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. But there's not much advance notice, if any, of when the next stock release is going to be. Instead of obsessively visiting your local Play Store hoping to see more handsets available for order, if you happen to already have an Android device, install a free app called Nexus 4 Stock Alert.
This free app has one function: to alert you when a specific model of the Nexus 4 (or 7, or 10) is back in stock at your local Play Store.
Setup is pretty simple. Install the app, select the model you want to watch, how often you want it to check, and leave the app running in the background. Once the specified model is back in stock, your phone will start beeping and going crazy, ensuring that you don't miss your chance to order a shiny new Nexus device.
According to the app description, it will default to checking your local Google Play Store when checking stock. So, if you're in the U.K. and have this app installed, it will check the U.K. store.
