There are clearly many folks out there feverishly awaiting the Nexus 5 (or whatever it might be called, once officially named). The Nexus 5 –– still mired in rumor, leaks and speculation –– might be unveiled with a whole mess of other products at the upcoming Google I/O in San Francisco next week. But might that be a little early?
After all, Google only just announced the Nexus 5 predecessor the Nexus 4 last October and released the phone last November. Is it not a bit soon to already be unveiling the Nexus 5?
We've already seen a possible misstep with Samsung releasing the Galaxy S4, the so-called "next big thing," before it was perhaps really ready to hit the market. There have already been complaints of the phone overheating and even suffering the same battery drain we've seen some complaints of with the Galaxy S3. Not to mention the fact that there's a ton of new hardware components and at least one Android OS (in addition to Samsung's own Tizen OS) on the horizon.
Like Samsung, Google has been hard at work on plenty of other products and services, which is great on one level -- we all love new products, services, updates and upgrades. But it also means -- perhaps rather like the Galaxy S4 - that whatever comes out next might not be the best of products.
Google is obviously focusing much of its energy on the forthcoming Google Glass, which will not only completely revolutionize (and possibly even make obsolete) the mobile phone industry, but might very well change the very fabric of our society when it comes to everything from gaming control to privacy.
Particularly as Google has been having enough trouble with that Google Glass device of theirs, pushing back the deadline already, we might indeed want to be wary about the Nexus 5 ... and perhaps Google should be, too. Speed in the tech industry is paramount, sure. But so is quality (along with the time and investment of energy necessary to see that quality come to the fore).
As we all know, Google might also not be ready to release the Nexus 5 yet for the simple reason that the Nexus 4 still needs a little work. This is why there's just as much rumor that Google might in fact be releasing a Nexus 4 update in lieu of the Nexus 5 (similar to what we've heard about its possibly releasing Android 4.3 Jelly Bean before releasing Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie).
"It makes sense to release a new Nexus 4, given the backlash that Google and LG received after discovering that the Nexus 4 didn't include LTE - even Apple finally included LTE in their iPhone release during that same time, so you know you're behind at that point," Phone Dog says in a report of its own published on Sunday, May 12.
That Google would be releasing a Nexus 4 LTE before a Nexus 5 is further bolstered by recent (alleged) leaked photos of the former being benchmarked already.
There's obviously something coming, as we've also heard reports that the Nexus 4 has been taken off the shelves at some stores in the UK. It's possible this means the Nexus 5 is indeed on the way, but also that the Nexus 4 LTE (also with 32GB internal storage, by the way) might take its former's place instead.
"All the Nexus 4 needs is a small makeover," Phone Dog says. "Make it available to CDMA networks, give it LTE (we all know it's capable of it anyway) maybe give it a boost of internal memory and bam! Super phone."
What do you think about the Nexus 4 LTE possibly coming before the Nexus 5, and do you think it's too soon for Google to release the Nexus 5? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Like what you're reading? Follow @ProfKlickberg.
