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Google's Nexus 5 finally launched on Halloween without any of the fanfare or ostentation that we've come to expect from big companies, especially when dealing with flagship devices.

• Nexus 5 specs, release date and price
• How to root your Nexus 5

In the case of the Nexus 5, the lack of hullabaloo seems oddly fitting though, because as Google showed with the Nexus 4, you don’t need fireworks and dancing bears as long as you can deliver a reasonably priced smartphone that can smoke the competition.

But the six million dollar question is, does Google's latest offering really serve as a worthy alternative to the big names on the block? Or is it just a cheap and cheerful smartphone, worthy of a conciliatory pat on the back and a second-place ribbon? Let's take a look and find out.

Build

LG did sterling work on the Nexus 4 and, perhaps unsurprisingly, Google opted to use the talents of the Korean manufacturer again on the device's follow-up. Indeed, the Nexus 5 is based on the company's excellent LG G2, but doesn't share any of its design quirks, such as the centrally placed volume rocker. Instead, it utilizes the tried, tested and, dare we say, ever-so-boring template that most smartphone manufacturers are working off of in 2013.

To call the device plain would be unkind, though, instead we think it's more of an understated, walk-the-walk kind of smartphone that is big on performance without being waylaid by image -- and that’s no bad thing right now.

One thing that is obvious after holding the smartphone for even a short while, is that it’s extremely well built and, despite its plastic construction, it feels very sturdy. At 130g it is 9g lighter than its forebear and despite it offering a screen which, at 4.95-inches, is significantly larger than the Nexus 4, its thin bezel and neatly curved back make it feel much more comfortable in the hand. This is a really pleasing trait when held up against the Nexus 4, a device that was more slippery than an eel that’s been dipped in axle grease.

Aside from the fact that the device feels like it has been put together with care and attention, we were also impressed by the ceramic volume rocker and power buttons, which add just a hint of premium quality, without being gaudy or obvious -- and when you’re dealing with a phone that’s largely plastic, every little detail helps.

Of course, where there are positives, there must also be negatives. And we do have a couple of gripes with the Nexus 5, despite its obvious charm.

First up, we were fairly disappointed to hear that Google opted to ignore users once again and deliver a device without a micro SD slot. We’re well aware that the company is in the business of selling cloud storage, but we don’t think adding a killer feature like removable storage support would stop people from using the cloud.

Another issue, which is slightly more than a moan, is that Google chose to hamstring the device with a 2300mAh battery, even though a bigger, much more power-hungry display is present. Again, we’re aware of the desire to keep prices down, but not every user is going to want to (or be able to) cart a charger around all day, every day (we'll dig deeper into the battery in a moment).

Gripes aside, we certainly do prefer the Nexus 5 over its older brother and, dare we say, Samsung's superstar Galaxy S4, too. There's an attention to detail present in the device that is wildly appealing, and while it certainly isn't a phone for the fashion conscious, it's sleek, svelte and very much à la mode.

Display

The Nexus 5 features a 4.95-inch, True HD IPS Plus panel that runs at a resolution of 1080 x 1920 and subsequently pushes out a pixel density of 445PPI. As you would expect from a display of this quality, visuals are stunning. Images are bright, clarity and responsiveness is first-rate and the thing is pin-sharp.

The inclusion of an IPS panel gives the Nexus 5 a boost in some areas. For example, it doesn’t suffer from the potentially irritating oversaturation issues that beleaguer some of its AMOLED-toting peers. The screen also offers up excellent viewing angles and decent outdoor legibility too, which is something we don’t see enough of.

While IPS screens offer definite advantages in some areas, they fall behind in others, and one such disadvantage is that the tech requires a touch more power to run than other display types. While it isn’t a major stumbling block, the inclusion of such a big, bright screen in a device with a relatively small battery, does pose certain questions and we’re unsure whether they can be answered by software alone.

Performance

One thing that is obvious from the moment you take the Nexus 5 out of its box and power it on, is that this device is fast -- and we mean seriously fast. Its Snapdragon 800 chipset offers a quad-core Krait 400 CPU clocked to 2.27GHz and an Adreno 330 GPU that just eat up labor-intensive tasks, and the 2GB of RAM on board is the perfect icing on the cake.

As you would expect, the Nexus 5 posts benchmark scores which adequately reflect its hardware. On AnTuTu it notches up a score of 26,368 which, while a hair below the 30,000 threshold that we would like to see for a Snapdragon 800, is certainly impressive.

In GeekBench 2 the device managed an overall score of 4009, with a multi-core score of 2726, significantly higher than the HTC One and Nexus 4, but that's no real surprise given the disparity in hardware between the devices.

If you're a gamer, the Nexus 5 won't disappoint. We ran everything we could get our hands on, including Asphalt 8, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Dead Trigger 2 and Thor: The Dark World and they all ran without missing a beat. This leads us to confidently proclaim that this device will kick the ass of any game you own, and plenty that haven't even been made yet.

Similarly, surfing the Web is an effortless task on the device, with even the heaviest of pages loading quickly via both Wi-Fi and cellular data.

As we’ve previously mentioned, there is one key area in the device’s performance which we didn’t feel was up to muster, and that was its battery life. It features a 2300mAh cell which is, at best, mediocre. After the first charge, which took an inordinately long time for some reason (an issue which is happening to plenty of users, we’ve ascertained), we noticed the battery draining super quickly, and it took a few more charges and some fiddling around with settings before we got anywhere near the performance we'd expect from the cell.

It turned out that Google Services was taxing the battery to within an inch of its life and after a software update and some tinkering with brightness and location settings, we began getting what we would consider to be optimal performance from the cell.

Let’s be straight though: Optimal by no means translates to satisfactory in this case. The device offered us just five hours of uptime with heavy use (surfing the web, watching YouTube, listening to music and gaming) and around eight to nine hours of average use. Additionally, we were shocked to see just how quickly the battery discharged initially, hemorrhaging around 10 percent for every 15 to 20 minutes of use.

Thankfully, that settled down after a few charges and we were seeing a definite improvement. But it is and was a bugbear, nevertheless.

The decision to put cost above usability and hamstring a potentially stellar device with a mediocre battery is not one we can agree with. Don’t get us wrong, we fully appreciate the low RRP, but we'd much rather have seen a 3000mAh cell thrown in, with an extra few bucks added to the price tag.

Another, albeit small issue we're sure could have been avoided with a little effort is the loudspeaker quality of the device, which is, without wishing to be harsh, abysmal. The placement, at the bottom of the phone, isn't great, as you'll find your hands muffle the sound when gaming. But even when the speakers are unobstructed the sound output is what we would expect from an earbud draped into a soda can, rather than a flagship smartphone.

Software

There's no doubt that Google has put some serious effort into the long awaited Android 4.4 KitKat, and aside from the swerve around the expected "Key Lime Pie" moniker, Google has plenty more surprises up its sleeve when it comes to the Nestle-inspired OS.

One of the most pleasing additions is the improved voice control, which makes the device leap into action when you say "Okay, Google," much as it does on Motorola's surprisingly good Moto X.

You can do just about anything you want with voice control, from calling and texting to getting directions on the fly and we've noticed a vast improvement in the accuracy of the voice recognition, too.

Multi-tasking is faster and more seamless in 4.4 too, thanks to optimized memory and touchscreen sensitivity and "immersive mode." These allow you to really optimize your screen when viewing media by removing all distractions from your view.

Google has taken the concept of a smartphone back to basics with what is perhaps its most comprehensive set of improvements, by focusing on the communication aspect of the device's functionality. Hangouts and SMS have been integrated, giving you all of your text-based communications on one screen and the contacts screen has been given an overhaul as well.

One of the best new communications-based features, though, is the number recognition -- if someone calls you from an unknown number, Google will search for the callers' details and provide them to you on-screen, meaning you'll seldom have to deal with unknown numbers hitting you up at inopportune times!

All in all, the feel of KitKat is that it's a really complete piece of software. The user interface hasn't changed much. Of course there's the new, translucent launcher and larger, bolder icons, which give the software a much more fresh feel. But, overall, it seems like another layer of polish, with things being tightened up and optimized, rather than a fearsome redesign (are you listening, Apple?) and it ultimately feels like a piece of software upon which you can comfortably rely.

Camera

The Nexus 5 features an 8MP camera much like its predecessor, but a number of improvements have been made, leading to the device capturing far better still shots than those snapped by the frankly awful 8MP shooter on the Nexus 4.

The inclusion of Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) is one such improvement, and it definitely ratchets up the overall quality of a still image that the device captures by allowing for longer exposures without succumbing to the blur generated by a person’s hand. This is particularly effective when shooting in low-light situations, and we think Google’s claim that the device offers solid performance in such conditions definitely stands up to scrutiny.

Another excellent addition is the HDR+, which allows the Nexus 5’s camera to take a burst of images at different exposures and use the best color and light conditions to deliver a brighter, more balanced end image. This eliminates the usual underexposed or overexposed choices that one might ordinarily be left with.

One area where we feel the device’s camera lags behind competitors is speed. Quite simply, it’s slow as hell and you’ll end up with blurry action shots unless you ask your subjects to channel Police Squad, and stand around in a fixed pose.

Overall, the camera on the Nexus 5 represents a definite improvement in quality for the range, but we were left wondering when, or if, Google might actually choose to deliver a smartphone that can stand with the iPhone 5S's and Lumia 1020s of this world, rather than gaze up at them adoringly, from its spot down below.

Conclusion

In the short time that we’ve had the Nexus 5 we’ve come to like it. It’s a smart, snappy phone that feels well balanced and capable, without being eye-wateringly expensive -- and in the current financial climate that’s a huge, huge deal.

It isn’t a perfect phone and has its fair share of foibles, but in our experience there’s no such thing. And if you’re willing to work with the device, rather than try to bend it to your will, you’ll be rewarded with a top-notch user experience.

Of course, there are better-looking devices out there, like Apple’s glorious iPhone 5S or HTC’s stunning One, but they cost a truckload more and what else do you get for your money besides a more handsome visage and a heap of buyer’s remorse?

Apple’s 64-bit toting iPhone 5s is a tad more future proof. Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 is a touch more powerful. But Google’s Nexus 5 is right up there, nipping at their heels, and at a fraction of the price.

Source: http://www.thefullsignal.com/google/google-nexus-5/16006/google-nexus-5-review

• Video review Google Nexus 4

• Video review Samsung Galaxy Note 3

• Video review HTC One

• Video review Samsung Galaxy S4

• Video review Motorola Moto X

• Video review Apple iPhone 5s

• Video review LG Nexus 5

• Video review Apple iPhone

• Video review LG G2

Technical specifications

See also:

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