Most people will know the Nexus 4 as a high-spec smartphone available at a bargain basement price, and that it proved rather hard to get hold of early in its life. As popular as the Nexus 4 has been, it does have one or two drawbacks which if you’re in the U.S., hurt more than they do elsewhere in the world: We’re talking about the lack of a CDMA radio, and 4G LTE connectivity.
All this could change soon, as a rumor has linked Google and LG with a revised version of the phone, this time with a radio which happily supports CDMA bands and 4G LTE data speeds. The rumor indicates Google will reveal the updated Nexus 4 during Google I/O, its annual developer conference which starts next month. While a true successor to the Nexus 4 would be a surprise, as the phone has only been on sale since November last year, a subtle upgrade to bring the device into line with its competition makes more sense.
A CDMA compatible Nexus 4 means the phone will operate on both Verizon and Sprint’s network, considerably increasing the number of potential owners. There’s also the chance Verizon could have nabbed the 4G LTE Nexus 4 all for itself, at least for s short time, as it kept hold of the Samsung produced Galaxy Nexus for some time before the device made its way to Sprint.
Leaving all this network talk aside, the rumor also contains an interesting feature addition for this new Nexus 4, as the amount of internal storage memory may be increased too, addressing another concern over the first Nexus 4. However, instead of giving us a microSD card slot, the built-in memory could be upped to 32GB. The Nexus 4 can currently be purchased with either 16GB or a pathetic 8GB of storage space.
Should Google reveal a 4G LTE Nexus 4 during Google I/O, it’s sure to be a popular decision, but only provided the alterations don’t prompt a change in its price. Google I/O begins on May 15.
