Alexandra Burlacu email: a.burlacu@mobilenapps.com
Google's Nexus 4 has proved so popular that the company can't keep it in stock long enough and manufacturer LG has to ramp up production.
As expected in such a situation, consumers are getting anxious because the Nexus 4 seems to be always out of stock, while Google and LG keep pointing fingers at each other.
Speaking to French technology Web site Challenges, LG France's Director of Mobile Communications Cathy Robin said Google is to blame for the shortages, as it misjudged the potential demand for the device. According to Robin, the supply issues stemmed from Google's inaccurate sales forecasts based on the previous sales performance of Nexus handsets.
The Nexus 4 has proved to be a huge hit and it's easy to understand why. The handset sports a large display, a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor under the hood, and runs on Google's latest operating system, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The selling point, however, is that it packs such exciting features for a very competitive price, and that's what made it so popular.
Compared to other high-end handsets, the $299 price tag for an unlocked Nexus 4 seems like a steal. An unlocked Samsung Galaxy S3, for instance, costs roughly $750. The huge difference in price has appealed to numerous Android fans, and now Google and LG can barely keep up with demand.
Meanwhile, this great discrepancy in price indicates that someone, most likely Google, is heavily subsidizing the price of the Nexus 4 to gain more ground and draw in more fans worldwide. The heavy demand for the Nexus 4 continues especially in Europe, where consumers want a high-end unlocked handset for a decent price. The $299 Nexus 4 seems to be the most preferred choice.
According to Robin, LG produced a number of Nexus 4 handsets according to Google's projections. No previous Nexus device, however, has ever hit the level of popularity the Nexus 4 has. Consequently, the handset was constantly sold out. Robin further added that even if LG ramps up production, it would still take roughly six weeks before the frequency of delivery gets a boost, which means the short supply issue will not see an immediate resolution.
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