The much anticipated Nexus 5 is nearing its launch and has been spotted on the Play Store at $349. The former working link is dead now. The official description from Google goes as this :

"Capture the everyday and the epic in fresh new ways. Starting at $349"




The description suggests at least several storage version. The dead link was pointing at a 16 GB version  and the URL indicates "black", so maybe several colors (black and white at least ?) and hopefully a 32 GB or more Nexus 5.

Source : Engadget

Google Now edged out rivals like Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana in a recent comparison test.


A digital marketing firm claims Google Now returned more search results ‘enhanced with custom content’ than Siri and Cortana combined.

Consultants Stone Temple made 3086 queries in total to all three voice assistances. Google Now yielded a score of 1795 results with enhanced content, while Siri scored 908 and Cortana returned 630 ‘knowledge panels’

The queries were designed to answer specific questions rather than offer web results, according to Android Central, reporting on the comparison tests.

Google Now also scored highest for accuracy with 88 percent of questions properly addressed, while Siri and Cortana were correct 53 per cent and 40 per cent of the time respectively.

The study did not take into account how the respective assistants performed when it comes to making appointments via the app, or dictating words, only bringing the answers to specific questions.

Given Google’s status as global search overlord, we’d expect Google Now to come out on top in this department. While the tests are far from definitive, it still offers an interesting look at slice of a much larger pie.

Elsewhere today, Google Now got an update that’ll inform users when their bills are overdue. Thanks for nothing Google Now!

The new Google Camera app finally brings features that were once only available on Nexus devices to every other Android snapper out there. Well, as long as those Android devices are running KitKat, that is.


Two of the apps biggest features are Photo Sphere and Lens Blur. If youre remotely familiar with the Nexus 5, or even the Nexus 4 that came before it, Photo Sphere is definitely not a new trick, but it was very limited in terms of who could use it.

Photo Sphere allows you to create panorama-like images with a 360-degree field of view. That means youre not limited to just panning straight across a scene, but you can move your phone camera up or down to include more of the sky and foreground.

The stitching job on the 360 panoramas is pretty good, or at least as good as it can be on a really difficult image to piece together. And youll be able to view them in full on your Android device or on Google+ if you want to share the photos.

Blurry like a DSLR

The next notable feature is Lens Blur, which is similar to what youll find on the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S5. Basically, you select your subject and everything else gets blurred out so the focus is mostly on your subject. Its like shooting with shallow depth-of-field on a DSLR.

These photo blurring effects sometimes work very well, and other times they seem very artificial. When its done right, the results can be dreamy and natural. On the other hand, if its a little overdone - like it is on the HTC One compared to the Galaxy S5 - it can look a little gimmicky.

However, if you use it sparingly and carefully, you can get pretty good results and really show your subject and get rid of all the clutter in your photo.

In the end, the Google Camera app is pretty simple, and the UI is designed to make taking photos easier. You can download it via the Play Store now if youre sporting a device with Android 4.4 KitKat. Enjoy!