Nexus 4 shortage problems due to Google's false estimates: LG

As fans are well aware by now, the Nexus 4 has been in short supply since its launch. According to Engadget, LG Mobile’s France Director Cathy Robin has offered some clarification on the short supply of the device in an interview with French website Challenges.fr.

According to Robin, the short supply can partially be blamed on Google’s sales forecast. Google had apparently predicted that the device wouldn’t sell very well, going by the performance of the Galaxy Nexus. This led to LG producing too few units and shipping them from the wrong regions.

Robin, however, notes that despite this, Google and LG have maintained a healthy relationship.

Google is partially to blame for the low supply of the device

Earlier this month, LG had clarified that the company is not facing any problems with the production of the Nexus 4. LG has stated that production at its Pyeongtaek plant is proceeding along without any problems. With this, the company has also refuted any rumours about a new Nexus.

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It was revealed just yesterday that the handset will not be making an appearance in India through official channels. Representatives of LG India remain tight lipped and are not ready to reveal anything.

Grey market punters are suggesting that this is a standard ploy that vendors use to keep users guessing and waiting, because such tactics directly affect grey market sales, and vendors would much prefer the sales to happen through official channels or not happen at all. Grey market veterans also insinuate that vendors keep leaking information without backing it with any real action to often upset the launch plans of their competitors. And chances are very high that the Nexus 4 may never officially get launched in India.

One reason for the no-show could be the LG Optimus G, which spec-for-spec is a replica of the Nexus 4. Of course, the design for the Optimus G, like many other LG phones, is nothing to rave about and can be termed functional at best.

A Nexus device is typically sold at a very competitive price point, as is seen in the case of the international pricing of the Nexus 4 and the Nexus 7 tablets. This means the OEM that makes these devices ends up with very thin margins on each device sold. OEMs find it far more profitable to sell their own version that carries the same specs as the Nexus device. In this case, both the Nexus 4 and Optimus G sport a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, an 8MP shooter and a 4.7-inch True HD IPS LCD screen with a 768 x 1280 resolution.