nexus 4

Quad-core smartphone shootout

Until now, smartphones with quad-core processors used to be just a twinkle in the eye of wistful Android addicts and gadget gurus. Either that or they remained exotic pieces of futuristic hardware reserved for foreigners. Quad-core handsets are now starting to arrive in force. The question is: which device packs the biggest CPU wallop? This chart lays it all out with deeper analysis below.

Phone HTC One X+ LG Nexus 4 LG Optimus G HTC Droid DNA Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Processor 1.7GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon … Read more

LG: Nexus 4 supplies beset by 'huge demand'

Struggling to get your hands on the elusive Nexus 4 smartphone? LG says that's because it's so popular, citing "huge demand" when CNET UK asked about the phone's gloomy supply situation.

The LG-built Nexus 4 went on sale in mid-November, but sold out in half an hour. It was briefly back in stock last Tuesday, but by the next morning the 8GB version was already out of stock again. I contacted LG with a few inventory-related questions.

When asked whether LG knows why Google is running out of Nexus 4 stock, Andy Coughlin, the head … Read more

Get alerted when the Nexus 4 is back in stock

The Nexus 4 release has been anything but smooth. Google saw the launch day stock ordered up in just a few minutes. Then last week Google released some more inventory in the Play Store here in the U.S. and was met with more issues. The 8GB Nexus 4 started out at a 4-to-5-week ship time and eventually maxed out at 8-9 weeks before going back out of stock. The 16GB model is still available, although you'll be waiting 5-6 weeks for it to ship.

Google has been sporadically releasing more stock in other countries, such as the U.K. and Germany. … Read more

Nexus 4 to be back in stock today in U.K., Germany

Brits and Germans will soon be able to get their hands on an LG Nexus 4 smartphone, with Google releasing more inventory in its Google Play store today.

Users on Reddit posted information and shared images of notices from Google that said they'd be able to order the phone today. And sure enough, Google Play showed the devices were in stock at about 5 p.m. GMT today, or 9 a.m. PT, just as the notice promised.

According to Google's U.K. site, the 8GB version of the phone will ship to buyers in four to five … Read more

Google: Nexus 4 on sale, but high traffic causing purchase errors

Google's newest flagship smartphone went back on sale this afternoon, but heavy traffic to the Google Play store caused errors for many shoppers attempting to purchase the Nexus 4.

The Nexus 4, which starts at $199 with a two-year contract, went on sale November 13 and sold out within the hour. Google did not say how many units it had made available. The phone can be purchased directly through T-Mobile or without a contract from Google Play starting at $299. The unlocked phone can also run on AT&T's network.

Shoppers who had signed up for notification … Read more

Smartphones with unusual features (roundup)

These days, almost every smartphone contains the same bag of tricks, with little to differentiate handsets, apart from the hardware and maybe some software extras.

Sure, one might have a better camera, more external or internal storage, and other specs that help us tell one phone from another. But on the whole, you can access e-mail, text messages, and social networks from them all, share photos and videos, surf the Internet, and install any number of apps.

This kind of uniformity is actually good news, since it means that even midrange smartphones can be just as capable as high-end products, even if they have a smaller screen or shorter battery life, for instance. Of course, there are some smartphones that stand out from the crowd for a certain physical or software feature. In no particular order, here's the current crop of unique handsets that have me looking twice.… Read more

Minor Android 4.2 update rolling out to Nexus devices

If you who own the LG Nexus 4 and Google Nexus 10 tablet, be on the lookout for a new Android 4.2.1 software update.

Multiple sources report that the minor 1.1MB update has begun rolling out to the two new "pure" Google devices.

So far, the JOP40D build's most major fix seems to address the December "event" bug. As some readers found, the previous 4.2 update prevented users from selecting any December dates for birthdays or anniversaries in the People application.

It's unclear whether the Nexus 7 or Galaxy Nexus … Read more

Nexus 4 comes back in stock for ordering today

Google has been a cruel mistress to Android fans looking to get their hands on a new Nexus 4 lately. After the latest Google-designed phone sold out in what felt like nanoseconds -- perhaps better described from now on as 'nexi-seconds' -- it's been two weeks of living in "out of stock" limbo.

Until today. At noon ET (9 a.m. PT), Google says, the Nexus 4 will be back on sale via the Google Play store.

The Nexus 4 is available unlocked and contract-free for $299, a price that led to a run on the phones … Read more

LG Nexus 4 (sort of) has 4G LTE

In the best example of things being taken, then given, only to be then taken away again, it was recently discovered that the massively popular LG Nexus 4 houses an LTE modem that works... sort of.

The revelation began over at iFixit, which posted a teardown of the Nexus 4 last week. Front images of the motherboard showed a Qualcomm WTR1605L Seven-Band 4G LTE chip. That's right, a 4G LTE chip.

When asked about this, LG crushed all fantastical dreams of a firmware-enabled LTE upgrade to the ground and told TechRadar that despite the given chipset, the device isn'… Read more