Nexus 5 Already Sold Out On Google Play
Google's newest handset is flying off the virtual shelves.
When Google announced the Nexus 4, it had an awful lot of trouble keeping up with demand. Despite the phone's October 2012 release, it wasn't readily available until the calendars clicked over to 2013. Now, it looks like folks eager to get their hands on the Nexus 5 are facing similar disappointment.
Though the Nexus 5 was only announced a couple of hours ago, the phone is already sold out on Google Play. That is, both the 16 GB and 32 GB models in both black and white are no longer available. The Google Play Store instead asks customers to check back for inventory later. It's not a total lost cause, as the phone seems to come "back" in stock sporadically, so you can still get one if you're willing to spend time watching the Play Store. It's possible that as folks cancel orders, their unit is thrown back on the virtual shelf. All we know is that the Tom's news team was able to secure four units just by flicking through the color and capacity options until the 'Add to cart' button showed up. This solution secured us two 32 GB white models, a white 16 GB model, and a black 16 GB model. We were also able to cancel orders fairly easily.
Google hasn't commented on whether this is an issue with the Play Store or the phone really is selling out in a matter of hours. However, the device will be available through Sprint, T-Mobile, Amazon, Best Buy and RadioShack, so Google Play isn't your only option.
The Nexus 5 is an LG made phone and Google says it's the slimmest, fastest Nexus phone yet. It packs a 4.95-inch 1920x1080p full HD display (though Google is calling this a 5-inch phone), a quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU clocked at 2.3 GHz, support for 4G/LTE and dualband WiFi, wireless changing, a 2300mAh battery, and an 8-megapixel camera with Optical Image Stabilization. There's also a 1.3-megapixel camera up front for video calling.
Of course, Nexus 5 will ship with Android 4.4, also known as KitKat. KitKat packs improvements to the phone application, as well as a new Hangouts app, a bew camera shortcut on the lockscreen, support for third-party cloud storage in the Gallery application, and hands-free voice search. Read more about KitKat here.
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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the1kingbob They are still available, the shipping date is like Nov. 8th. I doubt it will stay that short of a waiting period for long though, I imagine there will be a few weeks wait time before tomorrow morning.Reply -
Innocent_Bystander-1312890 For $349 they got a slam dunk on their hands with these specs...Reply
you have to be a serious Google hater not to consider it if you're up for an upgrade
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smeghead4269 The only one that appears to be sold out is 16GB black. The rest are in stock (for the moment).Reply -
house70 This is another nail in Apple's coffin.Reply
If you're up for getting a pure Android experience, it doesn't get any better than that ATM. I would say between this, and the other 2 recent GP Edition phones (SGS4 and HTC One) one has a great choice to make, can't go wrong with any of these.
LOL at Apple's troll otacon, he just admitted being a serious Google hater, since everyone knows Nexus phones are hardly subsidized, and the prices posted on GPlay are retail for unlocked phones. He's just green with envy, since iPhones are way more expensive and iOS will never provide the vast options available on Android (or Android-based) phones. -
DarkSable Reply11832978 said:If that's the retail price sure. If that's the subsidized price no way.
It's a nexus device. Not a subsidized flagship. $350 gets you the full unlocked phone. No extra monthly payments, no 2-year contract.
No such thing as subsidies for Nexus devices; that's why they're amazing. (Though service providers might subsidize them, it's not like it's needed.) -
DarkSable Reply11834131 said:This is another nail in Apple's coffin.
If you're up for getting a pure Android experience, it doesn't get any better than that ATM. I would say between this, and the other 2 recent GP Edition phones (SGS4 and HTC One) one has a great choice to make, can't go wrong with any of these.
Your own counter-trolling aside... what are you talking about?
This is a nexus device - that means it gets same-day updates to android releases. Google play devices? Do not. They're reliant on the manufacturer still.
Why would I pay almost twice as much money for a phone that wasn't designed for stock android but is running it, that doesn't get regular updates, that has worse specs than the Nexus 5?