Google nexus 5 the iPhone killer

crank39 said:
I have to agree for the moment but apparently we are already seeing a downturn in PC and laptops sold and its been said within a short time laptops will be obsolete so someone somewhere is finding a use. I'd find one handy for writing and submitting reports and being able to attach photos all while still being on site or close to so i might invest or get the company to
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Is suppose the problem i have is everything that everyone says they do with tablets is just end User stuff, the vast majority of which I am not interested in. My IT job is entirely non user interface, which as a lot of people dont appreciate is the vast majority of IT.

Laptops and desktops will not become obsolete, their market, will I concede, change, you'd cant seriously expect a software developer to code on a tablet now can you. In general in the development world we still have hugely powerful tower systems (remember them), with 2 20+ inch monitors attached to them.
 
Saw an ipadder om the train yesterday, yep as expected, playing candy crush. But thats all these things seem to do. I have decided to go down the kindle route as the ereader thing is the only thing that i am interested in, laptop all the way for computational things.
 
Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I am becoming increasingly more interested in the Nexus 5 and would value some advice.

Looking at Giffgaff, which someone recommended earlier as a provider, I found they do a '£12 Goodybag - 250 minutes, unlimited texts and data', package. Not ever having had a smart phone before, I'm afraid I'm not sure exactly what this means, although I understand that this package is for a month.

I presume that if I pay £12 I shall be able to make calls, send texts and use the internet according the the above figures, but what happens at the end of the month? I am assuming that after one month if I don't buy another package I will not be able to use the phone at all. However, their web site states that outside of the monthly allowance calls cost 10p per minute but, if so, how do they collect this charge?

On the other hand, if I buy an unlocked version of this phone, I assume that I will be free to use another provider at any time. I've heard that many offer a free sim card and that I'd just have to pay another £10 or so for a month's use.

Is this how things work?
 
If you buy a SIM-only package, usually you pay a fixed fee in return for an agreed quantity of texts, minutes and data.

It depends which package you buy as to how the company operates the system.

There are two types of SIM-only payment: DD and PAYG.

For example, Mrs Secure has a Virgin SIM only deal. She pays a basic £12 per month which gets her 1200 minutes, unlimited (60K) texts and 1GB data every month.

If she goes over her allowances (or makes calls or pictures messages which are not included)she will be charged additional charges.

I have a 3 "321" PAYG SIM. I just top up with a few pounds every now and then. I pay 3p per minute for calls, 2p per text and 1p per MB of data. If I want to, I can buy a bundle instead of just "topping up". If I buy a bundle, that is used first, then the cash balance is used next.

Bundles cost:

£10: 100 mins 3K texts 500MB
£15: 300 mins 3K texts UL MB
£25: 500 mins 3K texts UL MB

£5: 3K 3to3 mins
£5: 3K texts
£5: 500MB

Whether you pay by DD or PAYG, the allowances expire in 30 days, so if you don't use them, they're gone.

Once you run out of money on PAYG, that's it! Your call stops!!

Unless you have a few pounds loaded on as back up, when your allowance runs out, your phone will only receive incoming.

If you pay by DD, it's different, because once your allowances are used up, you can carry on talking texting & internetting as they can take your money out by DD on the next bill.

You can use any SIM in an unlocked phone.

If you do go for a DD-paid SIM, rather than PAYG, then go for a monthly SIM. You can go for 12 monthly or longer but if it goes t*ts-up, you can get out after a month with minimum hassle.

My tip (what I did) was to buy a PAYG sim for the company I wanted to try (3). I checked the coverage was OK wherever I went and used the phone for a few months before hand, then when I was happy, I ported my number over to it.
 
Thanks SS. That's very helpful.

I had no idea about 3-2-1. That's the sort of PAYG I have been using for my 'stone age' phone, as I make very few calls and texts, and I didn't know you could do that for data as well.

I have been doing some research and, if buying a Nexus 5 32GB outright for £339, comparing Giffgaff and 3-2-1:

Giffgaff - monthly: 250 min calls + unlimited texts + unlimited data = £627 over 2 years
3-2-1 - monthly: 250 min calls + 500 texts + 1GB data = £990 over 2 years
3-2-1 - monthly: 100 min calls + 100 texts + 500MB data = £579 over 2 years

So it's clear that comparing Giffgaff and 3-2-1 pretty much like for like, 3-2-1 would work out much more expensive. However, with the sort of use I am likely to make it would be a lot cheaper. The only thing I'm not sure about is the amount of data I would be likely to download. I'm estimating 500MB a month here, although I suppose the only way to find out is to try it for a while.

Where you said: "Whether you pay by DD or PAYG, the allowances expire in 30 days, so if you don't use them, they're gone." I presume that doesn't apply to the 3-2-1 PAYG deal?
What I do at present is pay in £10 once a blue moon and it just sits there indefinitely if I don't need to use it. It never expires unless I have used it up. Is this the case with the 3-2-1 PAYG deal?
 
Yes and no.

If you just top up with money and don't buy a bundle (as described for £10, £15 or £25), then your money lasts indefinitely. But your data costs 1p per MB.

If you buy a bundle, your data costs go down pro rata, but they are then time limited.

For what it's worth, I have a lot of respect for the Nexus 5, along with the HTC One.

They both have fixed batteries and no card slots (which is no problem if you buy the meaty memory version) but apart from that, they're top notch. It's a small compromise, and one I'd be willing to make if the screen size was suitable for me.
 
securespark said:
If you just top up with money and don't buy a bundle (as described for £10, £15 or £25), then your money lasts indefinitely. But your data costs 1p per MB.
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Oh, yes. I'm quite happy with that. I just like the idea of only paying for what I use rather than buying a bundle and finding I haven't used everything by the end of the month. As I said, I don't really know how much I'm likely to use, never having done it before. I think the best thing is to try it (if and when I get the phone!) and either keep it or try an alternative. That's the good thing with PAYG, as far as I know. You're not committed to any one deal.

securespark said:
For what it's worth, I have a lot of respect for the Nexus 5, along with the HTC One.

They both have fixed batteries and no card slots (which is no problem if you buy the meaty memory version) but apart from that, they're top notch. It's a small compromise, and one I'd be willing to make if the screen size was suitable for me.
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Yes. It looks good to me, certainly for the price, and I've read some good reviews. If I get the 32GB version I'm sure I'll have plenty of space without the need for memory cards; my better half has loads of stuff on her iPhone 4s, and that only has 8GB. They so say that the battery could be better, but I'd be happy to charge it up every night if necessary.

Thanks again for all you input and advice. There's nothing like word of mouth recommendation when you're trying to find unbiased information.
 
That's exactly what I did. I got a 3 SIM and ran it for a while to see what the coverage was like. When I was sure it was OK, I ported my number over.

Don't forget you can do that BTW, don't lose your existing mobile number!

I'm running 321 at the moment and I have not bought a bundle. I'll just see how I go. So far, in two months, I have topped up with two lots of £5. I have just topped up with a tenner at the beginning of month 3 as I thought I'd buy a bundle, but I decided not to.

So that should last me another couple of months, maybe a bit less with it being Christmas.

As I say, I'll see how it goes and tot up what I use over 6 months and see whether it's worth moving to a DD paid SIM or not.

Even with some of the DD paid SIM only deals you are not committed (at least not more than a month) as long as you pick the month-long ones.
 
Yes, that looks like the sort of use I'll probably find myself doing. 3-2-1 looks the way to go, although I'll have to see what coverage is like in my part of Cheshire (Gatley and south Manchester).

As for the battery life, which some reviewers have said is not as long as some phones, I suspect I'll probably be OK as I won't be spending hours watching videos! However, I've found that you can buy plug in battery packs for a few pounds that can sit in your pocket just in case.

One other thing I noticed is that the Nexus 5 is a good deal bigger than my wife's iPhone. I'll have to go round measuring my pockets now!
 
Having secured Mrs JBR's permission*, I have just ordered a Nexus 5 and a 3-2-1 PAYG SIM with £10 credit.
Unfortunately, delivery is two to three weeks.

(* I achieved this by cutting out a piece of thick cardboard to the exact dimensions of the phone, ostensibly to see whether it is a convenient size for both hand and pocket (it's a fair bit bigger than her iPhone). When I pretended to start pressing 'icons' on the 'screen', she fell about laughing and said 'For God's sake get one!')
 
:lol: Ha ha.

Not sure what a Mega is. The mind boggles.

"Is that a Mega in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me!"
 
securespark said:
You can see the size here:

http://www.esato.com/phones/compare.php?phone=1048&cp=1033

Just for fun, cut out a piece of card the size of the Mega and your Missus will not just fall about laughing but will not be able to get up for a week!

I took it to Scouts last night and they all swore blind it was a tablet!!!
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That link's interesting. Going by the listed features and specs, the Nexus is way and above the wife's iPhone 4S. I'll have to wave it around in front of her whenever I get the chance!

The Mega's like a brick!
 
JBR said:
securespark said:
You can see the size here:

http://www.esato.com/phones/compare.php?phone=1048&cp=1033

Just for fun, cut out a piece of card the size of the Mega and your Missus will not just fall about laughing but will not be able to get up for a week!

I took it to Scouts last night and they all swore blind it was a tablet!!!
Click to expand...

That link's interesting. Going by the listed features and specs, the Nexus is way and above the wife's iPhone 4S. I'll have to wave it around in front of her whenever I get the chance!

The Mega's like a brick!
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I don't think she's realised how good he nexus 5 is, you make sure you let her know every chance you get, it won't be long before the 4S is on ebay lol!
 
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