Unwrapping a smarter OS

A sleek new smartphone that runs on the latest Android 4.4 operating system, the LG Nexus 5 is positively skinny at just 8.59mm thin and stands out with a bright Full HD 4.95-inch screen.

The phone is powered by QualComm Snapdragon 800 2.26 GHz and its high graphics horsepower comes from 450MHz Adreno 330 SoC GPU. It has two gigabytes of RAM to speed up multitasking. The model sent to us for testing had 16 GB of internal storage but no option to expand it with neither a microSD card nor a microSD card slot.

Its 4.95-inch IPS screen, scratch-resistant thanks to the Gorilla Glass 3 protection, boasts 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (445ppi) and is sharp and bright, making it good for watching videos and viewing photos as well as for reading text. 

Nexus 5 sports an 8-megapixel camera with HDR+ mode that gives sharp and clean photos in most lighting conditions. It uses f/2.4 aperture lens and comes with an optical image stabiliser to lessen the risks of blurred snapshots.

A nice feature is the 360-degree panorama mode. The camera uses its onscreen guideline as you take a series of shots then merges them into one spectacular panorama shot. I tested it and found the feature very easy to use and the outcome stunning.

Nexus 5 comes with dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi connections of 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac protocol. The 802.11ac is the fastest protocol so far and provided your router supports it, you can stream or transfer multimedia files between your smartphone and your desktop computer or multimedia player smoothly and quickly.

Nexus 5 supports both LTE 4G and 3G connections. During the test, I had no chance to go to Siam Square or other areas where TrueMove H’s LTE connection is available so I tested it on TrueMove H’s 850MHz HSPA+ 3G connection.

Connection speed was very fast, allowing me to download and install applications in no time at all as well as updating and checking feeds on my Facebook page. The snapshots I took uploaded quickly to Facebook and I was able to e-mail them immediately. Checking in with my Foursquare account was also no problem. Nexus 5 has an impressive performance. Its touch screen and menus are very responsive and the applications run fast and smoothly. I was able to watch both HD YouTube clips and HD video files without any hiccups.

Nexus 5 was the first smartphone that I’ve tested with latest Android 4.4 OS. Known colloquially as KitKat, it’s certainly more polished than earlier versions and comes with a range of new features.

Android 4.4 improves system performance by optimising memory and improving the touch screen so that it responds faster and more accurately than ever before. Among other things, the improvement means that you can listen to music while browsing the web.

And as you listen to the music, you will see beautiful full-screen album on the screen whenever Nexus 5 is locked. The locked mode allows you to pause, play or seek a song.

You can even launch the voice search just by saying “OK Google”. The immersive mode lets you to read an e-book, play some games or watch movies on full screen and starts up automatically when you open an e-book or play a video clip. It will also hide everything except the e-book or video clip. Just swipe the edge of the screen to bring back the status bar and navigation buttons.

KitKat’s new phone app automatically prioritises your contacts based on the people you talk to the most. You can also search for nearby places and businesses, your contacts, or people in your Google Apps domain.

And its caller ID function is smarter. Whenever you get a call from a phone number not in your contacts, your phone will look for matches from businesses with a local listing on Google Maps.

The new Hangouts app will keep all of your SMS and MMS messages in it alongside your other conversations and video calls. And with the new Hangouts, you can even share your location and send animated GIFs.

Nexus 5comes in black or white and its back cover is made from a rubberised, grip-friendly material.

LG Nexus 5 has a suggested retail price of Bt16.900 (for 16GB internal storage model) and is in shops now.

 

Key specs

_ Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 with 2.26GHz Quad-Core Krait CPU

_ Operating System: Android 4.4, KitKat

_ Display: 5-inch (actual 4.95-inch) 

_ Full HD IPS (1920 x 1080 pixels)

_ Network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz WCDMA/HSPA+ 800/850/900/1900/2100 MHz, LTE 800/850/900/1800/2100/2600 MHz

_ Storage: 32GB / 16GB

_ Memory: 2GB RAM

_ Camera: Rear 8.0MP with OIS / Front 1.3MP HD

_ Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4G/5G) 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

_ Battery: 2,300mAh Li-Polymer (embedded) supports wireless charging

_ Size: 137.84 x 69.17 x 8.59mm

_ Weight: 130g