Nexus 4 Now Available for Just $199

Google’s Nexus 4 has received quite a big price cut. The extremely successful Android device is now available for $199 – that’s $100 less than its original price, which was itself a great deal.

Nexus 4- $199

The 8 GB variant is now available for $199 off-contract, while the 16 GB version is selling for $249. Although this sounds almost too good to be true, let’s take a look at the device’s specifications to further cement the fact the Nexus 4 is now a great purchase more than ever:

The Nexus 4 is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor clocked at 1.5 Ghz. There’s 2 GB of RAM, along with an Ardeno 320 GPU. With a 4.7 inch IPS display underneath the Corning Gorilla Glass 2, the device is available in 2 variants – 8 GB and 16 GB. The Nexus 4 has a rather good 8 Megapixel camera with LED flash, capable of full HD 1080p video. The front camera is a 1.3 megapixel shooter.

As for connectivity options – there’s the standard Wi-Fi support – a/b/g/n. Bluetooth 4.0 along with NFC is also available. However, the device lacks 4G LTE support, a problem expected to be fixed in the next Nexus model.

If you’ve recently purchased a Nexus 4, Google is providing ‘price protection‘ to those who purchased the device in the past 15 days. Under this scheme, Google will refund you the difference of your purchase and the current price.

Nexus devices run a pure version of Android – without any of the skins, custom overlays, bloatware and UIs that other manufacturers force upon their handsets. Because of this, they are also the first to get Android updates. The Nexus 4 got the Jellybean 4.3 update within days of the update’s launch.

Nexus 5 Coming?

There is speculation that this price cut is in indicator the next Nexus should be launching pretty soon. There have already been rumors of the Nexus 5 launching in October this year, at Nexus 4 pricing. This fits in pretty well with the strategy to reduce the price for Nexus 4. The Nexus 5 is expected to be manufactured by LG again, although the company had denied involvement a few months back.

Another theory suggests that this is a move by Google to pre-empt the launch of Apple’s budget iPhone – expected to launch on September 10. This will place the Nexus 4 in a good position to compete the iPhone 5C, which, knowing Apple, should be shipping with inferior specifications compared to the Nexus 4.

“Google is keen to put the pressure on Apple ahead of the launch of a new cheaper iPhone model. It wants to get ahead of the hype,” said Ben Wood, Director of Research, CCS Insight.

Whatever the case may be, this is great news for us customers. This also puts pressure on other manufacturers – HTC, Motorola, and Samsung – who offer devices at similar prices, but only on 2 year contracts. When you’re getting a Snapdragon S4 Pro off-contract for $199, it sure as hell is tempting.

What do you think of the this price slash? Are you going to be purchasing a Nexus 4 now? Let us know in the comments below!