LG Nexus 4 Review

The latest take on a pure vanilla Android smartphone is called the LG Nexus 4. Its design is based off another LG handset called the Optimus G and it is one of many flagship models made for Google. How does it perform when compared with the most recent models in Google’s Nexus smartphone range? And more importantly, is it able to outperform the competition?

The Nexus 4 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with a clock speed of 1.5GHz. This particular chip has been found to pretty much leave competing chips in other manufacturer’s devices in the dust. It’s quite powerful, and it goes along perfectly with the rest of the Nexus 4’s specs. These include a 4.7-inch 1024x768 touchscreen display, 2GB of RAM, up to 16GB of internal storage, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, GPS, and NFC.

The default operating system is 4.2 Jelly Bean, the very latest version of Android. What kind of new stuff does it bring to the table? Well, for one thing, it improves the user experience by making the user interface even faster—as part of Google’s ongoing project Butter—and adds several new features like user accounts and wireless display support. These can't really be described as revolutionary but the end-result does improve its overall usefulness.

The Nexus 4 doesn’t represent a huge step up from the model that it’s supposed to replace. Though there are noticeable improvements, such as better camera performance and more useful software features, it just can’t be described as more than a minor upgrade to its predecessor. Its uniquely LG styling won’t appeal to everyone, but at only 9mm thick and less than 140 grams, it will definitely get some extra attention. If you want a smartphone that will be on the forefront of Android for at least the next several months, then this is probably the Android smartphone that you're looking for.

Need to Know: LG Nexus 4

1. Runs the latest flavor of Android, version 4.2 Jelly Bean. (The Good)

2. Features wireless display support via Miracast and has wireless charging tech. (The Good)

3. Short battery life. (The Bad)

4. Camera performance could be improved. (The Bad)

Pantech Discover review: Unlikely hero

Launched during AT&T's developer conference at CES 2013, the Pantech Discover is the company's most capable Android smartphone to hit the United States yet. The LTE handset follows the same formula as its two predecessors, the Pantech Burst and the Pantech Flex championed over the last year. It consists of offering top shelf specs for entry-level money.

With Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset featuring two 1.5GHz Krait CPU cores, 4.8" HD display and 16GB of built-in, further expandable memory on board, it is not difficult to mistake the Pantech Discover for the US version of the Samsung Galaxy S III. Heck, one can even argue that the Pantech is a more enticing offering as it one-ups the Samsung royalty with a 12.6MP camera and a pair of 3D surround sound speakers on board.

After taking a closer look at the list of features which the Pantech Discover has to offer, there's little doubt that the device has plenty to offer, especially considering its price range. The 12.6MP camera and stereo speakers are impressive even by today's flagship standards. As for the dual-core chipset and 720p screen - it was only a couple of months ago when they were still the best available combination on the US market.

As far as the device's negatives go, we were mostly puzzled by the lack Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box, now that Jelly Bean has been out for more than six months. As for the slow camera performance, hopefully the image quality will make up for the extra wait between shots.

So, is the Pantech Discover a budget Android smartphone hero? Its specs certainly point this way, so we are curious to find out. As always, we are going to kick the review off with an unboxing, followed by a design and build quality inspection.