I have been using the Nexus 5, Google's Flagship made by LG for 2 weeks now.
I wonder why Google is sticking with LG for the Nexus 5 when they have Motorola! Never-the-less, I bought it, a white, 32GB Nexus 5. And, this is my first venture into Android. Having come over from iOS, my demands are quite high! The iPhone 4 that I used for almost 3 years has indeed set a high standards.
The only reason for leaving Apple was cost. iPhone 5S was(is) almost double the cost of the Nexus 5! Plus, to have all advantages Apple has to offer, I need a Mac, which will again put me back by a year, financially speaking. And, the new iOS 7 started making the iPhone 4 slow! Many small bugs kept bothering me and pushed me for an upgrade. And the Nexus 5 happened.
What most astonished me was the weight (or lack of it!) of the Nexus 5! It is so light! I never felt it in my pocket (but for its size!). I can't quite say ok for the build quality... I'm not sure the phone can take a few accidental drops. And, the plastic body with a glass front looks too flimsy to me, having used the iPhone with metal + glass body. And, I happened to see a drop test of the Nexus 5 where the screen gets shattered! Phew, I promptly ordered a Cruzerlite Hybrid 2 layer case to protect my new phone! Although this makes the phone look bulky, I feel it is a tad bit more protected.
I was pleasantly happy about the screen. 4.95" of 440+ ppi brilliance! I think its time the iPhones get larger screens. If there would've been a 5" Retina display iPhone, chances are I would've bought an iPhone, in-spite of their cost! Frankly I was tired of using the small screen. Although, I do not use the device for watching movies\videos too often, its still good to have a large high quality display to view websites, photos et all.,
The Android KitKat interface on Nexus 5 is super responsive, thanks to the quad core processor. I think it gives an almost iOS kind of response. I'm slowly figuring out my way in the Android world. It is somewhat difficult for an iPhone user to get used to so many settings. It took me a couple of days to figure out how to disable vibration on typing although I had 'vibrate on touch' off! On an iPhone, it would be a single switch. I don't understand the concept of having many home screens with widgets and app 'shortcuts' and having a separate app drawer where the actual apps are present. But, maybe the iPhone has to be blamed for making me used to fake "home" screen!
The Android KitKat interface on Nexus 5 is super responsive, thanks to the quad core processor. I think it gives an almost iOS kind of response. I'm slowly figuring out my way in the Android world. It is somewhat difficult for an iPhone user to get used to so many settings. It took me a couple of days to figure out how to disable vibration on typing although I had 'vibrate on touch' off! On an iPhone, it would be a single switch. I don't understand the concept of having many home screens with widgets and app 'shortcuts' and having a separate app drawer where the actual apps are present. But, maybe the iPhone has to be blamed for making me used to fake "home" screen!
I find the locations of power button and volume button to be disturbing for a single hand operation. Every-time I try to wake the device with one hand, I invariable press the volume keys along with the power button since they are located on opposite ends. The thumb is on the power button when my forefinger is on the volume up button (using right hand to unlock device). So, when I press the power button, due to Newton's third law of motion, the volume up key gets pressed! I haven't yet found a way to over come this problem other than use two hands!
The last bad thing has to be the hands free earphones that accompany the device. Being a flagship phone, I expect good quality earphones, if not the best! Just like HTC and Sony have quality earphones accompanying their flagship devices, maybe Google should do something too! The stock earphones are very average. The bass booster setting along with equalizer in the music player does increase the bass. However, the overall balance of sound is not good. Glad that my Sony XB 300 and VSonic GR-02 are with me!
Shifting data iOS to Android has been quite easy! Importing contacts to Gmail was a breeze. I even found that there are methods to easily (and without cost) move all the messages from an iPhone to an Android. However, it requires both phones to be connected. Unfortunately, I had already sold off my iPhone. Hence, couldn't get a copy of my messages. Btw, I'm not sure how to transfer my the game progress from iOS to Android.
Play Store is as straight forward as Apple's app store. However, the flexibility to root and install virtually any apk available gives Android an edge. However, things do get complicated for a user like me, used to a non jailbroken iPhone since iOS 6. I do not have the enthu to sit and search for ways to work around apps and their limitations these days. But, for a geeky feel, Android is probably the best. Anyway, the non-rooted device itself is a handful when it comes to apps available for tweaking. My only grumble is that Android is not so efficient as the iOS. And, the attention to detail is not as astounding as on an iPhone or iPad.
Hope there is someway for Android to not suck away so much power! The battery on the Nexus 5 is a concern since it seems to be getting over too soon. Maybe that's because I'm new to Android and fiddle much more than necessary.
Also, I must mention the auto correct. I have some problem with the way the keyboard responds and gets more errors than in my iPhone. Maybe the iOS is better, or I do not have the right typing app on my Nexus yet.
To summarize, I would definitely say Yes to a Nexus 5 although I think they should've built it to be more strong, like an iPhone. Today's flagship Androids are very close to the iPhones in almost every aspect. The ONLY advantage of using an iPhone is that you can just take it out of the box and use it, without googling for tips on how to change some settings or the other. Maybe I can fiddle around with Android for a few years and when I'm tired of the overwhelming ways to customize it, I can shift back to an iPhone.
The last bad thing has to be the hands free earphones that accompany the device. Being a flagship phone, I expect good quality earphones, if not the best! Just like HTC and Sony have quality earphones accompanying their flagship devices, maybe Google should do something too! The stock earphones are very average. The bass booster setting along with equalizer in the music player does increase the bass. However, the overall balance of sound is not good. Glad that my Sony XB 300 and VSonic GR-02 are with me!
Shifting data iOS to Android has been quite easy! Importing contacts to Gmail was a breeze. I even found that there are methods to easily (and without cost) move all the messages from an iPhone to an Android. However, it requires both phones to be connected. Unfortunately, I had already sold off my iPhone. Hence, couldn't get a copy of my messages. Btw, I'm not sure how to transfer my the game progress from iOS to Android.
Play Store is as straight forward as Apple's app store. However, the flexibility to root and install virtually any apk available gives Android an edge. However, things do get complicated for a user like me, used to a non jailbroken iPhone since iOS 6. I do not have the enthu to sit and search for ways to work around apps and their limitations these days. But, for a geeky feel, Android is probably the best. Anyway, the non-rooted device itself is a handful when it comes to apps available for tweaking. My only grumble is that Android is not so efficient as the iOS. And, the attention to detail is not as astounding as on an iPhone or iPad.
Hope there is someway for Android to not suck away so much power! The battery on the Nexus 5 is a concern since it seems to be getting over too soon. Maybe that's because I'm new to Android and fiddle much more than necessary.
Also, I must mention the auto correct. I have some problem with the way the keyboard responds and gets more errors than in my iPhone. Maybe the iOS is better, or I do not have the right typing app on my Nexus yet.
To summarize, I would definitely say Yes to a Nexus 5 although I think they should've built it to be more strong, like an iPhone. Today's flagship Androids are very close to the iPhones in almost every aspect. The ONLY advantage of using an iPhone is that you can just take it out of the box and use it, without googling for tips on how to change some settings or the other. Maybe I can fiddle around with Android for a few years and when I'm tired of the overwhelming ways to customize it, I can shift back to an iPhone.
