LG Nexus 4

My wife was looking for a new smartphone to replace her broken iPhone a few months ago. As the official geek in the house, I was tasked to find the best smartphone for her. Since a brand new iPhone is way too expensive (RM2k+) our choice is limited to one of those many different Android phones in the market. After doing much research and reading various reviews I came to the conclusion that the LG Nexus 4 is the best value for money smartphone you can buy today.



I've always been an advocate of the Nexus brand of smartphone and tablets as apparent in my purchase and review of the Nexus 7. They're made closely with Google, they get the latest update first and the design and the build quality is excellent. But the most important thing is, it's really affordable at RM1,300 depending on where you buy it. Add another 200 ringgit and you'll get yourself a cool Nexus wireless charger where you could just place your phone on the charger and it'll charge wirelessly, no cable needed.



My first impression of using the Nexus 4; the screen is huge. Not as big as the Galaxy Note but at 4.7" diagonal, the size is just right to hold and tap with one hand. The 3.5" iPhone 4 that I'm so used to hold seems tiny in comparison to the Nexus 4. It's a refreshing change. The screen is made with Corning's tough Gorilla Glass 2 material and so far survived a few drop tests made by our lovely children and my wife herself.



This smartphone comes with 16GB fixed storage and a generous 2GB RAM. It is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor which is comparable to the fastest CPU's in the market today. Playing graphic-intensive games are a breeze with the Nexus 4.



The Nexus 4 comes with a decent 8 Mega-pixel rear camera and 1.3 MP front facing camera. This is where the Nexus 4 comes short compared to the iPhone. Despite boasting 8 MP, the pictures taken with this phone looks pales and washed out compared to the iPhone and especially poor in low-light conditions. Other than that, I have nothing to complain about the Nexus 4.



Other than the camera, I have nothing but good things to say about the Nexus 4. Maybe because it's made by LG or maybe Apple just have the best camera for smartphones so far. If you're looking for a brand new Android smartphone that offers the best value for money, I would highly recommend the Nexus 4. Stay clear of any of those Samsung phones. Most of them, even the S4 comes with bloatware and offers very little storage space (around 4GB). My wife who has been a proud owner of 2 iPhones before is very happy with the Nexus 4. Said it's the best smartphone she'd had so far. Wouldn't trade it for anything.