LG Nexus 4 (unlocked)
You simply cannot find a more affordable high-end unlocked phone than the LG Nexus 4, which Google is offering for $299 and $349 for the 8GB and 16GB versions, respectively. Though we knocked it down for not having 4G LTE, it still delivers a pure Android Jelly Bean experience, NFC, a slew of new photo options, and a decent 8-megapixel camera.
The good: The competitively priced LG Nexus 4 delivers a pure and polished experience with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, it's powered by a snappy quad-core processor, and it's packed with new photo-editing and camera features.
The bad: The Nexus 4's construction is solid but uninspiring, its call volume is too low, and it lacks 4G LTE.
The bottom line: While the LG Nexus 4 wins on internal performance and user experience, anyone shopping for an unlocked phone should consider a comparable LTE handset first.
October 31, 2012 3:08 PM PDT
Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET
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