Exclusive: Google Nexus 4G detailed - 720p display, 4G LTE, Android 4.0
Google is two devices deep in a quest to deliver its vision of what a mobile device should be, while pushing the envelope forward as far as specifications and collaboration is concerned.
Context & Ripple Effects
The Nexus line has been Google's way of shipping its own answer to 'what a mobile device should be': the program started with the first leaked photos of the Google Phone running Android 2.1 in December 2009, a device built to show partners what stock Android could do rather than to dominate sales charts.
BGR's new leak extends that playbook two devices deep — a rumored Nexus 4G pairing a 720p display and 4G LTE with Android 4.0. If accurate, Ice Cream Sandwich would debut on Google's own reference hardware just as carriers are lighting up LTE networks and every Android vendor is racing past qHD panels.
First-order effects
- If the leak holds, the Nexus 4G becomes the launch vehicle for Android 4.0, giving Google control of how Ice Cream Sandwich is first seen and benchmarked against a 720p/LTE spec sheet.
Second-order effects
- Samsung, HTC and Motorola would face immediate pressure to match 720p screens and LTE radios in their fall flagships, pulling those components down the cost curve faster than their own roadmaps planned.
Third-order effects
- A recurring, spec-leading Nexus would harden Google's role as the pace-setter of Android hardware — partners increasingly building to whatever baseline the latest reference device establishes, with the display-resolution arms race as the visible front.
The trend: Google's Nexus experiment is maturing from a one-off developer phone into an annual reference-device program that sets the hardware and software bar for the entire Android ecosystem.