Google Nexus 4 review: Royal road

Introduction

It's the next-generation Nexus and this time LG has the privilege. And when Google goes "My pleasure!", they most likely mean it. The Nexus 4 aggressively undercuts competitors' pricing as it sets out to wipe the floor with most of them in terms of speed and performance.

LG Nexus 4 official photos

At only $300 SIM-free (when most flagships charge $200 on a 2-year contract), the Nexus 4 flaunts a 4.7" WXGA IPS display and the most powerful chipset in an Android phone at the moment. It has of course the latest Android OS and it will be the first in line to get the new ones as they come in.

If you are after an Android smartphone, it's hard to find reasons not to buy a Nexus 4, but some nagging doubts linger after the LG Optimus G review, where not everything turned out all roses and sunshine. Having spent some time with the Nexus, here's what we think are the headline features and what could've been better.

Key features

• Flagship specs at a bargain
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• Penta-band 3G with DC-HSPA, up to 42Mbps downlink, HSUPA up to 5.76Mbps uplink
• 4.7" 16M-color WXGA True HD IPS Plus (768 x 1280 pixels) capacitive touchscreen, Gorilla Glass 2
• Stock Android OS v4.2 Jelly Bean, fast updates
• Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait CPU, 2 GB RAM, Adreno 320 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging, face detection, Photo Spheres
• 1080p video recording @ 30fps with continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• 1.3 MP front-facing camera, 720p video recording
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
• 8/16GB of built-in storage
• microUSB port with TV-out support
• Bluetooth v4.0
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Voice dialing
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• 2100mAh battery
• Wireless charging (works with any Qi-compatible wireless charger)

Main disadvantages

• No microSD card slot, no versions with more storage
• Mediocre display sunlight legibility
• Non user-replaceable battery
• Camera is less than stellar, no shutter key either
• No LTE support (not official anyway, and then only one band)

The two biggest complaints since the LG Nexus 4 was announced have been the limited storage and the lack of LTE. But even those things can be overlooked as LTE networks outside the US are just getting started and unless you play a lot of 3D games or have a huge music collection, 16GB should be adequate.

Anyway, the Nexus 4 looks certain to unsettle the competition. If it's available through the Google Play Store in your country, it's practically cheap enough to buy on a whim. With no contracts to worry about, we think there will be plenty of fresh Android converts.

Google Nexus 4 by LG in our office

And that's the main goal of the Nexus line - encourage people to use Google's services. Once you're in, you can buy music, TV shows, movies, books, magazines, get cloud storage and documents, even buy stuff in the real world with Google Wallet. The limited inbuilt storage begins to be less of an issue if you use Google Music and Google Drive, you don't need to store all that much locally.

The Nexus 4 is based on the LG Optimus G, so expect there to be a lot of similarities between the two phones but it also shares DNA with the previous Nexus phone. Jump to the next page to see if it has its mom's eyes or its dad's chin.

Huawei VP confirms Galaxy Note II competitor is in the works

Huawei's Senior Vice President Yu Chengdong confirmed the manufacturer is indeed working on a galaxy Note II competitor. He went even further telling us to wait for Huawei's device, because it will be much better and cheaper than the phablet top dog.

A while ago there was this rumored device called Huawei Ascend Mate with a 6.1-inch 1080p display, a 1.8GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM.

Yu Chengdong confirmed such a device is indeed in the works and it will be slimmer and cooler with better grip, display and battery life.

There is no word on the official announcement or release, but as the rumor has it we can expect the announcement to take place at CES 2013 in January.

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Upcoming ZTE flagship with 5-inch 1080p display pictured

ZTE is trying to force itself back into the conversation of impressively-spec'd smartphones from relatively unknown manufacturers with the new Nubia Z5 flagship.

Eerily similar to the likes of the Oppo Find 5, the ZTE Nubia Z5 is set to feature a quad-core 1.5 GHz Snapdrago S4 Pro APQ8064 chipset, 5-inch 1080p display, 2 GB of RAM, and a 13 MP rear-facing shooter.

The slick chassis has a thin, 7.6mm profile, unibody construction, dual rear speakers, and should be priced very competitively, given ZTE's track record.

The ZTE Nubia Z5 is expected to see a China release next week, where hopefully we'll find out more about price and international availability.

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Android 4.0 ICS update for LG Optimus 2X now available

LG Optimus 2X owners in Europe can finally breath a sigh of relief! After nearly half a year of it-will-get-it-it-won't-get-it drama, the former LG flagship finally started receiving its ICS update.

The firmware version of the update ROM is V30a. It brings the Ice Cream Sandwich sweetness, garnished with the latest LG launcher.

You can get it from the LG update tool right away. It seems, though, that the carrier-locked Optimus 2X versions will have to wait a while longer to join the fun.

LG already updated the South Korean cousin of the Optimus 2X, so it was about time for European users to get the same treatment. At this point though, it seems almost certain that ICS will be the end of the road for the first dual-core smartphone - it is highly unlikely that it will ever catch the Jelly Bean train.

Here's hoping that LG has learned a valuable lesson here and will do better with the Optimus G and the Optimus 4X HD.

Thanks, everyone, for sending this in!

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HTC Windows Phone 8S arrives in the UK with a modest price tag

The HTC Windows Phone 8S has arrived at the UK scene and is already available in several stores (both real and online). The phone aims to provide affordable entry into the tile-filled world of Windows Phone 8.

The best deal at the moment is offered by Three UK - you can grab the 8S for 180 off contract or free with a two-year contract starting from 17/month. This is for the Atlantic Blue model. Deliveries start Monday, December 10.

Clove UK also carry the HTC 8S but they have put a 225 price tag on it. Expansys UK and Amazon UK both have it at 240. That's for the Blue model again, though Expansys has the other color options on pre-order. Argos has the phone too, but at 300. We're just mentioning it in case they decide to start some promotion and cut the price significantly.

Anyway, if you prefer to get the Windows Phone 8S on contract but not on Three, you can head over to Phones4u, which has offers for Vodafone (21/month), Orange (28.50/month) and T-Mobile (36/month). Carphone Warehouse also has deals for Vodafone.

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HTC November sales reverse downward trend, up 23%

HTC just revealed its November revenues numbers, which show the company has halted its 4 month decline. That's hardly surprising, though, as HTC released its first two the Windows Phone 8-running smartphones that month - HTC 8X and HTC 8S.

HTC also released its refreshed flagship, the One X+, but the availability of that one has been relatively limited, so we don't know how much of an impact that one made.

The HTC DNA is another droid which could have also contributed to the positive result, but its November 21 release and Verizon-only availability have probably limited its influence.

These figures bode well for Windows Phone 8 and for Microsoft, who hope to get a significant return on the newest version of their mobile OS.

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Galaxy S III gets Android 4.1.2 update, lots of Note II features

Samsung is now seeding the Android 4.1.2 update for the Galaxy S III. The update brings the new Multi-View multitasking interface, system apps, controls, settings and more.

Samsung has just started seeding the Android 4.1.2 update for the Galaxy S III. It's available over-the-air and the first country to get it is Poland. Other countries should join the roll out very soon, though.

Nokia Lumia 505 teased ahead of launch in Mexico

The Mexican retailer Guerrero Mvil teased an upcoming Nokia smartphone, called Nokia Lumia 505. It will be exclusive (at least initially) to the network of local carrier Telcel and should become the cheapest Nokia WP device to date.

The Lumia 505 specs are mostly unknown for now - all the carrier's Facebook account gave us was the 8 megapixel camera. We can also see that there's not going to be a flash of any kind alongside the camera.

However, the Windows key at the front features the old WP logo, so it's all but certain that the smartphone will be running some Windows Phone 7 version.

Now a closer look at its homescreen shows the support for resizable live tiles, so it's obvious that the smartphone will be running Windows Phone 7.8 out of the box.

There are also rumors of a 4" WVGA display, 800MHz CPU, 4GB of storage and 256MB of RAM, which make sense, but are yet to be confirmed. It would be a strange if Nokia invested too much effort in the design of a smartphone that is going to be exclusive to a Mexican carrier, so the Lumia 505 is most probably little more than a redesigned Lumia 510.

Guerrero Movil promised to reveal more information on the Nokia Lumia 505 in a week, so we won't have to wait long to find out.

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Qualcomm announces two new Snapdragon S4 chipsets for China

Qualcomm announced two new Snapdragon S4 chipsets, which are optimized for the Chinese market. Both feature a quad-core CPU, Adreno 305 GPU and a transceiver that supports Chinese wireless networks.

The new Snapdragon S4 chipsets are called MSM8226 and MSM8626 and they pack a quad-core processor manufactured on a 28nm process (Qualcomm has reserved that for Krait cores), though the frequency wasnt announced. The CPU is paired with an Adreno 305 GPU. The chipset supports cameras up to 13MP along with 1080p video recording.

There's also a WRT2605 transceiver, which supports Dual-SIM, Dual Standby and Dual-SIM, Dual Active modes of operation and works on China-specific TD-SCDMA, CDMA 1xAdv and HSPA+. It also supports GPS, GLONASS and Beidou (Chinese equivalent of GPS). The radio chip is smaller and uses 40% less energy than its predecessor.

The Qualcomm MSM8226 and MSM8626 will sample in Q2 next year and will be available in Qualcomm Reference Design form too.

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Nokia launches Lumia 920T for China Mobile

The Nokia Lumia 920T is, reportedly, the first Windows Phone 8 smartphone to reach China and that's a thing to take pride in. But with a customer base of over 700 million, China Mobile is also the world's biggest carrier so the launch of the Lumia 920T there may also be a life-saver for the ailing Nokia.

Specs-wise, the Nokia 920T is identical to the international version, but it's specifically made to work on China's TD-CDMA network and comes with a handful of software customizations for the Chinese market.

The Chinese Windows Marketplace has some 50K apps on tap, but customers will also have access to the Mobile Market, China Mobiles own app store.

Also Lumia 920T customers will get access to special deals from the location-based service Jiepang by tapping the NFC-enabled device on tags, available in multiple outlets in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

Air China will also offer wireless charging pads in their VIP lounges.

In the same time Apple is yet to make the iPhone 5 available for the carrier's customers.

"Technology [the TD-SCDMA network] is a problem, but that's not all, there is also the business model and the revenue sharing." - commented the delayed iPhone 5 launch Li Yue, CEO of China Mobile Communications Corporation, in response to a recent press inquiry. Apple and China Mobile are yet to settle the terms of their iPhone 5 deal, but it will be happening sooner or later.

Unfortunately, the Nokia Lumia 920T won't be coming out in the all-popular cyan color. It will only be available in black, white, yellow and red. The smartphone should launch by the end of the year.

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Oppo Find 5 full spec sheet and price revealed

The Oppo Find 5 has been making waves recently with rumors of a 5-inch 1080p display powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm APQ8064 processor. Those rumors have since been confirmed by Oppo, as well as the contract-free price of $499.00.

The 5-inch FullHD display results in an impressive 441 ppi, and has Gorilla Glass 2 for extra protection on top. It comes with 16 GB of internal storage (whether the 32 GB model will be sold Stateside remains to be seen), and 2 GB of RAM.

All the right connectivity features are there as well, including Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, NFC, GPS, DLNA and Wi-Fi Direct. The 2500 mAh battery has also been confirmed, as is the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS.

Look for the Oppo Find 5 in the US from AT&T and T-Mobile not long after its official launch event in Beijing next week.

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Jelly Bean and ICS continue their growth at Gingerbread's expense

The Android distribution statistics for November just arrived, showing an over two-fold increase in the Jelly Bean market share.

Version 4.1 Jelly Bean is now on 5.9% of the Android devices from 2.7% last month, while the recently released 4.2 Jelly Bean already powers 0.8% of the droids out tehre. Undoubtedly, the release of the new Nexus devices has to do something with it, butthe release of JB updates from Samsung and HTC has also helped a bit.

The Ice Cream Sandwich share also grew to 27.5%, 1.7 percent points higher than it was in October. It's unlikely for this number to drop below 20% any time soon, as the majority of low- and mid-range devices are now rocking this Android version of the OS out of the box.

Naturally, the growth of both Jelly Bean and Ice Cream Sandwich is at Gingerbread's expense. It's still taking the largest piece of the pie at 50.6%, but that's 3.3 percent points lower than last month and 5.2 percent points lower than it was in September.

To check out more details on the latest Android distribution numbers, check out the source link below.

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Jelly Bean update now available on AT&T Galaxy S III

AT&T owners of the Galaxy S III, rejoice! The wait is finally over - the Jelly Bean update for your favorite droid is now available.

Unfortunately, there is no over-the-air option for now, and you will have to use Kies to get the update. Just install the latest version of Samsung's proprietary software, connect your Galaxy S III and check for updates. It should be there waiting for you.

After the update procedure is done, your Galaxy S III will be running on Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean and the latest TouchWiz UI on top of it. If you want to learn about every new feature coming with the update just head over to our review.

This makes AT&T the third major US carrier to release Jelly Bean to its Galaxy S III units, after Sprint at the end of October and T-Mobile last month.

Verizon is the last one left, as the procedures required to approve the update for distribution are obviously more tedious at the Big Red. We are hoping they will be over soon, though.

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Nokia sells its HQ in Finland, to stay there on a lease

Nokia's financials aren't what you'd call great lately, and as a result the company is selling its headquarters building in Espoo, Finland for 170 million.

The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of the year, but the company has no plans to move out afterwards. Instead it will lease it back and continue its operations there. The building offers 48,000 square meters of office real estate and has been housing Nokia's HQ since 1997.

Here's what the chief financial officer of Nokia, Timo Ihamuotia had to say.

We had a comprehensive sales process with both Finnish and foreign investors and we are very pleased with this outcome. As we have said before, owning real estate is not part of Nokia's core business and when good opportunities arise we are willing to exit these types of non-core assets. We are naturally continuing to operate in our head office building on a long-term basis.

Nokia is obviously in dire need of money and is trying to cash in on just about everything valuable it holds. In June the company sold its Vertu subsidiary and now its the HQ turn to go. Hopefully, the cash will help the company continue normal operating until the WP investment pays off. That Q4 report will make for a pretty interesting read.

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Sony to announce Jelly Bean update schedule in mid-December

Sony has used its official Twitter account about to shed some light on the upcoming Jelly Bean updates for its smartphone lineup. The company revealed that it will be announcing the detailed schedule in mid-December.

Sony already announced which phones will be updated to Jelly Bean - the Xperia T, TX, V, S, acro S, ion, P, go and J. All of these were released within 2012. There will be no Jelly Bean treatment for the 2011 phones.

We also already know that the Xperia T, TX and V will get the update in mid-Q1 2013, which is February around the time the MWC kicks off.

This means Sony will give us release dates (or weeks) for the rest of the Xperia 2012 gang in mid-December. It's also then that we'll learn the fate of the Xperia sola, U, miro, go, tipo and the neo L.

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Samsung Galaxy Pocket Plus headed towards Europe soon

A leaked ROM has revealed that Samsung is preparing to announce a Plus version of the Galaxy Pocket.

The Samsung Galaxy Pocket will soon be replaced with a Plus edition

Carrying the model number GT-S5301, there isn't much yet known about Galaxy Pocket Plus except it's going to run Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. This should bring a whiff of hope to current Galaxy Pocket owners, as they might get a taste of the ICS action eventually.

The leaked ROM dates back to October and is specially built for Belgium users, meaning the device should break ground in Europe fairly soon. Specifications are yet to be disclosed, but the little fellow would do nicely with a processor bump and a bit more RAM.

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9 out of 10 smartphones sold in China are powered by Android

China is a very important market for smartphone makers and mobile software developers with its vast cellphone user base. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology reported that there are nearly 1.1 billion cellphone subscribers as of October.

Mo'' importantly, according to a report by Analysys International, 9 out of 10 smartphones purchased in Q3 2012 was running Android. Apple's iOS had 4.2% market share, while Symbian accounted for 2.4% of all purchases.

Part of the reason Android devices are so popular in China might be their aggressive pricing. The average price of an Android device for Q3 2012 was approximately $223 USD (CNY 1,393) compared to the average of $726 (CNY 4,523) that iOS devices cost. Symbian devices are the cheapest of the bunch, retailing for an average $178 (CNY 1,114) per device.

It's quite astonishing that 80.6% of the country's population is using a cellphone, resulting in 71.83 billion text messages sent in October alone. Overall, the usage of feature phones is declining and during Q3, just 63.73 million "dumbphones" were sold, a 4.1% decline from September, and 7.5% year-over-year.

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Windows Phone 7.8 previewed on a Nokia Lumia 900

Hot on the heels of the leaked Windows Phone 7.8 features from a few days back, a short clip of the update has emerged online, running on Nokia Lumia 900. See it below.

The short clip surely doesn't reveal much, save for the resizable tiles, a la Windows Phone 8. In any case, Windows Phone 7.8 is scheduled to arrive in early 2013, so the wait for the Apollo treatment of your first-generation Lumia shouldnt be too long.

Thanks to Redsteel for the tip!

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HTC 8S not coming to US, Verizon's 8X ships unlocked

HTC officially confirmed the Windows Phone 8S wont be coming to the United States. HTC says its focus will go entirely on the 8X. Here comes the official statement:

"The Windows Phone 8X by HTC is our signature Windows Phone available at AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless in the U.S. With our focus on the Windows Phone 8X by HTC, the Windows Phone 8S is not currently planned for distribution in the U.S. market."

The device will probably still find its way to the US shores through various retailers and it will be available free of contract. However, with no official import its pricing might turn out to be pretty steep so there will be little point in getting it.

In other news, the Verizon's HTC Windows Phone 8X sells unlocked and it's compatible with whatever microSIM you may have from carriers around the globe. It seems this might be a new Verizon policy since other top-notch phones from their catalog also come unlocked - notably the iPhone 5 and DROID DNA.

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