I've been using the Nexus 4 for about three weeks now and I have to say, it is awesome. It's smooth, comfortable, and super sexy. I absolutely love how it feels in my hand and when in use. My smartphone history includes iPhone 2G, iPhone 4, Motorola Atrix, iPhone 4S, and Samsung Galaxy Nexus (and many other Android devices for testing), and this phone definitely takes the cake in terms of OS superiority and aesthetic. Jelly Bean has really evolved from Android's dark days. The operating system is clean, helpful, and extremely customizable. Getting live data on my home screen is so vital -- and expected -- to me that I just flat out don't understand how iOS is still stuck in its traditional tile-based layout. Windows Phone gets it, why doesn't iOS. Anyway, back to the Nexus 4, the device itself is awesome for both development and personal use. And that fact that it's still sold out everywhere I've checked makes it that much hotter to be using. I ordered mine on November 29, two days after its release, and it took 5 weeks to arrive. It's still listed as sold out on the Google Play store and who knows when it'll be back. That definitely adds to the excitement.
As far as negatives, I have noticed a couple things that seem to get in my way from time to time. First is the battery life. This problem has always plagued Android, probably more due to the open manner in which apps can consume a device's resources than to the hardware itself, but I was hoping for better performance from this device. I did check my battery levels yesterday and noticed that 51% of my battery use came from Google Maps... guess I better turn off pin-point accuracy when I'm not actively using it. On that note... any other suggestions to conserve battery life? I've also noticed that the device has trouble accessing the data network from time to time. I'd blame it on AT&T, but it seems to be in places that I've gotten decent coverage with on the 4S. Also, sometimes it's as if the WiFi sensor gets shut off, even though it's not turned off. That one was driving me nuts and restarting the device didn't even fix it the other day. But then I tried turning WiFi off from settings, waiting a few seconds, and switch it back on and it was able to access all WiFi networks in range again. Strange that restarting the entire phone didn't reset that issue.
As most Android owners know, your device is bound to have some quirks, but overall I'm super impressed with the Nexus 4, particularly its form factor, brilliant screen, and the lovely Jelly Bean 4.2.1.