The release of the LG Nexus 4 Android smartphone brought with it the ongoing saga regarding stock via the Google Play Store, or the lack of it. The appeal of the handset has been its relatively low upfront cost for a device boasting some excellent specs, and without any lengthy contract needed. Considering the Nexus 4 Google Play price Android fans will find worthy alternatives possibly hard to find.

Owners looking to pick up the device via the Google Play Store have been mostly met with the sold out sign, with pricing starting at £239/$299 for the 8GB model and £279/$349 for the 16GB variant. These low prices for a handset that uses a 4.7-inch True HD IPS Plus display with a resolution of 1280 x 768 and 318ppi pixel density, which is powered by a quad core Qualcomm APQ8064 Snapdragon clocked at 1.5GHz paired with 2GB of RAM has created a huge demand.

The only criticism that has been levelled at the handset besides stock is the lack of microSD card support for expanding the storage further. While various carriers and some retailers are offering the device when they have stock, most consumers want the handset from Google Play.

Finding an alternative handset for around the same money with features that at least match the Nexus 4 is not easy though. A couple of months before Christmas I picked up the 16GB Samsung Galaxy S3 for £399 unlocked, and the same handset buying direct from Amazon at the time of writing costs £409.99.

For US consumers Amazon has the device available for $553.26 including shipping, and as you can see is substantially more expensive then the Nexus 4. Alternatively there is the HTC One X from the same online retailer that can be picked up for £379/$472.18, but is still a lot more expensive.

Obviously there is the subsidized route and LG has promised to increase production of the handset, after Google had previously provided sales figures for earlier Nexus handsets that had fallen way short of the demand for the Nexus 4.

Are you going to wait for Google Play stock to refresh or are you waiting for something else now?