NEXUS 6

THE GOOD The Google Nexus 6 has a razor-sharp and expansive display, a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 805 processor, the latest Lollipop OS and an OIS-equipped camera that takes great outdoor photos.

THE BAD The Nexus is heavier and wider than most big smartphones, and its call volume is low on audio speaker. And it's the most expensive Nexus yet.

THE BOTTOM LINE Although the Nexus 6 trails the slimmer (500 euros)in processor performance and native productivity features, it's still the most powerful pure Android handset available and the largest Nexus yet.

The first plus-size smartphone from Google, the Nexus 6 isn't a simple upgrade from the Nexus 5. And when Dave Burke, the company's VP of engineering, first handed us the 6-inch handset, he encouraged us to ask not, "What is the right size for a phone?" but, "What is the right size of a pocket Internet device?"

It was a clever comment on his part, for if you think of the Motorola-made Nexus 6 in those terms -- as a do-anything-and-everything tablet replacement -- then it's a fantastic device. With a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 805 processor, a gorgeous quad HD display, a nimble camera that can take ultrasharp photos, and that large screen, the Nexus 6 gives you more room for things you really do on a smartphone, mainly checking email, browsing the Web, watching movies and taking pictures.

That said, even as other manufacturers rush to build larger phones, the jump to the Nexus 6 is a debatable move on Google's part. Size does matter, and by breaking from companies like Apple and Samsung that make both phone and phablet models of what is essentially the same handset, Google risks alienating users who consider it too big (it's heavier and wider than other big smartphones) or who don't want to pay the $650-plus premium to buy it.

For those more keen on going small, there are plenty other options on the market, such as the also pure-Android Motorola Moto X. But for anyone looking for a big-screen handset with an authentic form of the new Lollipop OS, the Nexus 6 is the smartphone you want. It performs well and it has all that you'd expect from the Nexus family. If you want to go big and don't need stock Android, though, we give the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 the edge. It's just as powerful (if not more so), it has more productivity features like the super-handy S Pen, and its design better handles the large size.