Nexus 4 absence in India, frustration & explanation
The Nexus 4 pure Google Android smartphone by LG is a great handset and has met with huge popularity across the world, despite problems with supplies meeting demand. However, we have been detailing the release saga of the Nexus 4 for India and there is growing frustration that the phone has still not been officially launched there, although several times it has looked as though it was about to be. Today we want to look at just why the Nexus 4 is still absent for India.
Recently we updated our readers in India with the latest situation regarding the official Nexus 4 release there and detailed the sorry saga so far (see here). Even though Google now lists India as a supported country on a Nexus 4 microsite the order page still lists it as not available yet for the country. Also online retailer Saholic put up a new availability date for the Nexus 4 as April 30, which was taken down again merely to be replaced with the unhelpful ‘coming soon’ message.
We also mentioned that Google’s and LG’s lack of official information about the delay of the Nexus 4 for India was not helping the situation, with consumers feeling left out of the loop and as though they didn’t matter. Although there had been speculation that the delay may be down to a pricing disagreement between Google and LG we had no further details of this at that time. In the last few days though Google’s Eric Schmidt discussed Nexus devices (or lack of them) for India at the Big Tent Activate India event and gave us a little insight into the situation.
From previous comments to our posts on the Nexus 4 for India we know that many of our readers have felt really disappointed as well as annoyed about the treatment of customers in the country by Google and LG and when Schmidt appeared at the event in India one question in particular drew a big response from the audience. A developer asked Schmidt about ‘low-cost’ Nexus devices in general and why they didn’t make it to India within a reasonable timeframe. In reply, Schmidt said this had been noted and that Google was working on it and then apologized for this. He then went on to concede that ‘low-cost’ Nexus devices often ended up being more highly priced for India and said that was also being looked at.
It does seem then that pricing has played a large part in why the Nexus 4 has not yet been officially released in India. Furthermore we have heard that a report last month discussed a pricing debate between Google and LG about the Nexus 4 for India and quoted a source who said, “They (LG and Google) have not yet come to terms on whether to opt for the same price model at which Google introduced the phone in the US, or let LG determine the price of the new phone for the Indian market.”
Of course we should remember that not all Nexus devices have been officially launched in India but we still expect the Nexus 4 to be, although nobody seems any closer to offering a release date for the phone in the country. Many consumers in India have taken alternative routes now to get the Nexus 4 in the country, either via unofficial sources or asking friends in the US to get it for them and many of our reader’s comments on other posts have reflected this.
As we said in our previous post about this saga, an eventual official release of the Nexus 4 in India could be too late, as other potential customers will have given up and opted for a different smartphone instead. We’d really like to hear your thoughts on this. Do you think that customers for the Nexus 4 in India have been given the short straw and deserve more of an explanation? Are you still waiting, or maybe you’ve moved on to another smartphone because of your frustration? Let us know with your comments.
Source: CIOL
Comments
14 thoughts on “Nexus 4 absence in India, frustration & explanation”
this shitty organising of google and lg has really made the nexus 4 admirers “FRUSTATED”..since its the best phone of his class and everyone wants it .And by delaying it’s lauch in India will further put down the market for Lg ..Since lg’s market in India is not at all good ..and now by doing so Lg is gonna Ruin furthermore and ultimately it’s place in India will be gone for sure!!!
LG most definitely has no substantial following in India. The only reason we want Nexus 4 is because of Google. LG can tag along and make some profit if it has to, but please just let Google play the ball – better for everyone that way.
frustrated a lot.i can’t understand why google is not launching this beast in india since it is well known that India is fastest growing market.
Waiting for Nexus 4 very eager to get one
I was egarly expecting the launch of Nexus 4 in India from November but the wait has been very much disappointing so far and do not expect anything exciting any time soon. I was hesitant to import the device from US because of the warranty issue. If you have any h/w or s/w issues, it might not be serviced by LG even on payment basis.
LG Optimus G was recently launched in India. I wanted to buy that but even the showroom guys are not letting me buy this device saying its not ‘worth’ it. I know specs wise and perfomance wise Optimus is in par with Nexus but I’m really concerned about future Android updates and resale value (since people still thinks LG as a ‘washing machine’ brand 🙂 )
the phone is awesomeness personified. after waiting for the phone to be launched in India officially, I lost pastience and got my cousin bro to get me one, The phone is totally worth it. I am totally impressed by the phone in all aspects; processor speed, OS, CPU, looks, camera and everything else 🙂
Why isn’t it roll out straight from Motorola’s table?
The is a pretty large community in India who are developing application for Android. And Being ignored like this does hurt. there are multiple devices and multiple years has passed and Google is still not able to rectify the problem, that is quite saddening.
very eager to get my hands on google flagship nexus 4 very frustrated that its still not available in india
I have been waiting for Nexus 4 to officially launch in India for a while now, and its getting quiet annoying… Google is likely to lose potential customers in India because of such along delay {including me if nexus 4 is not launched in next 2 months}
Any thing between 23000-24000 will be a very good buy.
I got my Nexus 4 imported from the US, even though I didn’t have anyone travelling to India. Yes, I paid a premium of about Rs. 2000 to get it imported here but then, even taking that into account I saved up more than Rs. 5k on crazy prices quoted by sites such as firangibhai and some greedy sellers on ebay India. I had been waiting for the phone since its announcement and finally gave up on the India release altogether.
I suggest other readers do the same. Get a friend in the US to order it for you (to a US address) and then get it imported from there by paying a 10-20% premium. Trust me, the phone is worth that extra money.
It is this phone that started the smartphone desire in me and I saw many other smartphones being launched during the wait like Butterfly, One, Optimus G etc in the same class. Most of them turned out too expensive although I overlooked Optimus G because of LG. Finally, I got the Xperia Z and I do not regret. Its a tad inexpensive when compared to the HTC phones and at par with 2 GB RAM phones from Samsung. Cheapest in its class. Remember, S3 comes with 1 GB RAM in India…
people will have dilemma in mind while choosing this phone just because of LG tag is there.
Even I look at this phone because of google (pure android experience). So let google decide the price , LG don’t have to be greedy about this product as they really don’t compete in smartphone market. I am sure if google will launch this phone in India with same price as US , they will beat Samsung Galaxy market with this device. Even I am waiting for my friend’s travel to US to get this phone. People are attracted to this phone because of it’s low price + pure android experience. And that holds true even in India.