If you buy the same phone from Amazon, without monthly payment plan, it's about right. In most of Europe, where Google doesn't sell it, the price for this phone was about $800 on launch. Google is heavily subsidizing it and the $299 price is just incredibly cheap.
> For a limited time, when you purchase a Google Nexus 4 on T-Mobile.com or through 1-877-387-4324, you may qualify for a $300 instant discount and a $50 mail-in rebate card.
Also:
> Supercharge your Nexus 4 by adding unlimited data on a nationwide 4G network, only from T-Mobile
So does that mean LTE was officially activated or is that another marketing ploy?
In the meantime, it's been out of stock since day one here.
"4G" is a meaningless marketing term. The best way to evaluate network quality is to buy the phone, walk around with it and do speed tests for 30 days, and return it if it doesn't meet expectations.
I'm keeping my Verizon Galaxy Nexus for this reason. It may not be the latest and greatest, but it works really well and the data is really fast.
T-Mobile's website goofs on the suggested retail price.
The T-Mobile store salespeople do know this, and will tell the straight story which is that you'll save the most money if you buy the phone directly from Google and are willing to wait for it.
https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_4_8gb
T-mobile is going to have to go to free-after-rebate to get customers.