And so, the Nexus 4 saga continues, with the news that Italy will not be getting the Nexus 4 in any official capacity. Errr…what? As a European I find that a little strange. Not only do I think that Google need to work on getting the Play Store to more regions across the globe but, for LG, the company that actually makes the phone to come out and say that the device will not distributed anywhere in the country by them is a pretty poor showing. We’re not sure why, either, as the company gave no reasoning behind it.
It’s bad enough that Google can’t meet demand – or even run a web store properly – but for Europeans, the story gets a little worse than that. The Play Store may well sell the device in a number of Western European locales but, for those outside of Google’s reach, you have to turn to a retailer or LG themselves. Now, turning to either a retailer or LG might not seem too bad but, when you take a look at the price – which is often three-to-four times that of the Play Store – then it becomes a problem. Of course, if you really want the phone, what are you gonna do? You’re either going to suck it up and pay the money or you’re just going to go with a carrier to get your hands on a comparable phone for a lot less money. Which is exactly what Google don’t want. It’s a real shame that some countries are left without the option to buy from Google but for Italians, there’s simply no way to get the phone officially. As LG have stated on their Facebook page for the region:
“LG Electronics Italy will not distribute the Nexus 4 smartphone on the Italian market. The LG and Google branded smartphone is still available on Google Play Store in countries where the service is active”
What are those in Italy to do then? Well, there’s little choice but to try and buy it from a neighboring Play Store such as France or Germany but, that’s unlikely to be a realistic option. The other route to go through is to import the phone and pay far too much for the device. All of this saddens me a little bit, the first time that Google has partnered with LG and it seems that the Korean company is more than willing to leave people in the dark or just charge far too much for the device. I wonder if the Optimus G will be hitting Italy?