After two generations of Nexus phones with the South Korean Samsung at the helm, LG was given the opportunity to produce a device with the Google Nexus platform. The long-awaited result of LG’s work called the LG Nexus 4 E960 was released in early November, “on the first ball” seems quite fascinating, and how it works for us, the exceptional Samsung Galaxy S3has got its counterpart that is equally “strong” when it comes to performance, equally delicate and exclusive when it comes to design, but in no way similar when it comes to price.
According to the first information, this model will be significantly cheaper than the model of the same class, but let’s not rush the price, because it is determined by the market and it is not inconceivable that the first copies of this model will be quite expensive with a tendency to relatively fast price normalization.
The reason for a more detailed analysis and presentation of the LG Nexus 4 E96 0 model is the extremely great interest of visitors to our site but also the great “dust” that this model has raised on the world stage. So let’s see what it’s all about, we’ll take you through the world of the LG Nexus 4 E960.
Design
One of the trump cards and the first impression that “buys” you with the LG Nexus 4 E960 is its design. This model is reminiscent of its cousin Galaxy Nexus but only for the layman. These two models irresistibly resemble each other in size and shape, but we have to admit that the LG Nexus 4 E960 has nicer design touches.
The camera of the LG Nexus 4 E960 is completely retracted into the body, it does not protrude and this is a positive thing from the aspect of protecting the camera itself, while the flash of this model has a thin ring around it and it gives a little “relief” to the back cover.
Also, there is a speaker opening in the bottom of the back cover, which we think is a bit awkwardly installed, because when you put the phone on the table, the sound (which is otherwise clear and loud) becomes muffled.
The sides of this model are lined with materials reminiscent of soft rubber, which we experienced as a useful detail in this, otherwise, slippery phone. Great solution! The on-off button is located on the right side, the volume keys on the left side, and there is also a slot for a Micro SD card and a SIM card.
The 3.5mm Jack input is located in the upper corner of the phone. There is also a USB cable port on the bottom of the device and there are some screws that allow access to the battery. (Bad side – the battery is replaced with service assistance)
The fantastic design touch is reflected in the back cover (we were so thrilled that it got its own paragraph in this text). The back cover is made of “Crystal Reflective Process” with technology that gives a really beautiful shimmery look to the back cover.
These glitter patterns are almost holographic quality, giving the appearance of a 3D cover texture (we don’t understand why LG opposes the name glass but ok) and while your brain expects your fingers to feel something, this cover is perfectly smooth to the touch. (Yes, the back cover is so fantastic).
It should be noted that this last burial does not “shine and dazzle” all day, but is done in a much more subtle way and you can see these effects from some angles, while at some angles you may not even notice. What is potentially worrying is the fact that this cover is made of “glass material” and its resistance to phone drop words is questioned. Is this really a matter of concern, it remains for us to see…
When describing quality smartphones, we often use the term “compact”, and we will use it here as well. Two glass surfaces (actually one glass and one “glass”) really make this phone solid.
Display
LG has built a 4.7-inch IPS display into this model, which is known for its exceptional performance, and we have to admit that LG has not failed here. The colors on this display are “fresh” and harmonized in the sense that thanks to the high display pixeling of 768 x 1280 pixels with 318ppi display density, individual pixels do not stand out.
This display is characterized as one of the best built into this year’s top telephone. the resistance of the display is “in charge” of Gorilla Glass 2 technology, and the display itself is slightly rounded towards the edges, and we experienced this as a great design “touch”. This 4.7-inch display has proven itself in direct sunlight, so its use, viewing Internet content, or reading text is quite comfortable and pleasant even in these conditions.
Hardware
“Under the hood” of this model is the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor. It is a powerful Quad-core processor of 1.5GHz. This model uses an Adreno 320 graphics processor, and 2 GB of RAM (Yes, Beast…). When using this phone, we did not notice a single stoppage or braking. It seems as if this configuration cannot be congested.
Although, when the processor is fairly loaded, we experienced warming up the phone, which is in a way normal. As a disadvantage of this model, we recognized the lack of LTE connection, but it is in a way understandable. Google simply had to make a “cut” somewhere to make the final price of this model more competitive.
Software
Ladies and gentlemen in this model we have welcomed the famous 4.2 Jelly Bean Operating System. Of course, it’s about Android, and this is the first model to use this OS. As for the software version itself, we have not experienced any radical changes, although some new features and visual changes are visible.
If you have used ICS, this version will be a real treat for you. It supports all previous Google applications and the home screen itself is left with 5 pages, with widgets and applications. Some of the details that 4.2 Jelly Bean brings to you on the LG Nexus 4 E960 are:
Developer settings. Since this is a Nexus 4 model, “hacking”, rooting, unlocking the bootloader are expected. Google played around with users a bit and hid compared to previous versions, in the 4.2JB version it hid the Developer Setting option but there is a way to reach them, the slightly more persistent ones will definitely succeed.
There are also Enhanced Gmail folders, the keyboard got the Swipe on option (entering data by swiping your fingers over the display), Miracast display sharing (Wireless sharing on, say, your TV)
Camera
The LG Nexus 4 E960 is equipped with an 8MP camera that produces phenomenal images at a resolution of 3264 × 2448 pixels. The camera itself, ie the camera interface, has recognizable elements, but also novelties (thanks to Jelly Bean) to which it may take a little getting used to.
With these changes, the first novelty is the occasional appearance of a “ring” on the display during the painting itself. This ring is used to focus a certain detail on the image, but by touching this ring, the user opens up other possibilities such as HDR Mode (finally), flash settings, white balance, night shooting options, etc.
This ring seems strange and strange at times, and it will take time to get used to it being “there”, but the overall impression is ok. The camera is rich in various options such as Photo Sphere, which allows you to capture not only a panoramic image but a sphere of 360 degrees (left, right, up, down),
Battery and memory
The Li-Ion Battery of this model has a capacity of 2100MAh and it is also one of the details worthy of all praise. According to the testing of this battery, it “carries” with one charge from 390h 3G standby mode, and 15h ray talk in 3G mode. It is simply impossible to drain the battery of this model in a couple of hours of Wi-Fi connection. All-day use + the next day and the battery is still “holding”
Memory is the only aspect of this model that we are not thrilled with. Admittedly, the memory capacities of this model (and there are 2 of them, 8 and 16 GB of internal memory) are far greater than the needs of the average user, but we are simply not satisfied with the fact that there is no option to expand the memory with a memory card.
Unfortunately, this model is not an isolated case of impossibility of expansion, because more and more models are produced with “limited” internal memory without the possibility of memory manipulation.
Conclusion
The LG Nexus 4 E960 is a top-of-the-line device, the display is flawless, the processor is fast and efficient, and the price should be more than affordable for a phone with such features. As not so good sides of this model, they would mention the limitation or impossibility of expanding the memory, the non-existence of the LTE connection, and the possibility of replacing the battery without the assistance of service.
We experienced this model as the best since the release of the Galaxy S3 model and we were very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the entire device, especially the hardware that was not at the level of top-class phones in previous Nexus models. Android 4.2 Jelly Bean platform brings us many interesting innovations with this model and we would be too modest to say that the LG Nexus 4 E960 is just an impressive phone!