Google Nexus 4 - Not a Flagship but a Great Value for Money Proposition

The Google Nexus 4 is not designed to compete with the 2012 Android flagship phones like the HTC One X or Samsung Galaxy S III. Instead, the Nexus 4 is designed to be the best mid-level Android for 2013. I think I should explain.

The Google Nexus 4 has a 8 MP camera, which can best be described as adequate. It is not as good as the 8 MP camera on the HTC One X, both of which fall far behind the 8 MP shooters on the Samsung Galaxy S III and Note II. The Google Nexus 4 is has 16 GB of non-expandable internal storage. There are no 32 GB and 64 GB models, and no way to expand the internal memory via a MicroSD card. The Google Nexus 4 does not have LTE on board. The Nexus 4 also did not launch with the cutting edge in screen technology, 1080p displays, which you are now seeing in phones released by HTC, Oppo and Sharp.

So basically, if you are looking for a great camera phone, gobs of local storage and the fastest internet connectivity there are better options or the cutting edge in technology.

What Google has designed is what is pretty much mid-level phone specifications come May-June 2013, but packing top end power to make sure that it will be powerful enough for two years of updates. The quad core Krait Processor with 2 GB of RAM will be able to keep up with Samsung's latest Exynos and the next release of Nvidia's Tegra. 

Priced at Php24,990 suggested retail price (Php22,240 cash) is 8K lower than the price point of most new flagship phones. Google strategy with the Nexus line seems quite clear. The Nexus 4, like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S are targeted at the mid-level market. The last Nexus phone which embodied all the cutting edge technologies of the time was the Nexus One (though that one had limited internal storage). In Q1 and Q2 every year, its OEM partners will release their new phones. At the end of the year Google will release a phone that will be current for the year following its release. This keeps something fresh in the Android line-up all year round.