After all the hype, leaks and rumors, Google’s Nexus 5 is finally here. Google and LG partnered together to create the slimmest and fastest Nexus ever to showcase everything that the latest Android 4.4 KitKat platform has to offer. The design is pretty simple, but it houses some wicked hardware.
The Display
For starters, the Nexus 5 screen is a 4.95 inch Full HD IPS display with a pixel density of 445ppi for some of the best clarity and color reproduction you can get on something that costs slightly less than a flagship smartphone. It’s even protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 to help protect it from shattering and scratches.
The Chip
The SoC is no slouch either. Google and LG went with the most powerful chip currently on the market: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 with four Krait 400 cores clocked at 2.26GHz. It’s the same chip that you’ll see on devices that consistently top benchmarking tools like Antutu and Quadrant, and being a Snapdragon 800 SoC, it’s coupled with the equally impressive Adreno 330 GPU.
Imaging
The cameras on the Nexus 5 aren’t terribly impressive. The industry standard among flagship smartphones is typically 13mp or more, but the Nexus 5 went with an 8mp shooter. However, it does feature OIS (optical image stabilization), which works to eliminate the blur created by an unsteady hand while taking a shot. There’s also a 1.3mp shooter for selfies and video chatting.
RAM and Storage
RAM and storage on the Nexus 5 is the industry standard for flagship phones. There’s 2GB RAM and a choice between 16GB and 32GB storage configurations. It’s important to note that the actual accessible storage will be less since Android does eat up a good chunk of it.
Wireless Connectivity
As for wireless connectivity, the international variant of the Nexus 5 comes with support for LTE bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 20 (bands 1 and 3 are currently supported and operational on Smart and Globe respectively). Naturally, there’s also WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS, not to mention NFC support, which has been reworked with KitKat 4.4.
Battery Life
Battery capacity is decent but not that impressive. It rocks a 2,300mAh battery, which is comparable to Sony’s Xperia Z and HTC’s One. Google’s in-house talk time tests on production hardware with LTE on and WiFi off had the Nexus 5 lasting 17 hours while standby tests with both WiFi connected and LTE on had it lasting 300 hours. As for internet usage time, Google tested the Nexus 5 by repeatedly loading 3 different websites 40 seconds apart. The device lasted 7.5 hours on LTE and 8 hours on WiFi.
Availability
The device is already on sale through Google Play in the the UK, US, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Canada, Korea, Spain, and Italy. The 16GB model is $349 while the 32GB model is priced at $399. However, stocks are running out fast and will likely be depleted by the end of the day if they aren’t already.
If you are looking to get your hands on the Nexus 5, it shouldn’t take too long though. The Nexus 5 isn’t officially sold here through the Play Store, but gray market sellers like Widget City, DBGadgets and Kimstore have always been good at bringing hot devices to Philippine shores soon after launch. However, expect so sell a kidney or something to be able to afford the Nexus 5 if you want to get one right away as demand is very high.
Note: As the author and owner of MobileTechPinoy, I don’t actually support the selling of kidneys or any other organs, thank you.
Nexus 5 Specs
- 4.95″ Full HD IPS display (1080 x 1920 resolution, 445ppi)
- 2.26GHz quad core Snapdragon 800
- 450MHz Adreno 330 GPU
- Android 4.4 KitKat
- 2GB RAM
- 16GB / 32GB internal storage
- 8mp autofocus camera with Optical Image Stabilization
- 1.3mp front camera
- Up to 4G/LTE data speeds
- WiFi a/b/g/n/ac
- Bluetooth 4.0
- GPS with A-GPS
- NFC
- Battery: 2.300mAh
- Dimensions: 69.17 x 137.84 x 8.59 mm
- Weight: 130g
- Price: $349 for the 16GB variant, $399 for the 32GB variant
Gallery
Sources: Google Official Blog, Nexus 5, PhoneReviews.uk and Android Central
