What's _ Good _ About the Nexus 5

[zipred]

All too often forums are filled with nothing but complaints, and I'm not talking about genuine faults or problems people are having.

This post is for Nexus 5 owners who choose to recognize what's _good_ about the smartphone we use. What we like about it and why.

After owning many smartphones over the years powered by Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Symbian, BlackBerry, and more I'm truly excited and quite satisfied with my Nexus 5.

Handset:

I really like the looks of the clean smooth face, that's pleasantly free of branding. No ugly carrier logos or added on style element's like fake chrome trim around the perimeter. No physical home button to be subject to pocket lint, debris, or anything like water or spills. Equipped with Gorilla Glass 3, it's been my experience that this is one tough screen. Carried in my pocket, I've forgotten and tossed in keys, all without the slightest of scratches.

Moving to the rear, I like it's soft touch grippy surface that feels good in hand. That said I immediately installed an equally clean, very nice looking Spigen Slim Armor case, in Black. Made specifically for the Nexus 5, it looks perfect on this phone almost as if LG designed it. Also having a high end quality feel with the same grippy surface, it's very secure to hold. I've got three Slim Armor cases on other phones, and when dropped the phones survive just fine. That's quite a testimony of how well they are designed, while still being slim and attractive.

Finally the sides, top and bottom. I find the button placements ideal and the functionality just as expected. The same goes for the ports & speakers. Spigen covers the buttons with a nice thin soft TPU material, the same that covers top and bottom. In use, I like how easy it is to find the covered buttons and how well they operate.

If I was designing a phone, it would look just like this Nexus 5.

Android 4.4.2:

Ah yes, the beauty of the Nexus line is pure Android. Getting the latest versions, so easily installed and with very little waiting is what it's about. The absence of carrier bloatware is pure joy. With the hardware configuration being so robust, this is one very fast and lag free phone.

There's so much I like about 4.4 it'd take pages to cover it all.

One of the true highlights of my Nexus 5 experience is Google Now. Originally I had ambiguous feelings, after using Siri on iOS and not liking it, I just had to be fair and try Google Now. I'm so glad I did. Deciding to go "All In" I learned it truly is about having patience for the first week while it learns my patterns, collects data on the places I drive, and much more.

I've learned that just as Google states, it really is about using it for everything. Now I'm in week two and it's benefits are truly impressive. Instead of having to search for things, Google Now anticipates extremely accurately and serves up the info I need, usually before or just when I need it. It's an eerie feeling at first, but one that is quickly replaced by the peace of mind that comes from the pure joy of knowing the benefits and time savings it provides me.

Overall my Nexus 5 has performed very well. I'm finding that as much as I enjoy my Note 3, the Nexus does run faster, smoother and efficiently with the apps I use. For both business and personal use, it accommodates my every need. When it comes to battery life if I wasn't such a heavy user it'd be fine. I do carry a nice compact external battery from Anker, yet it's nice not to have to rely on that. Yesterday I found a very new app by the makers of the Snapdragon chip. Called Snapdragon Battery Guru, I'm testing it out now.

So there's some of my experiences with my Nexus 5, I look forward to hearing yours.

 

[fisterkev]

Thank you. This is a fantastic phone with very, very few actual faults. It's a new phone with a new OS so a few hiccups are to be expected, but one of the reasons I went Nexus is because we will be the first to get those hiccups sorted out. You can't beat going to the source for solutions.

As for what I really like about this phone:

- This is as large as I like my phones. I like one-handed operation and this is as big as my hand can handle. Perfect size and form factor.

- Performance. This thing SCREAMS through games like N.O.V.A. 3 and MC4, and everything I want it to do it does almost immediately. And it's specced enough to be able to handle everything that's likely to be thrown at it for awhile - as future proof as a phone can be right now, I think.

- Vanilla Android. 'Nuff said.

- I love wireless charging.

- Google Now is really coming along nicely. I am finding new uses for it every day.

Most of the rest you already covered. I have VERY few nitpicks with this phone. It's as close to perfect as I've had in a phone.

 

[val88]

Cost for me is a top reason. I won't skimp for cost savings and the n5 satisfies that.

I like that while I am updating a dozen apps, I don't even notice because it's happening without interfering with what I'm doing on the phone. Speaks volume on the phones UI abilities.

 

[Wrend]

The following is a short overview I wrote up about the Nexus 5.

I got the Nexus 5 not too long ago. It is a nice powerful and clean (both physically, and on the software side of things) "phone." (Using it as a phone is more of a minor feature. I've been doing a lot of gaming on it, actually, as well as streaming music, checking e-mail, and so on.)

At 8 MP, the camera doesn't have as high of a MP count as some, though it's more than enough for my needs, and it also has optical stabilization. Good enough to take nice 1920

 

[bac22]

It's not an iPhone 5

...that's very good...LOL!

 

[Mike Spector]

I get around the issue of expandable memory using a stick with OTG works great.

 

[nx1977]

It's very thin and light compared to a number of other handsets like the 5s, S4 and HTC One.

Cost was another factor. Sim free, nothing in the same league was around.

Updates is another. Samsung used to be awful for it, HTC will drop support after 18 months leaving you stuck.

 

[JBentleyR]

Cost was another factor. Sim free, nothing in the same league was around.

Yes, about half the price of a sim-free iPhone (with a smaller screen!) and, as far as I'm concerned, has nothing that my Nexus 5 hasn't got.

 

[zipred]

I'm just so surprised at the speed, responsiveness and stability of my Nexus 5. This is the best smartphone (out of far too many I've owned) by a wide margin. At least for my heavy usage.

Oh sure it does have it's shortcomings like it's less than perfect camera, but I really don't care. All the core functions of importance to me are there in spades. This is the first phone I've had that continues to put a smile on my face every time I use it.

Usually the newness wears off after a month or so, but not with this gem.

 

[JunBringer]

I think it's great that Josh from The Verge was tweeting about how much smoother Android is over iOS. Boy how things have changed.