The rumors and hints about Google's Nexus 5 just keep piling up.
This week, the FCC approved an LG phone that appears to be the Nexus 5. Although the FCC's report doesn't mention the Nexus 5 by name, there are several signs that this is Google's next flagship handset.
For one thing, as Engadget points out, photos of the phone's inner rear case look familiar. That's because a similar-looking rear panel briefly appeared in a promo video for Android 4.4, now known as KitKat. The position of the camera lens and flash, and the overall shape of the device, suggest that it's the same phone.
An Engadget reader also discovered a reference to "aosp_hammerhead-userdebugKyeLimePieFACTORYeng.sangjoon84.lee.20130618.015154" in one of the FCC documents. "Key Lime Pie" was going to be the name for Android 4.4 (prior to KitKat's endorsement), and "AOSP" refers to Android Open Source Project, suggesting the type of unmodified Android software found in all Nexus phones.
Not that either of those details tell us anything about the phone itself. What we can clean from the documents is that the Nexus 5 will have a 5-inch display and a Snapdragon 800 processor from Qualcomm, as noted by Anandtech. Unlike the Nexus 4, the Nexus 5 may support 4G LTE networks, and may even include the necessary LTE banding for Sprint. Verizon LTE support, however, appears to be AWOL.
In May, an LG executive was quoted as saying the company would not be making the Nexus 5, but now there's plenty of evidence to the contrary. The only question is when we'll see it. October seems like a safe bet, given that the Nexus 4 launched in October of last year. In the meantime, Google appears to be clearing Nexus 4 inventory, and is still selling the 16 GB model for $250.
