Google has confirmed that batches of its wildly popular Nexus 4 smart phone are shipping to some of its pre-order customers in the US. But it isn't able to shed any light on when more models will be available to buy here in the UK.
In emails sent out to certain customers west of the Azores, Google explains, "Your Nexus 4 order is scheduled to ship this week. We'll send you a notification, including tracking information, when it's on the way."
Great news if you're one of the lucky bunch who received the email, but there's no word on exactly how many of the orders are being fulfilled, or indeed when stock would become generally available across the pond.
The UK Google Play Store page for the Nexus 4 currently shows the phone in both 8GB and 16GB variants as "out of stock", with no option to buy or pre-order. I caught up with one of Google's UK spokespeople, who wasn't able to give any indication as to when more stock would be available.
If you hoped to have the bargain beast in your pocket in time for Christmas, you're probably going to be out of luck.
Google says it was taken by surprise by the popularity of the phone and as such didn't have enough stock ready. Our good friend Rupert Goodwins at ZDNet speculates 4G might be to blame, however. The Nexus 4 handsets shipping now contain the physical radios to use 4G networks, but they aren't connected, so can't be activated later with a software update.
The reason for this is that phone shares the same manufacturing process as LG's Optimus G, saving money by not having to set up another production line. It "utilised the same powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset as can be found in [the] Optimus G", an LG spokesperson explained to Techradar. It's possible that LG is changing this manufacturing process to help keep its overall costs for the budget phone down.
Have you tried to buy the Nexus 4? Are you desperate to get your hands on it or are you tempted to buy a Samsung Galaxy S3 to avoid waiting? Let me know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page.
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anonymous 27 November, 2012 18:00
I think it's absolutely disgusting what Google have done just to create hype and publicity and anyone who actually thinks they have run out of stock is a fool, they know exactly what they are doing. I still want one but I will not pay a penny more than £279
anonymous 27 November, 2012 18:26
Got it from Carphone Warehouse. Stunning phone.
Was good value at £60 upfront and £26/mth for contract.
And don't believe for a second that Google ran out of stock.
anonymous 27 November, 2012 18:41
What a mug anonymous @ 18.26 is I quote "£60 upfront and £26p/m" let me see 24 months @ £26 = £624 plus £60 upfront = £684 total.... Stunning value lmfao, even on a 12month contract that's a joke.
Surely 279 sim free with a 12.50pm giff gaff sim only plan makes much more sense.... Still if you can't possibly, anonymous has paved the way forward in bringing us amazing value deals lmao
anonymous 27 November, 2012 18:44
"And don't believe for a second that Google ran out of stock."
You people who try to put everything down to a conspiracy are funny.
AkumaJack 27 November, 2012 18:54
Anonymous 18:00: Disgusting? I wouldn't go that far. I hope i get it ordered for Xmas but I'm happy to wait. I know they are playing on the hype but I think there's truth to the fact that they weren't expecting this many orders. everyone on the forums were saying it'll DOA because of the lack of 4G and I wont pay the networks stupid prices: £399 pay as you go which is a 43% mark up and its the same with the contract deals.
Jason Alexander 27 November, 2012 19:01
Really disappointing, Google is really shooting itself in the foot with this situation. $12.5bn on Motorola and they can't tool up and anticipate demand?
anonymous 27 November, 2012 19:01
I see that this phone is shipping from Google Ireland. Not particularly surprising, except that they won't sell it to Irish customers. I would like them to explain the logic behind that decision.
anonymous 27 November, 2012 19:31
@AkumaJack 27 November, 2012 18:54
"....but I think there's truth to the fact that they weren't expecting this many orders'.
Well there haven't been a huge number of orders from the Play Store, because they closed ordering after 15 minutes or less from when it opened. Most of the demand hasn't been able to place an order yet.
Meanwhile there are plentiful supplies at the phone shops and networks, so not exactly a rush to buy there.
Peejay1977 27 November, 2012 20:45
UK people are also getting the "it will ship this week" email.
anonymous 27 November, 2012 21:26
I don't believe Google with all the info they collect didn't order enough phones. For such a huge company to make such an error doesn't make sense. What would make sense is the fact that O2 in England and T-Mobile in the States have exclusivity on the Nexus 4 for a month and both are selling for at least £100 more than on the Play Store. A 3 week delay on orders and re-stocking on the Plat Store is a bit of a coincidence for me.
Sebastien Ramsamy 27 November, 2012 22:06
Got mine from the Carphone Warehouse UK at an inflated price tag and I ain't regretting my decision... THIS DEVICE IS GREAT WELL WORTH THE MONEY AND HASSLES.
Google has let their customers down on this one but I cannot go through the nonsense.
anonymous 27 November, 2012 22:14
Anonymous@18:41 your gifgaff £12.50 deal isn't that good a deal. My £26 gets me 5000 anytime mins, 5000 same network mins, 5000 texts & unlimited data. How does that compare to your gifgaff deal? I looked for the nearest comparable gifgaff deal...it costs £25pm + cost of the phone vs £26pm + £60. So what if you can change your phone whenever you like, that just bumps the cost up even more over the 2 years. At the end of my contract I get a free up grade. I bet your upgrade won't be free.
Late8 27 November, 2012 22:37
@anonymous 27 November, 2012 22:14
Anonymus your deal isn't that good. You have paid £60 upfront for a £279 phone and you are locked onto it now for 2 years at £26pm. Thats £684.
GiffGaff is crap however - I know a lot of people who have had issues. 3 has good deals like sim only for 15.90 gets you Unlimited data, 5000 texts but 600minutes.
CaptainPicard 27 November, 2012 23:04
The Anonymous that paid £60 upfront and £26 PM, which gives him unlimited data and other stuff, might have got a good deal. We are all presuming that Google will put the Nexus 4 on sale again-its been 2 weeks and their website still says sold out. If they don't sell anymore this year, the Anon that brought it from Carphone Warehouse has got a good deal, if they do put it on sale again next month, then Anon, you've been scammed. We'll find out soon.
anonymous 27 November, 2012 23:24
the anonymous guy also wrongly claimed it being unlimited internet. Its actually a 1GB limit...
anonymous 27 November, 2012 23:36
I am in the UK and I got the confirmation from google this morning (27/11) that my nexus 4 (8gb) has been shipping with TNT and the tracking number.
Matt Winston. 27 November, 2012 23:59
I can't find anonymous 22:14 deal on the Carphone Warehouse website; maybe they've sold out ;)
And I agree with CaptainPicard, it's really down to when Google put the Nexus 4 on sale again, and if they are getting unlimited data or not, when buying from CW.
Meleagru 28 November, 2012 00:29
The best phone money can't buy
BLADESMAN1889 28 November, 2012 01:44
The £26 deal from CW is only good if you are going to get the value from the taffif. I am just coming to the end of my 2 year deal with 3UK and for £20 I get 5000 texts 500 mins and 3 gigs of data, but I have never used more than 1000 texts in a month nor gone over 400 mins.
I am lucky that I can't afford to get the phone until Boxing day at the earlies - but even that may be to early for google the way this farce is panning out. Or maybe they will magically appear as 'In Stock' just in time for the xmas rush !!!
Daniel McKenzie J. Traynor 28 November, 2012 05:45
I've got my Nexus 4. Purchased it from O2-UK. Yeah it's fast and is packing 4.2 JB but you aint missing that much in fact i've taken the sim out of my nexus 4 and put it back in my iPhone 4 as I missed iOS that much.
anonymous 28 November, 2012 09:52
CNET: "The Nexus 4 handsets shipping now contain the physical radios to use 4G networks, but they aren't connected, so can't be activated later with a software update."
You sure about that? I've seen videos elsewhere on the web showing users entering a code to activate the 4G. Yes, it'll only work in Canada (wrong frequency for UK), but hey.
I've played with a Nexus 4 in Carphone Warehouse, but I'm not paying over £100 more. If Google can't deliver before the end of the year, though, I'll be pretty disappointed.
anonymous 28 November, 2012 10:49
@Late8.
Do your sums, dude. 24x£26=£624+£60=£684. Or (if you use a comparable gifgaff tarif) 24x£25=£600+£279=£879.
How is the second one, where you buy the phone outright a better deal????
At the end of 2 years both deals would leave the user with a nexus 4. The first person would £195 in their pocket and be able to get a free or subbed upgrade at the end of their contract. The second person would have less money at the end, and have to pay out again for a phone whenever they want to upgrade.
Your choice, I made mine!
anonymous 28 November, 2012 11:04
Is there anyway to buy from the US play store and ship over ot the UK? $350 is a hell a lot cheaper than £279 ( which at today's rates converts to $446.5) - I'm sure it would be possible to spend less than $100 on shipping.
anonymous 28 November, 2012 11:12
@anonymous 28 November, 2012 10:49
Do you honestly need all that on your tariff?? I doubt you use up 10000 minutes per month or 5000 texts...
On CPW site I've found a £26 p/m deal with 200 mins, Ultd texts and 750MB with upfront of £30. That costs £654 over the course of contract.
Buying the phone upfront on a comparable sim only deal from Three (£12.90 p/m on a rolling 1 month contract) costs £589.60.
If you're reasonable with what you use, it's very easy to make buying the phone up front from Google Play and going Sim Only beat your "deal".
shauney3 28 November, 2012 11:50
Have no idea why people need 5000 minutes! There are ways of getting free calls over the net you know ;-) Really want a Nexus 4 arrrghhhh!! Also Giffgaff is awesome.
anonymous 28 November, 2012 12:58
Who on earth uses 5000mins/texts a month??
Buying the phone outright and getting a cheap monthly rolling tariff is always the most cost effective way.
Matt Winston. 28 November, 2012 14:09
^ My thoughts exactly! I don't think Ive used 5000 minutes in my lifetime, including when using a land-line.
anonymous 28 November, 2012 14:59
Christ thats alot of minutes,
kingofreans 28 November, 2012 15:44
I think buying the Nexus 4 sim free is the way to go no matter what sim only contract you go for. Anyone taking out a 24 month now will regret it with 4G availability just round the corner, especially if your phone is not 4G. I got a nice deal through O2 which was £20 for unlimited calls & texts plus 1gig of data + £60 credit + I can upgrade after 6 months.
zissiar 28 November, 2012 19:02
I was one of the people struggling to order the Nexus 4 on 13th Nov. Now after waiting for 2 weeks and with no information from Google about when the Nexus 4 will be available, I have bought the Samsung Galaxy S3 4G LTE version. I'm so happy with the purchase. It's a bit expensive than Nexus 4, but I won't be buying a new phone for another 2 years. Also, this version of Galaxy S3 has 2GB RAM with the Quadcore processor. Not to forget the micro sd card and removable battery along with 4G make it a worthy investment for the future.
anonymous 28 November, 2012 20:01
@anonymous 28 November, 2012 11:04
"Is there anyway to buy from the US play store and ship over ot the UK? $350 is a hell a lot cheaper than £279 ( which at today's rates converts to $446.5) - I'm sure it would be possible to spend less than $100 on shipping".
You forgot to add the 20% VAT that's included in the UK price when making your price comparison. The pre-VAT price is approx. £232.50 which is roughly $372.
anonymous 28 November, 2012 21:01
@anonymous 11:04
Yes, you can! Use an anonymous proxy-based IP-masker like Ultrasurf, so Google Play Store won't know you're not in the US. I just ordered mine that way from the Netherlands. It's a 5 week wait unfortunately...
When I try the same the normal way in my country it won't even let me SEE any hardware in the Play Store let alone BUY it!
kingofreans 28 November, 2012 22:28
just had a look at the US site. This is as far as I could get - pic.twitter.com/jYXo6f46
tbf I've gotten over the initial disappointment so I can wait until January if I have to, plus I've got a Samsung galaxy chat coming in the post next week so I'll have something to play with over Christmas
anonymous 29 November, 2012 08:45
If you order from the US to the UK, watch out for the import charges you may attract.
If your parcel is stopped, they will add import duty, then they will apply VAT at 20% on the US purchase price plus the import duty (yes taxed on the duty), then the carrier (Post Office, UPS, DHL, FedEx etc) will add their own handling charge (mostly for acting as the tax collector on behalf of HMRS).
The end result will be a similar total cost to the UK retail price, or slightly cheaper. Sometimes it makes goods imported this way actually more expensive than buying here at home in the UK. The whole thing is a minefield.
Amer A. Amir 30 November, 2012 18:00
LG Nexus 4 is Very Cool Flagship ..., Still , Samsung Galaxy S lll remains the Best One Globally .. !!!
Deepak Ramchandani Vensi 30 November, 2012 22:13
Oh well, after sending #Google a very angry email regarding the #Nexus 4 disaster in the UK, and asking when was it going to be back in stock, this is what they said:
Thanks for keeping in touch with Google.
To be honest with you, there is no information as to when it'll be available next. I would guess that it won't be too much longer with the holidays approaching, but I can't fully confirm that for you.
My best suggestion would be to just keep an eye on the Google Play Store.
If you have any other questions, by all means, send me a reply. If I can't get back to you over the weekend, one of my colleagues definitely can. Thanks again for contacting us. Have a great day!
anonymous 2 December, 2012 09:11
Carphone Warehouse still have plenty of Nexus 4's stock. I checked there yesterday.
They're not exactly flying off the shelves and they're not really promoting it either.
anonymous 2 December, 2012 14:30
Be Evil !
anonymous 8 December, 2012 12:46
I cant believe Google are charging me an extra £9.99 for 2 day delivery on a product that's apparently out of stock for 5 weeks.
anonymous 12 December, 2012 21:07
I ordered mine on the 4th and it just changed from pending to pre-ordered. Does anyone know what that means?
anonymous 13 December, 2012 16:33
it means they lost you're order, like they did mine - was originally quoted 3-5 days after getting in early they ignored all earlier orders, you have a long long wait ahead - just ordered a gs3 lte and cancelled my nexus order - RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUBISH Customer service I am appalled and expected far better from GOOGLE, looking at switching from android - iOS or even (gasp) windows mobile in the near future. They totally dropped the ball
anonymous 18 December, 2012 18:26
ordered mine on the 4th received shipping email last night my 16gb nexus 4 arrived this morning so very happy ;-) also would like to comment had great communication via google
anonymous 26 December, 2012 09:05
Wonder how many of the people voting have an iPad. I don't and I'm sure the nexus is best:).
Apple may make the best things but they're not Samsung.
anonymous 12 January, 2013 11:08
500 minutes is equivalent to hours every day. Does anyone talk on the phone for anything approaching that? On top of that are you going to send 160 texts a day? And find time for all that unlimited internet? Do these people have a life?
And who is this person that already has an iPhone and has now bought a Nexus 4? More money than sense?