Thursday, November 07, 2013

Nexus 5 Review.



GENERAL2G NetworkGSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - all versions
CDMA 800 / 1900 - North America version
3G NetworkHSDPA 800 / 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 / 900 - North America version
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
4G NetworkLTE 700 / 800 / 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 - North America version
LTE 800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600
SIMMicro-SIM
Announced2013, October
StatusAvailable. Released 2013, November
BODYDimensions137.9 x 69.2 x 8.6 mm (5.43 x 2.72 x 0.34 in)
Weight130 g (4.59 oz)
DISPLAYTypeTrue HD IPS Plus capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size1080 x 1920 pixels, 4.95 inches (~445 ppi pixel density)
MultitouchYes
ProtectionCorning Gorilla Glass 3
SOUNDAlert typesVibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
LoudspeakerYes
3.5mm jackYes
MEMORYCard slotNo
Internal16/32 GB, 2 GB RAM
DATAGPRSClass 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGEClass 12
SpeedDC-HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat3, 50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DL
WLANWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
BluetoothYes, v4.0 with A2DP
NFCYes
USBYes, microUSB (SlimPort) v2.0
CAMERAPrimary8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, optical image stabilization, LED flash
FeaturesGeo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, photo sphere
VideoYes, 1080p@30fps
SecondaryYes, 1.3 MP
FEATURESOSAndroid OS, v4.4 (KitKat)
ChipsetQualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800
CPUQuad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400
GPUAdreno 330
SensorsAccelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
MessagingSMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
BrowserHTML5
RadioNo
GPSYes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
JavaYes, via Java MIDP emulator
ColorsBlack, White
- Wireless charging
- SNS integration
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- MP4/H.264/H.263 player
- MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3 player
- Organizer
- Image/video editor
- Document editor
- Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa
- Voice memo/dial/commands
- Predictive text input
BATTERYNon-removable Li-Po 2300 mAh battery
Stand-by(2G) / Up to 300 h (3G)
Talk time(2G) / Up to 17 h (3G)

The phone just arrived in the mail today. the 32GB version costs $399 from the Google play store.

It runs on the new Google OS, KitKat, and has an IPS 5" screen.




Out of the Box. 

The Nexus 5 is not too big. Compared to my Xperia, it has a bigger screen, but still comfortable to hold and use. The Nexus 5 looks pretty plan and simple. However, it does feel very slippery. Even though it feels well built and not as plastic as it looks, the phone feels a little slippery, but not as bad that it will fall out of your hands easily. I've placed the phone on a slightly sloped surface and the phone slides around more than my Xperia.






On the left, there is a rocker for volume, on the right, there is a power button and the MicroSim Slot. On the top, there is a regular headphone jack and the bottom there is a Nano-USB slot.

I was quite disappointed that the Nexus 5 does not have a Micro-SD Card slot. So getting the 32GB seems essential, as I have quite a bit of music which I want to access without downloading constantly.


Nexus 5 seems to have all bells and whistles all modern phones should have.

1) Wireless Charging
2) Bluetooth 4.0
3) LTE
4) Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Display.

The IPS full HD screen is simply beautiful. 1080 x 1920 pixels, very sharp, very beautiful.

KitKat Android 4.4








Android 4.4 on Nexus 5 is smooth and fast. "Ok Google" is a phrase to use to get Nexus 5 to search Google, however, this does not work when the screen is off or phone is locked or in the middle of an app. I've tried using the voice recognition, and it works very well, but

Overall, Android 4.4 is like a better Jellybean, some minor improvements, and on Nexus 5, it seems to work well.

Camera

The 8MP camera is ok. The camera interface is like the one on Android 4.3, but with an added feature -- HDR.

I've used the camera but not as impressed as the one on Nokia 925 or 1020.


For its price, Nexus 5 is really value for money.

Rating 8/10 (Would be better if it had micro-SD slot and a better camera system)




-- Robin Low

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