After numerous leaks on the web, Korean tech firm LG and web search giant Google have officially announced the Nexus 4 (133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm; 139 g), the latest addition to the Nexus smartphone range.

This smartphone packs a generous 2 GB of RAM and is powered by a snappy 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor. This CPU should enable this device to easily compete with the Samsung Galaxy S3’s quad-core 1.4 GHz Exynos 4212 Quad and the HTC One X’s quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 CPU in terms of performance.

The Nexus 4 operates on the latest version of Google’s Android mobile operating system (OS), an updated version (4.2) of Android Jelly Bean, with new features such as the ability to capture Photo Sphere images. Photo Sphere images (video posted below) works like panoramic shots, but instead of just being able to move your phone from side to side, you can also move it up and down for a more detailed and complete view of the surroundings.

Smooth operator

Just like LG’s Optimus G flagship, the Nexus 4 boasts a 4.7" (768 x 1280) True HD IPS Plus touchscreen, protected by scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 2. This display should keep text, images and videos looking crisp and clear thanks to its high 320 ppi pixel density, while its curved glass edges will enable a user’s digits to slide smoothly on and off the screen.

The smartphone packs a 8 MP rear-facing camera that can record full HD (1080p) videos, as well as a 1.3 MP HD-Ready (720p) enabled front-facing snapper for making video calls and taking self-portrait shots.

Also onboard is 3G HSPA+ connectivity, NFC (near field communication technology), either 8 GB or 16 GB worth of internal storage, and a 2 100 mAh Li-Polymer battery that LG claims delivers a talktime of up to 15.3 hours as well as a standby time of around 390 hours. Like Nokia’s Lumia 920, the Nexus 4 features support for wireless charging.

Google stated that the Nexus 4 will be available on Google Play as of 13 November in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Spain and Australia, whilst the device will also be released in Europe, the Central as well as South Americas, Asia, and the Middle East by the end of next month. No local release info is available yet.

“LG is proud and excited to play this role in helping build the latest Nexus smartphone,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Users will be delighted by the perfectly balanced combination of form and function with the latest generation of Android.”

Andy Rubin, senior VP of Mobile and Digital Content at Google added: “This is the first time we collaborated with LG to build a Nexus device. They brought an extraordinary amount of talent to the project, and the result is a feature-packed device that feels great in your hand, and blazingly fast under the hood.”

In related news, Google recently encouraged developers to take into account certain app quality issues when creating apps for Android-running tablets.