Web giant Google has launched the latest product in its range of flagship mobile devices, the  Nexus 5.

Manufactured by South Korean firm LG, the device is slightly smaller, lighter and slimmer than its predecessor, while, at 4.96 inches, its touchscreen is larger.

As the company’s own device, the Nexus 5 has been designed and built to show off Google’s new mobile operating system, Android KitKat. This is the first release of the platform to cater for both top-of-the-range smartphones and budget feature phones.

It is thought that LG has benefited greatly from its partnership with Google, although it still trails behind its biggest rivals. The Nexus 4, while hugely popular, was plagued by supply problems, with both companies seemingly blaming each other for the delays.

According to research consultancy Gartner, 3.8 per cent of smartphone devices sold between April and June were made by LG, putting the company in third place on the table below Apple, which accounted for 18.8 per cent, and Samsung at 29.7 per cent.

The handset offers users some of the same hardware as LG’s G2 device, with the ability to play and record high definition video at a resolution of 1080p. It also possesses a new camera feature which allows amateur photographers to capture several images at once so the best shots can be chosen.

The Nexus 5 went on sale in the UK, Canada, the US, Australia, Spain, Germany, Italy, South Korea and Japan on Friday last week. The basic 16GB version has been priced at £299 in the UK, with the larger 32GB version costing £339. Both options come sim-free and unlocked so the buyer is free to choose their preferred operator.

The Nexus line has proven extremely popular with tech fans across the world for two main reasons. Firstly, its products offer similar spec details and capabilities to some of the market’s most expensive high-end devices – but, in some cases, at half of the price. Also, as Google is heavily involved in the design and development of the phones and tablets, they’re usually first to get the latest Android updates.

Graeme Parton

Graeme has experience creating content for online sources and for the radio, and at university he studied Multimedia Journalism.