From the article, "Android has a new champion. The Nexus 4 ... is the best overall Android handset currently available, and it’s one of the best phones to be released this year."
And, "It’s as close to perfect as I’ve seen any Android smartphone get. But the Nexus 4 falls just short of perfection due to one major omission: It’s not compatible with any LTE networks. The Nexus 4 will run on just about any other cellular network outside of LTE (GSM, UMTS, Edge, GPRS, 3G and HSPA+)"
It doesn't work on Verizon or Sprint. So at least in the US, half of the cellular networks actually don't work with the Nexus 4. And it can't use AT&T's ever expanding LTE network. But according to the author, it is the new Android champion? The 42 Mbps HSPA+ only works on T-Mobile. The best you get is half that for AT&T with this phone. So mediocre speeds on AT&T. Nothing on Verizon or Sprint but decent on T-Mobile. Sounds like a niche to me. Only "buy it now" if you are planning on going with T-Mobile. For any other carrier, nearly any other current smartphone is better.
Can you imagine the reaction if Apple introduced a new iPhone at the end of 2012 that only worked on AT&T and T-Mobile without LTE? I'm pretty sure Wired wouldn't call it "nearly flawless".
Honestly, the choice of HSPA+ over LTE is a no-brainer. The former is plenty fast and has better coverage domestically and all over the world; the latter is a smidgeon faster in limited cases and a battery hog.
LTE offers some interesting capacity benefits for providers, but is being seriously over-marketed, as your post proves.
The iPhone 5 gets better battery life than the iPhone 4S when using LTE vs HSPA. My iPad 3 with AT&T LTE gets 27 Mbps down and 14 Mbps up on my most recent speed test. I doubt you will get anywhere near those speeds on HSPA+.
The Nexus 4 is a weird mix of premium components with last years radios.
In my case lack of LTE is not a big concern, I am more concerned with lack of SD slot for example, or battery not being user serviceable.
LTE or not LTE, everywhere I need to I have a Wi-Fi readily available and Nexus 4 supports phone function over the wi-fi as well, so lack of it is not really important
I am also looking at possibly getting Galaxy S3, it is priced at $50 on black friday but I will have to sign another 2 year contract with Sprint and endure another bout of Sprint useless bloatware being installed by night, endless attempts to charge me for something very basic like voice mail transcribtion, etc.
I agree that it's a niche market. I remember not getting an iPhone forever ago because I didn't want to switch to AT&T. Because I am on T-Mobile, this phone looks amazing.
And, "It’s as close to perfect as I’ve seen any Android smartphone get. But the Nexus 4 falls just short of perfection due to one major omission: It’s not compatible with any LTE networks. The Nexus 4 will run on just about any other cellular network outside of LTE (GSM, UMTS, Edge, GPRS, 3G and HSPA+)"
It doesn't work on Verizon or Sprint. So at least in the US, half of the cellular networks actually don't work with the Nexus 4. And it can't use AT&T's ever expanding LTE network. But according to the author, it is the new Android champion? The 42 Mbps HSPA+ only works on T-Mobile. The best you get is half that for AT&T with this phone. So mediocre speeds on AT&T. Nothing on Verizon or Sprint but decent on T-Mobile. Sounds like a niche to me. Only "buy it now" if you are planning on going with T-Mobile. For any other carrier, nearly any other current smartphone is better.
Can you imagine the reaction if Apple introduced a new iPhone at the end of 2012 that only worked on AT&T and T-Mobile without LTE? I'm pretty sure Wired wouldn't call it "nearly flawless".