Google has launched Nexus 5 on 31st October, 2013 with latest version of Android operating system (4.4 KitKat). It has a very appreciable PPI (~445) that makes the resolution of the screen very much prodigious.
The Full HD display, superbly powerful processor, sleek design and brand-spanking new Android KitKat (4.4) software are all great reasons to swoon over the Nexus 5. An affordable £299 price, makes Nexus 5 a sure-fire winner of a phone. It’s not only good for its price, but a speedy competitor to its top-end, in the world of smartphones.
The Nexus 5, however, is the complete package. With Google’s new Nexus, you get a phone that is just as sleek and just as powerful as the competition for a fraction of the cost. The price sports of $349 (16GB) and $399 (32 GB) with no service contract of any kind, sporting a better value on the market right now.The market leaders HTC One costs $599.99 with no contract, Samsung’s Galaxy S4 starts at $639.99 and Apple’s iPhone 5s starts at $649.
The hardware & design: Google’s Nexus 5 (built by LG) is fairly middle-of-the-road when it comes to build quality which is nearly as refined and luxurious as the HTC One or Apple iPhone 5s. But it also doesn’t feel plasticky and cheap like a Samsung smartphone. Think about that for a moment: The $349 Nexus 5 feels far better in the hand than Samsung’s $640 flagship smartphone.
It possess a 4.9-inch, 1920 x 1080-pixel (445ppi) Full HD IPS display featuring corning Gorilla Glass 3, 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, 2 GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear camera along with 1.3 MP front camera makes a perfect balance of solid hardware and an optimized operating system.
LG’s design is mind boggling. The Nexus 5 boasts a strong shape redolent of earlier Nexus phones, but it’s a bit more combative. Nexus 5 is a perfect business phone having plastic wrapped on the sides and the back of the device is a soft-touch pragmatic rubbery material which feels great. The material also gives the phone a solid grip compared to glossy plastic smartphones or even aluminum smartphones like the iPhone 5s. LG used ceramic for the volume and power buttons so they don’t feel like cheap plastic either.
The weight of the Nexus 5 is on the lighter side, measuring 137.9 mm (5.43 inch) tall, 69.2 mm (2.72 inch) wide and 8.6mm (0.34 inch) thin. In fact, the new shape makes this phone easier to grip. The Nexus 5 is slightly bigger than HTC’s One but it weighs 13 grams less. This is terrific to enjoy lighter smartphones, but my preference for a phone is that has a bit of heft to it.
Wireless charging is like “adding an extra feather in the cap”, furnishing a built-in feature to the device, unlike some other smartphones that require rear panels or cases to enable the feature. Google will probably release a wireless charging a Nexus dock later this year however any Qi compliant charging dock should suffice.
The software:Android 4.4 KitKat makes a stunning debut on the Nexus 5 but it is not a significant upgrade.
Google has highlighted several additions to Android KitKat 4.4. Among them are the ability to simply speak “OK Google” to launch a voice search, a new immersive mode that hides buttons and menus when the user is playing a game or reading a book, faster multitasking, a unified ‘ messaging’ app and more. Some redesigning of graphics have been done, and the platform as a whole is generally less resource intensive.
Nexus 5 is now a bit more showcased by Google Now in comparison to other smartphones featuring a new “Google Experience launcher” that occupies the left-most home page area. Google Now is still digging the best things about Android, and I really like that Google made it more prominent in its latest Nexus phone. See More about KitKat…
The performance: The Nexus 5 is a beast on paper, and it lives up to the hype because this device is hardly subjected to apps crashing.
Combination of quad-core 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, Adreno 330 graphics and 2 GB of RAM, along with other elements offering an extremely fluid user experience. Hopping from one app to another is a breeze, video playback is always smooth, scrolling rarely sticks and the user experience in general is a great one.
Everything is fast and responsive — Seriously it’s hard to believe Google’s $349 phone is more fluidic than some $600-plus phones, but that’s the price we pay with some vendors’ user interface layers.
The display: It’s impressively good, but not great.
It’s difficult to find many major beefs with a 1080p display, especially when it comes on a 5-inch phone and offers a stunning pixel density of 445 pixels per inch. And so it is with the Nexus 5’s IPS panel, which represents a significant improvement over the Nexus 4 in both resolution and quality.
Although the Gorilla Glass 3-covered 4.95-inch full HD display of 445 ppi and it gets very bright, but the color reproduction and contrast is not terribly impressive as compared to phones like the Galaxy S4, iPhone 5s or LG G2. The result is slightly faded out, and it definitely doesn’t pop like the aforementioned handsets. in comparison with other market leaders.
The size: Smart and compact design of Nexus 5 along with a 5-inch Full HD display, boasts an impressive gesture in the competitive market of smartphones.Small part to the handset’s extremely narrow borders on either side of the display sports a smart and stunning look . The phone’s overall footprint is merely bigger than the HTC One and bit thinner as well.
It’s pretty much comfortable to hold and can be easily fit into pocket which is a great advantage in terms of mobility.Moreover, the slightly curving back side, added a hand-friendliness experience along with silky smooth finish.
The Battery: Though Nexus 5 doesn’t boast the 3100 mAh battery of a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or 3000 mAh battery of a LG G2 but at $349, 2300 mAh Lithium Ion battery is more than a fair deal. Comparing with a Galaxy S4 and a HTC, it has similar capacity but gives you a faster processor. Mobile tech review claims that this phone survived a 14 hour run down before draining out. Testing is also happening on how this battery survives the android media server as I am writing this article. Would keep you posted as and when the results are published.
The Camera: The camera of Nexus 5 is not much appreciable as it sill possess 8 megapixel, but as per Google the large lens on the back of the phone that has been given a significant camera upgrade as compared to Nexus 4. It has an optical image stabilization and captures images and videos shake free.Also, it captures more light than the predecessor, Nexus 4.
The camera quality in comparison with other flagship smartphones outpace it on levels of detail and exposure.The Nexus 5 captures best photos using the HDR+ mode which is switched off by default. Videos quality is not up to the level while capturing in 1080 resolution and the it continuously focuses during filming which you can’t switch off and thus making a bit hazard while capturing videos.
The Verdict: The Nexus 5 may not have the longest battery life or fancy build materials, but it does have high-powered internals, a gorgeous display, and, of course, a fantastic Android 4.4 KitKat operating system—all for just $349 unlocked.In short, Nexus 5 is a league of its own.
In its price range, there is nothing that can remotely compete with the latest from Google and LG. So,if you’re concerned about how much your next smartphone will cost or if you’re not so much bias with any specific brand, there is no better option other than Google Nexus 5.
| LG Google Nexus 5 – Specifications at a Glance | |
| Screen | 4.95” 1920×1080 display (~445 ppi) Full HD IPS Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 |
| Camera | 1.3MP front facing 8MP rear facing with Optical Image Stabilization |
| Dimensions | 69.17×137.84×8.59 mm |
| Weight | 4.59 ounces (130g) |
| Battery | 2300 mAh Talk time up to 17 hours ** Standby time up to 300 hours ** Internet use time up to 8.5 hours on WiFi, up to 7 hours on LTE ** Wireless Charging built in |
| Audio | Builtin speaker, 3.5mm stereo audio connector |
| Processor | CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 800, 2.26GHz GPU: Adreno 330, 450MHz |
| Wireless | Dualband WiFi (2.4G/5G) 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac NFC (Android Beam) Bluetooth 4.0 |
| 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 |
| Memory | Comes in 16GB or 32GB internal storage 2GB RAM |
| Ports and Connectors | microUSB SlimPort™ enabled 3.5mm stereo audio jack Dual microphones Ceramic power and volume buttons |
| Sensors | GPS Gyroscope Accelerometer Compass Proximity/Ambient Light Pressure Hall |
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Image Credit: flickr.com