Google Nexus 4 Smartphone to Sell Contract-free for $299
Google has finally made the newest Nexus phone official.
Google may have been forced to cancel its New York City launch event for the Nexus 7, Nexus 10, and Nexus 4, but that didn't stop the company from launching all three on time. The search giant announced two new tablets and a brand new Nexus 4 smartphone this afternoon.
Developed in collaboration with LG (a first for the South Korean company), the Nexus 4 packs a 4.7-inch 1280x768 IPS display (320 ppi), Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 CPU, 2GB of RAM, 8GB or 16GB of storage, an 8-megapixel camera (1.3-megapixel camera up front), a 2,100mAh Li-Polymer battery, NFC, and Android 4.2. Unfortunately, the phone doesn't have support for 4G LTE, nor does it allow for external storage via MicroSD, which means you're stuck with the capacity you choose at check out.
"This is the first time we collaborated with LG to build a Nexus device," said Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content at Google. "They brought an extraordinary amount of talent to the project, and the result is a feature-packed device that feels great in your hand, and blazingly fast under the hood."
The Nexus 4 isn't going to be available just yet. Google says it will launch in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Spain and Australia through Google Play on November 13. If you prefer to buy in store, you can expect offline availability in Europe, Central/South Americas, Asia, CIS and the Middle East from the end of November. Pricewise, in the U.S., the phone will sell for $299 or $349 (8GB and 16GB, respectively) contract-free. If you're willing to sign a 2-year agreement with T-Mobile, you can take that price down to $199.

I don't do contracts so this is great news for me.
This sounds awesome! I was totally about to give up on the Nexus line. They used to be innovative in both hardware and software but it seems the last couple generations have only had the benefit of software while OEM's are pumping out killer devices. The nexus should be the one to set the bar high in the Android world.
This sounds awesome! I was totally about to give up on the Nexus line. They used to be innovative in both hardware and software but it seems the last couple generations have only had the benefit of software while OEM's are pumping out killer devices. The nexus should be the one to set the bar high in the Android world.
http://www.jonobacon.org/2012/10/26/ubuntu-core-on-the-nexus-7/
I'm looking forward to that. It will hopefully mean that Ubuntu in general will become more optimized, so a better experience across platforms should be expected.
In reality, smartphones don't cost all that much to build (somewhere between $200-$350 depending on the manufacturers, etc.). Google is probably forcing (read: paying) LG to sell the Nexus slightly above or at cost to get these phones out there. The reason unsubsidized cell phones cost so much more is because of the margins that these devices earn.
I don't do contracts so this is great news for me.
Wish the battery was bigger. It's not terrible, but now that I've had a phone with over 3,000 mA, it would be hard to go back to one with lesser battery life.
I totally agree! I have the galaxy nexus and the little thing they did wrong really really irritating. I especially hate the peel off battery cover. This nexus looked really cool to me but the lack of LTE is lame and the battery could be a bit beefier as well.
This phone sounds tempting except for the lack of an SD card coupled with the low onboard storage (8GB with no expansion? Seriously?!).
and it is 299$ only WAKE UP , with High end hardware.
this is a smart move for people who dont care about LTE.
or do you prefer to pay 500$ for a phone with LTE and same specs ?
it has 2G ram and S4 cpu plus 4.2 Android ... and there is NO way to get that for less than 500$ today
they are aiming at the mass market.
similar phone costs 500$ without contract
S4 cpu , 2G ram , Android 4.2 ...
they take out LTE and SD card and sell it for 300$
thats FINE ... now Students and world wide buyers will be happy...
for a phone I dont care much about SD or storage. coz I have a tablet with BIG SCREEN...
I allways wanted a phone with super hardware , fast and responsive and cheap . and google are making it possible.
* No SD card, this is what I look for in any smartphone (easy memory upgrade and also transfer of files from computer --- talking about Verizon here due to their castrations)
* Fits the market for those who have unlimited data plans and don't mind 3G service speeds.
* As long as the camera is good this should be a good seller.
* Should be free on Verizon w/2 yr contract (if they have a Verizon version).