Just take a look at the photos, features and reviews of Nexus 4 by LG here..
The Google Nexus 4 by LG was launched alongside two other products, the
Google Nexus 10 tablet and the
Google Nexus 7 32GB 3G tablet marking the company”s biggest hardware launch yet.
Why now? With Apple having just released its Nexus 7 competitor, the
iPad Mini, it seems as though Google is looking to take on the entire Apple ecosystem with a full range of products.
With
Android Jelly Bean 4.2 on board in its purest form, the Nexus 4 is the
flagship for Google’s latest OS. However with an unassuming design and
sub-£300 price tag you may be wondering then how Google is going to
accomplish this, well read on and you’ll soon realise that it’s what’s
underneath that counts just as much as what can be found subtly lurking
on the surface.
Size and build
First thing
we noticed was just how un-noticeable the Nexus 4 actually is, in fact
if you just glanced with the screen turned off it could stand in as any
number of nameless Android smartphones.
Taker a closer inspection
however and you begin to notice the more premium details which set this
apart from the competition. The Corning Gorilla Glass 2 display is
slightly curved at the edges letting the finger slide of the screen.
On
the back you’ll find a glass panel protecting a dark shimmering dot
matrix pattern not unlike the wallpaper found on the first Nexus with a
metallic band running around the phone. While the glass on the back is
supposed to be scratch resistant we soon found that it was not
invulnerable to the odd car key.
Weighing in at 139g this isn’t a
light smartphone however the Nexus 4 manages to distribute the weight in
such a way that it adds to the sense that this is a smartphone that
could survive day to day without instantly needing to buy a case (
iPhone 5 we’re looking at you).
Screen
The
Nexus 4 sports a 4.7-inch 1280×768 display which we can confirm right
now is brilliant. With 320 pixels per inch (the iPhone 5 is 326ppi) text
is razor sharp while images are bright and vivid, even bright sunlight.
LG
has followed the display philosophy that by going wider you prevent the
issue of not being able to reach the top of the screen with your thumb.
At first this stubby display felt odd to use but after a while we have
to agree, our thumbs aren’t growing any time soon so it makes sense.
Video looks sharp and smooth with Play Movies offering up a huge selection of new releases and classics to rent.
Camera
LG
has included a much needed 8MP camera on the back of the Nexus 4, a
sensor upgrade that was badly needed after the OK camera on the
Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
What
you get in return is a superb camera that copes with outdoor light
extremely well however on the low light images we did find that grainy
haze begin to appear quite quickly. With a strong flash this is easily
compensated for however it does mean it’s by no means up to the standard
we’ve seen on the iPhone 5 or the
Nokia Lumia 920.
Features are basic but brilliantly accessible thanks to
Android Jelly Bean;
simply hold your finger anywhere on the screen while the camera is open
and you’re presented with a simple easy-access menu of scenes and
modes. Most notable of these is PhotoSphere the new 360-degree camera
mode found on the Jelly Bean 4.2 update.
Taking panorama one step
further PhotoSphere lets you take a single image and then, following the
instructions, build up a 360-degree tile of images which the smartphone
then stitches together. It works beautifully and while it requires some
patience it’s a welcome addition to Android.
Performance
By
now you’re probably beginning to wonder where the catch is, and to be
honest it isn’t found here. Under the hood there’s a blisteringly quick
Quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor along with 2GB of RAM to help back
up Google’s claim that this is the fastest Android smartphone
available.
Well Google and LG can hold their heads high as it is
an impressively quick phone. Menu navigation along with processor
intensive tasks never feel like a struggle with games making full use of
the power and the display.
Elsewhere in the internals you’ll find
the standard fare of Bluetooth, WiFi and also NFC making sure that this
is a smartphone that does not need wires.
Battery
With the same size battery found in the
Samsung Galaxy S3, the Nexus 4 should be able to manage a days usage without too much hassle.
Unfortunately
this was not the case. While with standard usage (texts, browsing and
the odd call) we were able to get through until mid-evening, intensive
usage quickly downed much of the juice.
It’s not an uncommon
problem with modern smartphones however it was alarming to note how
quickly it dropped after just a few hours heavy usage.
Verdict
As
we mentioned in our initial hands-on review the Nexus 4 is a new type
of smartphone which takes the physical device and treats it as a portal
to the feature presentation; Android.
While the design is
unassuming, turn the screen on and you’re instantly greeted with your
own creation thanks to the customisation that Jelly Bean affords.
The
fact that they’ve then given you a smartphone which has a specs sheet
to rival the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S3 for under £300 should
only reinforce the fact that this is Google at its best, taking the best
hardware and then offering it at a price that will have you
head-scratching for days.
Reviewed by T3.com
