Google Nexus 4 deep-dive review: Android at its best

Google's Nexus devices are meant to be the Holy Grail of Android technology -- pure representations of the platform that show just how good its user experience can be. With its new Nexus 4 phone, available November 13, Google offers its best effort to date and its most aggressive attempt to upend the U.S. smartphone market.

The Nexus 4's most noteworthy feature may well be the phone's pricing and sales model: The device will be sold unlocked and contract-free directly from Google: $299 for an 8GB version or $349 for a 16GB phone.

This may sound like a normal price, but it's actually extremely low. While most comparable smartphones are sold for $200 to $300, that's only because they're subsidized by carriers -- in other words, the carriers cut the price in exchange for a guarantee that you'll subscribe to their services for a full two years. Most phones of this caliber would cost between $600 and $800 if bought in a similar unlocked and unsubsidized manner.

Buying the phone outright means you wholly own the device and are under no obligation to anyone. As a result, you can choose to use the phone with any compatible provider -- including prepaid service providers, which often offer the same basic service you're used to at a fraction of the cost -- and can switch providers at any time with no penalties or fees.

(The Nexus 4 will be offered through a more traditional sales model as well -- T-Mobile will sell the device for $200 after a $50 mail-in rebate and with a new two-year contract -- but most consumers would fare better in the long run by choosing the unlocked model.)

So pricing aside, what's the Nexus 4 actually like to use? I've spent the past week using the phone in place of my own personal device. Here's what I've found.

Body and display

The Nexus 4 is manufactured by LG, but don't let that fool you: This is without a doubt a Google phone. Google's Android engineers worked closely with LG on every facet of the device's design, and the company's influence clearly shines through -- so much so that at a glance, the phone actually looks quite similar to last year's Galaxy Nexus device.

While the general design language remains consistent, though, the Nexus 4 is anything but an incremental upgrade -- and that's immediately apparent the minute you pick up the device. The Nexus 4 feels sleek, solid and substantial. It's a luxurious piece of hardware, with not a single flimsy or plasticky-feeling surface to be found.

The Nexus 4 is 2.7 x 5.3 x 0.36 in. and 4.9 oz. -- almost exactly the same dimensions and weight as the Galaxy Nexus, despite its roomier display. Speaking of display, the Nexus 4 has a gorgeous 4.7-in. True HD IPS screen with 1280 x 768 resolution and 320ppi. The screen is among the best I've seen on a smartphone, rivaling the likes of HTC's One X and Apple's iPhone 5 for top honors. Colors are bold and brilliant, details are crisp and sharp, and even in bright outdoor lighting, the Nexus 4's screen remains impressively viewable.

(Incidentally, the contrast with the Galaxy Nexus in that regard is immense: When I hold the two phones side by side in direct or even indirect sunlight, the Nexus 4's display is easy to read while the Galaxy Nexus's screen is almost impossible to see. It's amazing how much difference a year can make.)

This isn't just any regular ol' glass, either: Google has introduced a new type of curving technique with the Nexus 4's display in which the screen is sloped subtly at its edges. The goal was to create a surface that matches the way you interact with the phone -- swiping and gesturing side to side. That's a marked change in approach from past Nexus devices, which were curved to match the shape of your face.

It's a subtle yet important distinction: The physical act of moving my fingers on the Nexus 4's screen feels smoother and more natural than on any device I've used. By optimizing the phone's form for touch over talk, Google is making a bold move -- but one that very much matches the way our smartphone usage habits are evolving.

The Nexus 4's screen extends all the way to the sides of the phone's face, creating a large surface area on an otherwise reasonably sized device. The display is surrounded by a thin silver metal band that's most visible when you look at the phone from the side. The edge where the screen and the band meet is a pleasingly smooth curve that's not at all sharp to the touch -- a demonstration of the attention to detail that went into this device.

Another impressive bit of detail, surprisingly enough, is on the phone's back: The Nexus 4's rear is a smooth and reflective glass plate with a crystallized design that appears to move as you tilt the phone. The effect is eye-catching and distinctive without being over the top; you actually don't even notice it until you're looking closely at the phone. One minor drawback: The glass does seem to pick up an inordinate amount of visible fingerprint smudges.

The bigger risk with this flourish, of course, is that glass is inherently prone to breaking. Google and LG have taken steps to reduce the risk of shatter, including using Gorilla Glass 2 on both the phone's front and back and implementing edging that extends ever so slightly past the rear glass's reach in order to help break a fall -- but still, the more glass you have, the more risk you have of it cracking. If you have butterfingers, you may need to use a case or bumper in order to maintain peace of mind.

The Nexus 4 has a small LED indicator at the bottom of its face that alerts you to missed calls, new messages and other system events. As with other Android phones, you can customize exactly how and when the LED works by installing a third-party LED control utility.

Buttons, ports and charging

The perimeter of the Nexus 4 is taken up by a soft rubberized plastic material. On the left side of the phone is a silver metal volume rocker along with a tray for the micro-SIM card, which is locked shut and requires a small pin tool (included with the device) to open. The top of the phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack, and the right side houses a silver metal power button, which -- to be nitpicky -- is set back just a hair too far in the device and is consequently not always easy to press.

In terms of buttons, that's it: The Nexus 4, as you'd expect, utilizes virtual on-screen buttons for the main Android functions (back, home and app-switching), matching the design standards introduced with Android 4.0 last year. Given the fact that this is the way current versions of the Android operating system are designed to be used, this setup creates a far more fluid and user-friendly approach than the dated button-reliant configurations some manufacturers continue to employ.

The Nexus 4 has a standard micro-USB port on its bottom, which doubles as an HDMI out-port. LG and Google have opted to go with a relatively new protocol known as SlimPort instead of the more typical MHL interface for the video-out functionality. The upside of that setup is that SlimPort adapters are able to charge the device while it's connected to a TV, monitor or projector; they're also able to connect via both HDMI and VGA. The downside is that you'll need a special SlimPort adapter in order to make any such connections.

The Nexus 4 supports wireless charging via the Qi charging standard. Google has shown off a futuristic-looking "charging orb" upon which you can simply set the phone to charge it; that accessory was not available for me to review, and it's not yet clear when it'll be available for purchase or how much it'll cost. The phone does also support standard micro-USB-based charging, though, and comes with a normal micro-USB-to-USB cable and wall adapter.