For: Specifications, Screen, Looks, Price, Vanilla Android
Experience with Official warranty & support by LG.
The LG Nexus 4 has been launched in India in May 2013 with a
price tag of Rs. 25,000. The device is powered by a Qualcomm APQ8064 Snapdragon Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait
processor, 2GB RAM, Adreno 320 GPU, 16GB Internal storage, 8MP Primary + 1.3MP
Secondary camera, 4.7 inches True HD IPS Plus capacitive multi touchscreen, 16M colors and 768 x 1280 pixels which gives ~318 ppi
pixel density with Corning Gorilla Glass 2 and stock Android 4.2.2 JellyBean.
The Nexus 4 when launched in US in December 2012 was anticipated
as the best Android Phone available and only those people who had their
friends/relatives in US could procure the device here in India and this all
comes with No warranty support which was a major point of concern for many
customers. But considering the popularity of the Nexus brand in India, Google
tied up with LG to bring the Google Nexus 4 officially in India in May 2013 for
a attractive pricing of Rs. 25000. Initially the device was available only with
major online stores like Flipkart but now it is also available in retail stores
like Chroma.
Screen & Build Quality
The Nexus 4 sports an impressive 4.7” True HD IPS screen with
768 * 1280 pixels and 318 ppi pixel density. I can easily say that it is one of
the finest displays I have ever seen on a device within 25k category. LG also
manufacturers HD IPS screen for ipad, iphone and is known for great quality
displays. Touch response is butter smooth; with fantastic contrast-color ratios
images and videos looks crisp and awesome.
The screen is surrounded by a glossy fibre border which
looks premium. On the top left of the screen there lies a 1.3MP camera and few
sensors. Build quality of the device is
good. The back cover is made of nice premium plastic with a matrix/marble look
and finish. Nexus logo is printed in large chrome font just below the camera.
There is an IMEI sticker pasted just above the LG logo near the speaker. The
phone is very nice to hold and feels premium.
Camera, Buttons & call/audio quality
The Nexus 4 has an 8MP primary camera with LED flash capable
of recording 1080p videos @30fps. Image size is 3264 x 2448 pixels. Image
quality is excellent and can capture fine photos even at close up. The camera
has satisfied the photographer in me. It also has basic expected features like Geo-tagging,
touch focus, face detection, photo sphere etc. The 1.3 MP secondary camera is
very useful for video calling purposes. Quality is good. LG must have included
a dedicated camera button to complete the package.
The power button is placed on the right side of the phone;
volume rocker is on left side. Music player control buttons, dedicated shutter
button is sorely missed. The power button and volume rocker is plated with grey
chrome and operates nicely with a push. The main microphone and the charging
cum data port are on the bottom side of the phone; there are also two exposed
screws to open/service the device. On the top there is a 3.5mm audio earphone
jack and a noise cancelling microphone. For some strange unknown reasons, there
are no earphones supplied with this phone.
OS/Performance and Battery
The Nexus 4 comes preinstalled with Android 4.2.2 Jellybean
with no customisation done by LG. Nexus devices are known for pure Android
experience as they comes with zero bloat ware installed with custom UI layers
by different manufacturers. While the
Android 4.3 update has already started rolling for Nexus devices, Nexus 4 still
has not received any update but should out soon. Nexus devices have also the
advantage of getting the future Android updates as soon as they are launched by
Google.
The phone is a power house with a Qualcomm APQ8064
Snapdragon Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait processor, 2GB RAM, Adreno 320 GPU and 16GB
Internal storage. There is no SD card support with this phone. There is also an
8GB variant available in international markets but will not come in India. Out
of 16GB roughly 13 GB is available to user which should be sufficient for
average use though SD card support would have been an added advantage. There
was zero lag noticed while using the phone and navigating from screen to screen
is snappier. It scored a respectable score of 4432 on quadrant benchmark test.
The earlier Nexus 3 scored roughly 2300 points on the same benchmark test.
Verdict
If you are the purist who wants an exclusive phone with
stock Android experience and decent specifications, look no other than LG Nexus
4. It can be now bought off the shelves from retail stores like Chroma or
online megastore like Flipkart for Rs. 25,000.
Ratings (out of 5 stars)
Build Quality ****
Screen ****
Performance ****
Value for Money ***
Overall ****
Thanks folks for reading.