Hacker News Reader

Comment by mikelward | Hacker News Reader

According to The Verge, it was a choice between faster data on the one hand, and timely updates, better battery life, and lower price on the other.

I'm guessing for a lot of the Nexus's target market, and for Google, faster updates win out.

http://mobile.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3569688/why-nexus-4-do...

View on HN

I'm just surprised they're alienating so much of the U.S. market. People here were writing off the Galaxy Nexus because of the missing SD card slot alone. Take away LTE and the removable battery and this thing has absolutely zero chance of being successful in the U.S.

I'm not so sure that people in the US are "writing off the Galaxy Nexus". Especially when combined with a prepaid plan (such as Straight Talk, Simple Mobile, or TMobile Monthly4G), this phone is a really good deal. $300 is similar to the starting prices for some phone ON contract.

A lot of people really don't need the extra space from an SD card, and LTE is just a more costly option with slightly higher speeds. The lack of a removable battery is somewhat of a let down, but be honest, when is the last time you replaced your phone's battery? I never have. People also seem to indicate that you can still replace the battery by removing a few screws, it is just a little more difficult.

I think the US market is moving towards prepaid, non-contract plans, and this is the PERFECT phone for it. On top of that, most of the rest of the world uses prepaid phone plans, which this is perfect for.

Absolutely, I get why they did it, and its a nice device (if a bit big for me). However I feel its more about getting it into as many markets as possible as well.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com