To borrow a football analogy, the new Nexus 6 is like the mobile world's fullback: It's big, heavy, ridiculously powerful and charges faster than you'd imagine. But like fullbacks, the beastly Nexus 6 is best only for specific use cases, and seeing it in action in the real world is likely to be rare.

Design

As the iPhone 6 Plus is to the iPhone 6, the Motorola-built Nexus 6 is like a blown-up version of the Moto X (2014). It shares a lot of design elements with its more pocket-able cousin, while lacking some of the Moto X's specifics, like back-panel customizability.

But of course, the Nexus 6 is bigger -- way bigger.

(Photo : Robert Schoon) Google's Nexus 6 looks like a blown-up version of the Moto X 2014, but without the customization options

Unlike the iPhone 6 Plus, the Nexus 6 is true to its name with what amounts to basically a 6-inch (5.96 inches) screen. That also translates into the Nexus 6 being taller, wider, thicker and heavier than its chief phablet competitors, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Motorola shed some weight by using plastic, but unlike others' attempts at "premium plastic," the Nexus 6's build material is nicely inconspicuous and feels fine. If you're already used to large phones built for a "premium feel," (i.e., built with aluminum bodies like the HTC One M8) the weight -- at about 6.5 oz. -- probably won't phase you.

But the bulk of this phablet might. With dimensions of 6.27 x 3.27 x 0.40 inches, the Nexus 6 is bigger in every measure than the iPhone 6 Plus and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.

You'll notice how wide this device is, but most noticeable is the Nexus 6's thickness, which is about 20 percent bulkier than the Note 4 and over a third as thick as Apple's phablet. That said, Google's use of virtual buttons at the bottom of the screen is a great space-saver when it comes to the height of the Nexus 6, which is comparable to the iPhone 6 Plus -- and with improvements that come with Android Lollipop, I'm betting you won't miss physical buttons at the bottom, if you notice their absence at all.  

The Nexus 6's kinship with the Moto X is mostly a good thing. Like the Moto X, the Nexus 6 has a curved back that tapers on the sides, so its maximum thickness isn't as awkward in use as you might imagine.

For another example, the Nexus 6 also has stereo speakers on the front. These speakers are very powerful and make a great feature for such a large-screen device -- whose best use case is standalone multimedia playback and gaming.

Also like the Moto X, the Nexus 6 comes with both the volume rocker and standby buttons on the right side, conveniently placed for quick access, while keeping enough distance between the two that you won't confuse one for the other. Also there's Motorola's "M" branding divot, which seems intended for your pointer finger when you're talking on the phone -- though I found myself holding the device higher up, resting my finger on the similarly depressed camera sensor, which is obviously a bit problematic.

One aspect where the Nexus 6 improves upon the Moto X is the screen. Besides obviously being large enough to truly work as a small tablet, the Nexus 6's screen is embedded better -- flush with the rest of the device, rather than feeling like its Gorilla Glass 3 is a permanent thick protective sticker, the way it does on the second-gen. Moto X.

Hardware Specs and Performance

For all the heavy bulk (and price) of this phablet, you certainly won't miss out on performance or features. The Nexus 6 is built to last, with top-of-the-line hardware that makes app performance as snappy as they come.

Like Samsung's own super-powered Galaxy Note 4, the Nexus 6 comes with a quad-core Snapdragon 805 clocked at 2.7GHz with 3GB of RAM and an Adreno 420 GPU.

Unsurprisingly, various benchmarks alternately place the Note 4 and Nexus 6 at the top, but overall, they're pretty neck and neck. However, in practice, while the Note 4 had absolutely no problem handling any task at speed, I found the Nexus 6 to at least feel snappier -- perhaps because of the pure Android Lollipop as the latter's UI.

Also like the Note 4, the Nexus 6 comes with a 1440 x 2560p (2K) screen resolution. Given the Note 4's slightly smaller screen size, it wins out on resolution, but not by a difference that will be noticeable. I have to say that the Nexus 6's screen is a little distractingly reflective (if you have a light source behind you while watching a movie, for example) but because it's an AMOLED screen, you won't have trouble seeing the screen in bright ambient lighting conditions.

The Nexus 6 and Note 4 also have the same size battery, at 3220 mAh. But while the Note 4 stretches its battery with Ultra Powersaving, you'll probably get a full day, and nothing more, out of the Nexus 6. And it's not removable, as Samsung's is.

Luckily, the Nexus 6 comes with QuickCharge 2.0 by Qualcomm, which will blast about six hours of battery life into your dying device in less than half an hour, and a full charge if you give it about an hour more. This requires a special wall plug that comes with the device, so plan on that being your on-the-go charger and using an old generic microUSB charger at home.

Like other Motorola products, the Nexus 6 works with Qi wireless induction charging, if you have the extra cash for the base station but don't have the extra two seconds to plug a phone in.

The camera and storage on the Nexus 6 is where Samsung and Motorola's phablets diverge. The Nexus 6's camera is middle-of-the-road, both in default software and hardware specs. It clocks in at 13 megapixels, which is fine but not amazing, and its default Android camera app is good enough -- while lacking the refinements and slew of extra options that shutterbugs have likely come to expect.

But when it comes to smartphone cameras these days, middle-of-the-road is more than good enough for the average user. I found it, like the rest of my Nexus 6 experience, to be snappy (excuse the pun), and felt a little quicker and more responsive than other devices like the Nokia 830, Galaxy S5 and Note 4, when it came to focusing and grabbing a quick photo. And the photos turned out just fine -- not outstanding -- but worthy of any average Instagram feed.

Photography nuts will want to look elsewhere than the Nexus 6 for another important reason, and this is one that affects the "future proof-ness" of this expensive phablet. Like the Nexus 5 before it, Google has opted out of a microSD card slot. Instead, you have the option of 32GB or 64GB, and that's it for physical storage.

This could be a problem for a device that's so obviously designed for movie watching and gaming as the Nexus 6. If I were investing in this device, I would immediately opt for the 64GB option and hope that cloud storage continues to get cheaper and easier to use -- because a year in, I can't see even 64GB being adequate.

Software / User Interface

Of course, Google launched its redesigned Android 5.0 Lollipop on the Nexus 6 and its tablet counterpart, the Nexus 9. Check back here for a hands-on review dedicated only to Android Lollipop, but suffice it to say, it comes with a lot of improvements.

The most stand-out features of Android Lollipop on the Nexus 6 include its sprightly animations, redesigned core Google apps (especially helpful for this large device) and revamped notifications system.

The "Material Design" floating quick button, for example, makes it loads more convenient to quickly compose an email in Gmail or get driving directions in Maps.

Meanwhile, notifications appear on the lockscreen, and on the Nexus 6 are helpfully placed in the center of the screen, rather than at the top, for easy access with one hand. Managing notifications is a lot better, with filters and presets all in one place. Chromecast is built-in, with excellent screen mirroring that makes Lollipop a real challenge to the currently meandering rival that is Apple TV's and AirPlay. 

Finally, some of the little things are much better, like the keyboard. For background, I hate touchscreen keyboards. I'm not good at them and always feel frustrated trying to type out anything beyond a few words on them -- one reason why I wished ASUS's Padfone X had fulfilled its hybrid promise. But with two hands (most everything you do on the Nexus 6 will require two hands), this keyboard is the best touchscreen entry system I've ever used.

Still, some things in Lollipop seem transitional at best, if not bloatware-worthy. For example, the default Email application immediately redirects you to Gmail. Why even have it? Similarly, Messages is extraneous Hangouts with its new SMS capabilities -- not to mention the myriad other messaging apps you're likely to use instead of it. Like the whole Gmail vs Inbox thing, Google needs to make some decisions and do some app culling.

Price, Availability and Final Thoughts

Here's the big heartbreaker for Nexus fans -- many of whom might be the no-contract set who loved the previous two Google smartphones because they were so relatively cheap unlocked: Without a contract, it costs $650 retail for the 32GB version.

With a 2-year contract from AT&T, Sprint or U.S. Cellular, it'll cost anywhere from $200 to $250. It's also available for T-Mobile's full-price installment plan, but currently Verizon won't have it.

The hefty investment (compared to the $350 - $400 price range of a new Nexus 5, for example) makes the Nexus 6 a hard phablet to recommend to just anyone. For example, if you're not sure about large devices (definitely get your hands on any phablet in stores before making that decision), it's probably not for you, since it's one of the largest smartphones, if not the largest smartphone, I have ever used.

Alternately, if you're okay with huge screens, prefer Android but need a phablet for business and productivity, you probably want to go with the Galaxy Note 4, or at least check it out before making any commitment.

But if you love gaming and watching movies without headphones, huge screens and being first in line for the latest Android updates, the Nexus 6 is hard to beat.

And just think: spending so much cash on it will free up some pocket space for this monster.