LG Nexus 4 may be announced on October 29

A French newspaper, Le Figaro states that the next Google Nexus-branded LG smartphone will be announced on October 29, 2012. The handset, when unveiled, may be christened 'Nexus 4'.

As per a report by The Verge, “LG's Nexus 4 handset will be announced later this month on October 29th according to French newspaper Le Figaro. That's shaping up to be a busy day in the mobile world, with Microsoft planning to hold a Windows Phone 8 launch event. As for the Nexus 4, rumors point to a mid-November launch here in the US; the reputable publication neither confirms nor denies that window, but reveals that the Optimus G-inspired hardware will hit France sometime in December”.

Stylish back

This indicates the date of launch of the next Google Nexus phone in the US and France, but there is no word yet about its global availability. Hopefully, unlike last year, this handset will make its way to India officially.

From the images that had leaked earlier, the face of the handset is similar in design to last year’s hugely popular Galaxy Nexus manufactured by Samsung. The major difference between can be seen at the back of the device, where it has a crystal-like design that it gives it an overall rich and classy finish.

The report by Android and Me also states that this device has been codenamed 'Mako'. Through the NenaMark benchmark, we can see a range of specifications that will feature in this handset. This matches up with previous rumours about the smartphone featuring Qualcomm’s 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro with Adreno 320 GPU.

The LG-manufactured Nexus is expected to come with 2GB of RAM, a 1280 x 768 True-High Definition IPS display, an 8-megapixel camera, and a non-removable battery. It will also have no microSD slot, and from 8GB to 16GB of internal storage.

Google will co-host the launch event with LG, where it will introduce the next version of Android – version 4.2, rumoured to be named Key Lime Pie – along with a new phone, presumably a Nexus based on LG’s recently announced Optimus G. The report also states that the Google’s Nexus flagship device concept is going to undergo a major overhaul. Now, any manufacturer will be able to release a smartphone under the Nexus banner, but they will have to adhere to some strict rules set by Google. According to the rules, manufacturers must use stock Android and have 64MB of secure memory for media streaming. Custom UI skins such as HTC’s Sense UI or Samsung’s TouchWiz will be allowed in the new Customization Center. Also, some hardware requirements must be met so that the devices will be able to run Android v5.0, scheduled to arrive by fall 2013.