Tag: launch

After weeks of speculation, Google and LG have officially announced the Google LG Nexus 5.

Google Nexus 5 is the first to run Android 4.4, which brings a new dialer that automatically suggests people the most likely call while Caller ID by Google matches an incoming phone number to a business even if that number isn’t stored in the contact list. Users can send and receive text messages directly from Hangouts, and Hangouts for Android now supports location sharing.
The 5-inch display makes it suitable to fit in the palm of your hands, but while carrying it in my pocket while walking through San Francisco, it sort of felt like it was out of place — perhaps I’ve grown too accustomed to the fact that I’ve had 3- to 4-inch phones for the past few years. Although you can hold the device in one hand, it doesn’t immediately feel comfortable enough size to manage all your affairs as such. Trying to type out emails or using certain apps required the use of both hands.
Price tag of Rs. 28,999 for the 16GB variant ($349 in the US) and Rs. 32,999 for the 32GB variant ($399 in the US).

Google Nexus 5 technical specifications
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 with 2.26GHz Quad-Core Krait CPU
Operating System: Android 4.4, KitKat
Display: 4.95-inch full-ID IPS (1920 x 1080 pixels)
Network: CDMA/1xRTT/EVDO, GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA+, LTE
Internal storage: 32GB / 16GB
RAM: 2GB
Camera: Rear 8.0-megapixel with OIS / Front 1.3-megapixel HD
Battery: 2,300mAh Li-Polymer (embedded)
Size: 137.84 x 69.17 x 8.59mm
Weight: 130g
Others: Wireless charging, NFC

• The soft touch backside gets fingerprint-tastic, and fast. I had to wipe it almost constantly for our hands on photos. For reference, I’m using the black device and don’t have particularly oily hands.
• With Android 4.4, Google Search is now automatically integrated into every single page of homescreen launcher, and can be triggered by voice through an “Okay, Google” hot keyword. Search is always just there. It’s quite nice.

   

• Google Now is now always the left-most screen on your homescreen, which is a smart move on Google’s part.
• It’s smooth. Really smooth. Every transition, every fade in – it’s like butter.
• The camera seems above average, but not mind blowing. 
• Android 4.4 overhauls the dialer, with the main feature being a knowledge of nearby businesses. Just type a business name into the same field where you’d normally type the first few letters of your friends name, and it pulls up the details for nearby locations. In my early tests, this feature works very well. Typing “Starbucks” pulled up 8+ locations near me (hey, it’s San Francisco), broken down by their location, each offering their phone number at a click. It works in reverse, too; I had one of those Starbucks locations call me, and the phone identified the caller as such. Google says all this data is piped in from Google Maps

   

• In Google’s HDR+ mode (which takes photos in rapid succession and combines the best parts of each into one photo), the camera can be slow.
• While Android 4.4 is largely focused on optimizations that allows it to run on lower-end devices, there are a number of lil’ subtle changes that really spruce up the place. The top bar and bottom nav bar are both translucent now, allowing the homescreen background to go fullbleed across the screen . The widgets drawer has been moved out from the pop-up app drawer (which always seemed like a weird location), and back to being behind a long press on the home screen (like it was in Android of yesteryear).