The wait for Nexus 4 buyers is finally over as the smartphone has gone from being listed as "SOLD OUT" to "SHIPS SOON" on the Google Play Store in Germany, US and Canada. Both the 8 GB and 16 GB versions of the phone have a listed shipping wait time of one to two weeks.
Android Police further reports that the device is expected to reach the Google Play Store in the UK, France, Spain and Australia on January 30 and 31 (for Australia).
Google had started selling
Nexus 4, through its Google Play store from November 13, 2012. Only minutes after the launch, the smartphone was declared as sold out in US, Britain, Germany and elsewhere and consumers were complaining of frustrating experiences at the inundated online shop.
Furthermore, LG planned to sell the Nexus 4 on its own ranging between
€549-€599, which was definitely a big deal when compared to Google's offering of $299 for the 8GB version and $349 for the 16GB model in the US and €299/€349 in European countries. Many angry users protested this exorbitant price increase by venting their frustration on LG's Facebook page, while some retailers reportedly refused to carry the phone at the inflated price tag.
Earlier this month, there were
rumours of LG running into supply issues for the Nexus 4, which it clearly denied initially. While LG was in denial mode, Google UK Chief Dan Cobley lointed fingers at the KOrean manufacturer saying that the Nexus 4 supply from LG was "scarce and erratic".
To put matters to rest, CEO Larry Page came forward and admitted that this was indeed true and that they're working to sort it out on priority. In the Q4 2012 earnings call he said, "Clearly there's work to be done managing our supply better, as well as building a great customer experience, and that is priority for the teams."
Other reports circulated stating that the production for the LG Nexus 4 may have allegedly been halted altogether in a an attempt to focus on the company's "upcoming smartphones". At CES, LG's Senior Vice President James Fisher hinted at more Nexus devices in partnership with Google.
Fisher said, "Through our collaboration with Google, we launched the LG Nexus 4 smartphone. This is the first of many devices to come from our growing partnership with this very selective company." It would be interesting to see the device(s) debut at MWC next month, if there are any.
The fact that the Nexus 4 has a strong demand was proved when the latest Google smartphone
sold out in some countries within an hour of its release on the Google Play Store.
There were rumours back in November that a
white variant of the smartphone is set to launch soon.
Phone Arena has received an image of a White Nexus 4 from an unknown tipster. The site claims that as per the EXIF data on the image, it appears to have been shot by an LG Optimus G.
Even though the authenticity of the image cannot be verified, it seems real enough. Phone Arena happens to have put the device through a test and the results concluded that the image was not photoshopped.
For those unaware, the Nexus 4 is Google's current flagship device that boasts a 4.7-inch screen with 1280 x 768 pixel resolution. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with 2GB RAM and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). It comes with an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1.3-megapixel front camera and a 2,100 mAh battery.
Google is also rumoured to be working on the
Nexus 5 that will be the 5th smartphone in the series, is rumoured to make an entrance into the phablet category sporting a 5-inch full-HD (1920 x 1080) display translating into a pixel density of 440ppi.
It apparently features the all-new NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor with 2GB of RAM, 8/16GB of internal storage, a 13-megapixel auto-focus rear camera with LED flash and a 3-megapixel front-facing camera.
The smartphone's rumoured pricing indicates that the 8GB model will retail for $299, same as the current Nexus 4. It may debut at the Google I/O event scheduled to take place from May 15-17 in San Francisco, so we should expect to hear something more concrete in the next few weeks.
Google Nexus 4 in pics