
Rumors about the specs, price and release date of Google’s upcoming flagship phone have swirled for weeks. The Nexus 5 supposedly will run on Android 4.4 KitKat, and it has been speculated to cost anywhere from $299 to $399 for the 16GB and up to $449 for the 32GB. Third-party cases for the new device have already appeared on Google+ and Amazon.com.
Was the listing at the Google Play store made in error, as it appears, or a tease to enhance the building buzz for the new smartphone? What is almost certain is that a Google announcement about the launch of the Nexus 5 cannot be far off.
That puts it ahead of Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) next iPhone, rumored to be released in the first quarter of 2014, though some expect it as late as the third quarter. So far, the biggest rumor about the so-called iPhone 6 is that it will feature a bigger display than the iPhone 5s. Rival smartphones already have five-inch displays. Could the new iPhone go so far as a six-inch screen, as some have speculated?
Apple has been characteristically tight-lipped about its next-generation iPhone. So time will tell. Until then, Google will get to play in the shiny, new smartphone space for a while.