5 amazing smartphones for 2014
New Delhi: Smartphones are capable of doing many things few thought possible just years ago: watch movies, surf Internet at amazing speeds, do amazing photography, run several applications at once, connect with other devices, and
No 5. Google Nexus 5
The Nexus 5 with Android 4.4 KitKat is an impressive device that offers top-tier specs and along with an affordable price tag from Google. Though it may not have the built quality of the iPhone, or the cameras you'd find in the Lumia 1020, it is still a pretty decent phone for multitasking purposes.
As with all Nexus devices, the phone includes the stock build of the operating system, without any additional UI skinning. Android 4.4 KitKat on the Nexus 5 offers changes like a new launcher, making the interface even more minimalistic. After booting up KitKat for the first time, you'll find the home screen still feels like the same old Android but with little larger icons to accommodate the additional screen real estate on bigger smartphones. Google has also chosen to use a condensed version of Roboto for the home screen and app menu fonts. While Google's basic home-screen offered only 3-5 panels, the new interface allows you to add as many as you want, as well as rearrange them however you want.
The Nexus 5 brings deeper integration of Google Now feature. The service's voice commands can be used to search your phone or the web, launch applications, make phone calls, send text messages, and perform countless other tasks. Google Now's cards provide helpful information when you need it most, like driving directions and current traffic on your commute before you head in, the score of your favorite team's last game and even breaking news and weather alerts.
After setting Google Now to US English, it will show “OK Google.” Saying it opens up a menu where KitKat will perform a Google search, get directions, open an app, or send an SMS. Google Now functions well when it comes to direction as it takes you directly to Maps and plots a route. The status bar icons and and UI elements in the notifications tray now comes in a muted white-grey shade.
Google has also endowed the Nexus 5 with LTE compatibility. This means crisper video streaming from Netflix, faster download of apps and games, and faster opening of web pages. While it depends on network coverage, LTE coupled with Chrome makes web-browsing on the Nexus 5 so fast and easy, we sometimes prefer it over our desktop PCs.
It has an 8-megapixel 1/3.2-inch sensor and an f/2.5 lens. Thanks to the Android 4.4.2 update, there have been significant improvements in the performance of the Nexus 5's camera. Basic image quality remains quite similar but the camera is now good to use. The phone features the stock Android 4.4 Camera app with 4 default shooting modes - Still, Video, Panorama and Photo sphere (360-degree). In the Still mode the UI offers settings for turning on HDR+, tinkering with Exposure, turning the LED flash on or off, switching between the front and back lenses and revealing more settings that include Geotagging toggle, Countdown timer, changing the picture size, White balance and the scene mode (Night, Action, Sunset, and Party).
The camera app offers a panorama mode and Photo Sphere. In Panorama mode you pan the camera from left to right to capture a panorama photo. Photo Sphere allows you capture 360-degree photos, and you do so by panning the camera left to right and up and down, filling in all the spots you miss, so that you get a general idea of the scene around you. You can view Photo Spheres nicely in Google+ if you want to share with all your friends. HDR+ takes a quick series of photos and blends them together to retain highlight and shadow details in your photos.
The Nexus 5 with Android 4.4 KitKat is an impressive device that offers top-tier specs and along with an affordable price tag from Google. Though it may not have the built quality of the iPhone, or the cameras you'd find in the Lumia 1020, it is still a pretty decent phone for multitasking purposes.
As with all Nexus devices, the phone includes the stock build of the operating system, without any additional UI skinning. Android 4.4 KitKat on the Nexus 5 offers changes like a new launcher, making the interface even more minimalistic. After booting up KitKat for the first time, you'll find the home screen still feels like the same old Android but with little larger icons to accommodate the additional screen real estate on bigger smartphones. Google has also chosen to use a condensed version of Roboto for the home screen and app menu fonts. While Google's basic home-screen offered only 3-5 panels, the new interface allows you to add as many as you want, as well as rearrange them however you want.
The Nexus 5 brings deeper integration of Google Now feature. The service's voice commands can be used to search your phone or the web, launch applications, make phone calls, send text messages, and perform countless other tasks. Google Now's cards provide helpful information when you need it most, like driving directions and current traffic on your commute before you head in, the score of your favorite team's last game and even breaking news and weather alerts.
After setting Google Now to US English, it will show “OK Google.” Saying it opens up a menu where KitKat will perform a Google search, get directions, open an app, or send an SMS. Google Now functions well when it comes to direction as it takes you directly to Maps and plots a route. The status bar icons and and UI elements in the notifications tray now comes in a muted white-grey shade.
Google has also endowed the Nexus 5 with LTE compatibility. This means crisper video streaming from Netflix, faster download of apps and games, and faster opening of web pages. While it depends on network coverage, LTE coupled with Chrome makes web-browsing on the Nexus 5 so fast and easy, we sometimes prefer it over our desktop PCs.
It has an 8-megapixel 1/3.2-inch sensor and an f/2.5 lens. Thanks to the Android 4.4.2 update, there have been significant improvements in the performance of the Nexus 5's camera. Basic image quality remains quite similar but the camera is now good to use. The phone features the stock Android 4.4 Camera app with 4 default shooting modes - Still, Video, Panorama and Photo sphere (360-degree). In the Still mode the UI offers settings for turning on HDR+, tinkering with Exposure, turning the LED flash on or off, switching between the front and back lenses and revealing more settings that include Geotagging toggle, Countdown timer, changing the picture size, White balance and the scene mode (Night, Action, Sunset, and Party).
The camera app offers a panorama mode and Photo Sphere. In Panorama mode you pan the camera from left to right to capture a panorama photo. Photo Sphere allows you capture 360-degree photos, and you do so by panning the camera left to right and up and down, filling in all the spots you miss, so that you get a general idea of the scene around you. You can view Photo Spheres nicely in Google+ if you want to share with all your friends. HDR+ takes a quick series of photos and blends them together to retain highlight and shadow details in your photos.