Nexus 4s

Information at your fingertips

Nexus 4 comes with the latest Google apps, putting the best of Google in the palm of your hand.
Search gets smarter with Google Now

Nexus 4 comes with the latest version of Google Now to bring you just the right information at just the right time. It shows you how much traffic to expect before you leave for work, or when the next train will arrive as you’re standing on the platform.

With the latest version, Google Now keeps you even more organized – get reminders about upcoming flights, restaurant reservations, hotel confirmations and even nearby photo opportunities

 The new smartphone from Google

With your favorite Google Apps, an amazing Photo Sphere camera, cutting edge hardware, and access to your favorite entertainment on Google Play – Nexus 4 puts the best of Google in the palm of your hand.

If you’ve been waiting to grab a Nexus 4 from the Google Play Store, your time has finally come. Users from all over the US are reporting shipments in less than 48 hours after their handsets have been ordered from the web store. This comes after a significant amount of time during which the Nexus 4 was only available in a trickle of a few units that were rapidly grabbed by Android fans.

If we’ve learned anything about Google over the last few of months, it’s that they are not a hardware company. The Google Play Store has been the home to a pair of Chromebooks, as well as the Nexus 4, 7 $294.99 at Amazon, and 10, and not a single one of these products managed to stay in stock over the holiday season. If you were lucky enough to purchase one without some sort of bug that charged you two or three times for your device, the product you ordered wouldn’t ship for weeks.

Running a web store that deals in massive volume has been a challenge for Google, but it appears that there are now plenty of new toys to go around, and Google is wasting no time getting purchases out to users.

Google’s shopping cart system, when it works, is designed to not charge you until the product you ordered has shipped. This left several users quite surprised this week when orders were being processed within minutes of their submission, with the correct amount being removed from their bank accounts just as quickly. Within 48 hours, those same users had little white boxes on their doorsteps with a Nexus 4 inside. It seems odd to be surprised by this, given the prevalence of online shopping in 2013, but this is a new experience for many users who have used Google Play top order hardware this year.

So there you have it, Google seems to have worked all the bugs out of their shopping and shipping. Like everything else released by Google, it appears that the beta tag can finally be removed from the purchase experience in the Google Play Store.

Android fans gave iPhone users a ton of flack during the 4/4S years for the fragile back glass. They ridiculed them relentlessly. And then Google/LG pumped out a glass-backed Nexus device and suddenly things weren’t quite so bad. Granted, a decent amount of Android fan still criticized Google and LG (and for good reason). Glass is a stupid choice for a device that gets so much action and abuse as a phone. Moving on…

A bumper was made for the Nexus 4 similar to the style Apple made for the 4/4S that helped elevate the phone ever so slightly when sitting flat to keep the glass front/back from getting scratched as easily when setting it down on a flat surface, as well as to help give some minor corner protection for short falls. All is well, yes? No.

Today it appears Google has discontinued the Nexus 4 bumper as checking the Play Store page for said item now says “this item is no longer for sale”. Maybe they’re coming out with a refined bumper or more colors. Maybe they’re coming out with new cases altogether. Or maybe, the bumper just wasn’t a big seller and Google is trying to save a few pennies. Either way, you’re not in too much trouble. While Google’s “official” bumper may not be for sale via official channels, you’ll be able to find it online via other sites for some time, not to mention, there are numerous 3rd party alternatives.

Anyone out there who hasn’t gotten a Nexus 4 bumper yet that wanted one suddenly left feeling lost and alone, not sure where to go next?