LG and Google team up for next Nexus, $400 for Google’s 2013 flagship

If there’s every a way to get the attention of the people, it’s by offering a product without a big price tag, and that is exactly what Google is doing with its latest Nexus product, coming in November with 4G LTE.

The next in the Google Nexus line of smartphones, the Nexus 5 makes for another partnership between LG and Google to craft a flagship handset that can act as the benchmark for the Android operating system.

“LG and Google’s first collaboration, the Nexus 4, delivered significant sales in the region so we’re excited to be partnering with Google once again to build on this success,” said Lambro Skropidis, Marketing General Manager for LG in Australia.

“Nexus 5 offers ground-breaking functionality in a modern design, and is a testament to the level of innovation that can be generated when two companies such as LG and Google come together for a second time.”

Aspects of the Nexus 5 share similarities between the recently released LG G2 smartphone, including the use of a 5 inch Full HD IPS screen boasting 445 pixels per inch, which over 100 pixels per inch higher than the Retina-grade screen on the iPhone 5S and 5C.

Also shared is the inclusion of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, Adreno 330 graphics chip, 2GB RAM, support for 802.11 a/b/g/n and even 802.11ac, Near-Field Communication, Bluetooth 4.0, and Gorilla Glass 3 protecting the screen.

Some things have changed, however, and while 4G is present in the Nexus 5, it will only be the Category 3 variant of the technology, capable of a maximum of 100Mbps down from whichever carrier you use, lower than the Cat4 used by the G2.

The camera drops from the 13 megapixel on the G2 to an 8 megapixel on the Nexus 5, and the battery is only a 2300mAh module here, likely resulting in a day of life based on what we know about the technology, though to Google’s credit, wireless charging is included.

There is an improvement to the operating system, though, and Google has gone with its latest chocolate-inspired version of Android, KitKat, which was launched in September and aims to improve performance and battery life, while also cleaning up the interface to better compete with iOS7.

“We’re excited to collaborate with LG on a new Nexus device,” said Google’s Sundar Pichai, Senior Vice President of Android, Chrome, and Apps.

“Google Nexus 5 is the slimmest and fastest Nexus phone to date and puts the latest platform innovations of Android 4.4, KitKat, right in the hands of consumers.”

With a clean version of Android installed on the Nexus, there is no interference from a manufacturer to deal with.

No locked shortcut dock like on Australian Samsung handsets, no Flipboard-inspired Blinkfeed on the home screen that you can’t get rid of like on the HTC One, and no tweaks to the overlay, with the customer literally receiving Android the way Google envisioned it, similar to what happened in prior Nexus releases, regardless of which manufacturer made them, including LG, Samsung, HTC, and in the case of tablets, Asus.

Overall, it looks like an impressive device, boasting high-end smartphone tech with a price hitting under the $500 belt that flagship phones normally go for.

In fact, the pricing is insanely competitive, with both black and white 16GB models coming in at $399, while the 32GB model will cost $50 more at $449.

It’s worth noting that there isn’t a microSD slot in this handset, so what you get is what you have for the life of the phone. As such, make sure you’re happy with the amount of memory you’re after, because it won’t be upgradable later on.