LG explains lack of 4G in Nexus 4

LG’s inclusion of a 4G chip in the non-4G capable Nexus 4 has caused much scratching of heads, so the company has gone on the record about why this happened.

Speaking to Techradar, an LG spokesperson said that the company wanted to get the same power as the Optimus 4G, which involved using the same Qualcomm Snapdragon chip.

‘This powerful chipset,’ explained the representative, ‘is only available with a combined processor and modem and cannot be implemented separately.’

LG was keen to quell rumours that the Nexus 4 might contain dormant LTE capability that could be activated with a software patch.

‘The modem contains 4G LTE capabilities but is only effective when combined with other essential hardware parts such as a signal amplifier and filter in order for it to work,’ LG’s spokesperson said.

‘It therefore cannot be upgraded to 4G LTE capability through software.’

Allegedly, taking this approach means LG can reduce costs for the end user as it means buying fewer components.

It’s certainly true that you get a lot of bang for your buck with the Nexus 4, it costs only £239 for the base 8GB model from the Google Play store.

But that budget price gets you a top of the line quad core processor with 2GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel camera, the latest version of Android Jelly Bean 4.2 and a 4.7-inch IPS display at a 318 pixels-per-inch (ppi).

It's proven such a popular combination, despite the lack of 4G, that Google sold out of stock rapidly and has since struggled to keep up with demand.