SOFTWARE
Like we mentioned earlier, the Nexus 4 packs the latest version of Android, 4.2. While it is the latest iteration of Android, Google has decided to stick with the Jelly Bean moniker for the time being, which might mean that the firm may be rolling out another Nexus device in the future with a higher version of Android (Android 5.0?).
Make no mistake – Android 4.2 is not just an incremental update. Google has seen fit to improve on quite a number of things, unfortunately, a lot of those improvements were made on the tablet side of the equation. We’ve seen our Nexus 7 benefit greatly from the 4.2 update, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to the smartphone side. That being said, there were a couple of new things for the Android equation with the new update. Probably the most noticeable is the tweaked notifications bar. When you pull down the notifications bar, you’ll see a small icon to the right. Press on that, and you’re greeted by a Quick Settings menu where you can quickly change access settings, including Wi-Fi, mobile data, brightness and more.
The new update also gives users native widget support right from the lock screen. You can now place messaging, Gmail, Calendar and Google+ widgets on your lock screen, allowing you to see updates to these apps without unlocking your phone. You can also access your phone’s camera straight from the lock screen by swiping to the right (by default), potentially saving you a couple of seconds instead of just going through the trouble of unlocking your device and manually pressing on the camera app.
One of our most favorite additions to Android 4.2 is the native Swype-style keyboard that Google added. It also feels like the stock Android predictive keyboard has also been enhanced, which is good news for anyone that speeds through the touch, QWERTY keyboard on Android.
CAMERA
There was a lot of complaining from users when the Galaxy Nexus shipped with just a dinky, 5-megapixel camera, and Google has apparently learned from that mistake. This time around, the company used a 8-megapixel camera.
While the camera generally did a good job shooting pictures, the new camera app for Android 4.2 did confuse us for a bit before we managed to get our bearings together. When you first start the app, all you’ll see are three buttons on the bottom (or the side of the camera, depending on your orientation). The camera icon below allows you to change the camera modes to video, as well access the two panoramic modes (normal panorama and photosphere).
While the normal panoramic mode is straightforward (pan your camera left to right to get a good panoramic shot) photosphere allows you to construct a sphere like curved view of your surroundings, which is pretty cool.
Other features of the Nexus 4’s camera is HDR, and you can now adjust white balance straight from the device. To view your gallery, you just need to swipe the screen to the left. Pretty cool.
As far as picture quality is concerned, the Nexus 4 delivered pretty good pictures. Colors seemed to have good saturation, and the camera managed to get nice color reproduction across the board. Unfortunately we’re having issues uploading images for you guys to see, but we’ll rectify that as soon as we can.
BATTERY LIFE
Because of the high-end specifications of the Nexus 4, battery life is a real concern. The Nexus 4 carries a 2,100 mAh battery that’s able to last a day with heavy use. Heavy, in this case, means a lot of SMS messages, web browsing, calls and status updates on Facebook. A typical user might be able to get about a day and a half worth of use from the device before surrendering it to the charger, which is pretty good considering what the device can do. Speaking of charging, the Nexus 4 is capable of wireless charging and uses the Qi Wireless charging standard. Unfortunately we didn’t have a wireless charger at the time of the review, so we weren’t able to test it.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
As of writing, the LG Nexus 4 is currently priced in the local market at Php 24490, which, if you do some quick mental calculations in your head, is way more than the current $300 asking price of the device in other countries, especially in the US. That’s nearly double what they’re asking for, and a lot of you are probably asking why. We reached out to local LG reps to find out, unfortunately they haven’t gotten back to us yet, though our guess is that much like the Nexus 7, the Nexus 4 is a device that’s heavily subsidized by Google in the hopes of getting more people using their OS, and in turn would equate to more purchases from the Google Play store. Not just apps, mind you – music, books and shows are serious revenue drivers for Google in the US and other European countries, so it makes sense for them to subsidize a part of the cost for the device. That’s not the case here – we’re only able to buy Android apps as of the moment, which means that it doesn’t make sense for El Goog to subsidize part of the cost of the device here.
Currently, only one telco locally carries the Nexus 4, and that’s Smart – sign-up with Smart’s Plan 1500 and you’ll be able to get the device for free with a 30 month lock-in. If you don’t want to be locked in for 30 months, you will have to pony-up Php 4,000 up front to get the device.
CONCLUSION
The LG made Google Nexus 4 is the cream of the crop as far as Android devices go. It’s got the right mix of good hardware, excellent performance and good battery life. The only issue we have with it is it’s somewhat steep price (almost twice of it’s US retail).
WHAT’S HOT
Excellent design
Powerful hardware
New UI enhancements thanks to Android 4.2
WHAT’S NOT
Glass back is somewhat fragile
Limited storage capacity
Relatively more expensive here than other territories
Buymeter: 4/5
Tech Specs:
- Operating System: Android 4.2
- CPU: 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) processor with an Adreno 320 GPU with 2GB of RAM: 2GB of Memory
- LCD size: 4.7-inch, True HD IPS Plus capacitive touchscreen
- Physical Dimensions: 133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm
- Weight:139 g
- Band: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
- Internal memory : 8/16GB