Google Nexus 5 Launches in Select Countries for $349 and $399

The smart new high end phone from Google, the Nexus 5 finally became official today and is available for preorder on Google Play. However, considering how quickly the Nexus 4 flew off the shelf when it launched, there is no doubt that there will be another mad dash for this hottie. In fact, some of the models already appear to be out of stock on the Play Store. But really, the LG made Nexus 5 isn’t going anywhere and if you could simply hang in there for a few weeks, you’ll likely get some good deals leading up to the Black Friday weekend. But lets not get ahead of ourselves just yet, here’s a look at what you will be getting when you order the Nexus 5.

Google Nexus 5 Tech Specs

The main specifications of the Nexus 5 include:

• OS: Android 4.4 KitKat
• Screen : 4.95″ 1920×1080 display (445 ppi); Full HD IPS; Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3
• Camera : 1.3MP front facing; 8MP rear facing with Optical Image Stabilization
• Size : 69.17 x 137.84 x 8.59 mm
• Weight : 4.59 oz (130 g)
• Battery : 2,300 mAH; Talk time up to 17 hours; Standby time up to 300 hours; Internet time up to 8.5 hours on Wi-Fi, up to 7 hours on LTE; Wireless Charging built-in
• Audio Output : Built-in speaker; 3.5mm stereo audio connector;
• CPU : Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 800, 2.3GHz
• GPU : Adreno 330, 450MHz
• Wireless : Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4G/5G) 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; NFC (Android Beam); Bluetooth 4.0 LE
• Memory : 16 GB internal storage; 2 GB RAM
• Ports : Micro USB; SlimPort™ enabled; 3.5mm stereo audio jack; Dual microphones; Ceramic power and volume buttons
• Sensors : Accelerometer; GPS; Compass; Proximity/Ambient Light; Gyroscope; Pressure; Hall Effect;
• Network : 2G/3G/4G LTE; GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; WCDMA: Bands: 1/2/4/5/6/8; LTE: Bands: 1/3/5/7/8/20

The Good Stuff

There are a few things I particularly liked with the Nexus 5 specs.

The 5 inch display coupled with 1920 by 1080 full HD IPS display (445 pixels-per-inch) sure beats two of the leading flagship models of Apple and Samsung the iPhone 5S and the Galaxy S4.

The 32GB model of the Nexus 5 costs just $50 more than its 16GB model. Apple and Samsung both charge $100 for the higher storage.

Other cool features worth mentioning are the 1.3 and 8 MP front and rear facing camera with optical image stabilization, wireless charging option and the latest version of Android.

The Not So Good Stuff

The Nexus is currently available as an unlocked version which means if you badly need the device right away, you may have to shell out a whole $349 or $399. Of course, if you play wait and watch, you may likely get it at a much lower price.

The Nexus 5 does not offer 10 hours of battery life that the iPhone 5S offers. You can only get 8.5 hours on general web browsing on Wi-Fi or 7 hours on LTE.

The LTE versions are also limited and don’t support all bands.

Nexus 5 Availability

Nexus 5 will be available in black and white in 16GB and 32GB variants at $349 and $399 respectively. U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and Korea Play Stores will start seeing their orders shipped by Nov 8th while India and the rest of Asia is likely to get the device mid-November.

In the U.S the Nexus 5 will soon become available on Sprint, T-Mobile, Amazon, Best Buy and RadioShack.