Kitkat Phone, Nexus 5, Launched By Google, LG

Nexus 5, world's first phone running the Kitkat Android operating system, has been launched by Google and LG on Friday, November 1.

Kitkat phone Nexus 5

Said to be the slimmest and fastest Google Nexus phone to date, Nexus 5 features a 5-inch Full HD IPS display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 with 2.26GHz Quad-Core Krait CPU, an 8.0MP rear camera with OIS, a 1.3MP front HD camera, and a 2,300mAh Li-Polymer battery. It comes in both 16GB and 32GB versions and is LTE-capable and NFC-enabled.

"We’re excited to collaborate with LG on a new Nexus device," said Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Android, Chrome and Apps at Google. "Google Nexus 5 is the slimmest and fastest Nexus phone to date and puts the latest platform innovations of Android 4.4, KitKat, right in the hands of consumers."

Nexus 5 is the first smartphone featuring Android 4.4, KitKat, offering the power of Google in a thin and lightweight device that still manages to feel solid and reassuring. With a blazing fast SnapdragonTM800 processor and 4G/LTE, Nexus 5 also boasts a 445 ppi Full HD IPS display with advanced in-cell touch technology that enables faster touch recognition, better outdoor visibility and crisper images.

"LG is proud to partner with Google again to develop the fastest, most powerful Nexus phone ever," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "Nexus 5 offers the ultimate functionality in a modern design and is a testament to the level of innovation that can be generated when two great companies come together for a second act."

The camera in the said Kitkat phone features LG Innotek’s acclaimed optical image stabilizer technology which was first introduced in the LG G2. Mated to an 8MP camera with longer exposures, less blur and less noise, Nexus 5 is unmatched in dim light performance. Nexus 5 also includes Photo Sphere making it easy to capture a series of photos and turn them into a seamless 360-degree experience. And Google can create Auto Awesome photos and movies from the content in your library to share with friends and family. Moreover, the improved HDR+ mode in Nexus 5 instantaneously captures a burst of shots and applies computational photography to intelligently fuse these images together into one perfect photo with a greater range of shadows and light culled from the multiple exposure and color data.

With Gmail, Chrome, Calendar, Maps, Drive and Hangouts, Nexus 5 helps users manage their day-to-day lives with familiar, easy-to-use applications. With Google Now, initiating a voice search is as simple as saying "Ok, Google," and with more than one million apps and games plus movies, books and music on Google Play, it’s easier than ever to find what you’re looking for.

Nexus 5 will be available for purchase in either black or white, no contract required, on Google Play starting November 1 in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, U.K., Australia, Korea and Japan, starting at $349. Offline availability in Europe, Central/South Americas, Asia, CIS and the Middle East will begin in mid-November.