Google has officially unveiled the latest incarnation of its flagship Nexus smartphone.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>
\nMade by LG, the handset is smaller, slimmer and lighter than the Nexus 4 but its 4.96in (126mm) touchscreen is bigger.\u00a0The Nexus 5 has been developed to show off the capabilities of the new version of the Android operating system.\u00a0Called Kitkat, the software has been designed\u00a0to work well on both high-end smartphones and cheaper\u00a0feature phones.\u00a0The alliance with Google has helped bolster LG’s fortunes even though, according to statistics from Gartner, it is still a long way behind rivals Samsung and Apple.
\nIn the April-to-June quarter, the consultancy indicated 3.8% of all smartphones sold were LG handsets putting the South Korean firm in third place.
\nBy contrast, Apple accounted for 18.8% of all sales and Samsung 29.7%.
\nMemory cut
\nThe specifications for the new phone were widely leaked before it was announced on the official Google blog.
\nThe gadget shares some of the hardware from LG’s G2 handset and can record and play back HD video at the full 1080p resolution. Its camera also has a rapid burst system that captures several photographs at the same time so owners can pick the best shot.
\nThe handset is due to go on sale on 1 November in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and Korea.
\n“Nexus devices serve an important function for Google,” said Ben Wood, head of research at analyst firm CCS Insight.
\n“The company collaborates closely with the chosen phone maker as it rolls out a new version of the Android operating system and this results in a ‘vanilla’ version of the software that acts as a reference platform for developers and tech enthusiasts.”
\nGoogle said a base 16GB version of the device would cost $349 in the US (\u00a3299 in the UK), unlocked and without a contract. The 32GB version should cost $399 (\u00a3339 in the UK).
\nWith Android Kitkat, Google said it had made the software use less memory so it could be used on handsets with much lower specifications than top end smartphones.
\nIn addition, Google has begun moving some services off Android’s core software and onto its app store. Many see this as a way for it to maintain more control over the security of the software and its associated applications.<\/p>\n

-With bbc.co.uk input<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Google has officially unveiled the latest incarnation of its flagship Nexus smartphone.\u00a0 Made by LG, the handset is smaller, slimmer and lighter than the Nexus 4 but its 4.96in (126mm) touchscreen is bigger.\u00a0The Nexus 5 has been developed to show off the capabilities of the new version of the Android operating system.\u00a0Called Kitkat, the software … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n