Nov 29th 2013, 13:31:28
I have one and have been using it for right at 1 week now. I absolutely love the phone hardware and software. True the camera app is slow to focus, but it can and will be fixed with a software update. On XDA right now (I know not the most user-friendly, but I expect Google to fix this in short time) there is a software fix for the camera to improve its focus speed, the camera quality, the front camera, etc.
KitKat (Android 4.4)
The consistency across the platform is pretty much there. All of Google's core apps now use the left slide-out feature. Many other apps including DuoLingo, SportsCenter, Expense Manager, etc are using this as well. The new color scheme with white on black is much improved over the Ice Cream Sandwich blue color scheme.
The new Android Runtime (ART) that can be enabled in the developer options has been running with excessive fluidity compared to the dalvik/JIT Android has been running on in the past. I know this is still in beta phases, but Google has really done a great job of optimizing the way apps run, open, freeze, etc - it looks like they are FINALLY starting to catch up to Apple here.
The battery life for me (I consider myself close to a power user) has been excellent. I'm averaging about 30-32 hours of battery life per charge. I usually let it run down to about 5% or so. I'm trying to battery/power cycle more with this phone since I've been terrible at it in the past.
The Google Experience Launcher (GEL) is fantastic. I am used to rooting and unlocking my phone, running custom ROMs and custom launchers, etc. At this point I feel little need to do this. My only complaint about the launcher? Inability to rename icons/apps and change the app icon with custom icon packs.
Google Now is becoming more and more powerful/helpful all the time. I love the new cards that have been integrated.
The phone was well worth the money at $350-$400 off-contract. The hardware and software both feel great. I am on Straight Talk getting unlimited talk/text/data at $45/month.
Disclaimer: I have owned iPhones/iPads in the past. I currently own an iPad mini, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7, Motorola Droid Bionic, and Samsung Chromebook. I store most everything in the cloud through Dropbox and Google Drive. I am not entirely unbiased, but I try to be as objective as possible.
KitKat (Android 4.4)
The consistency across the platform is pretty much there. All of Google's core apps now use the left slide-out feature. Many other apps including DuoLingo, SportsCenter, Expense Manager, etc are using this as well. The new color scheme with white on black is much improved over the Ice Cream Sandwich blue color scheme.
The new Android Runtime (ART) that can be enabled in the developer options has been running with excessive fluidity compared to the dalvik/JIT Android has been running on in the past. I know this is still in beta phases, but Google has really done a great job of optimizing the way apps run, open, freeze, etc - it looks like they are FINALLY starting to catch up to Apple here.
The battery life for me (I consider myself close to a power user) has been excellent. I'm averaging about 30-32 hours of battery life per charge. I usually let it run down to about 5% or so. I'm trying to battery/power cycle more with this phone since I've been terrible at it in the past.
The Google Experience Launcher (GEL) is fantastic. I am used to rooting and unlocking my phone, running custom ROMs and custom launchers, etc. At this point I feel little need to do this. My only complaint about the launcher? Inability to rename icons/apps and change the app icon with custom icon packs.
Google Now is becoming more and more powerful/helpful all the time. I love the new cards that have been integrated.
The phone was well worth the money at $350-$400 off-contract. The hardware and software both feel great. I am on Straight Talk getting unlimited talk/text/data at $45/month.
Disclaimer: I have owned iPhones/iPads in the past. I currently own an iPad mini, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7, Motorola Droid Bionic, and Samsung Chromebook. I store most everything in the cloud through Dropbox and Google Drive. I am not entirely unbiased, but I try to be as objective as possible.