QUESTION : Nexus 5 or Moto X?

[ultravisitor]

These "Nexus vs whatever" articles would be very valuable to me if I was in the market for a phone. They should do this with all the major phones whenever a new one comes out.

They're definitely interesting reads, and I can definitely understand why they're doing it for the Nexus phone. However, it'd be a nightmare to do them whenever a new major phone is released. Someone would have to choose which phones would get the comparisons and which wouldn't, and then there'd be tons of people pissed off if their chosen phone was left out.

 

[Ry]

Re: QUESTION : Moto X or Nexus 5???

Don't you people get it? Anyone who prefers the Moto X to a Nexus is wrong.

DEAD WRONG.

Posted via Android Central App

Bwahahaha.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

It is like he was afraid to give an actual opinion on them.

To me, there's no real winner here. All four pictures look like they went through some hipster grunge filter, have too much structure, and have crazy lens distortion

All four suck. They suck compared to a $1500 DSLR, they suck compared to a $150 Canon S, and they suck compared to a $49 camera with the Hulk on the package from the kids section at Target.

The one that sucks the least was the non-HDR one from the Moto X, because the rest made the off-white background look white. #FAFAFA is not #FFFFFF. Without proper white balance, none of the rest matters to me. But even that one sucked. I use an off-white background for a reason, and the reason is to see where any pictures I take think white is. The Moto X and the Nexus 5 think dead wrong. Dead.

 

[Ry]

They're definitely interesting reads, and I can definitely understand why they're doing it for the Nexus phone. However, it'd be a nightmare to do them whenever a new major phone is released. Someone would have to choose which phones would get the comparisons and which wouldn't, and then there'd be tons of people pissed off if their chosen phone was left out.

..and we all know how much they love the HTC One here.

Bottom line - the Nexus 5, the Moto X, the G2, the GS4, and the One are all good phones.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[JeffDenver]

To me, there's no real winner here. All four pictures look like they went through some hipster grunge filter, have too much structure, and have crazy lens distortion

All four suck. They suck compared to a $1500 DSLR, they suck compared to a $150 Canon S, and they suck compared to a $49 camera with the Hulk on the package from the kids section at Target.

You might be right. So far I have not seen any direct comparisons with any of those though. All I have to go by is your own samples. My own anecdotal experience is different; The Nexus 5 definitely takes better pics than my boyfriend's cheap DSLR though, thats for sure. Especially in low light. From the samples you posted, the Nexus HDR one looks the sharpest and most clear to me. The Moto ones look like they have a thin film of gauze over them or something.

 

[JeffDenver]

..and we all know how much they love the HTC One here.

Bottom line - the Nexus 5, the Moto X, the G2, the GS4, and the One are all good phones.

Ditto...I am so happy with the direction Android has gone. Especially Moto.

HTC has done a great job on case design (Front stereo speakers need to become a standard!). The Galaxy series are awesome for features (I can't let SDremovable batteries go...I am thrilled a major vendor still embraces it). Moto is returning to vanilla android roots. I am crossing my fingers that HTC and/or Samsung will follow.

 

[ultravisitor]

Moto is returning to vanilla android roots. I am crossing my fingers that HTC and/or Samsung will follow.

I think that's doubtful, especially for Samsung. Sense and TouchWiz are points of differentiation for them, and I think Samsung is trying to establish more of their own ecosystem.

 

[JeffDenver]

I think that's doubtful, especially for Samsung. Sense and TouchWiz are points of differentiation for them, and I think Samsung is trying to establish more of their own ecosystem.

I think it is doubtful too. They just have too much invested in their UIs to discard them, and people will buy the phones anyway even if they don't like the skin.

But I am hoping they might do it if they get desperate enough. HTC might be getting there. And it would definitely be cheaper not to have to worry about a custom skin (not to mention updates would probably be faster).

 

[JRDroid]

I think it is doubtful too. They just have too much invested in their UIs to discard them, and people will buy the phones anyway even if they don't like the skin.

But I am hoping they might do it if they get desperate enough. HTC might be getting there. And it would definitely be cheaper not to have to worry about a custom skin (not to mention updates would probably be faster).

I don't know. HTC is promising KitKat for the Dev edition HTC One by the end of the month. It really doesn't get a whole lot faster than that.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[clevin]

Re: QUESTION : Moto X or Nexus 5???

When he is saying "omg I get 10 hours more battery life" I think that might be misleading if he has some funky app that is draining Nexus battery a lot more than normal.

Well, he is a reviewer on androidcentral, I guess we are all assuming he knows he cannot compare things with "preferential" configurations.

But,.... who knows..

 

[JeffDenver]

All four suck. They suck compared to a $1500 DSLR, they suck compared to a $150 Canon S, and they suck compared to a $49 camera with the Hulk on the package from the kids section at Target.

Here's the thing...what you are basically saying is that you hate all smartphone cameras because they can't compete with DSLRs (at least I am assuming you are...if not, what smartphone cameras do you like?)...which is fine. But then what is the point of a camera comparison at all? Why even bother posting samples and talking about capabilities if they are all just different levels of awful to you? You are saying that even the very cheapest and worst DSLRs are better, and therefore it doesn't matter how good the cameras are. If that is true, the entire comparison (as well as sections devoted to cameras in Android Central reviews) is pretty pointless isnt it?

 

[tmx31415]

Re: QUESTION : Moto X or Nexus 5???

The Nexus 5 does not support Verizon. There is still some sort of issue between the two.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Haalcyon]

Re: QUESTION : Moto X or Nexus 5???

The Nexus 5 does not support Verizon. There is still some sort of issue between the two.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using AC Forums mobile app

Last I heard the Nexus cheated on Verizon with Sprint. A woman scorned is not very forgiving.

 

[bd1212]

It is a simple choice between the N5 and MX. A unlocked Moto X is $620 and a Nexus 5 is $349.

...

Wait what?! You must be confused because an unlocked, off-contract Moto X is selling for $450 at Verizon and other carriers, with some selling it for $500. Don't know where you're getting your info, but just wanted to let you know that you're incorrect. Granted, it is still more expensive, but it has gone down A LOT in price and $450 for a Moto X is a GREAT price.

 

[Adranalyne]

Here's the thing...what you are basically saying is that you hate all smartphone cameras because they can't compete with DSLRs (at least I am assuming you are...if not, what smartphone cameras do you like?)...which is fine. But then what is the point of a camera comparison at all? Why even bother posting samples and talking about capabilities if they are all just different levels of awful to you? You are saying that even the very cheapest and worst DSLRs are better, and therefore it doesn't matter how good the cameras are. If that is true, the entire comparison (as well as sections devoted to cameras in Android Central reviews) is pretty pointless isnt it?

They both do suck. He did the comparison because people want to know which one sucks the least. In his opinion, he says it's the Moto X. You wouldn't have bothered to post this if he chose the Nexus 5 as the least sucky.

 

[JeffDenver]

They both do suck. He did the comparison because people want to know which one sucks the least. In his opinion, he says it's the Moto X. You wouldn't have bothered to post this if he chose the Nexus 5 as the least sucky.

I posted this because it's been a point of contention for this thread.

If all smartphone cameras really suck that bad, what is the point of comparing them at all? Why bother to review them? Why devote so much time to camera minutia if the cameras don't matter anyway?

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Here's the thing...what you are basically saying is that you hate all smartphone cameras because they can't compete with DSLRs (at least I am assuming you are...if not, what smartphone cameras do you like?)...which is fine. But then what is the point of a camera comparison at all? Why even bother posting samples and talking about capabilities if they are all just different levels of awful to you? You are saying that even the very cheapest and worst DSLRs are better, and therefore it doesn't matter how good the cameras are. If that is true, the entire comparison (as well as sections devoted to cameras in Android Central reviews) is pretty pointless isnt it?

I'm saying if LG can do it with the G2, which has a camera a LOT better than anything else out there at the moment, Motorola and Google aren't even trying here. Their offerings are bad. Saying that they are anything other than bad isn't true.

Bad is good enough for Facebook or Google+. But these cameras (other than the G2, or the Note 3/S4 if you get the shot without the damn thing lagging) will never be able to take a picture that I want to keep.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Re: QUESTION : Moto X or Nexus 5???

Well, he is a reviewer on androidcentral, I guess we are all assuming he knows he cannot compare things with "preferential" configurations.

But,.... who knows..

I have a list of apps I install on every phone I have here. I also use the same three Google accounts on every phone here. Everything is exactly the same between the two, except my Moto X uses more battery because it's synced with my pebble.

A screen off test was performed between the two using the exact same apps (minus Pebble pairing and syncing for the nexus 5), on the exact same T-Mobile account, syncing the exact same Google accounts and laying side by side on my desk Friday afternoon. I can only post what the phones tell me.

Keeping the signal take more power on the Nexus 5 that it does with the Moto X, as reported by the phones.
The Nexus 5 has to wake up twice (at least) as often as the Moto X to do the same things, as reported by the phones.
The battery life of each phone reinforces these observations.

 

[Adranalyne]

Re: QUESTION : Moto X or Nexus 5???

I have a list of apps I install on every phone I have here. I also use the same three Google accounts on every phone here. Everything is exactly the same between the two, except my Moto X uses more battery because it's synced with my pebble.

A screen off test was performed between the two using the exact same apps (minus Pebble pairing and syncing for the nexus 5), on the exact same T-Mobile account, syncing the exact same Google accounts and laying side by side on my desk Friday afternoon. I can only post what the phones tell me.

Keeping the signal take more power on the Nexus 5 that it does with the Moto X, as reported by the phones.
The Nexus 5 has to wake up twice (at least) as often as the Moto X to do the same things, as reported by the phones.
The battery life of each phone reinforces these observations.

I'm excited to see what KitKat does for the X in the power management department.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[JeffDenver]

I'm saying if LG can do it with the G2, which has a camera a LOT better than anything else out there at the moment, Motorola and Google aren't even trying here. Their offerings are bad. Saying that they are anything other than bad isn't true.

Bad is good enough for Facebook or Google+. But these cameras (other than the G2, or the Note 3/S4 if you get the shot without the damn thing lagging) will never be able to take a picture that I want to keep.

What is the G2 doing that you do not see the Nexus? Can you give me an example?

I do agree that getting good shots on the nexus isn't easy. You have to wrestle with it to trick it into doing what you want. One example that annoys me is HDR focusing. It ignores my tap to focus and simply focuses on the center of the image no matter what when I press the button.