One particularly handy feature is the ability to type in the name of a business and have the dialer search your local whitepages. The Nexus 5's KitKat flavoured dialer is however a huge improvement over Jelly Bean. Heavy texters might finds this approach takes some getting used to, but in practice it seemed to work ok. This explained why I couldn't initially find a text messaging icon (it'd been replaced by the Hangouts app next to the phone icon). Motorola realised this and added separate silicon to allow usable voice commands in sleep mode without killing battery life.Īnother feature that took some getting used to with KitKat was SMS messages being bundled into the Hangouts app, rather than in their own app. Having fluffed about with the phone to get it to the point where it can hear me, pretty much defeats the purpose of talking to it. The Nexus 5 has to be powered up, unlocked AND on the home screen before you can issue the magic "OK Google" command to stir it into action. Sigh.Įqually annoying, was the fact that the Nexus 5 couldn't hear voice commands when asleep or locked. Enabling this saw me heading to Settings, Language & Input, Voice Search, where I selected the "Language" option, then "English" and then "English (US)". As cool as the whole voice commands thing sounds, there are caveats.įor a start, language settings had to be set to "US English" before it'd work. KitKat also confers the ability to use voice commands, simply say "OK Google" and you can set appointments, get directions, make phone calls or dictate emails and text messages. Related articlesĪ long press on the home button or a swipe from the left also reveals Google Now, which intelligently lets Gmail and Google Calendar users know of traffic, weather, and other looming reminders often before you even realise you need to know about them. For one-handed use, getting at everything on its sizeable screen might involve some thumb stretching, but it isn't impossible. Packing a 5" display, the Nexus might feel a tad large for those with small hands. In short the Nexus 5's design is clean yet clever and definitely wins points for execution. Breaking up the plastic feel of the Nexus are ceramic volume and power buttons. Hidden under the screen, it only grabs your attention when required, seemingly springing up from out of nowhere. Also tucked away on the Nexus 5's front is a white notification LED. Above its display, there's a small round earpiece grill, which provides some relief from its uniform slab-like front. The Nexus 5's design language is understated yet well executed.
It mightn't be a biggie, but in use it made a big difference. Where a lot of other phones scream "look at me, admire my design!" the Nexus 5's clean, almost minimalist design allows users to focus where it matters - on its screen.
This may sound like a bizarre or counter intuitive statement, but in practice it makes a whole lot of sense. LG and Google have also cleverly designed the Nexus 5 so that it disappears when in use. LG opted for plastic, which meant that I could put the Nexus 5 in a jacket pocket and not hear the sound of tearing fabric or feel as if I were carrying a brick all day. Building flagship phones out of alloy and glass might add wow factor, but the inevitable trade off usually comes in the form added heft. Even though it measures 137.9 x 69.2 x 8.6 mm - which isn't small - an almost non-existent screen bezel and slim design meant it could still be easily pocketed and operated one handed.Īnother pleasant surprise with the Nexus 5, is its weight (or lack thereof). In theory, the Nexus 5's large display should translate into it being a big phone, but this wasn't the case. This translates into an incredibly crisp display with great viewing angles and accurate colour reproduction (which thankfully also resulted in on screen images not being garishly oversaturated).
Nexus 5 photosphere 1080p#
Perhaps the most noticeable design feature of the Nexus 5 is its 5" 1080p IPS LCD display, which with a pixel density of 445 PPI, makes it almost impossible to pick out individual pixels. Capping things off, the Nexus 5 also packs some top shelf specs and nifty features but won't break the bank.
Nexus 5 photosphere android#
Not only is its parentage solid (the Nexus 5 is the love child of both Google and LG), it also runs an uncustomised version of Android and has an unlockable bootloader (which in theory means they should be much easier to modify and tweak).Įqually compelling is the fact that they're also the first cab on the rank to receive Google updates and are also running Android's latest confectionery (4.4 KitKat). Android fans have been salivating at the prospect of the Google's latest smartphone, the Nexus 5 for good reasons.