Nexus 4 stock still low, LG possibly working on Key Lime Pie successor

Posted on 15 Jan 2013 at 10:26, by Gareth Halfacree

The LG-manufactured Nexus 4 smartphone is still suffering from stock shortages, despite news that Virgin Mobile has become the latest carrier to offer the cut-price Android Jelly Bean 4.2 handset, leading to new rumours that production is being ceased in favour of an upgraded successor device.

According to IBTimes UK, LG has shifted its priorities away from manufacturing the Google-branded Nexus 4 handset and towards a successor device which may feature its own branding and sit in competition with the Nexus range. Quoting LG's senior vice president James Fisher as stating that the Nexus 4 was "the first of many devices to come from our growing partnership with this very selective company" and hinting at an announcement due at the Mobile World Congress event in February, the conclusion drawn is that the Nexus 4's days may be numbered.

Fishers' comments, made at a Consumer Electronics Show press conference last week, are somewhat vague - and it's not yet clear whether an upcoming device from LG would be part of Google's Nexus family of smartphones and tablets or not. A Mobile World Congress unveiling would suggest the latter: Google typically eschews launching at scheduled events, preferring to hold its own private press conferences each time it launches a new operating system or device.

Rumours point to the successor device, whether it is an official Nexus handset or not, as having a higher-quality Full HD 1,920x1,080 display to the Nexus 4's 4.7in 1,280x768 screen, a high-speed 2GHz processor and the potential to launch with Android 4.3 Key Lime Pie, the next-generation replacement for Google's current Android 4.2 Jelly Bean mobile operating system.

Neither LG nor Google have commented on the claims.

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