# Google Nexus 5 discussion



## Fez909 (Sep 4, 2013)

Someone had to do it 







'Accidently' shown off during the unveiling of the KitKat statue. There's a video on the Verge site, too. But it doesn't show any more than that, really.

Looks a lot like the N4. So another LG phone then?


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## RaverDrew (Sep 4, 2013)

Looks a tad bigger ? Wonder if they will keep the price reasonable ? 

Vanilla Android phones are the only credible alternative to the iPhone imo. If every manufacturer were forced to supply a vanilla version of Android as an alternative option to the branded, fragmented, and badly customised software they inevitably supply them with, then Android would be unstoppable.


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## skyscraper101 (Sep 4, 2013)

Good stuff. Hard to tell from here but hopefully it'll look good and have some good specs and grow the platform.

Personally, the vanilla Android thing isn't a massive deal to me. I've got a Galaxy nexus which is vanilla and it doesn't really seem more of an improvement in the experience. I kind of prefer the wife's S2 with touchwiz in fact. Regardless, my next phone will be either a Note or a Tab 3 I've decided. Bigger is better, but 7" is the limit for me before it gets too silly (had a look at the Tab 8 earlier and it was too big, just).

Tomorrow is the rumoured day for the Note 3 announcement. And then Apple is expected to announce something on Sept 10. Tis the season for the big announcements *excited*


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## beesonthewhatnow (Sep 4, 2013)

Well, I'm due an upgrade now, so I'll be interested to see what it's like. I still don't know which direction I want to go in - stick with Android, try an iPhone or ditch the smartphone altogether...


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## Fez909 (Sep 4, 2013)

There's rumours that it is based on the G2 which is 5.2 inches. Pretty hefty for a Nexus. And it does look bigger in the pic.

The G2 is a nice phone, and if they do base it on that and keep the price reasonable - there's every chance it'll be priced the same as the N4 was at launch, IMO - then this will be the phone to buy if you're due an upgrade.

And as to the vanilla vs custom skin - It's not that the Android vanilla experience is _better_, it's the getting new updates immediately which is the killer feature.


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## salem (Sep 4, 2013)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Well, I'm due an upgrade now, so I'll be interested to see what it's like. I still don't know which direction I want to go in - stick with Android, try an iPhone or ditch the smartphone altogether...


May I suggest you get out of the upgrade cycle all together and pick up a nexus 4 for tuppence and go contract free?


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## editor (Sep 4, 2013)

RaverDrew said:


> Vanilla Android phones are the only credible alternative to the iPhone imo.


Err, the S2/S3/S4 handsets appear to have done an *extremely *good job of being 'credible alternatives to the iPhone' and Android is already pretty much unstoppable, passing the one billion activations mark recently, with over 1.5m daily activations.


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## salem (Sep 4, 2013)

RaverDrew said:


> Vanilla Android phones are the only credible alternative to the iPhone imo. If every manufacturer were forced to supply a vanilla version of Android as an alternative option to the branded, fragmented, and badly customised software they inevitably supply them with, then Android would be unstoppable.


I think allowing customisation is a central part of the android way and was essential to get them the initial support and momentum from the networks and manufacturers.


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## editor (Sep 4, 2013)

salem said:


> I think allowing customisation is a central part of the android way and was essential to get them the initial support and momentum from the networks and manufacturers.


And it can drive innovation too: the HTC Sense UI is something that a lot of people like. I prefer pure Google myself though.


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## FaradayCaged (Sep 4, 2013)

editor said:


> And it can drive innovation too: the HTC Sense UI is something that a lot of people like. I prefer pure Google myself though.



My first android phone was a HTC phone with HTC Sense 2, then I had a phone rooted with Gingerbread vanilla and then a Jelly Bean tablet (N7). To be honest I was more of a fan of Sense than Gingerbread vanilla but then when I tried Jelly Bean vanilla that became the winner for me (but then I have not tried the newer version of Sense to compare, to be fair)


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## dervish (Sep 4, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> And as to the vanilla vs custom skin - It's not that the Android vanilla experience is _better_, it's the getting new updates immediately which is the killer feature.



Google have very cleverly sidestepped the fragmentation issue by using Play services. It doesn't really matter what version of android you are on now, or if the manufacturer/carrier is slow to release updates as they have moved most of the essential services and apps to play services which updates entirely in the background. Everyone, pretty much is getting updates as soon as they are released. 

Arstechnica explain it a lot better.


Plus the fact that, for the most part, getting rid of the "skin" is no more complicated than just installing a new launcher, Action Launcher is awesome btw


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## editor (Sep 4, 2013)

dervish said:


> Google have very cleverly sidestepped the fragmentation issue by using Play services. It doesn't really matter what version of android you are on now, or if the manufacturer/carrier is slow to release updates as they have moved most of the essential services and apps to play services which updates entirely in the background. Everyone, pretty much is getting updates as soon as they are released.
> 
> Arstechnica explain it a lot better.
> 
> ...


Good piece that. I'm still using Apex - what's so standout about Action Launcher?


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## dervish (Sep 4, 2013)

It's pretty quick, has a slide out app drawer and every icon has the widget embedded so if you slide your finger off it it will load the apps widget, I don't use that feature that often, but it does work well.

Plus it is updated very frequently and the developer is excellent at responding to users and adding new features.


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## beesonthewhatnow (Sep 4, 2013)

salem said:


> May I suggest you get out of the upgrade cycle all together and pick up a nexus 4 for tuppence and go contract free?


I'm tempted, but at the moment the ditch the smartphone option is in the lead. Just use a cheapo dumbphone and an iPad.


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## Fez909 (Oct 2, 2013)

Nexus 5 to come with MEMS camera - link

I must admit, I've never heard of these, but after reading the article it sounds great. Much faster auto-focusing and rapid shot modes would be great for making sure you don't get a duff shot. And it says that you can shoot first, and focus afterwards, like that fancy Lytro camera that came out a year or so ago. Post-capture refocusing is the posh name. The end of blurry pics?


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## dervish (Oct 2, 2013)

That looks really interesting, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed in the previous rumours, but if this is true it brings the Nexus straight back up with the top smartphones, the rest of the specs are pretty impressive too.


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## Ranu (Oct 6, 2013)

Full specs released / leaked.  Looks pretty nifty, I'm tempted to get one.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/05/more-nexus-5-details-break-cover-in-leaked-lg-service-manual/


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## kropotkin (Oct 6, 2013)

Doesn't appear to mention an sd card reader


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## Callum91 (Oct 6, 2013)

Ranu said:


> Full specs released / leaked.  Looks pretty nifty, I'm tempted to get one.
> 
> http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/05/more-nexus-5-details-break-cover-in-leaked-lg-service-manual/


Nothing stand out, then? Feels like a hardware plateau has been reached.


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## salem (Oct 6, 2013)

kropotkin said:


> Doesn't appear to mention an sd card reader


There's none on the nexus 4 either so I'd be surprised if they added one back in.


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## Ranu (Oct 6, 2013)

No MEMS camera either.


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## editor (Oct 6, 2013)

Callum91 said:


> Nothing stand out, then? Feels like a hardware plateau has been reached.


Except if it's anything like the Nexus 4, it'll cost half the price of the new iPhone and offer equal (some may argue superior) functionality.


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## Bob_the_lost (Oct 7, 2013)

Callum91 said:


> Nothing stand out, then? Feels like a hardware plateau has been reached.


Changes have been incremental since 2010, look back at the Nexus One or the iPhone 3. The variation since then has been relatively small. Components have been dramatically improved but in terms of features the rate of change has been slow and steady.


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## Callum91 (Oct 7, 2013)

Bob_the_lost said:


> Changes have been incremental since 2010, look back at the Nexus One or the iPhone 3. The variation since then has been relatively small. Components have been dramatically improved but in terms of features the rate of change has been slow and steady.


Aye, it's negating the need to upgrade your phone though. Can't see that pleasing the phone manufacturers.


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## salem (Oct 7, 2013)

Bob_the_lost said:


> Changes have been incremental since 2010, look back at the Nexus One or the iPhone 3. The variation since then has been relatively small. Components have been dramatically improved but in terms of features the rate of change has been slow and steady.


It seems to be similar to what happened to lifecycle of PC's.


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## Bob_the_lost (Oct 7, 2013)

Both true, although the PC era only got to that point when the improvements in hardware had reached a point where you didn't need to upgrade to be usable. An old Core 2 Duo can still be used, quite happily, for office applications despite it being a seven year old design and there's a lot of those still in circulation.

We haven't reached that point of performance yet, even last years phones are notably slower than this years phones for routine actions like web surfing. Plus In mobiles we've got slightly different drivers for phones to desktops. They have massive weaknesses such as battery life which should provide significant room for relative increases in market share. Also the profit margin is pretty big whilst the PC market's margin is wafer thin in comparison (I believe).

Same sort of process, not the same level of maturity yet.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Oct 7, 2013)

Bob_the_lost said:


> Both true, although the PC era only got to that point when the improvements in hardware had reached a point where you didn't need to upgrade to be usable. An old Core 2 Duo can still be used, quite happily, for office applications despite it being a seven year old design and there's a lot of those still in circulation.



I still use one to game at 1080p and still play most stuff on high.


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## mack (Oct 31, 2013)

The new Nexus 5 could be on sale in the next day or so - along with Android 4.4 update

I'll be F5'ing the play store to try and get my hands on one of these - anyone else?


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## Bob_the_lost (Oct 31, 2013)

Yeah, i'll have to flog on my Nexus 4 but hopefully my other half won't notice the difference...


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## mack (Oct 31, 2013)

Bob_the_lost said:


> Yeah, i'll have to flog on my Nexus 4 but hopefully my other half won't notice the difference...



I avoid that problem by passing the old one on to the oh!.


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## Bob_the_lost (Oct 31, 2013)

mack said:


> I avoid that problem by passing the old one on to the oh!.


I tried that theory, she doesn't seem to think that a phone with a 4.65" screen is practical. Something about not fitting in her pockets or some other rubbish.


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## ddraig (Oct 31, 2013)

how much with no contract?
haven't found a Nexus 4 anywhere


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## mack (Oct 31, 2013)

Bob_the_lost said:


> I tried that theory, she doesn't seem to think that a phone with a 4.65" screen is practical. Something about not fitting in her pockets or some other rubbish.



my oh has my old HTC One X now - so size wise she'll be fine with the Nexus 4 - she normally just lobs the phone in her handbag - I used to cringe but it seems to have come to no harm!

Think they have exhausted the stock of N4's from the play store - might as well just get a 5!


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## Bob_the_lost (Oct 31, 2013)

ddraig said:


> how much with no contract?
> haven't found a Nexus 4 anywhere





Bob_the_lost said:


> Yeah, i'll have to flog on my Nexus 4 but hopefully my other half won't notice the difference...


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## ddraig (Oct 31, 2013)




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## kropotkin (Oct 31, 2013)

Yeah I've been putting off the HTC one/ Galaxy S4 decision until after this release for around 6 weeks now.
I hope it is worth the wait- I'm hoping for the always-listening moto-x google now feature.


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## dervish (Oct 31, 2013)

Read something earlier that suggested that kit kat will introduce features that will enable the always listening features so would be very surprised if the nexus doesn't include it, especially as the snapdragon 800 has similar built in.


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## editor (Oct 31, 2013)

kropotkin said:


> Yeah I've been putting off the HTC one/ Galaxy S4 decision until after this release for around 6 weeks now.
> I hope it is worth the wait- I'm hoping for the always-listening moto-x google now feature.


I may well be tempted to flog off my S4 for the new Nexus.


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## mack (Oct 31, 2013)

editor said:


> I may well be tempted to flog off my S4 for the new Nexus.



I would!

just got a 32gb! grab em while you can!


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## Fez909 (Oct 31, 2013)

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7471/google-announces-the-nexus-5


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## twentythreedom (Oct 31, 2013)

Global Stoner said:


> I still use one to game at 1080p and still play most stuff while high.


cfy, or if not then  for you, dude.


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## Fez909 (Oct 31, 2013)

https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_5_black_16gb

£300/£340


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## twentythreedom (Oct 31, 2013)

So, how much is the 16gig from Google play in the UK? I reckon the nexus4 it's the best phone I've ever had, apart from some late 90s / early 00s Nokias and Sony Ericssons.

Although I'm still happy with the N4 so maybe i should wait.

Dunno

Eta oh ta fez


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## Fez909 (Oct 31, 2013)

Check out these cunts then. Less than 10 minutes after it's been announced, they're selling them on ebay for £120 over the asking price: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Google-Ne...52643?pt=UK_Mobile_Phones&hash=item233192b183


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## Fez909 (Oct 31, 2013)

twentythreedom said:


> So, how much is the 16gig from Google play in the UK? I reckon the nexus4 it's the best phone I've ever had, apart from some late 90s / early 00s Nokias and Sony Ericssons.
> 
> Although I'm still happy with the N4 so maybe i should wait.
> 
> ...



Don't forget you'll be getting Android 4.4 today/soon so it'll feel like the phone has been refreshed again. This'll give you time to wait for the reviews to come in on the N5 and by then you'll know if it's worth getting one, or sticking with the still great N4


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## ddraig (Oct 31, 2013)

i know the N4 is sold out etc
but it says coming soon on this one
https://play.google.com/store/devices/details/Nexus_4_16_GB?id=nexus_4_16gb


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## twentythreedom (Oct 31, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> Don't forget you'll be getting Android 4.4 today/soon so it'll feel like the phone has been refreshed again. This'll give you time to wait for the reviews to come in on the N5 and by then you'll know if it's worth getting one, or sticking with the still great N4


Ah fuck yeah, i forgot that. Nestle can SUCK MY BALLS though. Even though it's not them  

Even still, how much does a good condition Nexus 4 16gig go for now?


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## twentythreedom (Oct 31, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> it'll feel like the phone has been refreshed again.....the still great N4



Dude, you trying to convince me or you here?


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## Fez909 (Oct 31, 2013)

twentythreedom said:


> Dude, you trying to convince me or you here?



I can't afford to change it even if I wanted to. The only thing I don't like about the N4 is the glass back. It's so fragile! I've already had to replace the glass front once, and I have a crack on the back (but refuse to pay £100 to fix a cosmetic issues).

The N5 seems to have fixed this design flaw.

Oh, and it for anyone wanting a N4, Google have changed their product page back to "back soon" so you might be able to get a new one. £200: https://play.google.com/store/devices/details/Nexus_4_16_GB?id=nexus_4_16gb


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## ddraig (Oct 31, 2013)

that just changed from coming soon to no longer available and same when i refreshed my link in post 46


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## Fez909 (Oct 31, 2013)

16Gb Black Nexus 5 sold out


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## Fez909 (Oct 31, 2013)

ddraig said:


> that just changed from coming soon to no longer available and same when i refreshed my link in post 46



8GB says no longer available for me, but 16GB says coming soon.


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## ddraig (Oct 31, 2013)

try it again


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## Fez909 (Oct 31, 2013)

ddraig said:


> try it again


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## kropotkin (Oct 31, 2013)

I'm not buying anything until the reviews are out. It might not be worth it over the one or the s4...

The contracts available now cost £30 over two years, which is only £18 a month above my current giffgaff rate and much more affordable than a £350 outlay.
You can make the s4 or htc one stock google anyway...


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Oct 31, 2013)

kropotkin said:


> I'm not buying anything until the reviews are out. It might not be worth it over the one or the s4...
> 
> The contracts available now cost £30 over two years, which is only £18 a month above my current giffgaff rate and much more affordable than a £350 outlay.
> You can make the s4 or htc one stock google anyway...



The N4 never seemed a very good deal on contract, when you could have a far more expensive phone for the same amount per month, the sums didn't seem to add up.


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## editor (Oct 31, 2013)

Here's the specs list. It's fantastic value for the price.

*OS*
Android™ 4.4 (KitKat®)\

*Screen*
4.95″ 1920×1080 display (445 ppi)
Full HD IPS
Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3

*Camera*
1.3MP front facing
8MP rear facing with Optical Image Stabilization
Size
69.17 x 137.84 x 8.59 mm

*Weight*
4.59 oz (130 g)

*Battery*
2,300 mAH
Talk time up to 17 hours*
Standby time up to 300 hours*
Internet time up to 8.5 hours on Wi-Fi, up to 7 hours on LTE*
Wireless Charging built-in

*Audio Output*
Built-in speaker
3.5mm stereo audio connector

*CPU*
Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 800, 2.3GHz

*GPU*
Adreno 330, 450MHz
*Wireless*
Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4G/5G) 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
NFC (Android Beam)
Bluetooth 4.0 LE

*Memory*
32 GB internal storage (actual formatted capacity will be less)
2 GB RAM

*Ports*
Micro USB
SlimPort™ enabled
3.5mm stereo audio jack
Dual microphones
Ceramic power and volume buttons

*Sensors*
Accelerometer
GPS
Compass
Proximity/Ambient Light
Gyroscope
Pressure
Hall Effect

*Network*
2G/3G/4G LTE
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
WCDMA: Bands: 1/2/4/5/6/8
LTE: Bands: 1/3/5/7/8/20​


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## editor (Oct 31, 2013)

What's a 'hall effect' sensor?


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## dervish (Oct 31, 2013)

It's a magnetic detector. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_effect_sensor I'm not sure what it's purpose is in a phone that had a compass though.


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## Mr Smin (Oct 31, 2013)

I've ordered. got the 4 for Mrs Smin earlier this year and she hasn't broken it yet!

bit concerned that the website warned it was taking time to complete the transaction but I did ask for delivery to work and not the registered card address.


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## editor (Oct 31, 2013)

dervish said:


> It's a magnetic detector. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_effect_sensor I'm not sure what it's purpose is in a phone that had a compass though.


Maybe it's for the wireless charging?


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## Bob_the_lost (Nov 1, 2013)

Now it's actually here i can't think of anything that i'd get from a new phone. I'll wait for the reviews and jump in the event that they have managed to get the battery life to something that isn't comically short...


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Nov 1, 2013)

Looking it at the specs, once again another good value phone. Shame about lack of removable storage, but that didn't stop the 4 selling well.


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## Mapped (Nov 1, 2013)

I'm tempted. My S2 could do with an upgrade and I got my PAC code from Orange today. If it had a  battery and SD card slot I'd have already bought it.


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## skyscraper101 (Nov 1, 2013)

editor said:


> I may well be tempted to flog off my S4 for the new Nexus.



Non-removable battery and no SD storage though. I thought that was a big sticking point for you?


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## Callum91 (Nov 1, 2013)

Tempted to sell my iPhone 5 to rejoin the Android collective...


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## dervish (Nov 1, 2013)

Just read a hands on that said it had ois. If so I'm a lot more interested, a nexus with a decent camera would be very desirable.


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## editor (Nov 1, 2013)

skyscraper101 said:


> Non-removable battery and no SD storage though. I thought that was a big sticking point for you?


It's a pretty huge one, but if the cameras is as good as has been suggested then I might be tempted to bag a slice of that pure Googleness.


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## PursuedByBears (Nov 2, 2013)

There's a good first look video review on cnet.  Looks very interesting…


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## Mapped (Nov 2, 2013)

My hand's been forced somewhat, I got pissed last night and lost my S2 

It's either this or the S4


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## Mapped (Nov 2, 2013)

There's currently 2-3 week wait for delivery on the 32GB, and the only other place I can find it is 02 for £529


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## Mr Smin (Nov 2, 2013)

Mapped said:


> and the only other place I can find it is 02 for £529



wondering how this is different from ticket touting. the technical answer is that O2 buys them wholesale. 
their website says 32gb is exclusive, which I don't think is true.


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## Mapped (Nov 2, 2013)

Mr Smin said:


> wondering how this is different from ticket touting. the technical answer is that O2 buys them wholesale.
> their website says 32gb is exclusive, which I don't think is true.



Feels the same as ticket touting to me, they're about £100 more expensive than the normal touts on ebay. It seems to be fairly exclusive at the moment, I can't find one anywhere else.

The only business reason I can think of is to get people to sign up for an expensive 4g contract. They would have had a sale from me today if they had put a small, rather than extortionate, margin on it.


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## Chz (Nov 4, 2013)

What they're doing with ridding themselves of wasted space amazes me.

I bought my HTC One S because I rather liked the size of it. Somewhat more compact than the GS3 and OneX with a 4.3" screen in spring 2012.

Now this thing comes along with a 5" screen - it's larger, but only by 7x4.2x0.8mm. With a much larger battery to boot. That's incredible in a year and a half.


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## Stig (Nov 6, 2013)

WANT!

High time I got a new phone, and I've finally let go of my long standing insistence on things like hardware keybards, microUSB slots and removable batteries.

so having thought long and hard about HTC one, S4, Nexus5, I finally made up my mind, only to discover  OUT OF STOCK wtf etc, hmph.


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## mwgdrwg (Nov 6, 2013)

Came in to work yesterday and no less than 3 people in the office had new Nexus 5's!


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## Mapped (Nov 6, 2013)

Mine should be arriving tomorrow 

That was a very quick 2-3 week wait. 



Stig said:


> WANT!
> 
> High time I got a new phone, and I've finally let go of my long standing insistence on things like hardware keybards, microUSB slots and removable batteries.
> 
> so having thought long and hard about HTC one, S4, Nexus5, I finally made up my mind, only to discover  OUT OF STOCK wtf etc, hmph.



I think you can still get the white ones if you don't mind a white phone.


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## Stig (Nov 6, 2013)

Mapped said:


> Mine should be arriving tomorrow
> 
> That was a very quick 2-3 week wait.
> 
> ...



I really, really don't want a white one or a 16g one. Fugly/Small


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## Mapped (Nov 6, 2013)

Stig said:


> I really, really don't want a white one or a 16g one. Fugly/Small



Yeah me neither. They do seem to be getting the stock in and out quickly though, so you might not have to wait too long.


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## Stig (Nov 6, 2013)

Mapped said:


> Yeah me neither. They do seem to be getting the stock in and out quickly though, so you might not have to wait too long.



*Refreshes page*

_ I still have an HTC desire Z. Although it was a great phone (and has been for many years) it's starting to show its age now... Imagine the upgrade this will be!_


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## Stig (Nov 6, 2013)

Ordered


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## PursuedByBears (Nov 7, 2013)

Anyone else thinking about upgrading from Nexus 4 to Nexus 5?


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## Badgers (Nov 7, 2013)

Stig said:


> I really, really don't want a white one or a 16g one. Fugly/Small



Could have got a pink case for it?


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## Stig (Nov 7, 2013)

I'm enjoying looking at these specs.   It seems i'm upgrading from single core 800mhs CPU to a 2.3g quad-core -Phew!


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## Stig (Nov 7, 2013)

Badgers said:


> Could have got a pink case for it?



mmm new phone


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## Mapped (Nov 7, 2013)

I've had mine about an hour and it's very nice, it's a massive upgrade from my S2, lightning quick, feels pretty sturdy and the screen is great. 

I've got loads of work on this afternoon so can't play any more


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## Jon-of-arc (Nov 7, 2013)

What does it do better than the nexus 4?


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## dervish (Nov 7, 2013)

Jon-of-arc said:


> What does it do better than the nexus 4?



Bigger! Better! Faster! More! 

All the specs of the Nexus 4 have had a bump. It has a faster processor, currently the fastest android processor on the market, more RAM, better, larger screen, and a new version of android.


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## Fez909 (Nov 7, 2013)

Stig said:


> I'm enjoying looking at these specs.   It seems i'm upgrading from single core 800mhs CPU to a 2.3g quad-core -Phew!



Please post your thoughts once you've got it. It's rare that people have such a big jump in spec these days. I want to hear about it.


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## Fez909 (Nov 7, 2013)

Jon-of-arc said:


> What does it do better than the nexus 4?


Nothing*. And if you're the type of person who asks that question and you already have a N4, then save your money and wait for a N6.

*Hardly anything I should say. The launcher/Google Now will be different but it will only matter if you talk to your phone a lot. Even then it's minor.


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## PursuedByBears (Nov 7, 2013)

I think the camera is supposed to be better than the N4, battery is a bit bigger, screen and processor are better, and the N5 has a new launcher that google aren't making available on the N4.   And what dervish said ^^^^^^


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## Stig (Nov 8, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> Please post your thoughts once you've got it. It's rare that people have such a big jump in spec these days. I want to hear about it.



I'm already anticipating the lack of nearly punching it and throwing it out of the window every five minutes as I try to open an app, get bored, try to abort and open another, try to go to the homescreen instead, then have to put it down and do something else while it gradually trundles through all of those things one after the other in _it's own good time_.


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## Stig (Nov 8, 2013)

I was advised to do a phone cleanup, get an optimiser app and a cache cleaner, and delete all non essential apps.

'What fucking good is the phone to me like that, though?' were my thoughts. If you get to the stage where you're dragging round a barely functional skeleton which needs shaking out every five minutes it's new phone time.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Nov 11, 2013)

Stig said:


> I'm already anticipating the lack of nearly punching it and throwing it out of the window every five minutes as I try to open an app, get bored, try to abort and open another, try to go to the homescreen instead, then have to put it down and do something else while it gradually trundles through all of those things one after the other in _it's own good time_.



I upgraded from a Desire HD to a Note 2 and the difference is like light and day. Everything just works as a smartphone should, butterly smoth and the Nexus 5 has an even more impressive spec.


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## PursuedByBears (Nov 11, 2013)

Just ordered a black 32gb N5 from Google, ships on 11 December...


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## twentythreedom (Nov 11, 2013)

Stig said:


> I was advised to do a phone cleanup, get an optimiser app and a cache cleaner, and delete all non essential apps.
> 
> 'What fucking good is the phone to me like that, though?' were my thoughts. If you get to the stage where you're dragging round a barely functional skeleton which needs shaking out every five minutes it's new phone time.



Stig when you get it pm me and pop round mine after work (when I'm there) so we can get this nexus shizzle resolved, once and for all 

<awaits pm from Stig >

Btw I have beer


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## big eejit (Nov 13, 2013)

PursuedByBears said:


> Just ordered a black 32gb N5 from Google, ships on 11 December...



Snap! You're not me are you?


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## big eejit (Nov 14, 2013)

So what sim only deals are people going for with their new phone? Giff gaff?


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## Mapped (Nov 14, 2013)

big eejit said:


> So what sim only deals are people going for with their new phone? Giff gaff?



Three £12.90 all you can eat data monthly sim only. It's 4g next month apparently


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## Stig (Nov 14, 2013)

twentythreedom said:


> Stig when you get it pm me and pop round mine after work (when I'm there) so we can get this nexus shizzle resolved, once and for all
> 
> <awaits pm from Stig >
> 
> Btw I have beer



Ships 22nd November apparently. *drums fingers*


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## Mapped (Nov 14, 2013)

Stig said:


> Ships 22nd November apparently. *drums fingers*



It'll arrive before then hopefully. Mine said 2-3 weeks and arrived in 5 days


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## Stig (Nov 19, 2013)

Shipped  

should arrive in 3 days it says. So new phone for the weekend, fingers crossed.


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## Stig (Nov 20, 2013)

DateTimeLocationTracking Event
20-11-2013	06:38London East DepotLoaded to vehicle for delivery


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## strung out (Nov 28, 2013)

I've had the Nexus 5 for pretty much a month now (got mine the day of release) and I can comfortably say that it's the best and most impressive phone I've ever used.

I'm by no means anti Apple - I've got an iMac and a Macbook Air, but when I compare phones like the Nexus 5 to the iPhone 5s, I struggle to see why the iPhone is so popular. There's no contest imho.


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## Stig (Nov 28, 2013)

I've had mine for eight whole days now, and on the whole it's worlds better than my old one, love the speed, love the camera. but I've found a couple of annoyances.

1) Why are the icons so huge? It has a much bigger screen than the old one but the same number of icons fit on the screen. They're just enormous! It has many times better resolution and I have perfectly good eyesight so would prefer more and smaller things please! I haven't found a way to do this yet if one exists.

2) Google Now, grr! 
  I don't want to get rid of it because I can see how useful it is, but it hogs the battery something chronic. 
Also, it takes up a whole homescreen. I've installed the swipe disabler so google now doesn't interrupt every game I play, but it still takes up a whole screen. I'd prefer it to sit quietly as an icon, with a few pop-ups in the task bar when a thing happens.


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## editor (Nov 28, 2013)

You can install another launcher and then resize icons (and download icon packs) to your taste.


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## Stig (Nov 28, 2013)

I had forgotten all about that. After having all kinds of ridiculous steampunk icons on my go launcher app on my old phone, I ended up thinking it was all too messy and went back to basics. I'll give it another go on this one and report back.


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## mack (Nov 28, 2013)

root using Wugs toolkit

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2517778

fuck about with the pixel density

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2517311


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## strung out (Nov 28, 2013)

Stig said:


> I've had mine for eight whole days now, and on the whole it's worlds better than my old one, love the speed, love the camera. but I've found a couple of annoyances.
> 
> 1) Why are the icons so huge? It has a much bigger screen than the old one but the same number of icons fit on the screen. They're just enormous! It has many times better resolution and I have perfectly good eyesight so would prefer more and smaller things please! I haven't found a way to do this yet if one exists.
> 
> ...



Like Editor said, launchers can easily solve your problems in 1 - I'm using Nova with my homescreen looking like this:






That disables Google Now taking up a whole homescreen, so what I've done is put the Google Now widget on my second homescreen. Now it flashes up notifications as and when they appear. Alternatively you can just use the Google Now icon to launch it when you want (it's just called Google in the app drawer), or swipe up from the home button to launch it.


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## Stig (Nov 28, 2013)

I've just downloaded a whole shedload of good looking launchers and am off to play with them in the pub.

Rooting: I'm not ready   new phone is new!


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## editor (Nov 28, 2013)

Not sure why I'd bother rooting a Nexus.


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## Stig (Nov 29, 2013)

Go launcher solved most of my problems, thanks! Still playing with all the bits and bobs, I think that's my weekend sorted. 

PS I found that Desk migrate is absolutely essential for using launchers and saves mucking about.


My only other niggle with the Nexus 5 is that the off button is exactly opposite the volume up button. So whenever I go to turn the screen off and put it in my pocket, I press both at once, and the volume control appears on the screen but the screen off press is ignored. 
So inevitably to turn off the screen always requires two attempts. 

It's possible this may be more a fault with my case rather than the bare shell, but I'm not willing to go with out a case as I'm clumsy and need my phone to be able to bounce. (FYI it's this case, which I love loads so far: http://www.androidcentral.com/cruzerlite-spi-force-galaxy-note-2-case-review)


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## PursuedByBears (Dec 3, 2013)

Got mine this afternoon, it's brilliant. Amazingly sharp screen, very very fast processor.  I like this a lot.  Anyone want to buy a Nexus 4, one careful owner?


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## skyscraper101 (Dec 3, 2013)

What kind of battery life are you all getting? (pls qualify with usage)


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## Mapped (Dec 3, 2013)

skyscraper101 said:


> What kind of battery life are you all getting? (pls qualify with usage)



Better than I thought it would be. I'm getting a full day with 2 hours of audio, high use on my commute and sporadic use during the day. I've had it die on me once in a month, when I didn't charge it the night before. It seems better than my S2.


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## strung out (Dec 3, 2013)

skyscraper101 said:


> What kind of battery life are you all getting? (pls qualify with usage)


I took mine off charge about 7.30 this morning and it's currently at 54% - 14+ hours later.

That's with a bit of net browsing, but checking twitter, instagram, emails etc all day. If I'd been making a few calls and listening to music, I expect I'd be just about out of juice, but light usage sees it last the whole day easily and a bit more besides.


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## skyscraper101 (Dec 3, 2013)

Currently trying to decide if I should buy one in the US or the UK, as I seems to spend equal time in both. Anoyingly there are two variants. One for N. America and one for 'Rest of World' which seem almost designed to not work in each others territory. I think I could live with HSPA+ only in the US but I'd want full 4G LTE ability in the UK so I _think_ I should get the UK version....but will it support HSPA+ on TMobile US? Ugh I can't work it out.

The research you have to do on frequency bands on differing networks to try and work it out is a minefield.


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## Virtual Blue (Dec 4, 2013)

it's set at a ridiculous good price.
i'm considering getting this but afraid the battery isn't too good - can someone confirm?


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## strung out (Dec 4, 2013)

The battery's more than fine in my experience. Admittedly I haven't been using it much today, but the odd checking of twitter and emails etc and it's still on 73% - that's 13 hours since I took it off charge this morning.

Heavy use will see the battery die like pretty much any smart phone, but I've yet to be stuck with a dead phone since I bought it.


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## Mapped (Dec 4, 2013)

I've been caining mine all day today, loads of phone calls, texts and emails etc. I've been on the go since 7am and it's at 42%. The battery isn't as much of an issue as some people are writing about.


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## Virtual Blue (Dec 4, 2013)

It's a great phone for that price.
Been looking at that and the LG G2 (costing £50 more on ebay).


Gonna sleep on it.


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## mack (Dec 5, 2013)

Google have released an update 4.4.1 that has updated the camera and a few other bugs.. looks like everything is now working perfectly.
Should get an OTA in the next few hours or you can sideload it.


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## fen_boy (Feb 23, 2014)

£240 at Craphone Whorehouse at the moment.


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## Virtual Blue (Mar 17, 2014)

anyone bother with the qi chargers yet?
been using mine for a couple of weeks now.
surprised but it makes alot of difference....!


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## twentythreedom (Oct 3, 2014)

I just bought one, having bruk my nexus 4 's screen. Nice phone, but needs a case to protect those edges!

I like it, it's like the nexus 4 but a bit better


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## twentythreedom (Oct 10, 2014)

Nexus 5 is fucking great  4G is impressive.

Bought a Spigen bumper case for it. Well cool 

Got quoted £120 to replace my nexus 4's bust screen  Absurd.


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## Mapped (Oct 14, 2014)

The screen on mine has cracked for the 4th time. I think I'm going to cut my losses on this phone. Its great apart from the fragile screen.

Is there a new nexus worth holding on for? I seem to remember the 5 coming out this time last year.


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## Bob_the_lost (Oct 14, 2014)

The 6 is expected to be announced this month. The gossip is that it's Motorolla built and code named 'Shamu' named after a captive Killer whale that tried to eat their trainer during a show, i wouldn't like to give the Demo for this one. It's supposed to be around the 6" mark.


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## Chz (Oct 14, 2014)

The screen isn't fragile (or at least not moreso than any other phone you can name), but the edge-to-edge nature of it makes it more likely to crack when dropped as there's less phone to absorb the impact.

Rumour is that they're getting rid of excess N5 capacity by giving people replacements for cracked screens. So far I've only seen it confirmed for US customers who bought from the Play Store, but it's worth a try.


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## magneze (Oct 14, 2014)

Nexus 6 is rumoured to be announced tomorrow.


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## Bob_the_lost (Oct 14, 2014)

magneze said:


> Nexus 6 is rumoured to be announced tomorrow.


Great, i'm blaming you for tomorrows complete lack of productivity.


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## magneze (Oct 14, 2014)

Bob_the_lost said:


> Great, i'm blaming you for tomorrows complete lack of productivity.


I'm hoping it's not a 6 inch monster. I'm tempted to go iPhone otherwise! [emoji33]


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## twentythreedom (Oct 14, 2014)

Got a Spigen bumper case for mine. Well cool


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## PursuedByBears (Oct 15, 2014)

Oooh, hello pretty shiny thing!


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## fen_boy (Oct 15, 2014)

I've had every nexus since the galaxy, but I'll be giving this one a miss. Too big and expensive.


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## magneze (Oct 15, 2014)

Yup, the size just makes me go 'meh'.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Oct 15, 2014)

Might be a contender for when I replace my Note.


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## Fez909 (Oct 15, 2014)

twentythreedom said:


> Got a Spigen bumper case for mine. Well cool


Let me know when it first cracks on you. I think we got N4s around the same time and it's either one of these or a Z3c for me, but I'm not sure I can face more screen smash issues


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## Mapped (Oct 15, 2014)

I might get another 5. I don't like the size of the 6.

I think my multiple cracking incidents are from a shit repair job or a weakness from when I first dropped it. The guy who repaired it did the subsequent repairs for free under guarantee, but it always took a week to get the parts, so now I'm on my way back to the UK with a phone with a cracked screen.


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## twentythreedom (Oct 15, 2014)

Fez909 said:


> Let me know when it first cracks on you. I think we got N4s around the same time and it's either one of these or a Z3c for me, but I'm not sure I can face more screen smash issues


I've been quoted £95 - £120 for screen replacement on my N4, fucking ridiculous


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## Fez909 (Oct 15, 2014)

twentythreedom said:


> I've been quoted £95 - £120 for screen replacement on my N4, fucking ridiculous


I've had two screen replacements done on mine. First was £80 for just the front. The second was £80 for the front and back, but I wish I'd paid the £100 I was quoted from the original place as the screen they used this time was shite. Not Gorilla Glass. Smashed within a month of the 'repair' and the back is smashed, too. The screen feels awful and gets smudged/greasy really easily and the colours look shite. Can't afford to get it fixed again.

I'm hoping the N5 gets reduced enough for me to afford it before the phone becomes unusable


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## magneze (Oct 15, 2014)

Looking at the specs the 5 still beats the shit out of many competitors and it won't make your trousers fall down like the 6.


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