Google made a bold move late last year by announcing it flagship Nexus smartphone for an unsubsidized price starting at $300. That's a big deal when comparable devices are selling for twice as much and the upfront cost for most last generation phones with a two year contract is only slightly cheaper at $200. But ultimately Google failed to deliver -- both figuratively and literally -- as it missed shipping deadlines and had to pull the device from sale due to problems with supplies.
Last month, the company pinned the blame on "scarce and erratic" supplies from manufacturer LG, while also admitting that their communication had been flawed.
But LG has a different story to tell. In an interview with French website Challenges, Cathy Robin, director LG Mobile France said they built precisely the number of phones that Google requested, it's just that the Internet giant's sales forecasts were wildly innacurate. Estimates were based on sales of the Samsung-made Galaxy Nexus, which meant there were too few handsets available and too many shipped to the wrong regions.
Robin noted that despite the setbacks, the partnership between Google and LG is still going well, and in fact they expect to ramp up production of the Nexus 4 by mid-February to address the shortage.
Last week, LG's senior vice president James Fisher also said that the Nexus 4 was "the first of many" products the Korean firm had planned with Google, sparking rumors that the firm could be in charge of its successor.
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