Google has
officially
unveiled the
latest
incarnation of
its flagship
Nexus
smartphone.
Made by LG, the
handset is smaller,
slimmer and lighter
than the Nexus 4
but its 4.96in
(126mm) touchscreen is bigger.
The Nexus 5 has been developed to show off
the capabilities of the new version of the
Android operating system.
Called Kitkat, the software has been designed
to work well on both high-end smartphones
and cheaper feature phones.

The alliance with Google has helped bolster
LG's fortunes even though, according to
statistics from Gartner, it is still a long
way behind rivals Samsung and Apple.
In the April-to-June quarter, the consultancy
indicated 3.8% of all smartphones sold were
LG handsets putting the South Korean firm in
third place.
By contrast, Apple accounted for 18.8% of
all sales and Samsung 29.7%.

Memory cut
The specifications for the new phone were
widely leaked before it was announced on
the official Google blog.

The gadget shares some of the hardware from
LG's G2 handset and can record and play
back HD video at the full 1080p resolution.
Its camera also has a rapid burst system that
captures several photographs at the same
time so owners can pick the best shot.
The handset is due to go on sale on 1
November in the US, UK, Canada, Australia,
France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and Korea.
"Nexus devices serve an important function for
Google," said Ben Wood, head of research at
analyst firm CCS Insight.

"The company collaborates closely with the
chosen phone maker as it rolls out a new
version of the Android operating system and
this results in a 'vanilla' version of the
software that acts as a reference platform
for developers and tech enthusiasts."

Google said a base 16GB version of the device
would cost $349 in the US (£299 in the UK),
unlocked and without a contract. The 32GB
version should cost $399 (£339 in the UK).
With Android Kitkat, Google said it had made
the software use less memory so it could be
used on handsets with much lower
specifications than top end smartphones.

In addition, Google has begun moving some
services off Android's core software and onto
its app store. Many see this as a way for it
to maintain more control over the security of
the software and its associated applications.

We now have an official specs list for the
new handset. As expected there's a quad-core
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 System-on-Chip (SoC)
running at 2.3GHz, accompanied by 2GB of
RAM (not the 3GB that some sources were
suggesting).
That'll make it among the fastest
smartphones out there with the chipset
having blazed through all our benchmarks – be
it browsing, apps or 3D games. Speaking of
3D the GPU is an Adreno 330 running at
450MHz, again the same as the LG G2.
An eight megapixel camera sensor with optical
image stabilisation (OIS) has been confirmed,
along with a 1.3-megapixel front-facing
webcam. The optical stabilisation should go a
long way to helping you shoot in low light
conditions, as it does on the Nokia Lumia 925 .
The battery is rated at 2,300mAh, which isn't
huge by modern standards, with the Galaxy S4
having a 2,600mAh battery and the LG G2
using a huge 3,000mAh pack. It's the only
possible weak point in the specification and
we’ll be interested to see how it performs in
our battery tests as a result.
The handset measures 69x138x8.6mm, which
makes it fractionally longer and thicker than
the S4, which has a fractionally larger
display. It's not a super-skinny handset then,
but the Nexus phones of late have been more
about great technology and the latest version
of Android for a very reasonable price. Like
the S4 it weighs 130g.
The specification also includes full support
for the UK's new 4G networks and for
wireless charging.

GOOGLE NEXUS 5 DISPLAY
The display is practically five inches across,
to fit with the name, but actually measure
4.95in for those who want to be precise. It's
an LCD screen with IPS technology and a Full
HD resolution, so nothing too surprising there.
That gives it a huge pixels per inch figure of
445, so you won't be spotting those without
getting your nose on the screen.

GOOGLE NEXUS 5 NAME
Seeing as Google recently refreshed the Nexus
7 with a 2013 model that shares the same
name , there was originally some speculation
that the company would do the same with its
smartphone, a Nexus 4 (2013) so to speak.
However, the number relates directly to
screen size, and with the handset having a
nearly 5in screen the Nexus 5 name makes a
lot of sense, both representing the device's
specification and that it's a successor to the
Nexus 4.

GOOGLE NEXUS 5 DESIGN
Until we get our hands on it, it's hard to
say too much about the design. It looks to
be a fairly squared off shape with bevelled
corners and a plain front fascia – though
that's to be expected as Google is a big fan
of onscreen controls over physical buttons.
The most stiking part of the design is the
round, silver, speaker at the top, which looks
cool.
Interestingly the phone comes in both black
and white, but the front screen surround is
black in both models. The rear has an offset
camera and flash, but no sign of the LG G2's
back buttons, with a more traditional side-
mounted power button on the upper right and
volume rocker on the left.

ANDROID 4.4 KITKAT
As expected the Google Nexus 5 launches with
the latest version of Android. Google has
signed a deal with Nestle to call version 4.4
KitKat, but apart from that sickly sweet
corporate tie up, the new operating system is
looking grand

Android 4.4 KitKat is now available but
Google's official Android site has been
updated to show the operating systems new
features. That hasn't stopped several
purported screenshots from appearing online.
9to5Google has several images which
apparently show redesigned stock apps
including Messages and the phone dialler, as
well as a new, flatter user interface that
looks more than a little like Apple's iOS 7.

The images are a little dubious because they
show inconsistencies in the menu and
notification bars - although Google hasn't
exactly stayed consistent when it comes to
design in the past, the odd use of
transparency leads us to think these are full
screen mock-ups, rather than actual
applications. Even so, they could mirror
Google's intended updates to its stock
Android apps.

Other features haven't been leaked yet, but
further performance tweaks and an update to
the user interface should be on the way.

continue here

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