Finally Google Nexus 5 starts getting Lollipop update

If you use a Google Nexus 5, you should check the 'About Phone' section in your device's settings. Chances are that you may have the Android Lollipop update waiting to be installed.

Google has announced that Android Lollipop has started rolling out to Nexus 5 users.

"#AndroidLollipop rollout has started and will soon be available on most #Nexus devices. Dessert is served," tweeted the Android account maintained by Google on Twitter.

However, as it is common with Google's Android updates, the Lollipop will be rolled out to Nexus 5 users in phases. This means depending on your model number and region you may have to wait a day or two to get the update.

Usually, users in the US are among the first ones to get it. Once Google sees that the update hasn't broken anything on the phone, it is rolled out to people in other countries.

Android Lollipop is a significant update to Android. It adds several important performance-related features, overhauls the user interface and adds Material Design to make the world's most used mobile operating system look slicker and modern.

However, unless you are using a Nexus device, a Moto phone or a Play store edition device, you will not get the default user interface of the Lollipop on your device. Instead, most users will get the Android Lollipop customised by phone companies with their unique users interface like Touchwiz and Sense.

Lollipop Feature Lowlight] Google Has Removed Silent Mode, But Only From Phones

Most of what Google has done in lollipop is great—better design, thoughtful features, and better developer support. However, there are few wonky things going on in this first release, and it's hard to know if they're intentional or not. Case in point, the lack of silent mode on phones. Lowering the volume only offers vibrate mode, and the new priority notification system isn't going to help you.

So here's the deal in KitKat—you lower the volume and it goes to vibrate. Lower again and it's completely silent. Cool. In Lollipop on phones, you lower the volume to zero and it kicks over to vibrate, and that's all you get. Hit up and it goes to volume 1, down and it's still just vibrate.

There's no setting that prevents all your notifications from getting through unless you use the new "None" notification mode. This comes with one inexcusable drawback, though. "None" doesn't allow alarms to work, which is just bananas. I can't think of a scenario where I wouldn't want alarms I had previously set to be audible. To make matters worse, you can change these modes from the lock screen without entering the code. So if you want to really troll your friends/enemies, you can set their locked phones to "None" and their alarms won't go off. Check out Motorola's video below for a demo of how this all works.

Perhaps even more odd than the omission of silent mode on phones is that it's still available on tablets, more or less. On a Lollipop tablet like the N9, simply lower the volume to zero and let it go to vibrate mode. Then hit the volume up toggle and you get 0 volume (alarms will still work normally). The inconsistency between form factors is baffling. I guess we'll see if this is a bug or not when Google starts the next round of updates.

On a tablet you can set volume to 0

Update: With further testing, we've found that you can get 0 volume on a phone by rebooting when you've hit volume up and set it to level 1. The device comes back up with silent mode engaged like a tablet. However, you have to reboot every time. One of these two situations is a bug, but it's hard to know which one.

Android 5.0 Lollipop: 10 Key highlights of Google’s latest mobile OS

The all new Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system has landed first on the latest Nexus devices – Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player. The factory images have also released for the Nexus 5 and Nexus 4.

Android chief Sundar Pichai had earlier said this is the largest and most ambitious release on Android to date. Here are the best features announced in the latest Android OS:

1. Pick up where you left off: Similar to Continuity in iOS 8, Lollipop lets you pick up where you left off, so the songs, photos, apps, and even recent searches from one of your Android devices can be immediately accessed across devices.

2. Multiple device compatibility: Lollipop will support devices with different screen sizes including wearables such as smartwatches, TVs and cars. According to Google, it is designed to be flexible, so that it can work on all your devices and customised for your needs.

3. Material Design: In order to maintain a consistent design experience across all Android devices, Lollipop uses the Material Design interface across devices it runs on.With Material Design, elements can dynamically shrink and expand, there’s more white space between elements, and gives a 3D appearance overall. While we are yet to try it out ourselves, Google claims that the new design is more intuitive and transitions between tasks are more fluid.

New, improved notifications

4. Updated camera: Lollipop makes it easier to support features like burst mode and fine settings tuning. You’ll be able to capture full resolution frames around 30fps, and shoot in raw formats like YUV and Bayer RAW. There’s also support for UHD 4K video playback, tunneled video for high quality video playback on Android TV and improved streaming. Lollipop adds professional features to control settings for the sensor, lens and flash per individual frame.

5. Battery settings: There’s a new battery-saver feature that extends the life of your device by up to 90 minutes—helpful if you’re far from a power outlet. It’s also easier to manage your power usage. The OS adds a feature which gives the estimated time left before you need to charge and, when it’s charging, it tells you approximately how much time it will need to charge before it’s ready to go.

6. Improved security: Share your device securely with guest user mode, create multiple user accounts to enable friends to log in on your device. In either case, no one will be able to access your private files. There’s Android Smart Lock to secure your phone or tablet by pairing it with a trusted device like your wearable or even your car. Google has enforced the SELinux security module for all apps to give better protection against vulnerabilities and malware.

7. Updated notifications screen: You can now view and respond to messages directly from your lock screen, or hide notifications for sensitive content. Turning on Priority mode through your device’s volume button will allow only certain people and notifications get through.You can also choose to avoid calls from interrupting the game you are playing or the movie you are watching.

8. New Quick Settings: The updated Quick Settings on the notification screen has new handy controls such as flashlight, hotspot, screen rotation and cast screen controls. While these settings were not on older stock-Android devices, they may already be present on other customised Android devices. Similarly, you can manually adjust the brightness for certain conditions, while adaptive brightness will kick in based on ambient lighting.

9. Smoother experience: Google uses a new runtime on Android (called ART), which claims to improve app performance, battery life and responsiveness. Google claims that the new OS improves Android’s performance by four times. It compacts background apps and services so you can do more at once. There’s also support for 64-bit chips now.

10 Tap and Go: Tap and Go for NFC devices lets you set up your new Android phone or tablet instantly by simply tapping it to your old one. Whenever you get a new Android phone or tablet, you can sync your apps from Google Play automatically from any of your old Android devices.

As with all OS updates, there are minor improvements on the camera, video and audio experience, along with better multitasking, performance and battery life. Overall, Lollipop will provide a smoother user experience, more usable apps and services and help you manage bloatware. Google has also announced it will re-enable microSD card writing support and segmentation of firmware for older devices.

iOS 8 vs. Android Lollipop: Same features, yet more distinct than ever

BY CHRISTINA WARREN18 HOURS AGO

In the mobile war between Android and iOS, something interesting has happened over the last six months.

In the past, the two operating systems were largely distinguished by features and polish. Android traditionally had more features and customization than iOS, but iOS retained a higher level of finish.

That all changed with iOS 8 and Android 5.0 "Lollipop." With these releases, iOS 8 now has almost as many features as Android. Just as notable, Lollipop's new Material Design ethoshas an almost iOS-level of fit polish and finish.

It would be easy to extrapolate that iOS and Android are now more alike than ever before — and on the surface, this is true. But in practice, what is most interesting about the current state of the two operating systems is how different the overall experience has become.

As a result, 

iOS and Android are both more similar yet more different than at any other point in their histories.

It's worth examining the new similarities and differences between the two platforms.

Feature parity

As I wrote in my iOS 8 review, Apple's latest operating system really brings it to parity with Android from a feature perspective.

For years, iOS users wanted apps to talk to each other better, wanted a system for widgets and wanted third-party keyboards. Apple finally addressed those features, albeit in an unmistakably Apple way.

At the same time, Android has adopted similar UI paradigms and iOS's better notification system.

Both operating systems are guilty of lifting features from one another — and in my opinion, that's a good thing for everyone.

Yes, there are still feature differences that separate the two platforms, but increasingly those differences are becoming more about philosophical outlook. For example, look at the way the platforms deal with default applications. In Android, you can signify another browser, mail client or chat client to take the place of Google's built-in tool.

On iOS, you can install those additional applications and other programs can even talk to those apps. But Apple's core apps will always be the system defaults. Always. In other words, it isn't that iOS can't have a feature that Android has (or vice versa), it's that it chooses not to.

But more than just that, the world of apps has evolved, too

But more than just that, the world of apps has evolved, too. If forced to choose, most developers I talk to will still choose iOS first. That said, launching on both operating systems and keeping parity between third-party apps has become de rigueur.

Apps used to be the single biggest differentiation between Android and iOS but as those worlds have coalesced and the actual OS features have reached near-parity, the reason for choosing between the two systems has shifted.

The look and feel

Buoyed by Material Design, Android Lollipop is Google's most ambitious release from a design perspective.

Over the years, the look of "stock" Android has evolved quite a bit. What started off life as a BlackBerry/Windows Mobile competitor has morphed into a touch-centric operating system and has slowly but surely come into its own.

The difficulty with Android is that the stock Google experience is not what most Android users use. Most use some sort of UI skin, be it Samsung's TouchWiz, HTC's Sense or Xioami's MiUI.

That's a shame because Lollipop is truly a beautiful release. the transparencies, layers, shadows and textures are all exquisitely designed. The good news is that Google is working with its partners at the big OEMs to bring aspects of Material Design to those skins, too. How well that will translate is unclear, but at least Google is thinking about it.

Getting everyone on the same page is important because it really does feel as if Android has a clear user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) vision for the first time in its history. More importantly, the design spreads across the tablet, phone, TV and wearable worlds with ease. You can see this in the layers and textures that cards have in Android Wear. It's also evident in the color scheme and overall design language of Android TV. Everything finally looks like it belongs to the same family of products.

This is something that Apple has done well for quite some time. Moreover, with OS X Yosemite, Apple has taken the best parts of its UI and UX goals and merged them across ecosystems in a way that doesn't feel bolted on or awkward (I'm looking at you, Windows 8.1).

iOS 8 itself is a minor refinement of the massive changes Apple introduced with iOS 7. Apple has taken the last year to push those changes to its other products, most notably OS X Yosemite. The brief looks we've had at the upcoming Apple Watch show that those design cues are present on Apple's wearable too.

Visually, both operating systems share some similar language and color palettes, but there are still profound differences.

These changes are primarily in how to navigate within apps and getting back to the home screen. Apple famously has its home button, and navigation takes place within apps, with most navigation typically existing at the bottom of the screen.

On Android Lollipop, the soft menu bar has been updated and it offers a semi-omnipresent way to get in and out of apps — though navigation within applications themselves can still differ depending on what is happening.

The experience

The bigger difference, however, is the experience with using both operating systems.

When I look at iOS — and the Apple ecosystem as a whole — the mantra that comes through is that Apple wants to help users do their tasks as simply as possible, with little cruft or fuss.

We see this most notably in some of iOS 8's best features — including its new Today Screen widgets and Continuity and Handoff. With a swipe down, I can access weather, stocks or perform a calculation. It's easy for me to hand off my email or website to a Mac or iPad while on my phone.

The biggest shift that has happened with iOS in the last twelve months is that I find myself working faster and getting more done more seamlessly.

With Android, the experience is a bit different. Getting things done quickly is part of the routine, but 

the experience that comes through most with Lollipop is that Google wants to anticipate your next move

the experience that comes through most with Lollipop is that Google wants to anticipate your next move and what you want before you even know that you want it.

With that, Google Now ends up playing a really large role in the Android experience. Not only does Android now always listen for the key words "OK, Google" (Apple has a similar trip for Siri when an iOS device is plugged in, using "Hey Siri" instead) to be ready to search for queries or perform small tasks, Google Now has taken over the lock screen and notification area in a way that feels designed to be a larger part of the experience.

This really goes hand-in-hand with the Google Now experience on Android Wear. There are also signs of this kind of contextual-based precognition in Android TV.

On both wearables and in the living room, Google Now isn't quite right. It works, but it still feels slightly disconnected from the overall experience and both limited and too broad at the same time. But in spite of my personal qualms with some of the data aspects of Google Now, I won't lie — the information can be disconcertingly accurate.

The Google Now experience has improved under Android Lollipop to the point that it really does feel like the under-represented center piece of the entire OS.

In contrast, Apple has given Siri a much more designated role as a background player that comes up primarily on command. Yes, Apple uses some of Siri's technologies to show appointments, travel time and weather information in the Today screen, but the company is much more cautious about serendipitous predictive analysis.

The longterm plan

To me, the difference in experiences is really a proxy for the differences in the long-term visions for Apple and Google.

Google really wants to get to a place where it can anticipate what's next and it's that anticipation that can save time and offer a feeling of serendipity.

With Apple, the focus is fundamentally on ease-of-use

With Apple, the focus is fundamentally on ease-of-use and finding a way to a task without having to think about it. It's also about working together seamlessly with other devices so that everything just seems to work.

The fundamental goal for both companies is to make life easier, but it's interesting to look at the different approach each takes to get us there.

What next

With Android Lollipop, Google has made significant changes to its UI — very much the same way Apple flipped the switch with iOS 7.

Because Apple is well, Apple, it can count on users and developers to adopt its new products and paradigms more quickly. iOS 8 adoption might not be as strong as prior versions, but developers and users can be relied upon to get with the program.

With Android, it's harder. Google has started to exert more control over its UI, UX and features over the last year, but the company still has to deal with the fact that most users aren't going to be living in its finely crafted experience.

The question will be how other apps will adopt the new UI guidelines, but perhaps more importantly, how they will integrate or assume some of the precognition stuff.

Beyond that, it will be interesting to see how each OS is able to shift into the next phase of wearable computing. Android is already on smartwatches with Android Wear, but that's really just baby steps.

Looking back at how much both ecosystems have changed in 12 months, it makes the next 12 that much more exciting.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Nexus 5 Review

Featured Review: Google Nexus 5 – The Best Android Smartphone Available?

Review Disclaimer: In this review of the Nexus 5, only stock software was used, out of the box. No kernels or ROMs were used in this review. Nothing was tweaked in regards to performance or camera quality. No matter how much I was tempted to.

We’ve become accustomed to seeing a new Nexus device from Google and whichever partner is lucky enough to produce it every year and 2013 has been no different. Following on from last year’s Nexus 4, LG is charged once more with developing this year’s Nexus, the Nexus 5. Needless to say, there’s a lot of excitement surrounding a new Nexus device, they’re the best way of getting hold of the latest version of Android and they’ve become incredibly good value. Google and LG have hardly kept this year’s Nexus a secret, it leaked out time and time again and then appeared seemingly out of the blue, with little fanfair.  This year’s model comes in at just $349 from the Play Store, with Android 4.4 KitKat, a quad-core Snapdragon 800 and a 4.95-inch display, but does the Nexus 5 have what it takes to show off Android at its best? Join us, as we find out in our Nexus 5 review.

Design & Hardware

At this point, we all know what to expect in terms of looks from a Nexus device. Minimal, basic design has been the hallmark of the line since Samsung’s first, the Nexus S. It’s hard not to like the design of the Nexus 5, it might seem a little big to some people but, the slim bezels and thin profile help to alleviate that. The real charm in what LG and Google have done once again is more in what isn’t here, rather than what is.

There are subtle differences between the white and black models of the device, with a soft touch plastic on the black model, with the white model being completely matte and smooth. There aren’t any brash logos on the front of the device, in fact there’s basically nothing at all on the front of the device, aside from a white dot adorning the speaker on the white model. On the black model, you might miss the miniscule dot that is the speaker.

Minimalism is the aim of the game here and Google has pulled it off once more, the Nexus 5 gets out of the way to let the software shine, which delivers an understated yet very satisfying experience. If you’re fed up of all the logos and the overstated designs out there, the Nexus 5 – like previous models – is a welcome breath of fresh air.

As for the quality of the build, there’s nothing to worry about here. While it might be made out of plastic, the device doesn’t feel cheap or chintzy. It almost feels a little too light in the hand but, overall LG have built a solid device, especially when you take into account its price. If plastic isn’t your thing, then you’re out of look here but, if you take a more realistic approach to smartphone build and design and you’ll be happily surprised by the Nexus 5. It’s not going to stand up to a real beating but, it certainly doesn’t feel fragile and it’s certainly not a device you have to coddle and worry about constantly.

The Nexus 5 isn’t all “bland” and minimal however, as there’s a very functional and pretty cool notification light at the foot of the Nexus 5. Much like previous models, since the Galaxy Nexus, this notification light is there when needed and gone when it’s not. It’s a nice touch and at first, it’s nothing to write home about but, with the right tweaks – thanks to Light Flow – it can be genuinely useful. Why Google doesn’t include an app to change the LED to different colors to different notifications is very strange. Out of the box, it only flashes white, no matter what notification it is you’ve gotten. Customizing the notification light is great, and can lead to a red light for SMS messages, a green light for e-mails, white for Google+ and more. It’s just a shame that Google doesn’t give users the tools to do this out of the box.

Display

For $349, you’re not going to expect much from the display on the Nexus 5 but, you’d be wrong not to. LG knows how to create a great display, as they proved with the Nexus 4 and the LG G2. With the Nexus 5, you’re given a 4.95-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS display. With punchy, yet realistic, colors and pin-sharp text, the Nexus 5 is a joy to watch YouTube videos and read text on. Viewing angles are generally very good but, the backlight can wash things out when looking at the display off-axis but, in usage this is never a problem and you should have nothing but a great experience with the display.

The size of the display might be a turn-off for some users but, thanks to much reduced bezel sizes the Nexus 5 is not much bigger than the Nexus 4. In fact, it’s only a little taller and barely any wider, if at all. Delivering a device with a large, bright and colorful display without completely destroying one-handed use. It takes a little time getting used to – if you’re coming from a smaller device – but, once you’re accustomed to the size, it’s easy enough to use in one hand.

The Camera

Over the last couple of years, the cameras that ship with Nexus devices have been panned as not worth talking about. It’s a shame but, most of this criticism is pretty fair. The stock Android camera app is still pretty poor to this day, it gets the job done but that’s about all. Meanwhile, manufacturers like HTC and Samsung create brilliant shooting experiences. Having said that, if we were Google we’d hate to work so hard on something to have a partner throw it out and create their own solution. The Nexus 5, unfortunately carries on the sad tradition of shipping with a mediocre camera. Make no mistake, this is not us saying that the Nexus 5 is a bad camera, we’re simply being fair here and in contrast to the rest of the device, that delivers an excellent experience, the camera is lacking. There are however, signs of brilliance hidden behind a middling experience.

I’m no photographer but, I’ve always had a strong fondness for taking photos and getting my head around apertures, ISO and such. I grew up using film so, I’m not so used to fancy algorithms doing all the work for me here. However, here in the review all we’ve done is point and shoot. Mostly because it would be unfair to tweak a whole bunch of settings to take a great picture, and then expect everyone else to use the camera that way. In my eyes, the Nexus 5 camera is technically very capable, especially when using the HDR+ mode. Colors are rich, shadows are detailed and a scene comes together nicely. Even in this fairly generic railway scene above, the Nexus 5 did a fairly decent job. At 8-megapixels the resolution isn’t going to shine when you zoom all the way in but, it’s an admirable camera in situations like this. Framing a scene and taking your time will often result in a decent shot, no matter the camera. However, the Nexus 5 just doesn’t cut it when it comes to everyday sort of use. Raising the Nexus 5, unlocking to the camera and shooting will often result in a blurry photo or worse, a missed shot.

HDR+

These signs of brilliance that we spoke about mostly reside in HDR+ mode. Unlike other smartphone camera, Google is billing as true High Dynamic Range shooting in your pocket. On paper that sounds great but, in reality it’s only really good, again, when you take your time and wait. Below is an image taken without HDR+.

Below is the same shot, taken with HDR+ on.

The light seems to have caught the lens here but, shadows have more detail in them and generally look quite good.

The camera is capable of taking some decent pictures but, the poor experience and middling results come from a lack of attention given to the camera app in Android 4.4. Or at least, the version included with the Nexus 5. Focusing is incredibly slow and when in HDR+ mode, you’ll find that the subject has either gotten bored or something has happened to ruin your shot, which is a real shame. Accessing advanced settings is also a real pain as well, it’s clunky and the whole app feels sluggish in stark contrast to the rest of the device.

There could be some hope on the camera front though, as we’re sure that Google isn’t done with the Nexus 5 or Android 4.4 by a long shot. If there are problems that need to be fixed, Google will fix them. You can take a look at some more samples in the gallery below. At this stage, it’d be best for Google to start afresh with a new camera app. It’s not as if Google has no experience in photography either, just look at the brilliant things Google+ can do with our images. Now the Android team has to seriously refine how those photos are taken in the first place, instead of leaving Google+ to fix things.

Software

We’re going to give special attention to Android 4.4, KitKat but here we’re going to focus on some of the software that, right now, seems to be exclusive to the Nexus 5. The “Google Experience Launcher” is a fresh take on the launcher we’ve been using since Android 4.1, Jelly Bean. Swiping right from your main home screen gets you quick access to Google Now. Which means you can get a quick look at your cards and perform a quick Google search. Other changes include how your main panel is selected – the one that appears when pressing the home button. In past versions of Android, this used to be the center screen, now though, it’s the first screen adjacent to the Google Now panel. As well as this, the new launcher seems a little smarter, removing panels entirely if you remove something from them and allowing you to rearrange panels how you like them on the fly. Other such tweaks include transparency for both the status bar and the Android buttons, again these are subtle tweaks but, they work well.

Selecting US English as your system language on the Nexus 5 allows you to take advantage of hotword detection. Basically, when on the home screen or in Google Now itself, you can say “OK Google” to call up a voice search. Which then allows you to reel off a search query or ask Google Now to do something for you, like set an alarm or a reminder. The standard sort of thing that it’s been doing since Android 4.1. The big difference here is that Google Now has become much, much faster. Queries take hardly any time to load at all – provided you have a decent connection – and location based cards and weather have become more useful thanks to their speedy appearance.

It’s annoying that you have to be on the home screen to trigger a Google search with “OK Google” but, this isn’t the Moto X and the co-processor is busy doing other things. No matter what though, being able to unlock your phone and hit the home button, speaking “OK Google” to get a search going is still very useful. It’s gimmicky at first but, once you realize you can ask things like – “OK Google, do I need an umbrella?” and be given a weather forecast are very handy, indeed. Especially for a Brit like myself.

Battery Life

One of the weaker areas of the Nexus line has always been their battery life. However, in most cases the battery life has always been “good enough” for most users. As with a lot of things, it depends on what you expect and how you’re going to use the Nexus 5. For someone like myself, the 2,300 mAh battery gives me ample time to read, text, deal with e-mails, occasionally check Google+ and general smartphone usage. If you’re expecting the Nexus 5 to last as long as the Droid RAZR MAXX or a device with a much bigger battery then you’re expectations aren’t realistic. In real-life usage the Nexus 5 lasts for quite a while on a single charge however, if you’re looking for something to last 18 hours or more, the Nexus 5 isn’t that device.

What’s worse is that the Nexus 5 seems to be somewhat erratic when it comes to battery life. One day, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much battery you have remaining at the end of the day but, another you’ll be scratching your head at what’s been eating your battery life. The battery usage in the settings doesn’t appear to be much help, either. One thing can be said with some certainty though, while idle, the Nexus 5 sips battery life (when on WiFi in our testing), which is a vast improvement on previous devices and versions of Android. Battery life is subjective and will vary depending on what you’re doing with the device. In “everyday” use of browsing the web, a handful of phone calls, moderate texting and a photo here and there I was fairly impressed with the Nexus 5′s battery life.

Storage

The Nexus 5 comes in either 16GB or 32GB options and as you might have come to expect, there’s no expandable storage. This being a stock Android device thought, there’s little else on the device to take up the space on your new device. Which is great because 16GB isn’t really that much but, if you don’t go crazy with transferring local media to the device and don’t keep apps or games you never play on the device, it’s ample room. Besides, if 16GB isn’t enough for you, there’s now a 32GB option so for an extra $50, you get twice the amount of storage. Affording users a fairly large bucket to fill with whatever they wish to.

Performance

There’s a Snapdragon 800, clocked at 2.2 Ghz and 2GB of RAM inside of this year’s Nexus, bringing some serious speed with it. We’ve tried out a large amount of devices here at Android Headlines and the Nexus 5 is definitely one of the fastest. There’s been improvements to how Android handles touch, which brings with it a new level of responsiveness. In use, the Nexus 5 feels like it’s stuck to your finger, scrolling in Chrome is precise and fluid, swiping from screen-to-screen is satisfying and there’s not a hint of lag in sight. Applications load quickly, web pages load in an instant and the whole device generally feels like Android has been put on steroids.

Stock Android has always been considered “lighter” and “quicker” and while it’s true that it demands less memory, other devices have proven themselves to be faster than Nexus devices in the past. This time around, Google have a strong horse with the Nexus 5, one that’s going to be tough to beat. The detail that’s gone into better optimizing Android is finally apparent. There was a big boost with Project Butter but, after that versions 4.2 and 4.3 of Jelly Bean seemed to get no quicker, despite claims from Google. Android 4.4, KitKat is a real return to form for Android. At no point in my usage did I feel like the Nexus 5 couldn’t keep up and even looking up search queries and app updates over the same internet connection is much faster than similar devices on the market right now. If speed is your primary concern, then you’ll be wanting a Nexus 5 as your next smartphone.

Call Quality

Smartphones are still cell phones and talking on the phone is still a thing. Honest – it is. There’s something that takes a little time to get used to with the Nexus 5 and that’s the very small earpiece that’s more of a circle than anything else. Unless you place it on your ear at the right spot, your caller will sound faint and quiet, once you get used to it though it’s not an issue. Call quality is generally could and those I asked said that I sounded clear and distinct.

The Final Word

The Nexus 5 has some brilliant features going for it, a super-fast CPU, the latest version of Android unfettered by skins, a minimal design that’s satisfying and familiar. When you add all these up the Nexus 5 shines more than any of these single elements. It’s easy to see the Nexus line of smartphones as “budget”, “affordable” devices but, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The Nexus 5 is aggressively priced and compromises had to be made, such as the mediocre camera and disappointing speaker. What Google and LG have managed to deliver at a price starting at just $349 is commendable and presents the best value for money in the industry. Other tech sites will decry the Nexus 5 as “cheap plastic with a poor camera”, we however think the Nexus 5 is built well, doesn’t feel cheap and has an OK camera.

The Nexus has never meant to be a device that you walk into a carrier store and walk out with but, it’s never meant to be and despite the fact that the average user would be very happy with the Nexus 5, it’s not meant for them. Instead, it’s meant for the discerning user that doesn’t want to wait for the next version of Android, wants the freedom to go to whatever network they want and isn’t concerned with flashy designs and features. Google’s Nexus 5 is a demonstration of what the next generation of Android is capable of and it succeeds in that effort, it’s great value and perfectly serviceable by any user.

Is it the best Android smartphone out there? That’s a difficult question to be answered but, ultimately it’s a no, the Nexus 5 is not the best Android smartphone out there. That’s because today’s smartphone market is filled with so much choice that “best” is no longer “better than Smartphone A” but more, “best for you”. Those looking for a pure Google experience, with stock Android, a super-fast CPU and a generally good experience across the board might consider the Nexus 5 best for them, as I do. However, there’s the Droid RAZR MAXX for those that need to keep going, the Xperia Z1 for those with an eye for photography, the Galaxy Note 3 is available for larger hands and more productive minds. The Nexus 5 is a fine device that shows off what Android is capable of and at $349 unlocked for one of the fastest devices on the market, a lot of users might find themselves thinking this year’s Nexus is “best for me”.

Apple VS Samsung

Apple Spends Over $60 Million in U.S. Attorney’s Fees in its Battle Against Samsung

Apple and Samsung have been battling over patents in the courts so long it makes the 100 Years War seem like a blink of an eye.  According to Reuters, this fighting has cost Apple over $60 million on their leading attorneys in a California federal court battle.  This battle goes beyond the U.S. and extends globally over their “intellectual properties.”  In the last two years and after two court battles, Samsung was ordered to pay Apple roughly $930 million.  In addition, Apple has now asked U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh to make Samsung pay $15.7 million towards the total those legal bills.  Apple’s attorneys said in its filing:

“Awarding fees to Apple ‘flows quite naturally’ from the jury’s willfulness verdict as well as Samsung’s extensive record of willful, deliberate, and calculated decisions to copy the iPhone, in blatant disregard for Apple’s IP.”

Apple said it has paid Morrison & Foerster law firm approximately $60 million, although that includes a “significant discount” charged to Apple because of their long-term working relationship with the company.  These fees do not include other attorneys that have billed less than $100,000 or the $2 million it owes another outside firm, WilmerHale.

Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller, who recently took the stand told the court that Samsung’s Galaxy S series flat out copied their iPhone, so much so, that consumers were confused when they were confronted with both devices and those consumers now question Apple’s ability to be an innovator – and this man was under oath?

This copying the design or look has always bothered me – ALL mainstream smartphones that I know of are a rectangle, and common sense would tell you that the corners would be slightly round (a safety concern)…that takes care of the main shape. Apple claims the icons look like theirs and are placed the same on the screen? How many ways can you make a symbol that looks like a telephone, or a message, or piece of email, or contact, etc.? And if you were to place these on the screen, would not a grid be the most efficient use of space? Android allows us to configure our displays or home screens exactly like we want them to look – how is this the same rigid affair that Apple uses? And Samsung is robbing Apple of their customer’s perception that they are no longer innovative.

These court battles will not be over anytime soon, and Phil can whine all he wants, but that makes the public perception of him rather childish. Let us know in the comments or on Google+ what you think about these patent wars – is there a solution to satisfy Apple?