We’ve seen Apple’s iPhone 5C emerge from the company’s engineering team. Within the last few days alone, many tech sources have tried to identify who or what the iPhone 5C is for – all while trying to defend the company’s decision to release a plastic iPhone with the company branding and logo. At the end of the day, however, Apple decided to release a plastic iPhone with a mid-range price ($549 for 16GB and $649 for 32GB) so as to provide a more colorful experience (at least) for iPhone users.
Apple has shown the best of its hand for 2013, but Google, just coming off of its success with the Moto X, is back with another surprise for consumers this holiday season. We know the Moto X is coming, but the latest news in the tech world concerning the Nexus 5 is that we could see a Nexus 5C and a Nexus 5S to compete with the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S.
Nexus 5: Customized or Standard Model?
The Nexus 5 has been seen in Google videos, from the Android 4.4 KitKat statue unveiling to the bar episode, and has even been spotted in GFX benchmark tests – but the official documentation on the product is what makes the Nexus 5 rumors even more real than ever. LG Electronics has proceeded with getting the Nexus 5 Wi-Fi certification, and the Nexus 5 has already been spotted at the FCC.
In recent news, it was said that the LG-D820 and LG-D821 were nothing more than Verizon models of the LG G2, but the LG-D820 model was shown to have a smaller display than the LG G2 model. At that point in time, tech sources continued to claim that the LG-D820 model could be the Nexus 5.
This week, however, LG has gone ahead and filed two claims for the LG-D820 model. Whereas we believed there was only one LG-D820 model, however, it now appears that LG has filed two separate claims for certification on the LG-D820 – naming one “LG-D820_C” and the other “LG-D820_S.”
Both filings show the Wi-Fi certifications for both models, and both devices are said to come with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac technology.
Now, it is interesting indeed that both of these model numbers come with a “C” and an “S,” the same letters that follow the two new iPhone 5 models just released a little over a week ago (Sept. 10, 2013) at Apple’s annual iPhone announcement. The “C” and the “S” could distinguish carrier from unlocked Play Store versions, but the lettering used in the model numbers is interesting to say the least.
While tech enthusiasts have called for a Nexus 5 long before the evidence suggested the affirmative, it is interesting that both the Google and Apple smartphones will all contain the number “5” in them this year, in time for the holidays. Could LG and Google team up to create two new Nexus 5 models that will go head-to-head with both the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S?
Why There Could Be a Nexus 5-C and a Nexus 5-S
Remember Motorola? I’m not talking about the Motorola known for its flip phones and Razr series, but the Motorola that now bears the title “A Google company.” Motorola just released its first comeback smartphone known as the Moto X, a smartphone that has been touted for its touchless controls and color customization. Most consumers have not had the pleasure of experiencing Motorola’s “Moto Maker” customization software – seeing that AT&T owns exclusive rights to the software until November.
After November, other carriers apart from AT&T will receive rights to the software, but Google may have lost some consumers at that point. Rather than have these consumers wait for Moto Maker and the right to customize their phone (color, accents, etc.), Google could use the Nexus as a smartphone that comes with preset colors.
Just as Apple released an iPhone 5C with five colors, Google may follow up with several colors of its own for a unique Nexus 5 experience. Rather than having to go to a website to customize the Nexus 5 (as the Moto X requires), consumers may get the option to select a customized experience from the Google Play Store.
The best part of this possibility is that the Nexus 5 could cost the same price (originally) as that of last year’s Nexus 4 ($299 for 8GB, $349 for 16GB). The Nexus 4 recently sold out in both 8GB and 16GB versions, and Google does not intend to replace the Nexus 4 stock at the Google Play Store. This could leave room for the Nexus 5 to have a price that is half of what the unlocked Moto X model and Google Play Edition smartphones cost ($599.99-$650).
The “LG-D820_C” and “LG-D820_S” models may refer to nothing more than 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB versions of the Nexus 5 (without color and customization). However, it seems as though color customization is becoming the new stand-out factor these days.
With Google’s Moto X having arrived at carriers (not the Play Store), and with the desire for color customization, LG and Google could partner together to make the new Nexus 5 the Moto X Play Store model for consumers. However, the “C” and “S” could stand for “customized” versus the “standard” model, and LG and Google could have a treat planned in the works for Nexus lovers.
What do you think? Would you like to see LG and Google emerge with two Nexus 5 models, a Nexus 5C and Nexus 5S, to give users more options when it comes to purchasing a Nexus smartphone? Or, would you rather purchase a Moto X now and wait for a second-generation Nexus 5 to arrive next year? Let us know in the comments below.