Google Explains Lack of LTE in Nexus 4 Smartphone

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chuckydb

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I was scratching my head when they said there was no LTE,
but looking at the price, I'll forgive them...
hoooooly s!!!!t, I'm forgiving them for sure.
 

acadia11

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Aiding lte would have raised cost 40 bucks, big deal, again this would have been smart idea 2 years ago but not today. Since inception wireless networks have been hybrid, sine unless you are starting a new wireless company all deployments are brownfield.
 

classzero

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I think I will have to go with a Samsung, I don't like how they removed the sd card. I know it makes sense from a profit milking stand point, but this isn't an iOS device!
 

wemakeourfuture

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8GB with no expandable storage, plus no LTE. Seriously 8GB, that's what 5.5 - 6 maybe after the OS and converting from 1GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes to 2^30 bytes as well. No wonder its so cheap, they really tarnish the "Nexus" brand with this.
 

Cryio

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300$ is a great deal, unfortunately in my country (Romania) the phone will probably sell for about 700+ dolars. Like any othe high-end phone without a contract actually.

Microsoft sold Nokia Lumia 900 with 100 dolars. Here prices were ranging between 415 and 600.
 

killerclick

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The only explanation needed is $299. How much do people use LTE on their phones anyway? Google is smart to push knockdown prices on powerful off-contract Nexus devices. Carriers and OEMs are the ones most at fault for Android fragmentation, and seeing how many people in the developing world use smartphones as their primary internet devices, Google wants to get them early. If Nexus 4 is as good as Nexus 7, it's going to kick ass.
 
G

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You people are silly. So it doesn't have an SD card. I use to think the same thing about the iPhone. But after getting my hands on an Android tablet and realizing that while I had a 4 GB SD card I never really used it because all my music is on Google Music, I can watch video from Amazon or my network at home and I don't need 700,000 apps installed anyways I came to the conclusion that an SD card is about as useful as a thumb drive these days. With Google Drive and SkyDrive I have all the space I need to access any files I need. So in essence the lack of an SD card is a minor inconvenience when Android Bean can transfer files easily and instant upload uploads my pictures and videos to my G+ account automatically. What you should really be complaining about is the size of the internal storage. Whats up with no 64GB?

As for LTE, its not like you are using your phone to download torrents or 5 GB files.
 

killerclick

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[citation][nom]Cryio[/nom]300$ is a great deal, unfortunately in my country (Romania) the phone will probably sell for about 700+ dolars.[/citation]

So book a cheap flight/train/bus to someplace in Europe where prices are reasonable, buy a bunch of Nexus 4s and/or Nexus 10s and resell them just to cover your expenses.
 

wemakeourfuture

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[citation][nom]killerclick[/nom]The only explanation needed is $299. How much do people use LTE on their phones anyway? Google is smart to push knockdown prices on powerful off-contract Nexus devices. Carriers and OEMs are the ones most at fault for Android fragmentation, and seeing how many people in the developing world use smartphones as their primary internet devices, Google wants to get them early. If Nexus 4 is as good as Nexus 7, it's going to kick ass.[/citation]

It's like saying does a phone a few years ago need 3G, who uses it, 2G is ok. 3G is the past, old and antiquated. While we're at it, who needs a quad-core or a 1.5 Ghz? Why not just cheap out on there too to lower the cost.
 

wemakeourfuture

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[citation][nom]ChuckCortes[/nom]You people are silly. So it doesn't have an SD card. I use to think the same thing about the iPhone. But after getting my hands on an Android tablet and realizing that while I had a 4 GB SD card I never really used it because all my music is on Google Music, I can watch video from Amazon or my network at home and I don't need 700,000 apps installed anyways I came to the conclusion that an SD card is about as useful as a thumb drive these days. With Google Drive and SkyDrive I have all the space I need to access any files I need. So in essence the lack of an SD card is a minor inconvenience when Android Bean can transfer files easily and instant upload uploads my pictures and videos to my G+ account automatically. What you should really be complaining about is the size of the internal storage. Whats up with no 64GB? As for LTE, its not like you are using your phone to download torrents or 5 GB files.[/citation]

Should we go back to 2G too? Why we're not downloading torrents or 5 GB files. LTE is faster, the whole point of going from 2G -> 3G -> 4G LTE is speed. You're talking about cloud based services and synching stuff and how you don't need an expandable storage, understood. Now you're doing all that on a slower network if you're not on WiFi. Shoot, we can save costs even more we should go to slower WiFi (802.11b) as well since we're not using phones for torrents or 5 GB files...
 

killerclick

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[citation][nom]wemakeourfuture[/nom]It's like saying does a phone a few years ago need 3G, who uses it, 2G is ok. 3G is the past, old and antiquated. While we're at it, who needs a quad-core or a 1.5 Ghz? Why not just cheap out on there too to lower the cost.[/citation]

You do realize most places in the world and most people who will buy smartphones will not have LTE even 3 years from now? It's a strategic decision for Google, do they push the latest and greatest device to less people in more developed places, or do they push a cheaper device to more people all around the world? I think Nexus 7 is proof that there's a huge market for cheap devices that make a few compromises (like no back camera, no SD card), so I think Nexus 4 will sell great if it works as advertised, and users will just have to make-do with downloading only at 2.5 megabytes per second (like two simultaneous 1080p videos from YouTube).
 

brushrop03

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So few points...

I really think there is no excuse. People would pay more for LTE. People buy phones, off contract, for $550-800 all the time. So add LTE. Add a bigger battery.

I believe there are a lot of great devices, with LTE, that have great battery life. My Galaxy S III makes it through the day without issue. The new Galaxy Note II has crazy battery life.

You don't have to make millions of phones, but come on. You can make some.

And a phone with 8GB with no SD card slot should not exist to begin with. 16GB should be minimum with 32GB option.

Carriers here in the U.S. do cannibalize phones. Especially the Big Red. Google needs to do better at negotiating deals in which carriers aren't allowed to do those type of software tweaks. Especially for flagship phones. Apple doesn't have this issue.

These are pretty weak excuses.
 

wemakeourfuture

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[citation][nom]killerclick[/nom]You do realize most places in the world and most people who will buy smartphones will not have LTE even 3 years from now? It's a strategic decision for Google, do they push the latest and greatest device to less people in more developed places, or do they push a cheaper device to more people all around the world? I think Nexus 7 is proof that there's a huge market for cheap devices that make a few compromises (like no back camera, no SD card), so I think Nexus 4 will sell great if it works as advertised, and users will just have to make-do with downloading only at 2.5 megabytes per second (like two simultaneous 1080p videos from YouTube).[/citation]

The 16GB model is $349.99, which is roughly $50 cheaper than devices that like Nokia 900 that are 4G, 16GB. There are Android devices that are 4/8/16GB internal with expandable (some come with free 16gb cards) with LTE, front camera, etc. for $50 more. Nexus 4 does offer a more powerful processor, with better display but the battery on it has a lot to be desired to power all that.
 

acadia11

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[citation][nom]killerclick[/nom]You do realize most places in the world and most people who will buy smartphones will not have LTE even 3 years from now? It's a strategic decision for Google, do they push the latest and greatest device to less people in more developed places, or do they push a cheaper device to more people all around the world? I think Nexus 7 is proof that there's a huge market for cheap devices that make a few compromises (like no back camera, no SD card), so I think Nexus 4 will sell great if it works as advertised, and users will just have to make-do with downloading only at 2.5 megabytes per second (like two simultaneous 1080p videos from YouTube).[/citation]

They won't have a high end cell phone at all in those places to begin with, so what's your point.
 

acadia11

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[citation][nom]m32[/nom]Google should have gave the Apple response,"You don't need LTE!"[/citation]


Apple had that response 3 years ago when you could argue lte wasn't available. Every major carrier in. US has deployed lte nationally, even regional carriers now.
 

killerclick

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[citation][nom]wemakeourfuture[/nom]The 16GB model is $349.99, which is roughly $50 cheaper than devices that like Nokia 900 that are 4G, 16GB.[/citation]

A single core CPU on an orphaned OS, 4.3" and 480x800. That's what you're comparing Nexus 4 to, really? And which Android has a quad core Snapdragon, 4.7", 1280x768 and costs even close to $350 off-contract? SGS3 is like $600 if you can find it wherever you live.

I'm sure Google has a pretty good idea how many Android users use LTE or how much storage they use, and are making compromises accordingly.
 
G

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The first actually fair priced phone, thanks google!.. I'm going to sell one of my shares and buy 2!!

Say goodbye to whining telecoms complaining about subsidized phones hahahaha
 

killerclick

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[citation][nom]acadia11[/nom]They won't have a high end cell phone at all in those places to begin with, so what's your point.[/citation]

Nope. You're saying that if a city/region doesn't have LTE, then people who live there must be poor. That's simply not the case, there are many reasons why there may not be LTE available in an area, like regulation, technical issues, lack of competition or carrier monopoly, insufficient population density, etc.

And I've been to Eastern Europe and Russia this summer, there are loads of people with high end phones - most either have dumb phones or expensive stuff like SGS, iPhone, etc, even in areas where you get EDGE most of the time (that's 384 kbit/s).

Google is not stupid, they know all this and Nexus 4 is going to sell out in a matter of hours on the 13th.
 

wemakeourfuture

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[citation][nom]killerclick[/nom]A single core CPU on an orphaned OS, 4.3" and 480x800. That's what you're comparing Nexus 4 to, really? And which Android has a quad core Snapdragon, 4.7", 1280x768 and costs even close to $350 off-contract? SGS3 is like $600 if you can find it wherever you live.I'm sure Google has a pretty good idea how many Android users use LTE or how much storage they use, and are making compromises accordingly.[/citation]

First off you cannot even compare the Nexus 4 to the S3. The S3 is far better, not just LTE, but cameras, battery, expandable storage.

Second, there's Android's available for $399.99, like I said $50 more, that are dual core, 4G LTE

"LG Nitro": $399.99, 1280 x 720 pixel, 4.5", 4GB comes with 16GB SD card, 1080p 8MP camera with Front facing, unlike Nexus

"LG Escape": 4.0 Android (Ice Cream Sandwich), 960x540 4.3 inches [4GB memory, expandable, cost like $15 for 16GB]

"HTC Vivid": 16GB storage, dual-core, real and front facing, 5MP camera

"Samsung Captive": not as great camera, dual-core

There are more examples too.
Google on the Nexus just cheapened on the LTE, front camera, smaller battery and since the snapdragon quad-core price is down (same as dual-core when the above phones were released) its easier for them to utilize it.

Like I said $50 cheaper, not sooooo crazy for me from Google. If this is their "innovation" or changing the game they will be left in the dust. They need a quick release of a much better smartphone to be a flagship Nexus
 

khha4113

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[citation][nom]wemakeourfuture[/nom]Should we go back to 2G too? Why we're not downloading torrents or 5 GB files. LTE is faster, the whole point of going from 2G -> 3G -> 4G LTE is speed. You're talking about cloud based services and synching stuff and how you don't need an expandable storage, understood. Now you're doing all that on a slower network if you're not on WiFi. Shoot, we can save costs even more we should go to slower WiFi (802.11b) as well since we're not using phones for torrents or 5 GB files...[/citation]
Nexus 4 does have HSPA+ 42Mps which speed is comparable to LTE.
 

pocketdrummer

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Has anyone been paying attention? It's still $200 w/ a contract. Meaning, you can get an LG Optimus G (with the same specs and LTE + More storage) for the same price. This only makes sense if you are dead set on buying the unlocked version, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, because buying an unlocked phone doesn't remove the subsidies that you have to pay to your provider regardless of whether you have a subsidized phone...
 
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