The Nexus 5 was an exceptionally good deal, put on the market by google at a good price to make sure that stock Android was in widespread use, since they need t

The Nexus 5 was an exceptionally good deal, put on the market by google at a good price to make sure that stock Android was in widespread use, since they need to test it. There are other reasons too. These days even cheaper option are available that are almost as good (Moto E, I think), because the competition demanded it. And yeah, it's a way better bet than an iPad in every sense except maybe screen size.