Yup, my transaction went very smooth this time around.

Yup, my transaction went very smooth this time around.

Before we go any further today, we do need to mention just how smooth Thursday’s launch of the Nexus 5 appeared to go from a retail standpoint. Google Play appeared to stand up to the nerd crush. Google Wallet — which in the past has been the bottleneck — handled the transactions as well as we could expect.
And phones are already shipping.
So kudos to the men…

How the Nexus 5 Compares to Its Toughest Smartphone Competition

Finally, the long-awaited Nexus 5 has arrived in the form of 5 inches of pure, unfiltered Android just the way Google always intended. That all sounds nice, but as Google’s flagship response to other big dogs like the iPhone 5S and Lumia 1020, does the refreshed Nexus have the specs to keep up with the competition (at least one paper)? We put together the comparison charts below to find out.

Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 will all get Android 4.4 KitKat

Yeah, yeah. The new Nexus 5 is the first with Android 4.4. But if you’re sitting on one of those other Nexus devices — as in 2012’s Nexus 4 and Nexus 10, and the Nexus 7 (we presume both the 2012 and 2013 versions of it), know this: You’ll be getting KitKat in the coming weeks as well.
In addition, the Google Play Edition Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One also will be…

Awesome shot but what happened to the camera man!?

Awesome shot but what happened to the camera man!?

So this is completely terrifying. In a you will probably pee a little bit as you watch this GIF kind of way. In a holy crap wait a minute this isn’t a video game right kind of way. No, no it is not. This is what it looks like to take a direct hit from a tank shell in real life. You can see it blast out of the barrel and head straight for your face.

Make sure you claim your custom G+ URLs

Make sure you claim your custom G+ URLs

google.com/+YourNameHere
Previously only available to a select few verified accounts, Google is to expand the availability of Google+ custom URLs this week. Custom URLs give you an easy way to link friends and followers to your Google+ page, for example you’ll find Android Central at google.com/+androidcentral.
There are a few (easy) hoops to jump through before claiming your URL…