LG Nexus 4: A Specifications Review

Huge improvement thanks to the BSI sensor

Front camera – 1.3MP
A 1.3MP front facing camera is good enough for video calls but is still far behind the one fitted onto the HTC Windows Phone 8X. That handset has a 2MP front camera with an aperture value of f/2.0, which is pretty outstanding.

Sensors – Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
The Nexus 4 has all the sensors one would expect from a high-end smartphone, including a barometer. This is used to detect a change in atmospheric pressure so that you are be able to get quicker and more location-specific updates to weather rather than having to rely on geo-location. This will also reserve your battery life as the app or weather widget won’t have to look up online each time it has to refresh the information.

GPS – GLONASS and GPS
GLONASS is the new radio-based satellite navigation system operated by the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. This is a separate chip that needs to be in a smartphone and complements your existing GPS ship. Think of it as a “dual-core” for satellite navigation. Where you once had a single chip that relied on a certain number of satellites for location triangulation, the second chip adds support for even more satellites so that you get a fix on your location a lot quicker; it is a lot more accurate too.

Glass back for a more premium feel

FM Radio – No
There’s no analogue radio chip in the Nexus 4, sadly, so you can’t get your local radio the traditional way. There is a work around for this like Spirit FM Radio, which lets you stream your local radio shows. 

Battery – Li-Po 2100mAh
This is a decently-sized battery given the size of the phone, which should give you around a day's worth of usage. Handsets like the Galaxy Note II will always be superior here, but that’s only because it has a larger battery. The smaller fabricated Qualcomm SoC should also help in delivering better numbers as compared to the competition. 

The bottom line
When the price of the Nexus 4 settles to sane levels, this could be one of the best phones to buy on a budget. It has all the hardware to make it a future proof device for a few years. The Nexus 4 certainly won’t be the best phone out there when that happens, but for the price, it will be very hard to beat. Just like the Galaxy Nexus, the Nexus 4 has all the ingredients to be a success and could be the handset that saves LG from the slump it’s been in lately with regards to global handset sales. It’s also one of the most powerful handsets in the market as well, so if numbers are the only thing that matter to you, then there’s another reason to get it.

In case you missed our first impressions of the Nexus 4, you can read about it right here. While you’re at it, don’t miss our camera shootout with the Galaxy Nexus too.