It has been nearly impossible to purchase a Nexus 4 since it was released in late November. Google (GOOG) is subsidizing the phone on its Play Store and has made it available carrier-unlocked for a starting price of $299. Despite the fact that it doesn’t an LTE radio, in the traditional sense at least, the Nexus 4 has been met with overwhelming demand. LG (066570) previously revealed that it was having trouble keeping up with the demand, however a new rumor suggests the company has halted production altogether.
The International Business Times reported that the Nexus 4 has fallen down LG’s priority list and the company is now focusing on the development and production of its future smartphones.
LG took the stage at the Consumer Electronics Show this past week but rather than announcing new mobile devices, the company suggested that it was planning a big announcement at next month’s Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain. LG Electronics senior vice president James Fisher said that the company’s Nexus 4 smartphone is just “the first of many” Nexus products it is working on, hinting that it may be secretly developing another smartphone or tablet for Google.
“Through our collaboration with Google, we launched the LG Nexus 4 smartphone. This is the first of many devices to come from our growing partnership with this very selective company,” Fisher said, adding that “at Mobile World Congress next month and throughout the year, you’ll see us bring to market more tier-one premium handsets in various screen sizes.”
It has been suggested that LG will announce a successor to the Nexus 4 at the annual Barcelona event next month. Recent rumors have said that such a device would be equipped with a powerful 2GHz quad-core processor and the unannounced Android Key Lime Pie operating system. We have our doubts, however, given the fact that the Nexus 4 is not even two months old at this point.
