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Google Nexus 4 sold out as fans race for Jelly Bean bargain

The Google Nexus 4 sold out in less than half an hour as bargain-hungry phone fans bagged themselves a Jelly Bean smart phone.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
Expertise Films, TV, Movies, Television, Technology
Richard Trenholm
2 min read

The Google Nexus 4 sold out in less than half an hour as bargain-hungry phone fans bagged themselves the latest Nexus smart phone.

Google's new flagship phone, powered by Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, went on sale today from the Google Play online store or from O2. But demand for the £239 phone was so great the site suffered problems and some prospective Nexus-ites reported it had crashed. The store appears to back in full working order now, but the Nexus 4 is no longer listed as available to buy.

The option to buy the Nexus 4 is, at the time of writing, replaced by the option to type in your email address and be notified when there's more in stock. That goes for both the 8GB and 16GB versions, which cost £239 and £279 respectively.

Of course, a cynic would mutter darkly about gadgets selling out guarantees headlines even if it does risk alienating a few customers. I have asked LG, which makes the phone, and Google why demand so far outstripped supply, but they're yet to reply.

I don't blame anybody who laid out their hard-earned for the Nexus 4: the phone earned a coveted CNET Editors' Choice for its giant 4.7-inch screen, quad-core processing power and Jelly Bean software, all wrapped up in a parcel of bargainous bargainosity.

In Europe, irate phone fans turned on LG, which is reported to have jacked up the price in countries that do not have access to Google Play. Meanwhile you can still order the phone through O2, but we question whether it's worth tying yourself in to a two-year contract when the phone is so cheap to buy from Google. If it has any, that is.

A new 3G version of the 7-inch Google Nexus 7 tablet also went on sale today for £239, as well as the 10-inch Google Nexus 10 starting at £319. All models of the Nexus 7 are in stock, but the Nexus 10 page says it's available to buy today, but only has the notification option.

Did you manage to bag yourself a Nexus 4, or were the shelves bare when you got there? Notify me in the comments or on our always in-stock Facebook page.