Google Nexus 4 exclusive to O2 in UK

O2 has bagged itself an exclusive, but will it pay off?

The Google Nexus 4 will be exclusively available on contract from O2 for one month when it arrives in the UK in the middle of the November.
Details of the deal were revealed by O2 to Pocket-Lint, and with the Google Nexus 4 release date set for November 13 if you are hoping to secure the latest Nexus smartphone on any other network you'll have to hold out until mid-December.
The last time O2 managed to snaffle such a big name handset on an exclusive deal was back with the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS – will the Nexus 4 prove to be as big as these?
The Nexus 4 is manufactured by LG, and to sweeten the deal the Korean firm is also giving away one of its TVs to the first 100 customers who purchase the handset.

SIM-only salvation?

All is not lost though, as those who don't want to be tied down to an O2 contract should be able to get their hands on a SIM-free Nexus 4 direct from Google - although we're waiting for final confirmation of this from the search giant.
Head over to the Google site and it clearly states the handset will be "available for purchase on Tuesday, November 13", with the 8GB model costing £239 and the 16GB coming in at a still reasonable £279.
At those prices the Nexus 4 is a tasty proposition, with its beefy 1.5Ghz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 4.7-inch HD display, 8MP camera and running the freshest version of Google's mobile platform, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
We hope to get a handset in soon for our Google Nexus 4 review, so keep your eyes peeled for that, where we'll tell you if those specifications translate into a top quality device.

From Pocket-Lint

Google: Nexus devices don't have SD cards to avoid 'techy nonsense'

No techy nonsense, just horses

Google's director of user services on Android has explained that Nexus devices have fixed storage because the company wanted to avoid "techy nonsense left over from the paleolithic era of computing".
Answering questions about the Nexus line-up on Google+, Matias Duarte said that offering expandable memory in the form of SD cards was deemed too confusing.
He wrote, "Everybody likes the idea of having an SD card, but in reality it's just confusing for users.
"If you're saving photos, videos or music, where does it go? Is it on your phone? Or on your card? Should there be a setting? Prompt every time? What happens to the experience when you swap out the card? It's just too complicated."

Grey matter

Instead of this taxing mental workout, the Nexus line-up comes with a fixed amount of space that "apps just seamlessly… use" leaving you footloose and fancy free because you don't have to "worry about files or volumes or any of that techy nonsense left over from the paleolithic era of computing". Thanks Google.
He also addressed the reasons behind Jelly Bean's move to consistent system buttons and status bars.
It's all down to usability research the company carried out but comes mostly down to muscle memory.
Duarte explained, "What mattered most of all was muscle memory – keeping buttons where you expect them, no matter how you hold the device."

From Google+ via Android Community