Google Nexus 5 Release Date, Rumors, and Specs: Device at FCC Looks Like the Nexus 5 LTE

The road to the Google Nexus 5 seems to be becoming clearer and clearer every day. After a Google employee was caught by the keen eyes of tech bloggers in a Google promotional ad (which was subsequently pulled) using a previously unseen LG device to take photos of the new KitKat Android statue (which had "Nexus" marked in landscape across the back), a similar LG device has passed through the FCC with specs that look like the new Google Nexus 5.

The smartphone, which was called D820 as it passed through the Federal Communications Commission for review, is an LG Electronics phone with 7 band LTE capability. (You would hope Google would, by now, make its Nexus handset with LTE speeds.) Out of those supported radio bands, (2, 4, 5, 17, 25, 26, 41) according to Engadget, some are compatible with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint.

There are several other intriguing details found in the FCC paperwork as well. The "D820," or possible Google Nexus 5 device, also supports CDMA / EVDO rev A, HSPA+, and quadband GSM / EDGE wireless signals. The device also has NFC and Bluetooth 4.0, and dual-band WiFi over 802.11 b/g/n/ac. It also appears that the device will be running a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 system on a chip, which is appropriate for a flagship device.

Beyond that, there's also a section at the FCC showing the D820 Google Nexus 5's Qi wireless charging abilities, with pictures of the wireless charging coil on the inside back cover. The rounded edges and camera sensor placement really looks like it matches up with the Mountain View employee's mysterious "Nexus" handset.

Further evidence supporting the theory that the D820 device is actually a Google Nexus 5 is the fact that the software version listed at the FCC was called "aosp_hammerhead-userdebugKyeLimePieFACTORYeng.sangjoon84.lee.20130618.015154."

Did you catch the (strangely misspelled) KyeLimePie?

But that's not even the name of the operating system! They're calling it KitKat. Why would they have the wrong name for their own software?

Ah yes, but remember that the KitKat name was such a secret, most Google employees were in the dark as well, as Google continued to call it Key Lime Pie internally.

Finally Anandtech spotted the display specs for the device, putting it at a nice 5 inches, which you'd expect from the Nexus 5. Even if this particular listing isn't the Nexus 5, all indications are that we'll see something from Google soon.