LG Nexus 5: The magical experience has indeed been recreated
LG had set really high standards for itself with last year's Nexus 4, which was why there was a lot of speculations about whether it would be able to live up to the high expectations of the consumers with its latest offering. Well, the Nexus 5 is finally here and the speculations have finally been replaced by facts. Does it live up to the hype surrounding its release? A short answer to that is yes. For a device that comes with a modest price tag of $349 or $399, depending on which of its two variants is being considered, the Nexus 5 has indeed impressed. If you are still wondering why LG's latest offering is getting praised so much, read on.
Google had been teasing the newest version of its mobile operating system, Android 4.4, also known as KitKat, for quite some time now. The wait finally came to an end with the release of the Nexus 5. As expected, the user interface has not been overhauled, though it has been visibly updated. Access to Google+ Hangouts with text messaging support and Google Now has been added to the home screen. The NFC support has also been improved, while a new camera shooting mode "HDR+" has also been introduced. Native printing functionality and overall improved performance are other notable features of the operating system that the Nexus 5 comes with. As for the security, it is still too early to say whether the defense protocols implemented in KitKat are strong enough to barricade the phone against malware and spy apps such as apps for spying on LG phone and its likes.
For those who have been asking whether the new Nexus cell phone is more powerful than its predecessor the Nexus 4 in terms of performance, the answer is yes. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 with 2.26GHz Quad-core Krait CPU does not take very long to make you forget about your previous experience. The phone not only offers better speed while running apps, but also allows for a smoother multi-tasking experience. The RAM continues to sit at 2GB, which, for the time being, appears to be quite sufficient.
If you were swept off your feet by the previous Nexus' 4.7" Corning Gorilla Glass 2 touchscreen with a resolution of 1280 x 768 pixels, you will have a much harder time keeping yourself from drooling once you gaze upon the display of "Nexus 5". The screen size has gotten even bigger, touching the 4.95-inch mark now, and interestingly, the best part is yet to come. The bigger screen comes with a CorningGorilla Glass 3 touchscreen that has a full HD resolution, i.e. 1920 x 1080 pixels.
Phone design, dimensions and weight
LG has clearly played it safe this time around after taking a needless design risk on the Nexus 4. The latest Nexus phone is solidly built, with a scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass 3 on the front and polycarbonate plastic on the rear. The texture of the phone's rear varies with color. The white variant has a silky and smooth texture, whereas the black one comes with a matte, soft-touch finish, making it a strong preference for those who want to avoid drop accidents. Since there has been a significant increase in screen size, the phone has become larger and heavier, though only slightly.
The Nexus 5 comes with an HD 8.0MP rear camera with optical image stabilization, as well as a 1.3MP front camera. The camera has a pretty decent low-light performance, but it fails to set new standards, or even meet the existing ones. The contrast, saturation and color of photos and videos leave much to be desired. It also takes a bit of time for the camera to focus, thus making it really hard to take a quick snap before the moment passes away. This, however, is something that can be fixed through an update to KitKat, though going by the track record of Google, the update would not arrive anytime soon, if it arrives at all that is.
Battery is one of the major concerns of contemporary cell phones, especially Android phones. Users were not too happy with the 2100mAh cell in Nexus 4 and unfortunately, Google has not done enough to improve the longevity of battery. The latest Nexus phone comes with an embedded 2,300mAh Li-Polymer battery, which just doesn't seem to quite cut it. The battery is likely to drain even faster, considering the performance boost and full HD display.
Memory and removable storage
LG has released Nexus 5 in two variants, 16GB and 32GB. Unfortunately, that is all the storage option that the consumers will find themselves with, since there is no slot for a microSD card. While the option to choose between 16GB and 32GB may work for most people, some people may find themselves tied down while transferring media files to their device.
The Nexus 5 comes with two new composite sensors, namely step detector and step counter. What these two sensors would do is they'll allow apps to track the steps of users while they are walking, running, or climbing stairs.
LTE, wireless charging and NFC
Paying heed to the strong demand, Google and LG have brought back the support for the LTE networks in Nexus 5. The phone also comes with the capability to charge wirelessly. Moreover, the NFC feature is also present, thus allowing consumers to make the most of the convenience offered by Google Wallet and other NFC-reliant services.
The Nexus 5 might just be the device that could give iPhone 5s a run for its money. Boasting a wide array of nifty features and a very modest price tag, LG's latest offering may be able to elbow past its chief rival in the market.
