Hasta La Gadget!

There are whole host of new smartphones waiting for their time to shine at Mobile World Congress (not to mention an event or two before the big show), but you’re in luck if you’re a domestic Android fan smitten with LG and Google’s Nexus 4. The hard-to-obtain handset first reappeared in the German Google Play Store earlier today, and now those of you in the U.S. can finally purchase one again too.

Google caught some flack when the Nexus 4 first launched because of the tumultuous process of actually ordering one, not to mention subsequent issues with stock. It eventually got to the point where Google and LG representatives started playing the blame game, insinuating (and sometimes proclaiming) that the fault lay with the other party. In the end though, LG remains committed to cranking out Nexus 4s and it just may be that the Nexus drought is over for good. That is of course, until the oft-rumored Nexus 5 (also supposedly crafted by LG) makes its official appearance — murmurs from the rumor mill point to a possible introduction at Google’s next I/O conference in May.

On the off-chance that you’ve read this far and still haven’t clicked over to the Google Play Store to place an order, here are direct links for the 8GB and 16GB models so have at it! At this point, Google claims that units will start shipping within the next two weeks, but The Verge claims that shipments will hit doorsteps even sooner than that. Is Google under-promising and planning to over-deliver? Let’s hope so — those first few hours of Nexus availability definitely left a bad taste in some people’s mouths.

Update: Our own Darrell Etherington bugged me to update this post with the news that you can now get Nexus 4s in Canada. So there.”

During Google’s earnings call today, Google executives made it clear that the acquisition of Motorola comes with quite a bit of baggage. More specifically, Google has “inherited a 12-18 month product pipeline” that Google CFO Patrick Pichette says the company is “still working through.” Yikes. More »

Google officially announced and showed off the Nexus 10 at last year’s Google I/O conference, and it certainly gave all other tablets a run for their money — the high-resolution display being just one big feature of the new device. However, rumors are pointing to a refresh of the new tablet, most notably an upgrade to a quad-core processor and an 8-core graphics chip.

While the Nexus 10 is certainly a respectable tablet, many users have complained about its weak performance and slower internals compared to other modern tablets. It looks like Google is taking these complaints seriously and is rumored to be shoving a quad-core CPU inside of the Nexus 10, along with a new 8-core Mali-T678 GPU.

Of course, this is only speculation and hearsay, but the tablet may make an appearance at Mobile World Congress next month in Barcelona, so we really may not have that long to wait until we find out if these rumors are true. However, this year’s Google I/O will most likely be the one event that Google will out the refreshed tablet. It’s said that this new Nexus 10 was at CES a couple weeks ago, but was only displayed in a private meeting.

Then again, the quad-core-equipped Nexus 10 was being shown off in the original Nexus 10 casing anyway, so we doubt no one would’ve noticed anyway. It’s also said that Google may give the new tablet a redesign, but those familiar with the rumor aren’t expecting a refreshed exterior until the third-generation Nexus 10.

[via Android Community]

Nexus 10 rumored for refresh with quad-core CPU, 8-core GPU is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If there’s one element in the news universe here that tells us Google is doing things right, it’s the constant talk and response to a new Nexus smartphone – even when the current model is doing exceedingly well on the market. Here in first quarter of 2013 heading into Spring (or maybe that’s just wishful thinking), we’ve got rumors galore of a Nexus 5 being worked on for release at Mobile World Congress 2013 from LG, none other than the manufacturers of the Nexus 4. Today they’ve confirmed that no, that doesn’t make any sense, and that yes, they’re still making massive amounts of the current Google hero Nexus 4 for the time being.

The word was that even thought the Google Nexus 4, manufactured by LG, was doing much better on the market than anyone had guessed, that they’d be creating a Nexus 5 with ever-so-slightly improved specifications all around plus a modified body with no sparkly back panel. One rumor suggested that a brand new Nexus 5 would be shown off a MWC 2013 (which we’ll be at with bells on one way or another), while another rumor with a bit more realistic an outlook suggested they’d show a new Nexus at Google I/O 2013 later this Summer.

“Our domestic Pyeongtaek manufacturing plant has been producing the Nexus 4 without a hitch. There is no problem in supplying. [Nexus 5 rumors] are unfounded. The Nexus 4 by LG is significant in that it’s becoming more successful than the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and [Mobile World Congress 2013 products] have not been finalized.” – LG Electronics Official (roughly translated)

LG today has spoken to the publication known as Chosun Biz, confirming that they’re still very much invested in the Nexus 4 in its current state, projecting production well into the future for this extremely hot-selling beast. For those of you that are unaware, this machine has sold so well that the online Google Play store had to push shipments back several weeks back in the later weeks of 2012, only now coming up to speed with availability across the USA and Europe. Rest assured, Nexus 4 owners, your device will be the Google hero for many moons.

If you’d like to know more about the Google Nexus 4 by LG, be sure to check our not one, but two big reviews! First have a look at our original Google Nexus 4 review, then see our T-Mobile Nexus 4 review, taken from a slightly different angle. Be sure to jump in to our Android portal as well for more Google mobile OS action than you can possible handle!

[via Android Community]

LG confirms Nexus 4 still in production with no 5 on the books is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

New gadgets take the spotlight at CES. And though we’re occasionally blinded by the bright, shiny things, we know where our loyalties lie. Behind the barrage of posts and sprinting between booths, the real stars of the show are the tried and true bits of gear we’re using behind the scenes. Particularly BorrowLenses.com, who generosity is the reason you get to look at all those pretty pictures. But each of us has our own beloved item—tech or otherwise—that we’ll swear is the only reason we made it out of Vegas alive. Spoiler: There are a lot of batteries mentioned in this post. More »