Nexus 5 Reviews

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

The other upside for you, you can set a default SMS app outside of hangouts and maintain two separate apps.

there's no stock Messaging app anymore. So I have to go find a 3rd party app to handle my SMS, which might not be that good

Also it's good to hear some people are NOT for SMS integration. I don't even get the hype anyway. If you wanted people to use Hangouts, you never really had to integrate to begin with. You just gotta get people on board the "superior platform."

 

[DirkGently1]

there's no stock Messaging app anymore. So I have to go find a 3rd party app to handle my SMS, which might not be that good

Also it's good to hear some people are NOT for SMS integration. I don't even get the hype anyway. If you wanted people to use Hangouts, you never really had to integrate to begin with. You just gotta get people on board the "superior platform."

8SMS is a good AOSP based messaging app if you want a replacement.

 

[Ravynmagi]

there's no stock Messaging app anymore. So I have to go find a 3rd party app to handle my SMS, which might not be that good

Also it's good to hear some people are NOT for SMS integration. I don't even get the hype anyway. If you wanted people to use Hangouts, you never really had to integrate to begin with. You just gotta get people on board the "superior platform."

I don't know if it's only about forcing people to use Hangouts. I think it is also part about simplification and having fewer apps do more things.

Makes sense to me to have Hangouts also handing SMS and VoIP calling.

 

[Ksyder]

I was using a friend's SGS4 today trying to fix the play store crashing issue he was having and I was shocked at how laggy it was. I never see that kind of lag on my Nexus 4 despite it being a slower cpu. For day to day tasks the N4 is super smooth IMO.

Also the touchwiz interface seemed cluttered and not really intuitive. I just didn't like the menu button layout. And I'm generally a fan of Samsung phones but I think they are overpriced for what they are.

Based on the benchmarks and the smoothness of the N4 I think the 5 is going to be awesome speed wise.

 

[lothar]

No one knows my cellphone number. Hell, even I don't know what it is myself.

I don't care about SMS integration because I don't use SMS, period.
I do care about Google Voice integration, however.

 

[Ravynmagi]

http://www.androidcentral.com/nexus-5-battery-life-first-impressions-good-enough-not-great

I guess no surprise here. They say the battery is not so great. Or pretty much what we should expect for a 5 inch phone sporting a 2300mAh battery. They did mention the idle battery life seemed pretty good though.

 

[Cruisin1]

So I've been using 4.4 since Saturday on Galaxy Nexus (will be using tonight on Nexus 5). So far with hangouts its weird... Not the type of integration I was expecting. You essentially have two conversations per person if you talk with them on google talk and sms... which is kind of annoying. Another thing I don't like is why can't hangouts back my SMS messages up the the cloud. This would be helpful... Just seems very forked together right now. I don't like the "cloudy" background when you group apps together too. As I suspected HBO GO is not supported.

 

[jiffylube1024]

I think the Nexus 5 may get a Moto X-style firmware update to address the light blowout on day shots on the N5. I read somewhere that Google addresses there is an issue - if you look at the camera reviews, the camera takes good low light shots, and is capable of taking decent day shots, but lots of day shots are either too dark or blown out with too much light.

 

[hans007]

According to the verge battery test it gets half the battery life of a Moto x. That is not just bad that is god awful

 

[Seven]

So I've been using 4.4 since Saturday on Galaxy Nexus (will be using tonight on Nexus 5). So far with hangouts its weird... Not the type of integration I was expecting. You essentially have two conversations per person if you talk with them on google talk and sms... which is kind of annoying. Another thing I don't like is why can't hangouts back my SMS messages up the the cloud. This would be helpful... Just seems very forked together right now. I don't like the "cloudy" background when you group apps together too. As I suspected HBO GO is not supported.

The hangouts integration is horrible idea. I already hate it. Two conversations per person is NO.

 

[OS]

http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/4/5062724/google-nexus-5-review

LOL awesome they say the same things still suck, the camera and the battery

 

[Sheep]

According to the verge battery test it gets half the battery life of a Moto x. That is not just bad that is god awful

There is absolutely no way I'll believe that the Nexus 5 has worse battery life than the two Android smartphones I've owned, a Galaxy Nexus and an HTC EVO 4G. There's no way that's even remotely possible unless the N5 gets like an hour or an hour and a half of screen time and is dead in 6 hours of normal use.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

There is absolutely no way I'll believe that the Nexus 5 has worse battery life than the two Android smartphones I've owned, a Galaxy Nexus and an HTC EVO 4G. There's no way that's even remotely possible unless the N5 gets like an hour or an hour and a half of screen time and is dead in 6 hours of normal use.

Ah the Galaxy Nexus and the EVO 4G, two of the worse phones ever with battery life besides the Thunderbolt. I've been able to kill my "extended" battery on the GN in an hour.

The Verge just said their battery consumption was not consistent. I'm guessing the screen eats it up badly. Too bad, the GS4 I had, had amazing battery life.

The whole hangout thing sounds horrible. I dont know why they couldnt seamlessly integrate it like how iMessage does. And for everyone who's complaining about throwing away SMS in all, you must not be in your 20s. Everyone I know texts and there's no getting around that.

 

[RossMAN]

What's the best easiest to use MMS third party app that's also free?

 

[WelshBloke]

Ah the Galaxy Nexus and the EVO 4G, two of the worse phones ever with battery life besides the Thunderbolt. I've been able to kill my "extended" battery on the GN in an hour.

The Verge just said their battery consumption was not consistent. I'm guessing the screen eats it up badly. Too bad, the GS4 I had, had amazing battery life.

I'm wondering if there wasn't a bunch of syncing going on it the background, maybe the battery life will flatten out after everything that needs to be pulled/pushed has been.

The whole hangout thing sounds horrible. I dont know why they couldnt seamlessly integrate it like how iMessage does. And for everyone who's complaining about throwing away SMS in all, you must not be in your 20s. Everyone I know texts and there's no getting around that.

Integrating two totally different messaging systems that use different means of transport and have different billing patterns and which use different forms of user ID is a horrible idea.

 

[StrangerGuy]

there's no stock Messaging app anymore. So I have to go find a 3rd party app to handle my SMS, which might not be that good

Also it's good to hear some people are NOT for SMS integration. I don't even get the hype anyway. If you wanted people to use Hangouts, you never really had to integrate to begin with. You just gotta get people on board the "superior platform."

Whatsapp is the defacto messaging app in my home country yet I have never seen anybody complaining about it not having SMS integration or using the pure SMS app for SMS.

 

[kaerflog]

I see so much doom and gloom about the N5 battery.
Remembered the HTC DNA has a 1080p screen, less efficient SoC, and a 2020mah battery. I don't remembered people slaughtering the DNA for bad battery life.
While I'm not expecting the N5 to have great battery life. It can't be that bad.

 

[AViking]

Just an FYI about bands. There are two versions of the phone.

North America (D820) Nexus 5 model:

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
CDMA: Band Class: 0/1/10
WCDMA: Bands: 1/2/4/5/6/8/19
LTE: Bands: 1/2/4/5/17/19/25/26/41

Outside North America (D821) Nexus 5 model:

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
WCDMA: Bands: 1/2/4/5/6/8
LTE: Bands: 1/3/5/7/8/20

So basically if you live in the USA get the US version. If you live anywhere else buy the other version. Except China. China does its own thing. I have a cheap phone specifically for China so if you travel there a lot you might want to do the same thing.

 

[Phobic9]

What's the best easiest to use MMS third party app that's also free?

I'm a fan of Textra personally.

 

[leper84]

Noob question- haven't been really looking at phone reviews in a while, how would a S3 stack up to the N5 battery wise?

I know S3 has a 2100 mAh battery while the N5 gets a 2300 mAh, is there also enough improvement in the soc, screen and going from 4.1 to 4.4 to make a more substantial difference?

 

[jacktesterson]

Noob question- haven't been really looking at phone reviews in a while, how would a S3 stack up to the N5 battery wise?

I know S3 has a 2100 mAh battery while the N5 gets a 2300 mAh, is there also enough improvement in the soc, screen and going from 4.1 to 4.4 to make a more substantial difference?

I'm guessing they will be similar.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Whatsapp is the defacto messaging app in my home country yet I have never seen anybody complaining about it not having SMS integration or using the pure SMS app for SMS.

Right. That's because most people have moved away from SMS, which is the trend in most worldwide countries.

In the US it seems SMS is so heavily used and that's why we have people clamoring for integration. But at the same time I challenge these people whether they understand if there's a need for integration, or if they think the word "integration" is cool and if they can have an "all in one product" for two+ things they use, it's cool.

I see very little need for integration, and if anything it's better to just get the US userbase onto Whatsapp or Hangouts rather than to have integration. To me, SMS has a certain type of urgency reserved for when you're trying to get ahold of someone like calling. Whatsapp/Hangouts conversations on the phone can be a mix of that as well as casual chat. Then there's also Hangouts conversations on your computer which are more for passing the time. It's been difficult to integrate the latter 2, and now Google's trying to mash SMS into that. Why not just integrate my email into Hangouts also for the sake of "integration." Maybe record my voice conversations too and put it all there.

 

[lopri]

Mine arrived at home. No one is there but the tracking tool says "delivered." Eh. I am assuming they left it at the door. It was totally unexpected.

Anyhow, I will see if it fit to update the first post as more reviews arrive.

 

[Oyeve]

What's the best easiest to use MMS third party app that's also free?

I use Handcent. It has settings that I needed when I turned my job provided VZW Note 3 to my personal TMO phone. I got the phone to work properly on tmobile via APN settings but it would not send MMS messages. They would just hang. Using Handcent I used the programs settings and easily chose Tmobile settings within the app and bam, MMS messages were sent.

 

[RossMAN]

I'm a fan of Textra personally.

I use Handcent. It has settings that I needed when I turned my job provided VZW Note 3 to my personal TMO phone. I got the phone to work properly on tmobile via APN settings but it would not send MMS messages. They would just hang. Using Handcent I used the programs settings and easily chose Tmobile settings within the app and bam, MMS messages were sent.

Thank you both any other suggestions?

I'd like to have my normal texts and texts with pictures in the same app/thread, what's the easiest and best free app to accomplish this? Or is hangouts sufficient?