast. HSPA+ is 42 MB/s, where as LTE is something like 100+ MB/s.

In real world use, though, at this point and time, they're both marginal. I know, I've used both. At times, HSPA+ was actually faster because less people are on it. Just my experience. When LTE is faster, it's faster by seconds.

Seconds of difference versus nearly double battery life? That's everyone's own call to make.

I was under the impression HSPA+ had a 21 Meg maximum speed (around 10 with overheads) and that it was DCHSPA+ that bumped it to 42 Meg speeds.

 

[onthecouchagain]

I was under the impression HSPA+ had a 21 Meg maximum speed (around 10 with overheads) and that it was DCHSPA+ that bumped it to 42 Meg speeds.

I could be wrong. But based on this:


"HSPA+

HSPA+ or Evolved High Speed Packet Access, is a souped-up version of HSUPA and HSDPA 3G standards with speeds comparable to the newer LTE networks. Theoretical speeds are said to feature download speeds up to 168Mbps and uplink of 22Mbps. These are of course theoretical speeds, with the actual speed available to users being much lower. While most HSPA+ networks around the world boast a theoretical 21Mbps(download) speed, T-Mobile(USA) and Deutsche Telekom(Germany) feature 42Mbps networks. A hotly debated issue is the 4G tag offered by cellular network companies to advertise their HSPA+ networks(T-mobile and AT&T), while most accept that it should be considered, at most, a 3.75G network."

 

[3bs]

Yep should be. (I know my galaxy nexus was even though it was from voda)

Then maybe I should just get it off contract with them or 3 (who I'm with) if they get it instead of going up to Belfast

 

[ChazUK]

I could be wrong. But based on this:


"HSPA+

HSPA+ or Evolved High Speed Packet Access, is a souped-up version of HSUPA and HSDPA 3G standards with speeds comparable to the newer LTE networks. Theoretical speeds are said to feature download speeds up to 168Mbps and uplink of 22Mbps. These are of course theoretical speeds, with the actual speed available to users being much lower. While most HSPA+ networks around the world boast a theoretical 21Mbps(download) speed, T-Mobile(USA) and Deutsche Telekom(Germany) feature 42Mbps networks. A hotly debated issue is the 4G tag offered by cellular network companies to advertise their HSPA+ networks(T-mobile and AT&T), while most accept that it should be considered, at most, a 3.75G network."

Ooh, you are correct reading into it!

. The plus in HSPA+ signifies an even faster and more efficient use of the spectrum. HSPA+ provides peak download rates of up to 56 Mbps and peak uploads of 22 Mbps.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-hspa-and-hspa.htm

 

[tjl3]

Lots of new features shown off. Not to mention the official devices themselves look quite stunning:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=66-4uMQqerA

I was impressed by the video, specifically with the software updates coming in 4.2.

However, I think the Nexus 4 missed, especially in Google's decision to go with LG. I hope LG makes one heck of a display, b/c wireless charging... really? Impressive? Yes. Innovative? Sure. Worth any possible design compromises? No.

I can't help but think that a Samsung or Google's own Motorola branded Nexus device would come with LTE. This decision will only alienate their consumers. Sure, we should expect the CDMA Nexus 4 to come with LTE, but LG will have already lost a good portion of potential customers to iP5, One X, Razr, and GS3.

I was definitely on the fence about iP5 or waiting to see what kind of a Nexus phone gets released. But now I am kind of glad I chose iP5, completely due to the lack of LTE.

 

[F123D]

Is the discount worth not having the SD card slot?

I'm not quite sure yet..

However, the discount is DEFINITELY worth not being locked into a 2 year contract. I could use this phone for a year and maybe go back to an iPhone if they get their act together next year without any ETF or upgrade fees.

 

[Catdogchicken]

iPhone 4S - apple does not add LTE
(press and android people) "apple sucks they are way behind" they block their users on new technologies, horrible decisions, hey my gs2 skyrocket is super fast! , "there are better and faster android phones"
"apple stops innovating lol"
"No LTE? wow apple users are sheeps why do they buy that thing"

nexus 4- google does not add LTE
omg it's such a planned decission
great battery performance to be had google are geniuses!
LTE booh nobody wants LTE? plus its not avaliable everywhere
HSPA+ is almost as fast as LTE wtf


hahahaha that is all...

Same could be said about NFC.

iPhone 5 didn't have it so therefore it was worthless and not needed.

Such hypocrites the Apple fans!

 

[mcman77]

Can anyone tell me if the Sony BSI camera lens is the same as the one in the iPhone 4s and the GS3?

 

[onthecouchagain]

Since Tmobile will be getting the Nexus 4 officially, one can try out the device in a Tmo store.

----------

I was impressed by the video, specifically with the software updates coming in 4.2.

However, I think the Nexus 4 missed, especially in Google's decision to go with LG. I hope LG makes one heck of a display, b/c wireless charging... really? Impressive? Yes. Innovative? Sure. Worth any possible design compromises? No.

I can't help but think that a Samsung or Google's own Motorola branded Nexus device would come with LTE. This decision will only alienate their consumers. Sure, we should expect the CDMA Nexus 4 to come with LTE, but LG will have already lost a good portion of potential customers to iP5, One X, Razr, and GS3.

I was definitely on the fence about iP5 or waiting to see what kind of a Nexus phone gets released. But now I am kind of glad I chose iP5, completely due to the lack of LTE.

Samsung last year released the Galaxy Nexus without LTE. The LG Nexus 4 carrier versions will have LTE.

But it sounds like you already found what you're looking for, so that's cool. Kudos.

 

[inselstudent]

Well goodbye Apple and hello Google!

 

[Lindsford]

For the money this phone is hard to beat. But it's lacking a few main things that would make an iPhone user like myself switch.

This is my take on the announcement

Cons:
No SD card slot
No removable battery
No LTE- I know a lot of people are backing google on this and LTE isn't a necessity but when you travel and tether, the LTE does make a huge difference
Only 16GB - a small fraction of my music library that I listen to on a regular basis would take up atleast half of that. It's awesome if you're heavily invested in streaming content (which I am) but itd be nice to have a 32GB storage. That's a sweet spot for me.

Neutral:
Camera: it's 8MP but how will it actually compare to other phones picture quality color accuracy and low light photos
Weight
Thickness

Pros:
Price
World Phone
Will get updates on time instead of having to wait for months on end or root your phone

The only thing holding me back from this phone is the storage capacity and not being able to swap the battery. Once you get a taste of LTE it's hard to go back. Though I get anywhere from 2-11mbps on HSPA+ speeds which is good if you're not planning on tethering (I am)

 

[F123D]

The LG Nexus 4 carrier versions will have LTE.

Where are you seeing this?

 

[The Face]

Where are you seeing this?

It hasn't been officially said, but it's safe to say it'll happen.