The Nexus 5. Google’s new offspring flagship that came out, well…4 months ago, but I finally jumped the HTC ship. The ship I’ve been riding on since the Android adventure began. This seemed like the right choice to make with a new phone, because I would always inject those HTC phones with pure android. Never was a fan of Sense.

The Decision

Making the decision to walk away from the HTC One was no easy decision to make. The gorgeous piece of mobile technology that was deemed the best smartphone ever designed by many top tech sites, made me think I was making the wrong choice in going with a new phone. But I did it, and I am glad I did.

The Sexy

The appeal of the Nexus 5 for me was the fact that it was Android at its purest. Running the current version of KitKat with a 2.26 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor under its hood, I’ve never had a phone run this fast and silky smooth. Navigating through apps is without a hitch, and I think we have finally reached the level iPhones have (or had) when it comes to creamy smoothness.

The Design

The design of the Nexus 5 is something that made all of our mouths water when the first official press render hit the interwebs. I went with the Darth Vader version instead of the storm trooper, because the matte black just looks prettier in my eyes. The phone is made of plastic which is a step down from the HTC One’s metal body, but I actually considered that a good thing. When using my HTC One naked, it felt delicate, and it was, in a sense. I dropped the One off my desk one night and it landed right on my printer giving it a nice little scar in its butt. The fall wasn’t that drastic at all, yet as tough as the phone is built, you will see more battle scars than you will see on the Nexus 5. The weight of the Nexus 5 was another aspect I had to get used to, because at first, and coming off the One’s “good weight”, I feared maybe the phone would launch out of my hands when pulling out of my pocket. I got used to it right away though, and now when I hold it, it was like my hand was meant to hold it. That being said, talking on the phone felt comfortable when placed against my face.

The Display

The display is another downgrade from the One, and it is noticeable. Although the Nexus 5’s 445 ppi screen looks beautiful, the One’s 468 ppi display was noticeably sharper. The speakers of course bring another check in the win column for the HTC One, because that BoomSound is fantastic. Who needs a Bluetooth speaker when you have BoomSound? This was probably the main reason I was hesitant in breaking up with the One. At first, I did have a brain fart moment and thought, “there’s two speakers on this thing, sweet!” I immediately smacked myself in the head and knew there was only one. This is probably my biggest grievance when it comes to the Nexus 5 though, because the way I tend to hold my phone at times, I end up covering that speaker. Laying in bed with the phone standing up on my chest completely blocks the sound, so it has been quite an adjustment coming from two blaring front-facing speakers.

The Camera

Then we come to the camera, and I have heard many complaints about the 8 MP shooter. You won’t hear that from this guy, simply because a phone’s camera has never been my favorite attribute, so as long as it takes relatively quick, and sharp pictures, than I am happy Android camper. The Nexus 5 takes great pictures, as well as video when I do my random vlogs of me talking about absolute nonsense.

Conclusion

So was it a good choice to jump from the HTC One to the Nexus 5? I am going to say yes on that, because I needed to personally own a phone that wasn’t from the HTC factory. I needed to wash the stamp of HTC fanboy that had been branded on me by audience members and Android colleagues. I love the pure Android experience and it doesn’t get anymore pure than a Nexus device. Unless the HTC M8 really brings on the WOW factor, I can’t really see myself getting off this Nexus 5 magic carpet ride until we start hearing about the Nexus 6.