Seven Band LTE Chip Revealed in Nexus 4 Teardown by iFixit

[dgstorm]

Over the weekend the folks at iFixit posted an article on what they do best, tear-appart devices. This time they worked their magic on the new LG-made Google Nexus 4 smartphone, and found an interesting "treasure" inside. Apparently, the Nexus 4 actually has a 7-band LTE chip inside of it already. Needless to say, this was a pleasant surprise to many folks, and this obviously begs two important questions:

1. Why would Google launch the device without LTE support if the hardware is inside to make it work?
2. Is it possible to enable this LTE chip and give yourself LTE capabilities with your carrier and this phone?

The answer to the first question is unlikely to be answered definitively anytime soon. The best speculation is that Google may have plans to release an LTE equipped version of the phone sometime in the future. One other theory suggests that it was simply cheaper for LG to use the same structural platform as their LG Optimus G, which is the phone the Nexus 4 is based on. It might have been more expensive to have a separate production process for a model without the chip than it was to simply leave it in there.

The answer to the second question is unfortunately a big no. The problem isn't that it wouldn't be possible to create some custom software that would enable the LTE on the device. The problem is the phone does not have the LTE antenna built-in. Thus it would require a major hardware modification to make happen. Of course, there might be a few stubborn genius developers out there who are up to a challenge of this size, so you never know...

What do you guys think?

Thanks for the tip, combatmedic870!

Source: iFixit

[GreenI]

the article also said:

Step 19
A quick flick of the spudger and we free the daughterboard.
The daughterboard is home to the micro-USB port, several spring contacts for the speakers, a hidden unidentified antenna socket, and a microphone (located on the underside.)

So maybe not such a big mod needed ... maybe just the install of an aerial (plus the required s/w of course)

[Auralex]

I read something about it not having enough power to it either.

[GreenI]

Seems to be working in Canada: Nexus 4 shown working on Canadian LTE through simple carrier menu code (video)