I’ve been curious about the Nexus 4 for quite some time. So much so that I bought one but my main curiosity has been the process for getting it into consumers hands. Its been fraught with problems and their seems to be some significant shortages and waiting times. In fact, its only been on sale from Google for 2 short periods.
XDA have done some digging though and a few posters over there think they have figured out just how many have been sold. Serial numbers generally contain some information about when the device was made etc. If you add your IMEI to the end of this URL then it will tell you how far in to the production line your handset was made. Judging by the figures in the thread that would put the current count at around 400,000 according to date and production number. It also tells us the the first production run was in October and was 70,000 units where as the most recent was in December which was 210,000.
As always excersize caution when giving your serial number or IMEI out over the internet, you never know whats going to happen to it once its been made public.
400,000 in 2 months is really quite poor.
For an LG handset? Not to mention one that hasn’t been marketed or sold through a major us carrier?
It’s a Nexus device. The manufacturer is frankly irrelevant as Its a bloody good phone for £279. I expected it to sell a LOT more. The iPhone sold 5m in its first 3 days!
Why or even how would it sell more when so few people know about it or even understand why a Nexus device should stand out in a very crowded Android market. You reference the iPhone but that is an Apples to Oranges comparison, the iPhone is a mass market device with wide recognition and a huge marketing machine behind it. So without LG, Google or major carriers pushing it there is no chance of it approaching iPhone numbers, ever.
Also, the manufacturer does make a difference. Samsung was bad enough with their cheap plastic designs but LG isn’t known for making good, much less premium, phones and they have a miserable record for releasing updates. Frankly I have dismissed this phone because it is from LG but likewise I am drawn to Nexus 7 because it is built by ASUS. Two different companies with different perceptions of quality and different approaches for raising awareness of their devices. The manufacturer makes all the difference.
The build quality of the nexus is outstanding, far above anything I’ve seen from Samsung. The camera however is not top drawer, and is the feature that made me stick with my iPhone.
Once you’ve made it past the display it isn’t difficult to surpass Samsung. Until I am able to hold it in my hand I will have trouble believing LG has made anything more than a 3rd tier device. Since it is literally nowhere to be found in the states I don’t think that will change anytime soon.
Honestly I am having a difficult time finding an Android device to replace my Lumia or even the Desire Z I keep around to tinker with.
Why comment on then on something you’ve not had held in your hand?
I’ve got one in my hand and it’s a superior device in terms of aesthetics and design to many other Android devices. What’s inside is similar to others, but having vanilla Android is the icing on the cake.
I work in the mobile industry and have access to most UE’s, even those that don’t make it to retail and for me, it was the best of the bunch when I picked it up for it’s minimalist price before Christmas. I moved up from the Galaxy S2, the S3 is just too big. Windows 7.5 are nice handsets (who ever is making them), but the lack of apps and functionality made them less appealing than what I was upgrading from. It’s a nice OS and maybe when 8 rolls out and is better supported, it may sway me.
Horatio, most of my comments are geared toward the fact that so few people on the street have any idea that this phone exist. Based on past experience with LG I do have my reservations about putting LG and Quality together in a sentence but even Samsung manages to put out a nice phone every once in a while so anything is possible. The only reason I haven’t been able to hold one of these is that I simply can’t locate one. I’ve been in 5 states in the last 2 months and very few people have even heard of it much less have one on hand.
Vanilla Android is a bit of a mixed bag for me. It should get faster updates and it might perform better but as a UI it is only really an improvement when compared to TouchWiz. Personally if I could get the HTC apps on a ROM without Sense dragging it down I would be pretty happy with it.
On the Windows front when I look at the core reasons why I carry a smartphone WP7 is head and shoulders above anything to ever come from Android (or iOS for that matter). I find the app argument a lot weaker than it was a year ago. I can only think of one app that I’m missing and it is one that used to be on WP7 but was replaced by a web version. The only real complaint in the app department is in the realm of games. WP7 has many excellent games but it doesn’t have many of the more popular free games you find on Android. That isn’t really an issue for me but I see how it could be for some.
What draws me back to Android isn’t that it’s so great, for me there is no measurable way in which Android is better than Windows Phone. What draws me back to Android is that it gives you room to tinker. I can tweak every little setting, write my own apps without a developer account and try all of the bleeding edge software that comes out. Unfortunately it’s user experience suffers considerably as a result.
You should probably stop saying that nobody knows about this device as its really not accurate. Its your opinion but its backed up with nothing at all. 400,000 people have bought one and it was on the front page of GOOGLE for days! You don’t get better exposure than that! Think how many millions of pageviews this and other sites like engagdet and gizmodo get you think that hardly anyone knows about it? I hope when i start my own business that i can shift 400000 pieces purely on a whim. You contradict yourself so much its crazy
Well said Nelson. Theres way too many fools who think that because they know some other humans they must represent the whole marketplace. They usually spew crap like “oh my mom wont use one so it wont sell well”. Its funny he cant measure why android is better than WP but he can measure customer interest in the nexus 4 despite never even seeing one! typical know it all
Kyle, are you familiar with the pot and the kettle? You think that because you are aware of it then everyone else must be. Aside from that you miss the point, I haven’t talked about interest but awareness. This product doesn’t really have any.
And there is no measurable way in which Android is better than WP. That is because WP is better in every way, it simply isn’t as open.
When did I say everyone must be aware of it? You keep saying the product doesn’t have any awareness but you’re not backing it up with any facts! Was this a survey? A poll? A census? What?
I know if I talk to my buds about android phones, the nexus 4 won’t be one of the phones they’ll know about, merely because their main sources of information tend to be friends who have the phone in their hands, mainstream advertising and the staff in mobile phone shops.
Not t’internet then? Oh…
Nelson, 400k isn’t a trivial amount and my point from the start has been that it would have sold more if people actually knew it existed. The Nexus brand has so little name recognition it’s pitiful. The friggin tablets have done more to change that than any of the phones have. People who don’t follow the tech world aren’t asking each other “Hey have you seen the new Nexus?” or “Have you gotten your Nexus 4 yet?” On top of that not having a carrier subsidy in the States is a huge disadvantage for any handset.
Your idea of marketing is almost laughable, being on Google for a few days or write ups in Engadget or Gizmodo does not get you the main stream exposure you need to really make any impact. Look where you see Apple or Galaxy S ads and then show me the comparable Nexus ads. They’ll be few and far between.
When people like us follow these things we tend to get blinders on because we talk to others who follow the same things and we think every knows about this stuff.
“it would have sold more if people actually knew it existed”
WTF? They have sold out of EVERY SINGLE NEXUS 4 they have made. it doesnt matter if 100 million people wanted them, there isnt anymore to flippin sell! In fact there are thousands upon thousands of vocal people on Twitter, Facebook, Forums etc who are desperate to get their hands on it but can’t. You are delusional pal.
“So few people know about it” this is based on what research exactly? They’ve sold 400,000 so that proves that clearly a lot of people know about it and that doesnt account for the people who cant buy one because It sells out so fast every time it goes on sale. There is clearly demand for it, LG are just unable to keep up.
“Frankly I have dismissed this phone because it is from LG but likewise I am drawn to Nexus 7 because it is built by ASUS” this sentence shows how wrong that approach is, The nexus 7 is plagued by hardware issues! So are the transformer tablets in fact.
last point. Samsung sell the highest volume of smartphones on the planet. Seems like how they are made is not stopping people from buying them. please dont make stuff up to make yourself look smart, because you just end up looking like an idiot.
Steve my friend, you’re talking in circle. If you ever find your point please let us know.
You’ve argued both that is selling poorly and that they’ve sold so many that it’s in demand and therefore must be good. If LG is truly having trouble keeping up with demand it is likely because they have never made a phone anyone has actually ever wanted to buy.
I’ve had an original transformer since release and it has been a stellar device. I can’t say that about any LG device I’ve ever had the misfortune to own.
You should consider altering your last point to say that Samsung sells the highest volume of plastic crap on the planet. In Steve’s world selling a lot of phones means it good, selling a few phones means its good too. That’s very apple fan like logic. It doesn’t matter how good it is as long as a lot of people buy it. Considering how much advertisement goes into iPhone and the Galaxy S line it’s no wonder that people buy the things. From your point of view Budweiser must be great beer because they sell so much of it. Coke must be the best drink on the planet and McDonalds must be fine dining.
Even if the stars align and LG makes a good phone without effort from Google to Market the Nexus line it will only ever be a niche market made up predominantly of Android enthusiast. If you can’t beat the distortion fields emanating from Samsung and Apple it doesn’t matter what you make.
Lastly I don’t have to put any effort into looking smart, I have you for that…
That is extremely poor, 70,000 available at launch? For a flagship Nexus device, what were Google thinking, surely they should have had half a million units available? I am watching the video podcast (Ravi needs a decent connection 😉 ) and with regards to marketing, this is a GOOGLE device, when you talk internet, nearly everyone in the world knows Google, they could market the life out of this phone and it could outsell the SIII.
Nice I hope to get one soon.