Nexus 5: First Impressions & Reviews

[sideshot]

Re: Nexus 5 First Impressions & Reviews

Kinda disappointed reading on MobileSyrup that the bottom speakers is a mono speaker while other one is the microphone. As for the voice command, I don't really mind that it can't be used while the phone is sleeping. Other than that, everything looks awesome.

there is a guy at work with a moto x when we walk be him we say ok Google find my phone and the thing wigs out in his pocket

 

[atrixfll]

Re: Using my new nexus5 right now

I agree... it is a great value...

 

[DefinedByClass13]

Re: Nexus 5 First Impressions & Reviews

Useless post, but I just got mine in the mail. Downloading update. It's my first Nexus device, coming from an S3. Can't wait to play with this!

 

[neonworm]

Re: Nexus 5 First Impressions & Reviews

Useless post, but I just got mine in the mail. Downloading update. It's my first Nexus device, coming from an S3. Can't wait to play with this!

Nice! Tell us how you like it

 

[UniBus]

Re: Nexus 5 First Impressions & Reviews

I use the paid Nova with my Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 but rarely buy apps - ideally the 2 devices would be scaled clones in looks. I'll probably use Nova still... but will see how KitKat does for new desktop management features.

"Quote Originally Posted by DefinedByClass13 View Post
Useless post, but I just got mine in the mail. Downloading update. It's my first Nexus device,..."

 

[Jdane07]

Re: Using my new nexus5 right now

Come on there no smartphone right now that can compare to HTC One. Where you going to find a $350.00 unlocked phone with a Snapdragon 800 and 2GB of ram from any other company. For the price you are paying for the Nexus its a excellent phone.

The Moto X is very comparable to the HTC One. Obviously speaker placement is better on the One, but sound clarity and loudness is very similar.
I've owned both.

 

[65fastback]

Re: Using my new nexus5 right now

first had a nexus s, currently had a galaxy nexus...and wow, nexus 5 ftw!

 

[zkSharks]

Re: Nexus 5 First Impressions & Reviews

Useless post, but I just got mine in the mail. Downloading update. It's my first Nexus device, coming from an S3. Can't wait to play with this!

Useless post only if you say so. Plenty of us around here who want to read what we're all saying about this phone as more and more people are getting it. If you feel like writing up your thoughts at some point, I'll throw a link in the first post. That's open to anyone.

 

[nator76]

Re: Nexus 5 First Impressions & Reviews

Initial impressions

Background...i've come from many phones. this will be my 10th smartphone. Ive used old school windows, blackberry, iphones, and now androids.

Im coming from an HTC one

HARDWARE
First thing taking this out of the box, it looks and feel great. Maybe im the only one, but the nexus on review sites and youtube looks kinda thick and unassuming. Well pictures dont do it justice. It just looks better and feels better in person.

The screen is great. Not as much color as an AMOLED, but plenty none the less. It does have a slight gray wash to it, but im ok with it. Very crisp and clear

The build quality looks on par with phones that are 700-800 off contract. Obviously google is taking a wash on this device. No major manufacturing issues that i can see. The soft matte back feels great. This feels like the first phone i can use without needing a case, although ill prob get one. The buttons on the phone are fine. I guess they are ceramic, for whatever purpose i have no idea. They raise and lower the volume, and power on and off. they work!

This may sound weird, but the 5 seems to feel more premium to because of one thing...NO FRONT COMPANY LOGO! lol. This is my first android phone with no branding on it, and it makes it feel premium, to me.

CAMERA
This is a point of contention for a lot of reviewers, for me it seems to be pretty fine. I mainly use my camera to capture moments with my kids, put pics on instagram, and mms photos. Instagram, twitter, and mms are already resizing and compressing photos anyway. It does seem to struggle to focus sometimes, but it looks like i can be fixed by a software update. overall im pleased with it, it works for me

SOFTWARE PERFORMANCE
Man O man, this is where this phone separates itself from others. All across the UI you can feel the SD 800 processor do its work. Everything is smoother. EVERYTHING. I know everyone was up in arms over The Verge?s hands on impression, and honestly the anger is warranted. Im not sure how they handled that phone and thought it lagged. I see virtually no lag across all animations.

BATTERY
Battery mayyyy be the only issue with this phone. Can't give you hard stats since its so early. I will say this, it charges very quickly with the supplied charger (1.2 amps), and coming from an HTC one this is a huge positive. I charged the phone from 16% to 100% and it took about 2 hours

Overall i'm really happy with it. Its nice to finally have a true google experience. Some gripes

- auto brightness is wayyyy too bright
- some apps aren't ready for 4.4. GSAM doesn't work, and apparently it never will, and Spotify has album art issues
- i am NOT experience any wifi issues

Thats pretty much it, any questions dont hesitate to ask. Im sure i forgot a million things, but so far so good!

 

[jon_stewart]

Re: Using my new nexus5 right now

About the lens (not lense!) I think they're putting their faith in Gorilla glass 3. Hope it's not misplaced.
The sound seems find at full volume on mine, and the sim card is the same.

 

[jon_stewart]

Re: Nexus 5 First Impressions & Reviews

Velis Auto Brightness may be useful for any autobrightness tweaking. I haven't decided whether I need it on this yet, but my N7 (2012) has always needed it since it's too dark.

 

[Mooem]

Re: Using my new nexus5 right now

So I finally got my black 32 GB Nexus 5 yesterday. I also finally made the bold move of dumping my Verizon HTC One with an unlimited data plan and going with AT&T GoPhone?s $60 unlimited talk/text and 2 GB prepaid. It?s bold because I can be a rather substantial data hog (typically in the 10-15 GB range a month). So for me to go from that to only 2 GB will be a challenge but I can reduce my usage significantly. At least I?ll be more productive at work than I usually am. I?m also saving 30 dollars a month, so that?s a nice trade off.

Anyways, I love the feeling of the device. I was a little worried that it was going to be a bit too boxy but I think it feels/fits great in the hand. I barely have any issues using it one handed although sometimes it requires a little bit of a stretch.

My Pros:
1) Excellent display. Bright and no noticeable defects. Text looks crisp and clear. Mind you I?m coming from the HTC One which also had an excellent display.
2) Kitkat is absolutely smooth. No hiccups encountered in swiping, transitions, or any animations so far.
3) Soft-touch back is excellent. I?ve heard people say the design is boring and plain. I disagree; I love how minimal it is.
4) Camera takes decent shots but I need to spend more time with it.
5) Vibration is just right for me. My phone spends more time on a desk or table than it does in my pocket. I hated laying my HTC One on a hard surface since anytime it would vibrate it sounded like a jack hammer. In a quiet office at work, it was rather jarring every time it went off.
6) Bluetooth audio playback is good. I can finally use my car?s Bluetooth again for music. The HTC One Bluetooth audio was horrid.

My Cons:
1) Speaker is a bit too weak. It mostly serves my purposes but it definitely should be louder for ringtones/notifications.
2) Battery seems like it?s going to be a downer. But it?s only been a day, so I need to give it a bit more time.

Overall, my experience has been rather positive after a day. It?s a solid phone for $400 and now that I?m free from the shackles of Verizon, I can finally enjoy the pure Google experience without restrictions.

I?ll definitely have to follow up after a time to update my first impressions.

 

[65fastback]

Re: Using my new nexus5 right now

man it just keeps getting better

at my office, my galaxy nexus would get 0 bars 4g. Just enough that data still worked but phone calls would break up and drop every time.

nexus 5 has 3 of 4 bars sitting in the exact same spot on my desk. woot.

 

[theduder]

Re: Nexus 5 First Impressions & Reviews

Very nice.

Getting used to the sounds in KK. The screen is vibrant and high quality. The touch accuracy is great compared to how the N4 was at launch.

In the apps view the icons are still 4 across but they are huge in KK. "OK Google" is nice.

Battery is lasting longer than I expect my phones to last which is good.

In all, the KK changes are refinements to Android. They make it better but not super different. I think they work.

Calls sound great and LTE is really good. Strong signal and routinely seeing downloads approaching 30Mbps on T-Mobile.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[kgbkny]

Re: Nexus 5 First Impressions & Reviews

I've only had a chance to use my N5 for a couple of hours last night. The first thing I've noticed is the top-notch build quality of the device. It's extremely solid and feels great to hold. The screen, while far better than many other IPS panels I've seen, is definitely no match for the SAMOLED HD display on my GS4 Google Edition. I realize that it's a matter of preference, but I love the oversaturated colors of SAMOLED displays, as well as the pure blacks. With that being said, I got used to the display within a few minutes. It's certainly not a deal breaker.

One particularly interesting thing I've noticed are the comparatively low benchmark scores of the N5. Compared to my GS4GE's Antutu score of over 27,000, the N5 scored about 18,000; it also scored around 6,500 when using Quadrant, compared to GS4GE's score of about 12,500. Obviously, the benchmark apps still haven't been optimized for KitKat and/or Snapdragon 800. I know full well that benchmarks are meaningless when it comes to real world usage, but thought I'd mention it anyway.

 

[Ed E Android]

Re: Nexus 5 First Impressions & Reviews

My first impressions are very positive. It seems a lot lighter than the N4 and feels very nice in the hand. The touch responsiveness is really fast and snappy. I know the screen is only a little bit bigger, but it does actually give the impression of being quite a bit bigger. Last night I found it easier to read ebooks with the Kindle app than the N4
Icons for some apps appear a bit pixelated now on this vs. the N4
The speaker is easily covered up – I noticed that playing games on it yesterday. Probably just need to get used to it and develop a different way of holding it.
My impression is that the battery life isn't as good as the N4, but I will let it discharge completely a couple of times and then see if it improves at all.
Ring tones seem to have a bug. I tried to change the alarm clock ring tones last night and every time that I wanted to sample one of the pre-installed ring tones It came up with a message saying “Complete action using” and a list of apps that included ES file explorer and OfficeSuite pro – something wrong there. Tried to change the ring tone on the phone itself this morning and the same thing happens there.

 

[htowngator]

Re: Using my new nexus5 right now

Come on there no smartphone right now that can compare to HTC One. Where you going to find a $350.00 unlocked phone with a Snapdragon 800 and 2GB of ram from any other company. For the price you are paying for the Nexus its a excellent phone.

Yea, I doubt you'd ever get the HTC One @ $400 or less unlocked, off contract brand new. You can get them NOW for that price, but not when it was new.

 

[badbrad17]

Re: Nexus 5 First Impressions & Reviews

How is the volume on the AUX input? My Nexus 4 has horrible volume when plugged in to my car.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[madlaw1071]

Re: Using my new nexus5 right now

I have had many devices..

My first impression is that it is fast /fits well in my front pocket

But it will be my secondary device.. due the fact that the speakers/sound does compare to my HTC ONE

once again LG/GOOGLE Dropped the ball on the sound volume and quality .. (N4 had same issue)

Dropped the ball, really? There isn't a single OEM clamoring to copy BoomSound and given the lack of sales for the One I don't think anyone will. It's a well executed gimmick but most people listen to music with headphones so having stereo sound coming out of the speakers is lost on most people.

 

[slick2404]

Re: Using my new nexus5 right now

man it just keeps getting better

at my office, my galaxy nexus would get 0 bars 4g. Just enough that data still worked but phone calls would break up and drop every time.

nexus 5 has 3 of 4 bars sitting in the exact same spot on my desk. woot.

Oh man, I hope this is the same for me at my office. My Nexus 4 is constantly on Edge and whatsapp/bbm msgs are always delayed...fingers crossed!