Android 5.1 memory leak bug persists on Nexus 5

Android 5.1

For four months since I updated my Nexus 5 to Android 5.0 Lollipop, my phone has been suffering from severe memory leak. A memory leak happens when the system doesn't release RAM back for the user. In this case, after several hours of uptime, Android 5.0 was reserving 1GB of RAM for its use and aggressively killing off apps.

Yesterday I applied the latest Android 5.1 update on my Nexus 5. I declared, prematurely, that my phone was finally usable. It was true, at first. With a fresh boot, the phone was quick off the mark. It may be placebo (or wishful thinking), but it felt like what a Nexus phone should be. Soon after (and I mean roughly 6-8 hours later) however, the dreaded memory leak bug reared its ugly head.

Since 'upgrading', I have rebooted my phone twice. Like Android 5.0 and 5.0.1 before, 5.1 requires me to reboot every 8 hours in order to force the OS to release RAM. It means that the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning and before I go to the bathroom is to turn off my phone, wait for it to turn off, and then switch it on again. And then do it again later in the evening. And again. And again.

A first world problem perhaps, but one I have paid good money to enjoy.

While 2GB of RAM is plentiful for a phone (Apple and Microsoft can get away with 1GB!), I can see why Android apologists are demanding 4GB of RAM on their newest gadgets. It may be powerful and filled to the brim with more features we do not need, but Android is the very definition of inefficient.

With Google's inability to do a very basic job, their reluctance to fix critical bugs (so they can sell new phones and fill their landfills with still pretty decent phones), I think I am done with Android. Time to look into this Windows 10 phone thingy I've been hearing about lately.

Android 4.4.2 improves Nexus 5 camera

Having been using the Nexus 5 for over a month now, I can declare that this is simply one of the best Android smartphones you can get for your money. It isn't perfect. For example the lack of expansion slot is a bit of a downer. But the most galling example has to be the camera.

Now, the quality of the camera's output isn't that bad if the conditions are right. But it's auto focus mechanism is iffy, especially on low light, and slow. Despite the inclusion of optical stablisation, you get all sorts of jerks. The white balance can also be a bit off, and the exposure compensation doesn't always work. I have had better pictures taken with the 8-megapixel powered no-OIS HTC 8X than with this device.

LG Google Nexus 5 first impressions

Today I took delivery of the new Google and LG flagship, the Nexus 5. As I have been needing a new smartphone since July, I decided it is time to ignore my LG bias and check the device out. After all Google has been very impressive when it came to shipping this out so soon after announcement (next day!). Call this a late birthday present.

The Nexus 5 is a clear design evolution of the Nexus 4. You will find that the same basic shape is retained but the screen has been upgraded to a 5" 16:9 1080p LCD IPS display, which bumping the pixel density up, is simply gorgeous to look at. This is one of the best displays I have ever viewed in door, and that includes the HTC One.

While the removal of the glass back plate in favour of polycarbonate made the Nexus 5 feel cheaper than the premium-feel Nexus 4, it has made the new flagship significantly lighter and thinner as well. Yes, plastic may feel cheaper in your palm compared to glass, but I am sure it will probably be able to sustain a bit more everyday abuse than the crack happy Nexus 4.

I found the power button, which is located on the left side of the device next to the micro SIM card tray, to be a tad too small and too close to the top edge of the device. A power button located in the middle of the phone, similar to those found on Lumia and Xperia devices, would have been far more comfortable. A 3.5mm headphone jack and microphone can be found on the top, while the metallic volume rocker sits on the right side. You will find a pair of iPhone 5-esque loud speaker grills on the bottom with a micro USB sync/charge port in between them.

The backside is a design in simplicity, with a 8MP camera and a single solitary weak LED flash. While the back cover looks removable, I have been told it isn't. If you went for the white version like I did, you will find that the Nexus 5 sports a two-tone colour, which I admit looks rather neat. The camera itself isn't something to write about, especially after my brief affair with a Lumia 1020, and the camera app is still annoyingly basic. With only 8MP of data, you won't be cropping pictures a lot, but OIS and a faster lens for low light photography is a welcome upgrade regardless. Only time will tell if the camera here is a good enough improvement over the Nexus 4's poor camera.

With a top of the range Snapdragon 800 and the latest Android 4.4, the Nexus 5 is mighty fast. In fact it is so quick, you wouldn't have to install a slim down launcher like Nova (though I installed it anyway as I detest the fixed Google search bar). Android 4.4 does not appear to feature any ground breaking innovations as far as the GUI is concern, though the Nexus 5 does sport a voice wake up feature first found on the Moto X.

Overall the Nexus 5 isn't the most gorgeous looking device out there, but it is very functional. Everything is where you expect to find them, and while I would have preferred the power button to be located near the middle of the device, at least it isn't on the top (glares at HTC). As far as 5 inchers goes, the Nexus 5 feels great in my palm. Android isn't exactly a one-hand use friendly OS, but it doesn't become too irritating.

The Nexus 5 is available right now from Google Play, starting from £299, making it one of the cheapest Snapdragon 800-powered smartphones around. It is also available subsidised on various wireless carriers such as Three UK.

Android Honeycomb still disappoints

I have been using the Galaxy Tab 10.1 for two weeks now, and while I love the hardware and design of the tablet, I can't say the same about the software. For those who have read my review of the Motorola Xoom, you will know exactly what I mean.

Both Motorola and Samsung has gave their respective tablets the necessary power, in this case a 1 GHz dual core nVidia Tegra 2 SoC and 1GB of RAM. Unfortunately both runs on Android Honeycomb, the Windows Me meets Vista of Android operating systems. The UI is confusing, intimidating and not consistent. Like, why can't I clear all my notifications with a single button? And why are the search button all the way on the top left, the app drawer icon on the top right, the notification bar on the bottom right and the navigation keys on the bottom left? Does Google actually think I like moving my fingers to all four corners? I am not some NBA basketball player with long fingers.

Every single Honeycomb tablet I have tried, from the Motorola Xoom to Asus Transformer Sony Tablet S to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 - all of these has the same performance issues. In fact the lag is so bad that it makes the HP TouchPad looks like a well engineered marvel. It's a real issue that even despite having a tablet in front of me most of the time, I prefer to tweet, check my emails, and even surf the web on my Galaxy S2 phone!

There is also a real lack of tablet optimised apps for Honeycomb. This is Google's issue and they must fix it. We know that they have effectively abandoned Honeycomb. I implore Google to look into fixing these issues, by either optimising Honeycomb or making sure Ice Cream Sandwich works darn well on these first generation tablets with Tegra 2 SoC. Don't go pissing on your early adopters Google or the first thing they do after they ditch you is pick up a Windows 8 tablet.

What's the point of Google Music?

Apparently Google Music is the next big thing in the music and tech industry.

With the service, currently in beta and is US-only, you can upload 85GB of your music online, and stream them anywhere anytime on any device.

Sounds great? Except it isn't. The benefits are so minuscule I can't see why anybody would want to use this service.

Firstly, why would anyone want to upload 85 GB of music files to the cloud, only to waste more bandwidth to stream again? Most mobile networks are scaling back the amount of bandwidth they give their users - and the few unlimited data options available are expensive. Hell, 85 GB is half of what I am allowed to download on my ISP!

You can't stream while traveling on the Tube or visiting remote places where 3G signals are weak. And even then, good luck with battery. Streaming stuff on 3G can be a bitch and smartphones aren't getting any better when it comes to power optimisation. You could argue that you can play music at a friend's place. Well I could too, by carrying a small cheap harddrive or plugging in my phone. Or are people really that lazy?

Finally Google Music requires Adobe Flash. Right away this limits the use of Google Music to devices that has Flash. And let us not forget that most workplaces (at least those that I know off) has banned the installation of Flash on their computers (with good reasons).

A couple of people have brought up that it could be used as a backup. Well 85 GB isn't even enough to back up 1/8th of my FLAC collection.