This isn't how they wanted to do it, but LG and Google are going ahead with the announcement of the Nexus 4, and it's a steal. The lineage of the device is clear, with specs aping those of the LG Optimus G, but blessed with the latest update to Jelly Bean: Android 4.2. The Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro features four Krait cores clocked at 1.5GHz , the Adreno 320 GPU, and paired the requisite 2GB of RAM. The same 4.7" TrueHD IPS Plus display has a 1280x768 resolution, and the design is updated with a new back surface. Available in 8GB and 16GB configurations, the new Nexus will start at just $299, and top out at $349 unlocked and off-contract, through the Google Play Store on November 13th. 

When Google's Galaxy Nexus was sold unlocked for $349 it was a stupendous bargain, despite somewhat dated hardware. With today's announcement, though, we have top of the line hardware being sold at prices that bend the price curve drastically against buying on-contract devices. We'll see how that all plays out over the coming months. 

There's also some indication that announcements are imminent for the other devices that were in the works for today's canceled event, including the 32GB Nexus 7 and the new Nexus 10 slate from Samsung. We'll update as we hear more. 

Update: And there it is! In addition to the Nexus 4, we'll also be seeing the Nexus stable expand with two new SKUs for the Nexus 7 and a brand new stablemate, the Nexus 10 from Samsung. 

The first update to the Nexus 7 comes in a 32GB variant that takes the place of the original 16GB SKU at $249. The 16GB model now slots in at the $199 and both are joined by a new "mobile data" variant of the 32GB SKU that will be available unlocked for $299. The unlocked nature of the device indicates it may be 3G only, we'll dig in more in a second. 

The Nexus 10 was first rumored just a few weeks ago, and piques our interest in a big way. Built in partnership with Samsung, the 10" tablet is powered by Samsung's Exynos 5 Dual (nee 5250) SoC, making it the first Android device powered by ARM Cortex-A15 cores. In this case, two Cortex-A15 cores, clocked as high as 1.7GHz, are mated to the Mali-T604 GPU and 2GB of RAM. On the front of the device you find a 2560x1600 10" display, making it the highest resolution Android tablet to date. The display is made possible by the Exynos memory subsystem that puts two-port DDR3-800 on the table for 12.8GB/s of bandwidth. The Nexus 10 will be priced at $399 (16GB) and $499 (32GB) and be available along with the rest of the line-up on November 13th on the Google Play Store. Interested shoppers can sign up for more information today through the store. 

Source: Google

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  • ImSpartacus - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link

    Does anyone else think that the "Nexus 4" name is horrific in light of the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10?

    I understand that Google was in a pickle that they probably wanted to call it the Nexus 5, but then that would get heat from chronologists. They can't win.

    What is the right name? Optimus Nexus?
  • lmcd - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link

    Yeah, I was wondering about that too. Calling it the Nexus 4.7 would work best, I think.
  • Krysto - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link

    Disagree. Nexus 4.7 is a worse name.
  • phoenix_rizzen - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link

    They're all named after the digit in front of the decimal in the screen size.

    Nexus 4 has a 4.whatever screen.

    Nexus 7 has a 7.whatever screen.

    Nexus 10 has a 10.whatever screen.

    Naming makes perfectly logical sense to me.
  • mgl888 - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link

    It's also the 4th "Nexus" device!
  • Visual - Tuesday, October 30, 2012 - link

    well, phone, not device
  • madmilk - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link

    Tech companies just seem to suck at naming their devices. We have Apple naming their 6th iPhone the iPhone 5. Both nVidia and AMD use the 2nd digit to compare performance, so we have very intuitive logic like 6450 < 5870. Let's not even get started on renaming (there's 4 versions of the GT 640?!). There's also the mystery of why Intel calls Ivy Bridge "3rd generation" for consumers, and "v2" for servers...
  • pmartin - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link

    What does the name have to do with anything?
  • ciaphuas - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link

    $299 unlocked for a top of the line smartphone! Nice Job Google!
  • Death666Angel - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link

    Those are some sweet devices at great prices. I'll try and hold off on buying anything for as long as possible, still satisfied with my tablet and GN. :D

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