The LG Nexus 4 has a little secret inside. The newest Nexus handset, introduced Monday by Google, has an HSPA+42 radio under the hood. That means it can upload and download data at a peak speed of 42Mbps, twice the speed of the 21Mbps radio that was expected on the phone. The reason this is important is that without LTE connectivity, using HSPA+ is the only way to get 4G speeds on the device.
The LG Nexus 4 supports HSPA speeds as fast as 42Mbps
Even more exciting is the prospect of downloading data faster than Verizon customers using the LTE pipeline belonging to the nation's largest carrier. You might recall that this past June, a test done by PC Magazine found that T-Mobile's HSPA+42 pipeline downloaded data faster than Verizon's LTE service in 11 cities. In other cities, like Miami, T-Mobile's HSPA+42 service nearly beat Verizon's 4G LTE speed.
Not every GSM carrier offers HSPA+42 service, so it's best to find out if you carrier does have the faster pipeline available before you purchase the LG Nexus 4, which will first be on sale from the Google Play Market. Unlocked, the handset can be yours for $299 (8GB) and $349 (16GB) without a contract. And if the lack of LTE connectivity was a deal breaker before, perhaps this news puts the phone back on your radar.
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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