Having been so delighted with the Nexus 4, I ordered a Nexus 5 from the Google Play store on the day it was launched.  When launched it was a massively powerful phone, and at £340 for the 32GB model, competed head-on with the Apple iPhone 5S which was nearly double the price (£630) and exceeds it in most respects.

After the Nexus 4, the big bright 1080p screen was a dramatic improvement, and it certainly felt quicker, but it also feels cheaper after the lovely glass body of the 4, and I certainly wouldn't want a phone any bigger than this.  Battery life remained disappointing although the Lollipop Android update in late 2014 improved this.

The official LG Quickcover transformed the phone.  If you get one of these, you can change the screen timeout to 2 minutes or more, because when you flip it shut/open it controls the screen, which is very handy indeed.  It also works with the handy wireless charger.  

Update June 2015 : The phone remained fast until the end, despite approaching 2 years old.  The end you say?  Yes, I dropped it while getting out of the car.  Just about 2 feet, but it was enough to smash the super-fragile screen.  The battery life had also become fairly appalling by this point.  This fragility, and the poor battery life, has reduced its score.

3.5 marks out of 5

Bought 2nd hand on eBay, this is connected to my BT Plusnet "Up to 80 mb" service, and gives me very nearly that speed.

It successfully competes with umpteem other wireless networks in close proximity, and is wired up, via a switch, to my xbox 360, my youview box, my PC, printer and NAS.  The Android Apps for the router are excellent too.

5 out of 5

I got this after deciding to give up on my beloved long-lived Windows Media Center setup, which Microsoft is not supporting after Windows 8, and hasn't improved for years.

The box mostly works well, smooth HD playback, even while simultaneously recording 2 HD programmes.  The app on my Android phone is excellent, and the on-demand internet services are good, if a bit sluggish compared to using the Xbox - in fact they're painfully slow sometimes, but always OK once the programme starts playing.

Some reviews have been less than glowing, but that's because its not aimed at gadget fans, its aimed at people that want a simple single box solution and for this it delivers very well indeed.

Update : The first box overheated and failed, and had to be replaced under John Lewis' warranty.

4 marks out of 5

After having problems with the Samsung Galaxy S3, I decided I'd had enough messing around with it, and opted for the Nexus 4 'Pure Google' experience, and I didn't regret it!  

The Nexus range of phones is to Google, what the iPhone is to Apple.

The phone 'just worked'.  It doesn't have all the Samsung clutter, or all the Vodafone clutter, its just the way Google intended it to be.  Its fast, beautifully made, nice to hold and just a real quality item through and through.

The only downside is the relatively poor battery life, and the overly quiet speaker, but that doesn't stop me giving it top marks.

5 Marks out of 5

When I got this phone, I initially liked it very much.  It was fast and exciting, with lots of new features.  I particularly liked the camera, and the music player that you could tell what mood you were in.

However, I then started to get more and more problems with it, mainly around excessive battery consumption for no apparent reason.  After realising that My Galaxy S phones were becoming projects in their own right, I gave up on them altogether, and went to the "back to basics" Google Nexus range of Smart phones which take a different approach.

My feeling now is that Samsung pack too much into their phones, and that they're a rather cheap and tacky brand.

I got given one of these at work, and it was so good, I got one at home too!  Its beautifully clear, is height and tilt adjustable, extremely well built, has a USB hub, swivels (although at 900 pixels its not much use in portrait really...) but all in all, extremely impressive indeed.  Its used as a partner to my even more lovely Dell monitor (above).  Far, far better quality than anything that was available at PC World!  I think the lesson is to shop for business monitors.


5 marks out of 5