As always the case, smartphones of any brand and make come in various models and the LG Nexus 5 from Google is no different. It is a KitKat 4.4-powered device in two incarnations - the D820 and D821.

How the two toys differ? According to Android Central, these Nexus 5s are totally identical. They share the same specs and features as published by Google on launch date - same handset dimension, same build and colour, same Snapdragon and Adreno 330 power engines and the same camera mix of 8MP on rear with OIS and 1.3MP on front.

On the viewing side - LG installed the same 4.9-inch 1080p display with 445ppi of pixel density and coated the phablet-size front panel with Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

In short, the D820 and D821 are virtual twins but would-be buyers are advised that the two handsets cannot be mixed with the other. The former is primarily as U.S phone or more appropriately it works with the network services spread out in the North American region. The latter is the so-called world phone.

Per Google, the two Nexus 5s are separated by the following specifications:

Networks (North America)

  • GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
  • CDMA: Band Class: 0/1/10
  • WCDMA: Bands: 1/2/4/5/6/8/19
  • LTE: Bands: 1/2/4/5/17/19/25/26/41

Networks (Rest of World)

  • GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
  • WCDMA: Bands: 1/2/4/5/6/8
  • LTE: Bands: 1/3/5/7/8/20

The D820 should have no problem fitting in with the 2G, 3G, 4G and LTE infrastructures operated by the key U.S. and Canadian telcos. That would mean buyers can use the device and connect seamlessly with AT&T or TELUS and no network setting reconfiguration is required.

On the other hand, the D821 is intended for rest of the world deployment, which for Google is chiefly Europe, Asia, Australia and the other territories.

The second model though could encounter some connection glitches when usage is meant for Asia as countries dotting the continent normally adhere to different network standards. Or in China's case, unique network settings.

That is why even Apple, influential as it is, builds iPhones that are exclusively tweaked to operate on China radio signals no matter the flavour - 2G, 3G or LTE. Google is doing the same because the vast Chinese market is hard to ignore.

So will there be some buying confusion when picking up the right Nexus 5 based on your location> Hardly as the Google Play Store is intuitive to know where a buyer is ordering from. Thus, whatever is unwrapped on delivery day is definitely on the same page where the user is.

Same goes for retailers and distributors around the world. Asus and Google have a system in place to ensure that the D820 is shipped to stores only in Canada and the United States while the D821 will surely hit the correct shelves outside of the two North American nations.

The only question is: Will there be enough Nexus 5 supplies to satisfy the exploding demands for the powerful but affordable native Android smartphone?