Google Nexus 4 Review: Price Drop Makes It The Flagship For Discount Non-Contract Users - Specs, Features, Price Rundown

Now that the Google Nexus 4 is about a third cheaper, is it worth it to pick up this device, or would that be a fool's errand at this time of year, when several new smartphones are also getting cheaper and the Google Nexus 5 is rumored to be released in months? Here's a look at the hardware specs and a consideration of those factors.

The Nexus 4 was certainly a hit when it first was released, almost a year ago. The Google handset, manufactured by LG Electronics featured a smooth Gorilla Glass 2 finish on the front and back, with a futuristic pattern behind the back panel glass that gave the Nexus 4 a shiny, twinkling effect in the right lighting. Simply said, it's a gorgeous smartphone.

The Google Nexus 4's display, a 4.7-incher - which may still be the perfect size for one-handed use - came with 768 x 1280p resolution, giving it about a 318 pixels per inch pixel density. That's not bad, but it's certainly not top of the line anymore, as the Samsung Galaxy S4 packs 441ppi on its 5-inch screen and the HTC One, with the same size display, has a stunning true HD 1080p resolution, packing 468 pixels per inch. Powering the device is a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro, clocked at 1.5GHz, which is showing its age against the competition now. It does come with the now industry-standard 2GB of RAM, but the only internal storage available is 8GB or 16GB. There is no microSD card slot on the Nexus 4.

At today's lowered prices, it would be silly not to get the 16GB version - all flagship devices should generally have that much storage, at the very least - especially if you don't want to have to pick and choose what media and apps to keep on the device. But that will run you about $250, which runs into the price range of some of the current flagship phones with a two-year contract. For example, an AT&T customer who is willing to go another two years with the service (And why not? PC World has ranked it the fastest network, and it has been constantly expanding LTE coverage in the U.S.) can get a Galaxy S4 for under the price of a unlocked Nexus 4, with 16GB of storage, plus a microSD card slot for up to 64GB of media storage as well.

And speaking of LTE, that's the Achilles heal of the Nexus 4. Even if you're a wireless service hopper or just like one specific carrier that offers the best deal for you, you're going to have to deal with top speeds of a 3G network. Sure, the HSPA+ bands supported by the Nexus 4 will work on T-Mobile and AT&T, as well as lots of European networks and most of the rest of the world, but you'll be jet setting with a slow smartphone connection.

Still, there are a few perks to having a Nexus 4. It's a Google phone, which means you get Android 4.3 and any other Android update as soon as it's ready. It has an 8-megapixel camera, which as long as you're not a leading Instagram photographer, should be just fine for anyone.

And it comes with NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, and all of the other little features which have become the norm for flagship smartphones since (perhaps, because of) the introduction of the Nexus 4 last year.

Final Thoughts

If you're using a smaller, or no-contract, carrier and want to actually own the phone you use - and you're looking for something with flagship specs, performance, and the benefit of having the full force of Google behind your phone without any middleman - and you want to buy it for under $300, the Google Nexus 4 is now your device. But two things: You'll want to spend just a little more for the full 16GB storage and you'll have to be okay with slow network speeds.

That means it's a great choice if you're using a no-contract discount carrier that perhaps doesn't offer 4G. In that case - welcome to your new certified Google flagship device. And enjoy! People who aren't locked into one of the major wireless post-paid subscription services deserve good phones, too.

But if you are in a contract and will continue to be, and you can get one of the more recent flagship phones for the same price or cheaper (which you will) - do that. You'll get better specs, storage, performance, and LTE speeds. Sprint is offering the HTC One for $100. AT&T offers the Galaxy S4 for $150 with a trade-in. Verizon's Viva Movil (by JLo) is offering the HTC One for $100. Get one of those.

Or wait a bit, save a lot, and get the rumored Nexus 5 with the latest Android Key Lime Pie operating system, 5.0, after it's unveiled sometime (hopefully) this late October/early November.