[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] cb474:
I've be thinking myself about getting either the Nexus 4 of the HTC One X+ (I'm not considering the Sony phone).

First, keep in mind that the reason the Nexus 4 is so inexpensive, for an unlocked phone, is because Google is deliberately selling it at cost (as a sort of loss leader) to get people into their cloud services and ecosystem. They're also trying to entice people into unlocked devices and do an end run around the carriers and all their demands. And, since this is the developer phone, Google has an interest in making it appealing for developers to purchase and, well, develop apps for Android. So the cost is not a reflection of the quality of the phone. It's a choice by Google to sell the phone cheaply. Lastly, flash storage is super expensive and Google has put very little into this device (16GB max), so that big shortcoming also helps keep the cost down (the HTC One X+ will have either twice, 32GB, or four times, 64GB, as much storage).

That aside, I've been reading a lot of reviews of the Nexus 4 (Engadget, Wired, Tech Crunch, The Verge, Slashgear, Gizmodo--perhaps a couple others I don't remember off hand). I really want to love the Nexus 4, but it has a lot of shortcomings.

Obviously it does not have LTE, which does not make it very future proof. And it offers max only 16GB of storage, with no SD card.

Despite having the latest greatest quad-core processor out there, a number of reviews have benchmarked the phone and show it gets scores not as good previous generation phones (like the original HTC One X beats it). That makes no sense. Perhaps it's a software issue that will be corrected before release, but you might want to wait and see.

Another weird problem is that a number of reviewers have found it's battery life to be poor. Engadget called it "pathetic." This is despite the fact that it has a large 2100 mAh battery (same as in the One X+) and a new supposedly more efficient processor, yet it doesn't even get as good battery life as the orginal One X with a smaller battery and a less efficient processor.

The camera on the Nexus 4 is also supposed to be passable, but not great. A step up form the poor cameras in previous Nexus devices, but definitely not as good as flagship devices like the Galaxy SIII and the One X/X+ (or the amazing Nokia Lumia 920).

Another issue, for me, is the glass back. I feel like, didn't we already learn from the iPhone 4 that glass backs are a bad idea? Isn't this something just waiting to break? The reviewer at The Verge already cracked the glass back on his review unit, when he accidentally knocked the phone off of a table onto a hardwood floor. And the reviewer at Tech Crunch said that the smooth back of the phone makes it want to slide, a couple times taking off when he placed it on a surface that was more slanted than he expected. So the back is prone to breaking and also makes the phone want to slide away. Not a good combination.

A number of reviewers have also said the the volume in the earpiece is low and it can be difficult to hear callers in noisy environments. Although other reviewers said there is plenty of volume. And a couple reviewers note that the prefectly flat back of the phone means that when you put it down, the speaker is covered and this muffles sound (the ringer, any audio you might be playing).

Several reviewers have also said that the IPS LCD screen has washed out colors or a slightly blue/cool tint. They say the screen is amazing and amongst the best, but not as good as the similar technology based screen in the One X+.

So when it comes down to it, I have the impression that the Nexus 4 isn't quite up to the standards of other true flagship phones, like the One X+. It falls a little short in too many places. The only places where it really stands out are the latest and greatest processor (though it's not clear the OS has been properly optimized for it), 2GB of RAM, and it's a pure Android phone.

I think the reason to get the Nexus 4 is either because you want a pure Android unlocked phone (which certainly appeals to me) or because it's a good deal for an unlocked phone.

But otherwise the One X+ has a better screen, a sturdier and for some more appealing design (with its solid carbonate shell), better audio quality, better cpu benchmarks, better battery life, much more internal storage, a better camera, and LTE (depending on what model you get). And hopefully eventually you could put Cyanogen or another custom ROM on it and have a pure Android experience anyway. As you note the Optimus G could also be an option, but it's not a phone that appeals to me.