*Breaking News* on Nexus

[Trombe]

But why wouldn't someone be okay with the lack of LTE? Aside from benchmarks and bragging rights, I mean. I tried out LTE on my N4 on T-Mobile and compared it with HSPA+.

Good reception:
HSPA+: 20 Mbit/s down, 3 up, 131ms latency
LTE: 19 down, 11 up, 50ms latency

Iffy reception:
HSPA+: 5.8 down, 1.7 up, 140ms latency
LTE: 6.9 down, 9.1 up, 194ms latency

LTE is faster, particular in the uplink, but the downlink speeds aren't all that different, and most importantly, it doesn't show in everyday use.

I'm only getting 1-4 mbps on HSPA+ in East LA, still kinda hoping it's a result of them moving most of their bandwidth over to the LTE side but if you're getting nearly the same downlink either way I guess LTE shouldn't be a selling point for me and that I'm just on an overcrowded tower at work. Not that I'm particularly educated on how this whole spectrum deal works in practice.

 

[OS]

Between this and both the 2012 and 2013 Nexus 7, google is basically dumping hardware onto the market.
This is going to drive down prices for all the other manufacturers alike apple, sammy, htc, etc. Not good to be a hardware only phone/tablet manufacturer against google right now.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Even if Moto X sells for $350 (unlikely), that is still $350 for the entry. The N4 now starts at $200, thus if you are OK with 8 GB and lack of LTE, then the required expense is almost double for the Moto X.

Of course if one cannot live without LTE then the N4 wouldn't be a candidate to begin with. But for those who primarily rely on Wi-Fi for data this is an unbeatable deal.

I have a Nexus 4, I'd sell it in a heart beat (for whatever I could get for it) and buy a Moto X at $350 if it came to Google Play at that price (but yeah, it probably won't). Moto X is probably not worth the retail $580 price. But I think it'd be a good value at $350.

The Nexus 4 LCD display is really not that impressive and it sounds like the AMOLED on the Moto X is pretty nice.

The speaker on Nexus 4 really sucks and the speaker on the Moto X is much louder.

I think the Moto X has a much better design and a rubberized back. I really dislike the glass back on my Nexus 4.

Moto X may only be a dual core, but it's 1.7GHz dual core Krait 300. While the Nexus 4 is 1.5GHz of older quad core Kraits. And from what I've read the S4 Pro in the Nexus 4 tends to throttle aggressively.

And there is a 32GB option of the Moto X.

So if the Moto X was $350 and the Nexus 4 $200 (but who the hell would buy an 8GB phone with no SD, so it's really $250 for the 16GB version), I'd go with the Moto X no question.

 

[Muyoso]

But why wouldn't someone be okay with the lack of LTE? Aside from benchmarks and bragging rights, I mean. I tried out LTE on my N4 on T-Mobile and compared it with HSPA+.

Good reception:
HSPA+: 20 Mbit/s down, 3 up, 131ms latency
LTE: 19 down, 11 up, 50ms latency

Iffy reception:
HSPA+: 5.8 down, 1.7 up, 140ms latency
LTE: 6.9 down, 9.1 up, 194ms latency

LTE is faster, particular in the uplink, but the downlink speeds aren't all that different, and most importantly, it doesn't show in everyday use.

By the numbers you really cant notice that big of a difference, but believe me, once you enable LTE on the nexus 4 you instantly understand why LTE is so much better. Browsing the web feels like you are on WiFi, and there are almost no delays between tapping a link and it loading. There are major delays and pauses when using HSPA+, even in a very good signal area.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Between this and both the 2012 and 2013 Nexus 7, google is basically dumping hardware onto the market.
This is going to drive down prices for all the other manufacturers alike apple, sammy, htc, etc. Not good to be a hardware only phone/tablet manufacturer against google right now.

I don't see Apple reducing iPad prices.

And somehow Samsung seems to still be doing well despite releasing inferior tablets. Maybe it's the Note tablets with the S-Pen keeping them doing well or just the successful Galaxy branding and availability retail stores.

I love how cheap the Google tablets are. But I think they've done quite a bit of harm to their partners. Seems like most everyone has reduced themselves to trying to make the cheapest possible tablets now since the lesson they learned is that Android buyers don't want to spend more than $200 on a tablet. So now we got all these lame $150 tablets with 1024x600 display, Mediatek processors, and whatever other corners they could cut.


I fear it'll just be a battle of content providers. Apple iPad with iTunes. Google Nexus with Google Play. Amazon Kindle Fire with Amazon. Apparently word is B&N has reversed it's decision to end the Nook HD and there will be future B&N Nook HD tablets, so they are still slightly hanging on. Kobo just announced some new tablets, I guess they have some kind of eBook store or something.

Samsung will stay around because they found a niche with the pen. Kinda surprised others aren't trying to copy this (HTC even did this before Samsung). I just wonder how much longer Acer, ASUS, Lenovo, HP, and others will keep trying on Android with little to no success (Asus had a little bit)? They will probably have better luck with Windows tablets next year when Baytrail comes out.

 

[code65536]

And somehow Samsung seems to still be doing well despite releasing inferior tablets.

Marketing, marketing, marketing.

Outside of our little geek bubbles, in the real world, people have never heard of Nexus. You don't see Nexus ads during primetime TV; instead, you do see fruity and Sammy ads. I've lost track of the number of times people have asked me, "Is that a Samsung?" when they see my Nexus 4, and when I say "Nexus 4", they say, "What's that?"

And while the N4 gets lots of coverage in the tech press, it doesn't exist in the mainstream media; they only covers Apple and Samsung. You'll hear about lines at the Apple store in the evening news, but nothing about overloaded Google Play store servers during the N4 launch.

It just seems a lot of people think that Android=Samsung (either that, or they think that the world is divided into either Apple or Samsung).

Remember that Samsung sold 4 million SGS4s in 4 days while people were talking about the N4 finally passing the million mark months after the N4's release.

The Nexus 4 LCD display is really not that impressive and it sounds like the AMOLED on the Moto X is pretty nice.

I think it's what you get used to. I love my N4's screen. When I see an AMOLED screen, I think "goodness, that's garish!" I've seen other people echo that same complaint that those screens are oversaturated and unnatural. /me shrugs

 

[lopri]

I have LTE...

Yah that's one of the first things I want to try out if I decide to keep one for myself as a 2nd phone. Haven't had the gut to try it on my daily N4. I am looking forward to having fun.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

But why wouldn't someone be okay with the lack of LTE? Aside from benchmarks and bragging rights, I mean. I tried out LTE on my N4 on T-Mobile and compared it with HSPA+.

Good reception:
HSPA+: 20 Mbit/s down, 3 up, 131ms latency
LTE: 19 down, 11 up, 50ms latency

Iffy reception:
HSPA+: 5.8 down, 1.7 up, 140ms latency
LTE: 6.9 down, 9.1 up, 194ms latency

LTE is faster, particular in the uplink, but the downlink speeds aren't all that different, and most importantly, it doesn't show in everyday use.

Honestly that's if you're lucky. I live in suburbia with great reception and my HSPA+ speeds can fluctuate anywhere from 2-7mbps. I'm at 2.3mbps right now at home. That's pretty shitty.

Furthermore, LTE isn't just about raw speeds which I guarantee will stomp my HSPA+ speeds. I haven't experimented in the past few months but when I have on my Windows Phone, it's phenomenal. 30+mbps.

LTE is also about congestion and additional spectrum. When I'm in busy places like San Francisco downtown or even in areas with high population density, my HSPA will fail me. I can see the arrows blink as it tries 3G, HSDPA and then finally HSPA+. It can be a few seconds sometimes. Meanwhile my buddy on AT&T LTE pulls up what he needs by then on his iPhone.

Finally, it's all about race to idle too. Given that HSPA+ has latency issues as the radio ramps up to HSPA+ speeds, LTE is far faster. BAM. It's far faster to wake up, and likely with decent reception, you'll be getting pretty good standby times. I think we've been taught enough times with SoCs and radios that getting to idle is the most important. On the software side that means wakelocks, but on the hardware side that means efficient data processing. LTE helps.

 

[novasatori]

Q on nexus 4 storage: is it one 8gb partition?

I could live with 8gb but my HTC EVO 4G LTE has two partitions, 2gb and 10gb, and I constantly have to shuffle apps and data between them as most things install to the 2gb one.

If it was a single 8gb, I think I could handle it. I do have a 64gb SD card in my EVO but it is no good except for the camera and media.

 

[Crow550]

Ugh. I got my Nexus 4 in early June with the stupid free bumper case.... Erg.

This is an awesome deal though.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Q on nexus 4 storage: is it one 8gb partition?

I could live with 8gb but my HTC EVO 4G LTE has two partitions, 2gb and 10gb, and I constantly have to shuffle apps and data between them as most things install to the 2gb one.

If it was a single 8gb, I think I could handle it. I do have a 64gb SD card in my EVO but it is no good except for the camera and media.

Yes its 1x 8gb partition. I guess it helps, but in general to me 8gb is no good. I'm not even one to put videos or music on my phone. Just apps and casual photo taking.

 

[Bateluer]

Nice . . . coworker just bought an 8GB Nexus 4 too.

Hopefully the next Nexus revision will scrap the paltry 8GB model and have a decently ample 32GB model. And LTE.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Forget the Optimus G Pro, HTC First, Galaxy S4 Mini, HTC One Mini, and Moto X. This is the phone to get.

Unless you need to use Verizon. Oops.

 

[Red Storm]

Crazy deal. Unfortunately for my friend he just bought one right before this sale lol.

 

[dlock13]

Crazy deal. Unfortunately for my friend he just bought one right before this sale lol.

Used? If he bought it new from the Play Store within the past 2 weeks, he can get refunded for the $100 difference.

 

[Red Storm]

Used? If he bought it new from the Play Store within the past 2 weeks, he can get refunded for the $100 difference.

Yeah I told him to email support and ask for a refund of the difference.

 

[dlock13]

Yeah I told him to email support and ask for a refund of the difference.

Here's the direct link: https://support.google.com/googleplay/contact/nexus_price

 

[Red Storm]

Here's the direct link: https://support.google.com/googleplay/contact/nexus_price

Thanks.

 

[Dari]

Why are people even bothering with the 8GB model?

 

[Red Storm]

Why are people even bothering with the 8GB model?

That's the one my friend bought. He doesn't play games on his phone. He uses Google Maps, Gmail, Hangouts, Facebook, and the occasional web browsing.

 

[Trader05]

I've owned this phone for a couple months and like this phone a lot. The only downsides are the camera and non-LTE if you are using AT&T (Tmobile HSPA+ in my area is almost LTE speeds). As in bugs, the only one I picked up from the 4.3 update is graphical keyboard bugs, very few times the keyboard gets distorted. Overall for $250 16GB version, its a great deal.

 

[Dari]

That's the one my friend bought. He doesn't play games on his phone. He uses Google Maps, Gmail, Hangouts, Facebook, and the occasional web browsing.

What about music?

 

[Red Storm]

What about music?

I've asked him about that. He has a Sansa player he keeps in the car. The only other place he really listens to music is at home, where he uses his laptop.

 

[thedosbox]

LTE is also about congestion and additional spectrum. When I'm in busy places like San Francisco downtown or even in areas with high population density, my HSPA will fail me. I can see the arrows blink as it tries 3G, HSDPA and then finally HSPA+. It can be a few seconds sometimes. Meanwhile my buddy on AT&T LTE pulls up what he needs by then on his iPhone.

Precisely. I'm tethered all day at work, and LTE makes a noticeable difference.

At $250, it's a great bargain for those looking to save some money. However, an extra $300 over two years is no big deal for me.

 

[WelshBloke]

It's not that bad. And Photo Sphere is pretty awesome. I've gotten more awed responses from Photo Spheres than I did from pictures I took with my DSLR. (Which is kinda sad, in a way.)

You can install photo sphere on anything if you want, I use it on my TW S3.