Google Nexus 5 phone is official

Well, the wait is over. Google has finally unveiled the new Nexus 5 smartphone, as well as Android 4.4 Kit Kat operating system.

Considering the Nexus 5 itself hasn't exactly been kept a secret, Google has managed to keep the official release date under wraps, and now the new Nexus has been released to buy direct from the Google Play store with the minimum of fanfare.

The Google Nexus 5 is retailing for £299 sim-free, £60 more than the introductory price of the Nexus 4, or £339 for the 32GB model.

Google Nexus 5: best prices, deals and where to buy

And the now confirmed official specs of the Nexus 5 flagship seem to tally up with those previously rumoured.

The Nexus 5 features a 4.95in, 1920x1080 Full HD display, which offers an eye-shattering 445ppi. This trumps (on paper) the Retina display found on the award winning Apple iPhone 5S.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 processor is onboard, clocked at 2.26GHz with 2GB RAM. Graphics come via the Adreno 330 chip running at 450MHz.

Camera-wise, the phone sports an 8MP snapper on the back, with Optical Image Stablization, and a 1.3MP on the front. However the rear camera doesn't feature the MEMS technology that some analysts expected.

Power comes in the form of a 2300mAh battery, which claims to provide up to 17 hours talk time, 8.5 hours of internet usage via Wi-Fi or 7 hours when using 4G LTE. Yep, it's a 4G phone, too. The Nexus 5 also features wireless charging, much like its predeccesor.

The Nexus 5 is offered in 16GB and 32GB variants, and there's still no microSD card slot for expandable storage, much like the Nexus 4.

The usual connections are all there: microUSB, 3.5mm audio jack and SlimPort, which is the medium Google have used to allow users to connect their phone to a larger screen via HDMI.

Carphone Warehouse was quick off the mark to confirm it is stocking the phone, with Nexus 5 contracts on O2. A 3G contract will set you back £32 a month for unlimited minutes, texts and 1GB of data.

Those wanting to opt in to the O2 4G network will need to pay £37 for the same minutes and texts, but with a larger 2GB data allowance instead.

The first 1,000 customers to order the Nexus 5 on a 4G contract via the Carphone Warehouse website will also receive a free Google Nexus 7 Wi-Fi 16GB tablet (worth £139), which seems like a tempting deal to us.

There was no sign of an upgraded version of the Nexus 10 tablet, however.

Rendered images of the supposedly Asus-made tablet appeared online last week. With so many rumours surrounding the updates to 2 of their 3 Nexus devices, it appeared Google had completed the trio, but there's no sign of a new Nexus 10 yet.

MORE: Google Nexus 5 release date, news and rumours

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by Max Langridge

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Max is a staff writer for What Hi-Fi?'s sister site, TechRadar, in Australia. But being the wonderful English guy he is, he helps out with content across a number of Future sites, including What Hi-Fi?. It wouldn't be his first exposure to the world of all things hi-fi and home cinema, as his first role in technology journalism was with What Hi-Fi? in the UK. Clearly he pined to return after making the move to Australia and the team have welcomed him back with arms wide open.