After having owned and subsequently dropped and destroyed a Samsung GS3 I sought a more "purified" version of Android as a replacement. Rather than replacing the Samsung with a like for like handset I purchased the Nexus 4 primarily due to the fact that the price of the handset was substantially cheaper than any other smartphone of this spec.(early March 2013) (Nexus 4 16BG- £280 & Samsung GS3 16GB - £450). I have found that performance is on par if not better than the GS3, in addition to this the design and build quality of the phone is above that of the samsung which for a high-end smartphone felt rather light, in a flimsy, cheap plastic sort-of way. The Nexus 4 also excels in terms of display which, in my opinion, is the best out there (I have yet to lay eyes on the new 1080p resolutions on upcoming handsets) making the pentile display of the GS3 seem rather out of date. In terms of the "pure Android experience" the Nexus 4 delivers both in design and functionality. The features of the Nexus 4 from the camera app functions to the drop down settings widgets the Nexus 4 offers the best in function but not at the expense of form. After using the Nexus 4 the features of Samsung's Touchwiz seem almost un-necessary and the gimmicky nature of such features arguably taint the functionality and design of Android 4.2. That is not to say that the Nexus 4 is without flaws, firstly the Camera is good but not excellent other phones such as the Iphone5 and HTC One arguably offer a better photographic experience but the Nexus 4 should be able to meet the needs of most point and shoot users. Further issues come in the form of the poor battery life that the phone has to offer. Even with the brightness on auto and wi-fi turned off for most of the day the phone still drains power which has led to regular evening charges but I think most people will agree that this is the reality of owning a high end smartphone. Overall if your in the market for a well-priced and well-spec'd smartphone or wish to move on from the outdated and tired iOS you can do a lot worse than invest in a Nexus 4
The Breakdown
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Design
8
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Display
8
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Camera(s)
6
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Reception / call quality
8
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Performance
9
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Software
9
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Battery life
5
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Ecosystem
7
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