Nexus 4 back in stock at 3PM EST TODAY Dec 3rd

At around 3:06 EST it estimated 1-2 weeks shipping, now 7-8... What's going on Google?!?

Too bad I missed the email. I would have ordered at 3 pm. But since I didn't see the email until after 4 pm, it looks like I won't get it until January.

EDIT:

And now the 16 GB is sold out. I also see that the 8 GB was never in stock in the first place, according to posts elsewhere. Why?

Google is selling them to fast? creating a demand? your guess is as good as mine.

Google was just too unprepared for the launch. Using LG's Optimus G as the basis, they created a Nexus product with good hardware specs, a good OS, a totally awesome price, and then tried to go it alone in selling the unit direct to consumers on their Play store.

It looks like they bit off more than they can chew at this point. I suspect the 2012 Nexus 4 sales will be fairly small, at least compared to other high end Android phones. They don't have the stock and their store server cannot handle the load for when do have stock. This is not a good thing for Google, since it will miss so much of the Xmas sales. Google makes money off of data mining its Android users. However, there's not much point in having a high-spec'd flagship phone with a killer price to attract users, when they don't have the units to sell, and a good retail store front from which to sell.

At the same time, their practice of selling these units at cost (or with subsidy even?) undoubtedly irritates their retail store partners and most of the big carriers, since Google is bypassing them completely with a product that undercuts the pricing of all the other high-end smartphones on the market.

Originally Posted by Eug

Google was just too unprepared for the launch. Using LG's Optimus G as the basis, they created a Nexus product with good hardware specs, a good OS, a totally awesome price, and then tried to go it alone in selling the unit direct to consumers on their Play store.

It looks like they bit off more than they can chew at this point. I suspect the 2012 Nexus 4 sales will be fairly small, at least compared to other high end Android phones. They don't have the stock and their store server cannot handle the load for when do have stock. This is not a good thing for Google, since it will miss so much of the Xmas sales. Google makes money off of data mining its Android users. However, there's not much point in having a high-spec'd flagship phone with a killer price to attract users, when they don't have the units to sell, and a good retail store front from which to sell.

At the same time, their practice of selling these units at cost (or with subsidy even?) undoubtedly irritates their retail store partners and most of the big carriers, since Google is bypassing them completely with a product that undercuts the pricing of all the other high-end smartphones on the market.

I always thought of the Nexus as part of a niche group of users and without carrier support like the previous model I think their trying to enforce it I don't think they care too much about sales or the Christmas rush. They just want this phone in the hand of more advanced users and knowledge to guide the future of the android os $300 for a phone is a lot for someone who is used to contract phones for under $100. Also consider most people do not even know what an unlocked phone means. To put it simple if they wanted more users it would have had a CDMA version and supported LTE to actually compete to the general population.

If Google really wanted the phone to simply be a niche developer product, they wouldn't have lowered the price of their top-end flagship quad-core phone to HALF of what the competition is selling their phones.

Furthermore, they wouldn't be making their vanilla... err... I mean... Jelly Bean Android so that the developer options are hidden. No, Google wants their Nexus line in as many users hands as possible, to try to kick start the market even higher. The more Google users out there the better, generating mine-able data, on which Google makes its money.

Remember also that people know the unlocked iPhone 5 is $700. It's right there on Apple's website, and right there in black and white in Apple's retail stores. Furthermore, it's $180 minimum (and often higher, depending on the model) with an expensive 3-year contract. People are smart enough to realize that a high end phone for $310 that doesn't require a contract is cheap. Indeed, Fido is indirectly telling people this, by offering a cheap $57 unlimited nearly everything plan... but not allowing people to buy it with a subsidized iPhone. If you want an iPhone with such a plan, you either have to pay $80 for a max plan, or you negotiate with retentions and pay at least $67. Essentially what Fido is telling its customers is that their iPhone subsidy is costing them at least $10 but up to $23 a month, or $360-$828 over the course of the contract.

It has no LTE, internal 16Gig max with no SD card.
It is hardly a Flagship Device.

Vzw may have dropped its "Blaze" version of the same LG Optimus G altogether. The leak/rumor trail seems to have dried up and when I asked a store manager about it, there was no recognition whatsoever.

No LTE - NO PROBLEM. I usually use WiFi and the HSPA+ should be fast enough.
No expandable memory - NO PROBLEM. I have never came close to the 16GB on my phones.

Why I want this phone - I had been paying AT&T nearly $100 a month. Jumped ship a few months ago and have been using Straight Talk for $45 a month. Awesome Deal. Service is good! I would like a new phone to replace my 3+ years old iPhone 3GS. I wanted the SGSIII, but at $550-600 I was not ready to spend that much. Here comes the N4 at $350 with similar specs - sold. Just waiting for it to ship

Originally Posted by tech4fun

It has no LTE, internal 16Gig max with no SD card.
It is hardly a Flagship Device.

It's Google's flagship device, and of course, it's a Nexus. It will be the first 2012 phone that will be upgraded to Key Lime Pie. The competition will likely wait for months, if they get it at all.

BTW, you might be saddened to learn that future Google flagship phones likely won't have SD support either, at least for the foreseeable future.

Originally Posted by Eug

It's Google's flagship device, and of course, it's a Nexus. It will be the first 2012 phone that will be upgraded to Key Lime Pie. The competition will likely wait for months, if they get it at all.

BTW, you might be saddened to learn that future Google flagship phones likely won't have SD support either, at least for the foreseeable future.

If they have no LTE too, I would not buy them.
Yes the Nexus 4 kind of has LTE, but it is not supported. I find it kind of interesting that everybody that can pick up a cheap device said no LTE no problem but yet when it was found it worked for Rogers (kind of) .... Everybody became interested in LTE.

Originally Posted by Eug

It's Google's flagship device, and of course, it's a Nexus. It will be the first 2012 phone that will be upgraded to Key Lime Pie. The competition will likely wait for months, if they get it at all.

BTW, you might be saddened to learn that future Google flagship phones likely won't have SD support either, at least for the foreseeable future.

I am saddened that the Nexus series is no longer flagship grade and not, lacking SD support, a viable option for me. If the Nexus concept embraced top-notch hardware and comprehensive user-friendly choices, I'd be thrilled to own one.

Originally Posted by TC_Mits

I am saddened that the Nexus series is no longer flagship grade and not, lacking SD support, a viable option for me. If the Nexus concept embraced top-notch hardware and comprehensive user-friendly choices, I'd be thrilled to own one.

Interesting way to cut cost (at least for the uSD slot), when Optimus G has 32GB and HTC One X+ has 64GB.
Don't want to get into the endless debate which user category are they targeting, to each his own.

But one cannot stop and wonder why this launch was so botched and such a frustrating experience.
I'm not even sure I want one anymore. (Yeah, I know Google won't care )

The #1 phone, and one of the most expensive, is the iPhone. It does not have SD support either, and never has. While I would prefer to have SD support, it is not even close to being a requirement for a flagship phone for the general public.

Furthermore it's now clear that Google is no longer just targeting developers. It is targeting as many people as it can with this phone's high specs vs low price.

I have a feeling they short them to create a buzz, but may also be to retool if necessary! These smartphones are all Beta phones after all, But you got to love them.