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LG Nexus 4's reported €599 price tag outside Google Play draws criticism

LG Nexus 4's reported €599 price tag outside Google Play draws criticism

By KS Sandhya Iyer | Updated: 5 November 2012 19:00 IST

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The Nexus 4 smartphone from LG is one of the most anticipated Android smartphones this year. Many will be looking forward to purchasing the device in U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, France, Spain and Australia from Google Play on November 13. The reason, thanks to Google's aggressive pricing of the Android 4.2 smartphone. But some reports are now suggesting that LG is planning to sell the Nexus 4 at a higher price than Google's offering.

Multiple reports from European countries like Italy, Denmark and Austria are indicating that the Korean manufacturer is planning to sell the Nexus 4 ranging between €549-€599. This is definitely a big deal when compared to Google's offering of $299 for the 8GB version and $349 for the 16GB model in the U.S. and €299/€349 in European countries.

The Next Web reports that Spanish retailer Phone House has outrightly suspended its plans to sell the Nexus 4 due to LG's higher price plans as seen in a statement published on the retailer's Facebook page. It isn't clear as to which model the retailer is talking about in the said statement.

A Google translation of the statement reads like this:

Phone House has decided to suspend the sale of this product after finding that the recommended retail price by LG of 599 € and conditions offered for commercialisation are worse than the MSRP published by Google on its website and does not maintain the commitment with customers and offer the lowest price guarantee that characterises Phone House.

Many angry users are protesting this exorbitant price increase by venting their frustration on LG's Facebook page.

The message certainly raises questions like what about users in Italy and Austria, where Google Play isn't supported currently? With LG rather preferring to have outside retailers sell the Nexus 4 at a premium price, these countries are left no choice but to purchase the handset at the hiked price.

In order for Google to sell the device directly to consumers would require a series of grants and approvals that just may not be possible in certain countries with immediate effect. Hence, users will have to be at the mercy of retailers.

What does this mean for users in India? Again, with the absence of device support in Google Play, LG's high pricing will hit users back at home as well. With the hiked price, the device may cost close to 35K, shattering expectations of many eagerly waiting to purchase the device.

As of now, there are no official statements from either LG and Google on the matter.

Google Nexus 4 in pics

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