It's been a little more than two months since the LG Nexus 4 first made its way onto Google Play's virtual store shelves. And as we all know all too well, it sold out record fashion. (Or, if you prefer, Google failed to ensure supply kept up with demand even worse than with previous devices.) So it's probably safe to say that those of us with nine or 10 weeks of Nexus 4 usage under our belts are firmly in the minority. With that in mind, we thought we'd revisit the Nexus 4 ownership experience two months on, and examine how the Android flag-bearer has performed as a daily driver. If you've recently picked up a Nexus 4, or you're still waiting to place your order, here's your chance to find out what the future holds. Verizon is offering the Pixel 4a for just $10/mo on new Unlimited lines Check past the break to find out how well the Nexus 4 has weathered 70 days in the hands of an Android Central editor.

That glass back is going to scratch My Nexus 4 has been used to some extent every day since mid-November, including a week-long stint in Las Vegas for CES 2013. It’s been dropped, on carpet, exactly once. Besides that, its tour of duty has been without incident. And externally, it’s held up about as well as any phone that’s served as my daily driver. In two months of normal use it’s accumulated its share of scrapes, with the glass back panel bearing the brunt of the damage. Use it without a case, and the back is going to scratch, even if you’re extremely careful. In my case, the top section of the rear glass is peppered with hairline scratches, in much the same way as the back of a well-used iPod Classic. Fortunately the darkness of the glass and the reflective pattern make these scratches difficult to see most of the time. But they’re there, and you know they’re there. Worse, a few are perilously close to the camera lens, which could be problematic. So far I've managed to avoid cracking the back of the phone, but there's a forum thread for unfortunate Nexus 4 owners who have, along with plenty of photographic evidence.

The only other area that’s a little scratched-up is the top part of the silver trim around the front -- though bizarrely the bottom part of the trim looks good as new. The damage is clear to see in the photo below, but it's worth re-stating that these aberrations are much more difficult to make out in person. In any case, it shows the results of LG's design decisions -- a shiny phone is more likely to scratch. You’d be hard pushed to find any phone that doesn’t pick up some signs of wear and tear after a couple of months of use, and the Nexus 4, though vulnerable to scrapes, is no worse than the average handset. For example, the Galaxy S3, which I used for about the same amount of time, accumulated some scratches on its back. In the S3's case, however, these marks were limited to the easily-replaceable plastic battery door. Also figure that anything glossy will show scratches more than a matte device, such as the HTC One X, with its flat polycarb body. Over on the forums, a majority of poll respondents said they're using a case of some kind on their Nexus 4 to avoid this kind of damage. But some seem to be happy with the risk. Forum poster palitsyn writes "[I] do have a bumper and a case, but stopped using them, as I like the phone as it is. If it breaks, it breaks. I want to enjoy my phone."