LG Nexus 4 gets reviewed ahead of launch
The Nexus 4 has been given the review treatment, before it's even been announced.
We've already seen LG's upcoming Nexus 4 photographed from every angle imaginable, and now someone's gone and reviewed it, before it's even been announced.
Talk about jumping the gun.
The review comes courtesy of Belarusian blog Onliner, via The Verge. It's calling it a "preliminary review", so we probably shouldn't take it as gospel. But it makes for interesting reading nonetheless.
It's a pretty hard-wearing device, from the sound of things. The patterned back plate -- which we saw in the leaked photos last week -- didn't scratch when the reviewer took a key to it, apparently. Must just be how they do things in Belarus.
The review echoes previous comments about how similar it looks to the Galaxy Nexus. There are the same LED notifications down at the bottom of the handset, for one.
The battery is sealed inside the phone, hence there's a micro-SIM card tray on the left edge (instead of behind a battery cover). But the screen is flat, unlike the curved one found on the Galaxy Nexus. The headphone jack is at the top as well.
Performance is said to be buggy, but considering the handset hasn't been announced yet, it's most probably an unfinished sample that's being put through its paces. The 8-megapixel camera doesn't stand up well against its high-end competitors, and the benchmarks aren't great. But again, we'll put these down to it being a prototype.
There's no word if it's just one of many new Nexus devices to be announced. Google is rumoured to be opening up the Nexus programme to anyone who wants to make an Android blower. If they meet Google's requirements, they can slap a Nexus badge on it. That's the theory, at least.
The Nexus 4 is expected to be announced at the end of the month, so we'll know more then. What do you make of it? And would you like to see lots of Nexus-branded devices? Let me know in the comments below, or on Facebook.