LG breaks new ground with the G Flex , a handset with a curved form
factor and a backplate that can magically mend itself if it gets
scratched. This 6-inch 'phablet' certainly stands out thanks to its
innovative design, but it's not without its disappointments: at almost
the same price as Samsung's Galaxy NotePRO 12.2 tablet and more
expensive than almost every other smartphone, the G Flex should be
closer to perfection than it is.
The G Flex is a 6-inch phablet with a difference — it has a curved
form factor. Image: LG
Design
Most of the pre-launch talk about the LG G Flex concerned its design,
and although there's more on offer here (there are some interesting
aspects to how LG handles Android, for example), design certainly
takes centre stage.
That's because the LG G Flex is curved. You
won't be dropping this handset into your
back pocket, even if the pocket is large
enough to accommodate the phablet's 81.6
by 160.5 by 79.9mm dimensions. It simply
feels oddly awkward in a way that flat
handsets don't.
You can, in fact, bend the G Flex away
from its curved shape to a more
conventional flat design. But this isn't
something you'll be doing in order to
pocket it: we found that it required two
hands and a fair bit of pressure to get the
handset flat — and as soon as we relieved
the pressure, it popped back into its preferred curved form.
Why build a curved handset? LG says a phone that follows the curve of
your face inevitably leads to improved voice quality by placing the
microphone close to your mouth. However, people we called on the G
Flex did not gush with positive comments about how good we
sounded.
Another reason LG gives for the curvature of the G Flex is that it
makes movie watching and games playing more enjoyable. The viewing
advantage of curved screens may hold for larger devices like TVs, but
we're not sure it translates to a 6-inch phablet. We didn't notice any
great improvement in the enjoyment of either movies or games.
Nor does the LG G Flex's shape make it more or less comfortable to
hold than other similarly sized phones. LG has copied the design
convention it adopted in its excellent LG G2 of putting the power
button and volume rockers on the back. They sit in a vertical
configuration beneath the 13-megapixel camera's lens and flash.
There's an infrared zapper here too, incidentally.
With the 5.2-inch LG G2, we found this system awkward initially, but
did get used to it. On the much larger frame of the 6-inch LG G Flex it
works very well. Once we purged the idea of side-mounted buttons
from our muscle memory, prodding the rear buttons with a forefinger
became second nature. The location works equally well for right-and
left handed people.
The volume rockers have small silver nubbins that make them easy to
find when the handset is in a bag or pocket — something you'll
appreciate if you use your phone for listening to music a lot. If the LG
G Flex is sitting on a desk, you reactivate its screen with a double tap
rather than picking it up and reaching for the back button. We found
this an efficient and responsive system with the G2, but less so here as
taps had to be fairly firm to register.
With the buttons located on the back, the only role for the edges of
this handset in terms of connectivity is to house the MicroUSB and
headphone slots. Both are on the bottom edge.
The back of the G Flex uses a special scratch-resistant material.
Image: LG
The back of the LG G Flex is made from a shiny, not particularly
grippy, material featuring a membrane layer that slowly bounces back
if depressed. LG calls this a 'self-healing back cover', which, up to a
point, seems to be true: we lightly scratched the surface with keys and
the scratch did indeed disappear within a couple of hours — although
look hard with the phone side-on and you can still see traces.
We tested further by being a bit rougher with the key-scratching, and
must have permeated the membrane layer: this second scratch looks
distinctly permanent.
Returning to the screen for a moment, it's noticeable that the
resolution is somewhat lacking. For a handset that costs £642 (inc.
VAT; £535 ex. VAT) we expect better than 720 by 1,280 pixels (245
pixels per inch, or ppi). This is the resolution LG used in the much less
expensive G2, and is much lower than other flagship handsets such as
the 4.7-inch HTC One, which is now almost a year old (1,080 by 1,920
pixels, 468ppi).
The screen technology here is a new one: P-OLED. The P stands for
'Plastic substrate' and its use is a key factor in it the screen's
flexibility. Although the use of a new technology is laudable, there is
definite fuzziness to text; not only that, but whites, such as the
background on web pages, can take a blueish tinge if you're viewing at
an angle. We expect crisper, sharper images from a top-end handset.
Features
The LG G Flex is an LTE handset that accommodates a MicroSIM. You
can't get the back off, so the SIM lives in a slot on the left edge.
The SoC is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 MSM8974, which includes a
quad-core CPU running at 2.26GHz. This is complemented by a healthy
2GB of RAM. Wi-fi is bang up to date, supporting dual-band
(2.4/5GHz) 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA and the ability to act
as a hotspot. Bluetooth 4.0 is present, along with NFC and the
aforementioned infrared zapper. The 13-megapixel rear camera is
accompanied by a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera.
The MicroUSB port supports USB On the Go (OTG) and USB Host, so
you could add external data devices such as the Kingston DataTraveller
MicroDuo. We attached ours and it was instantly recognised.
LG does not offer MicroSD card support, so unless you use a USB OTG
device, you're stuck with the 23.7GB of free internal storage from the
32GB that's installed. This is always irritating on a handset that
purports to be top of the range.
The Android version is 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean), which will disappoint those
who like their high-end handsets to have the very latest OS version
(4.4 KitKat in Android's case). LG's Android skinning is far from light
touch but on the whole it meets with our approval. We won't discuss
everything LG has done, but a few favourites deserve a mention.
Pop-up QSlide apps are available in the Notifications area. Image:
Sandra Vogel/ZDNet
The notifications bar offers a feature called QSlide, which allows you
to pop apps up on top of whatever you're doing. You can make these
items more or less transparent using a slider. Dual Windows lets you
run two apps at once. Not all apps are compatible with these features,
but they are good attempts to maximise the screen area.
There's a clever popup that appears when you attach devices. Attaching
our Kingston DataTraveller MicroDuo, for example, called up relevant
apps, including a file explorer, video and music players, and the
gallery. When we attached headphones we were offered music and
video players, the YouTube app and the phone dialler.
We like the fact that you can left- or right-
align the dial pad and keyboard to assist
with one-handed operation, and simply
swipe the front touch buttons to get them
to all rush to one or other side of the
screen for much easier access. You can also
reconfigure the front touch buttons into
your preferred order and add a fourth to
launch LG's Quick Memo app or pull down
the notification panel. You can even hide
the buttons in selected apps to give them
access to the entire screen.
Smart On settings use the front camera to
pause video when you look away and keep
the screen on when you're looking at it,
overriding any display timeout you may
have configured.
The final tweak we will mention is Slide
Aside, which lets you swipe leftwards on the screen to park up to three
running apps off-screen, and then pull them in as needed. Although a
neat idea, it's our least favourite Android tweak in terms of execution.
LG could rethink this into a system that's more ergonomic to use on a
device of this size.
In addition to the interface tweaks LG adds a number of apps to
Android. Quick Memo and Notebook are our favourites. Both are
obviously note-takers, the former including the ability to grab a
screenshot and scrawl on it before sending it off to an email recipient,
the latter offering more sophisticated note-making features.
The G Flex has a 3,500mAh battery — a curved lithium-polymer unit.
In our anecdotal experience the battery lasts longer than average, and
you may even be able to go two days between charges with a light
usage pattern. We found it to be an extremely fast charger too, so it
should be feasible to top up the battery quickly during the day should
the charge level become a concern.
Conclusion
LG may have hit the headlines with the G Flex's curved shape, but
there's more to this phablet than a curved chassis. The moderate
screen resolution and lack of storage expansion are disappointing, but
the way LG is working on enhancing Android shows great potential.
Having said that, LG's UI tweaks are in many cases already found in its
G2 handset and will no doubt be found in future products. Overall the
G Flex, although interesting, is simply way too expensive.

The Nexus 5 is the best that Google has to offer right now. It is a lean,
mean Android machine, beyond the reach of OEM embellishment and
carrier bloatware. It delivers a streamlined experience that's stylish,
refined, and lightning fast, and it does all this at a jaw-droppingly low
price.
You can snag the 16GB version of the Nexus 5 for £299 or you can lay
down an extra £40 and get the 32GB version for £339.
In terms of hardware the Nexus 5 is a
premium smartphone, it just doesn't have a
premium price tag. The Nexus 5 can just about
hold its own with the top devices on the
market, including the iPhone 5S (starting at
£550), the Samsung Galaxy S4 (now reduced
to £420), the HTC One (which you can find for
£430), and the Sony Xperia Z1 (now reduced
to £430).
A 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset
and 2GB RAM place this on the cutting edge.
The 5-inch 1080p display is no slouch either,
and the Nexus 5 sports the very latest
platform update in Android 4.4 KitKat , with
the elegant Google Experience Launcher on
top.
If you're wondering how Google can offer the
Nexus 5 for that much less than its
competitors, then you might point an
accusatory finger at the camera and the battery life, but make no
mistake - this phone is a real bargain.
The Nexus line of smartphones may have started out as reference
devices to show off the platform, but Google has improved Android
immeasurably since the Nexus One and it has refined its strategy in
the marketplace.
The price tag makes it conceivable that you might buy the Nexus 5 off-
contract and then seek out the best deal for service. If you have the
cash ready, you'll almost certainly get a better deal that way. Just in
case you don't, O2 and Vodafone are offering it for no money down
on two-year contracts.
I never expected to fall in love with the Nexus 5, but it seduced me. It
certainly has its flaws, and we'll get into them in due course, but it's
also a beautiful phone that sets a new benchmark for Android.
The Nexus 5 is a vessel. Google's flagship is supposed to compete at
the premium end of the market, but it would prefer the software, not
the hardware to be the star of the show. To that end, it is almost
completely devoid of superfluous detail.
As I rest it vertically on the arm of my couch it conjures visions of the
monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. To soften it off and make it
more comfortable to hold, the corners are rounded.
This black slab (which also comes in white) is all about the screen and
the entire front of the Nexus 5 is glass. The only details that break it
up are the round earpiece centre top and the front-facing camera to
the left of it. There is actually an LED notification light down below the
screen, but you'll only see that when it blinks into life.
Despite having a five-inch display, the Nexus 5 measures just 137.9 x
69.2 x 8.6mm and the bezels are nice and thin.
With a Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, which translates to
445ppi, the Nexus 5 display looks crisp and accurate. It's an IPS
display, and while critics will point to AMOLED's superior brightness
and black levels, you'd be hard pressed to notice.
The back and sides are soft-touch, matte plastic and it only weighs
130g, just like the Galaxy S4 .
Flip it over and you'll see a couple of design flourishes. The word
"Nexus" is embossed in lowercase gloss, with a tiny LG logo below it.
Up top on the left you'll find the glaring round eye of the 8MP
camera, which is surprisingly big. A tiny LED flash is just below.
The bottom edge has a standard microUSB port and there are two
grilles either side of it - the Nexus 5 only has one speaker in there; the
other hides a microphone. Up top you'll see the standard 3.5mm
headphone port and a tiny hole for an extra microphone.
On the left spine there's a ceramic volume rocker, with no markings.
On the right spine there's a ceramic power button and the SIM tray,
which you'll need a SIM tool or a pin to pop out. The Nexus 5 does
not open, so there's no microSD card support or battery switching.
The Nexus 5 is one of the most comfortable phones I've ever used. It
is comparably slow to heat up, so there are no issues holding it while
watching movies or during extended gaming sessions. The soft-touch
finish contrasts perfectly with the ceramic buttons, which makes them
very easy to find and use without looking.
There are negatives. The camera lens protrudes enough to make you
worry about it taking the brunt of any impact when the Nexus 5 is put
down on a flat surface. That glass expanse, without any protective lip
or border, suggests that a drop could easily result in disaster and
scratches might be easy to come by.
There's also the inevitable smudging from fingerprints, which turns up
on the back and the front, but that's a common problem.
It's not a flashy design, but the Nexus 5 does feel solid and well made.
It may be a little big for easy one-handed operation if you don't have
big hands, but the extra screen size will justify that trade-off for most
people.
At this price, the design of the Nexus 5 is impressive. It's understated,
almost making the iPhone 5S look gaudy, and it feels more expensive
than the Galaxy S4.
Key features
The price
The big USP that differentiates this phone from the crowd is the value
for money it represents. £299 for a premium Android smartphone
that's this good is a steal. Even at £339 for the 32GB version, the
Nexus 5 is seriously undercutting the competition.
Apple devices are expensive. The iPhone 5S starts at £549 for the
16GB version and you'll have to lay out an extra £80 to get a 32GB
model for £629, or pay a whopping £709 if you want the 64GB
version.
While Apple is comfortable with its premium pricing strategy, you get
the sense that the Nexus 5 has really put pressure on the competing
Android flagships.
When the Samsung Galaxy S4 was first launched, it was around £600
for a SIM-free handset. It's possible to get your hands on the SIM-free
16GB Galaxy S4 for £420 now.
It's a similar story with the HTC One, which cost around £500 on
release, but can now be snapped up for as low as £430 for a SIM-free
32GB handset.
The LG G2 is significantly cheaper at £350 for the SIM-free 16GB
version and around £400 for the 32GB model. The Nexus 5 was also
manufactured by LG and is partly based on the G2, with very similar
specs, although the G2 trumps the Nexus 5's 8MP shooter with a
13MP camera, and has a much bigger 3,000mAh rated battery
compared to the 2,300mAh battery in the Nexus 5.
And now we've got the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One
M8 - both costing close to £550 or even more depending on your
capacity.
Whatever way you cut it, the Nexus 5 is a lot of phone for your
money, and it looks like a real attempt to drive prices down, which can
only be a good thing for consumers.