Price: Rs 25,999
Specs: : 4.7 inch display; Android v4.2; 8 MP camera; 1.5GHz quad-core processor; 2GB RAM; 16GB internal memory, no expandable card slot
With the HTC One and Samsung S4 already here, it might be a bit too late
to review the Nexus 4. But we decided to go ahead due to three reasons.
Firstly, it is for the first time that a Google smartphone has
officially become available in India. Secondly, its launch price is very
competitive. And, lastly, we needed to test the plain vanilla Android
OS.
DESIGN
The Nexus 4 might is not a great looker compared to the new HTC One or even theSamsung Galaxy S4 . Its all-black body has a 4.7-inch Corning Gorilla Glass 2 display that is a framed by a sleek bezel. The 'Nexus' branding dominates the back, while there is just a small LG logo at the bottom. Thanks to the non-removable back panel, a SIM card slot has been placed on the left panel below the volume keys. The power key on the right has been placed strategically, making it comfortable to use. At 139 grams, it feels slightly heavy to hold.
USER INTERFACE
The Nexus 4 has the latest Android 4.2 operating system, but devoid of any custom interface. This version of the OS offers widget support to the lock screen. By swiping the locked screen towards the left we could launch the camera and add up to four additional widgets such as emails, messages and calendar. A circular app icon with two app shortcuts on each side dominates the bottom of the display. Below this are the three touch keys.
BATTERY
The Nexus 4 has got a 2100 mAh battery that gave us a day on average use. This usage included two push email accounts, Facebook, Twitter, calling, web browsing, Whatsapp and a little bit of imaging.
PERFORMANCE
This beast is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.5GHz quad-core processor paired with 2GB RAM. From fetching emails to browsing the web to playing movies, the experience was impressive. We also managed to play heavy graphic games like Temple Run and ShadowGun without any lag. The graphics appeared neat on the display and the sound was also impressive. We were pretty happy with the performance as there wasn't any lag and it didn't even hang for once. However, it wasn't the top scorer in some of the benchmark tests.
CAMERA
The Nexus 4 has got an 8MP camera that captures images at 3264x2448p. The new camera interface is simple and easy to use. Settings like HDR, flash, focus and scene pop-up on a circle. The Panorama mode was easy to use and the results were pretty good. Photo Sphere, an extension to Panorama mode, can capture photos in multiple directions and stitch them up. The images captured using the Nexus 4 were decent but not as good as most of its competitors. The device also captures decent videos at 1080p resolution.
The Nexus 4 might is not a great looker compared to the new HTC One or even theSamsung Galaxy S4 . Its all-black body has a 4.7-inch Corning Gorilla Glass 2 display that is a framed by a sleek bezel. The 'Nexus' branding dominates the back, while there is just a small LG logo at the bottom. Thanks to the non-removable back panel, a SIM card slot has been placed on the left panel below the volume keys. The power key on the right has been placed strategically, making it comfortable to use. At 139 grams, it feels slightly heavy to hold.
USER INTERFACE
The Nexus 4 has the latest Android 4.2 operating system, but devoid of any custom interface. This version of the OS offers widget support to the lock screen. By swiping the locked screen towards the left we could launch the camera and add up to four additional widgets such as emails, messages and calendar. A circular app icon with two app shortcuts on each side dominates the bottom of the display. Below this are the three touch keys.
BATTERY
The Nexus 4 has got a 2100 mAh battery that gave us a day on average use. This usage included two push email accounts, Facebook, Twitter, calling, web browsing, Whatsapp and a little bit of imaging.
PERFORMANCE
This beast is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.5GHz quad-core processor paired with 2GB RAM. From fetching emails to browsing the web to playing movies, the experience was impressive. We also managed to play heavy graphic games like Temple Run and ShadowGun without any lag. The graphics appeared neat on the display and the sound was also impressive. We were pretty happy with the performance as there wasn't any lag and it didn't even hang for once. However, it wasn't the top scorer in some of the benchmark tests.
CAMERA
The Nexus 4 has got an 8MP camera that captures images at 3264x2448p. The new camera interface is simple and easy to use. Settings like HDR, flash, focus and scene pop-up on a circle. The Panorama mode was easy to use and the results were pretty good. Photo Sphere, an extension to Panorama mode, can capture photos in multiple directions and stitch them up. The images captured using the Nexus 4 were decent but not as good as most of its competitors. The device also captures decent videos at 1080p resolution.
