| 0) | I've owned several Nexus devices |
|---|---|
| 1) | Previous: Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 |
| Current: Nexus 7 (2013) and Nexus 5 | |
| 2) | Galaxy Nexus: I liked the thinness of the device. The plastic made it a feel a bit cheap, however. The inclusion of an RGB LED for notifications was fantastic since it brought back functionality I missed from the Blackberry I previously owned. |
| Nexus 4: Great looking phone. The glass back was too fragile and made it slide too easily. I added a DBrand skin to the back for protection and to stop the sliding. RGB LED was great. | |
| Nexus 7 (2013): I like the feel of this in the hand, especially the back material. Size is good for my purposes (reading/browsing on the couch or in bed). | |
| Nexus 5: I really like the look and feel of the Nexus 5. The screen is great and the layout of the buttons work well. The protruding camera seemed odd at first, but I understand the necessity with the camera components they chose. Continuing to include the RGB LED is great. | |
| 3) | Galaxy Nexus: I enjoyed the pure Android experience. The development community offered a lot. The phone did lag a lot over time though. I believe this was due to the flash memory they chose to use. |
| Nexus 4: This phone held up very well. Pure Android and active development were a plus. In fact, my wife now uses it and loves it. I only upgraded because the Nexus 5 came out and I like to have the latest and greatest. This was my first experience with wireless charging and it was awesome. | |
| Nexus 7 (2013): I still really like this device. Personally, I've found that I spend the majority of my time on my phone, so the tablet does not bring a whole lot of value to me. It's great for watching a movie on a plane or car trip and works well as a photo frame on the night stand. Other than that, the only value it really brings is allowing me to do things while my phone is charging. | |
| Nexus 5: I still really like this phone. I have tried other carrier branded phones and I just prefer the pure Android experience. My only real gripes about this phone are the sub par camera and poor battery life. I completely understand that Google/LG had to cut corners somewhere to bring the price down and the low price was the main reason the purchase made sense when I bought it. I do really like the wireless charging and the fact that I can place it on a magnetic holder without a case. | |
| 4) | I considered purchasing the Nexus 6 when it came out, but Google made some decisions that caused me to stick with the Nexus 5. I do not believe I need a device as big as the Nexus 6, although I know some do prefer that. The removal of the RGB LED is a huge disappointment to me. I know that they included the Active Notifications from the Moto X, but it does not offer exactly what the LED does. I can easily see a flashing LED from across the room and know what the notification is. The customization (rate of flash, color, priority, etc.) offered by an app like Light Flow really enhances this experience. Lastly, the increased price of the phone in relation to previous Nexus devices was a deciding factor for me. I understand that including top of the line components increases price, but those of us that have been buying Nexus devices were accustomed to the cheaper prices. If this trend continues, I might look at hardware from other manufacturers. At this point, I'm taking a wait and see approach to see if Google refreshes the Nexus 5 or if other manufacturers continue to offer a pure Android experience (GPE devices). |
| Pure Android has always been a huge plus for me with the Nexus line. Google made some great improvements visually with Lollipop. However, the decreased battery life due to the memory leak and the decision to remove Silent Mode as it existed in KitKat is disappointing and frustrating. I loaded Cataclysm ROM to get the Silent Mode back, but I still deal with the memory leak and the need to reboot the phone each day. I really hope Google can fix the bugs introduced in Lollipop soon. |