I recently purchased a Nexus 5 from Google. I had a small script notify me when the red version came in stock on their website, so I was able to grab one before they sold out again. The site said it would be 2-3 weeks before shipping, so I was rather surprised to see that it shipped out that day. A little bit after it arrived, I installed CyanogenMod and also got it to dual boot Ubuntu Touch.
I think Ubuntu Touch shows potential, but I have not been very impressed with it so far. The edge navigation is an interesting solution to navigation, and I like how it has been implemented. However, other aspects of navigation are not very intuitive. For example, there are settings icons at the top of the screen. To access each setting (wifi, volume, etc) you must swipe down from that icon, or once you start to swipe down, swipe to the left or right to move to that particular setting. Instead of having one menu with all settings accessible, Ubuntu Touch puts each setting on its own menu so it is a lot more difficult to access your settings quickly.
Another issue I have with Ubuntu Touch is its reliance on html for apps. While this could allow developers to create apps much quicker, they do not seem as fluid. The biggest issue however is the lack of native apps that aren’t simply a mobile web version of a website. For example, the Gmail and Facebook apps that come with Ubuntu Touch are simply the web versions of their respective sites. Hopefully as development continues and this OS gains popularity, better apps will be created. I do worry though that without good stock apps, people will not want to start using Ubuntu Touch.
I’ve been impressed with CyanogenMod, especially the privacy controls it offers. Unlike iOS, when you install apps from the Play Store, you cannot choose what the app can access. CyanogenMod fixes this with Privacy Guard, which let’s you decide what each app can access.
Overall I really like the open nature of Android that made rooting/installing CyanogenMod and Ubuntu Touch very easy.