Google Nexus 5 Released!

[Igotnothing]

Got this phone for Christmas. It's awesome. Went from a S3 and I find myself much preferring this phone.

[DoubleK]

I went with a Spigen NeoHybrid case and their screen protector.

Shipped with Amazon Prime, should be here on Tuesday.

[Igotnothing]

What's the deal with the google experience launcher? I read that it's exclusive to the nexus 5, and further that it allows for some customization of the drawers and a few other things, slip my mind currently. I'm not sure where to look for these options, am I doing it wrong?

[smoothpops]

Is anyone else having problems with people on the other end of the phone not being able to hear you? It seems my microphone is really low even in quite environments. I tried to set up my voicemail, and it's barely audible.

[MrMastodonFarm]

I'm really surprised with how popular the Nexus line is becoming. I've been seeing many Nesus 5 devices out in the wild lately. It's too bad LG and Google won't release sales numbers. I know some Nexus 4 sales leaked last year but both LG and google denied those reports claiming they were way too low.

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

I'm really surprised with how popular the Nexus line is becoming. I've been seeing many Nesus 5 devices out in the wild lately. It's too bad LG and Google won't release sales numbers. I know some Nexus 4 sales leaked last year but both LG and google denied those reports claiming they were way too low.

It's crazy how many people have this phone now. At work I've seen at least 8 people in my group alone out of 50 at the office and some of these are not even tech savvy.

Not surprising after a few generations people are picking these things up because of the low price. Drop 2 years in contract restrictions by the CRTC probably isn't hurting either either in that sense since loads of people would prefer not to be tied down by another contract. Seems to be why a lot of people bought it.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

Not surprising after a few generations people are picking these things up because of the low price. Drop 2 years in contract restrictions by the CRTC probably isn't hurting either either in that sense since loads of people would prefer not to be tied down by another contract. Seems to be why a lot of people bought it.

Very true. I've steered a couple people down the Nexus road as well pretty easily after Telus, Bell and Rogers went to the 2 year plans and made upgrading and keeping your old plan almost impossible.

[Tron_fdc]

Picked up the incipio case, and it feels much, much better in my hands for some reason. I really wasn't liking the "feel" of the bare phone.

Initial thoughts after having it for 3 weeks:

- The battery life isn't awesome, but it's still miles ahead of my POS 4S after iphones latest update.
- having the micro USB charger which is compatible with 800 other USB charged devices I own is a BIG bonus. I have chargers in almost every room and it cost me nothing.
- google hangouts is still really weird sometimes. There are small issues that I find really frustrating, like not being able to edit emails I'm forwarding. I also can't figure out how to save photos and videos that have been sent to me, or forward them to someone else (easily, anyway). This was where the iphone was super user friendly.
- google now saved my bacon when I was returning a rental in Mexico on a tight timeline. It's also neat how it figures out where you are, and starts adding in things like google translate (when I was in Mexico)
- email interface for gmail users is ridiculously easy. I also use chrome at home and work, and it tracks my search history and web browsing. Pages I have gone to at work show up when I type in the URL on my phone, which is really handy when I want to find something

- One thing I noticed though; I HATE the autocorrect. The iphone was FAR better at guessing my words (I suck at hitting the right keys), and more than once it has sent out a bunch of jumbled texts. I find myself correcting the spelling manually far more than I used to with the 4S. The keyboard just doesn't feel the same for some reason.....maybe I need more practise but as a heavy text/email user I should have it down by now.

- really wish there was a switch to shut off the ringer
- another small "issue" is when I click on hangouts, I have to touch the area where you type the name in to bring up the keyboard. I know, I know, it's a small thing, but it annoys me having to select something 3 times before I can type in the name of the person I want to text

I also want my call history displayed when I select the phone function, not all my contacts. Anyone know if I can change that?

My gripes are pretty small though. It's a very, very useful phone when it comes down to it. Especially when you factor in the price.

[Muffins]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

- One thing I noticed though; I HATE the autocorrect. The iphone was FAR better at guessing my words (I suck at hitting the right keys), and more than once it has sent out a bunch of jumbled texts. I find myself correcting the spelling manually far more than I used to with the 4S. The keyboard just doesn't feel the same for some reason.....maybe I need more practise but as a heavy text/email user I should have it down by now.

- really wish there was a switch to shut off the ringer

Swiftkey is a fantastic app that seems to be a lot better at handling autocorrect.

as for shutting off the ringer, hold the power button for a second or 2 and a pop-up will show different ringer options.

[Tron_fdc]

Holy crap, swiftkey is awesome!

[tete]

Okay, newbie question here. A coworker told me that all Nexus phones are unlocked, even those sold by the major providers (though they'll tell you that they're locked). Is that true? Can I go to Rogers and buy one on contract for the discounted price and it'll be unlocked?

[Galakanokis]

Originally Posted by tete

Okay, newbie question here. A coworker told me that all Nexus phones are unlocked, even those sold by the major providers (though they'll tell you that they're locked). Is that true? Can I go to Rogers and buy one on contract for the discounted price and it'll be unlocked?

Yes, all Nexus phones should be factory unlocked regardless of where you buy it. My Rodgers Nexus was unlocked.

[Temporary_User]

So after talking with Rogers about upgrading my phone and plan I'm pretty confident that I will be buying the 32gb version and switching over to WIND. I live downtown so I should be fine there.

Right now with my iPhone I have an alarm clock docking station that I use everyday. Are there any good alarm clock docking stations for the Nexus 5? I don't know if just the phone itself would be loud enough to consistently wake me so some added speakers would be nice.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by tete

Okay, newbie question here. A coworker told me that all Nexus phones are unlocked, even those sold by the major providers (though they'll tell you that they're locked). Is that true? Can I go to Rogers and buy one on contract for the discounted price and it'll be unlocked?

Yup, you can do that. Nexus devices come unlocked and cannot be locked by carriers, though I'm wondering why you would do this?

The Nexus 5 is 99 bucks for a two year deal at Rogers, if you get that you're locked into the deal regardless. Why not just get it from Googleplay and either keep your old deal without having to upgrade or bring it to Rogers and you might get a bring your own device discount.

350 for wireless freedom or 100 for the pleasure of having a new two year deal. I'd much rather spend the extra 250 and be able to use the unlocked feature.

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

So after talking with Rogers about upgrading my phone and plan I'm pretty confident that I will be buying the 32gb version and switching over to WIND. I live downtown so I should be fine there.

Right now with my iPhone I have an alarm clock docking station that I use everyday. Are there any good alarm clock docking stations for the Nexus 5? I don't know if just the phone itself would be loud enough to consistently wake me so some added speakers would be nice.

Shouldn't be a problem, the dock isn't something I've ever bought but I've seen plenty of micro usb docks when going into the various stores.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Thanks for the assurances on how easy it would be to get a Nexus 5 up and running on Wind. I went to the nearest store, they gave me a new micro SIM free of charge (as I'm an existing subscriber), and it was up on the network within minutes.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

Thanks for the assurances on how easy it would be to get a Nexus 5 up and running on Wind. I went to the nearest store, they gave me a new micro SIM free of charge (as I'm an existing subscriber), and it was up on the network within minutes.

Those jerks, they made me pay ten bucks to get one for my Nexus 4 last year. I wish they charged you too, big spectrum auction next week!

Glad it was easy and funny to see your confusion as to how easy it can (and should be). The big cell carriers in this company have made such a mess of things, locking people into contracts, locking devices etc etc that it shouldn't shouldn't be any harder then buying a device and popping in a sim card.

[TurnedTheCorner]

If Wind loses the auction, it is my fault. I will accept full responsibility.

Anyone messing around with "auto awesome" movies?? it's pretty slick and easy.

Great for family pics and movies and getting them out to loved ones quickly.

[tete]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Yup, you can do that. Nexus devices come unlocked and cannot be locked by carriers, though I'm wondering why you would do this?

The Nexus 5 is 99 bucks for a two year deal at Rogers, if you get that you're locked into the deal regardless. Why not just get it from Googleplay and either keep your old deal without having to upgrade or bring it to Rogers and you might get a bring your own device discount.

350 for wireless freedom or 100 for the pleasure of having a new two year deal. I'd much rather spend the extra 250 and be able to use the unlocked feature.

We are grandfathered right now into a really great data package with Rogers (6 GB data) and I thought there is no way I'll get this good of a deal without keeping/extending our contract (our contract is up in the spring). That's the only reason why I'd lock back into a contract. My husband tends to deal with the phone purchases so I've been pretty much out of the loop when it comes to the details, but it's my iPhone that has started to die here, so I've taken the reigns to find a good replacement that isn't iPhone. Maybe we can get a similar deal without locking into a contract somewhere? If we can, that'd be great.

[Super Nintendo Chalmers]

Originally Posted by tete

Okay, newbie question here. A coworker told me that all Nexus phones are unlocked, even those sold by the major providers (though they'll tell you that they're locked). Is that true? Can I go to Rogers and buy one on contract for the discounted price and it'll be unlocked?

As said, Nexus phones always come unlocked. However, the telcoms will usually put up some barriers to make it less worthwhile to get a phone from them and not use their service. I tried to get a Moto G from Koodo and Telus to unlock and use on Rogers but they outright refused to sell to me unless I activate with them or prove I have an account. the restrictions would be even tougher with a Nexus since that hurdle of a locked phone doesn't apply.