Category: Articles

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‘Knives Out’ and Playing by Apple’s Rules

Rian Johnson is one of my favorite current filmmakers. If his style could be summed up in a sentence, Johnson excels at deconstructing popular genres.

Want a Film Noir? He’ll set the heightened drama of a noir in high school, where kids are naturally more dramatic.

The Brothers Bloom is a fresh twist on a caper film. Looper tweaks the standard tropes of Time Cop-style time travel movies.

He’s at his best when he can take a format we’re familiar with, maybe even tired of, and he’s able to throw a tiny wrench into the machine we understand.

Even his Star Wars entry is less a good Star Wars film, and more a commentary on the most popular tropes of Star Wars films. It’s a fascinating examination of a beloved franchise, even if it doesn’t quite work as an episode of the series.

Recently we saw a handful of stories relating Rian Johnson’s experiences in using Apple branded products in his films, specifically how it impacts the story for his “whodunnit” mystery comedy Knives Out.

[SPOILER WARNING: if you haven’t seen the movie yet, there will be discussion which will totally wreck some of the most fun reveals of the movie.] Continue reading “‘Knives Out’ and Playing by Apple’s Rules”

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Microsoft Office and the Future of Dual Screen Phones

Microsoft has been busy.

Office recently got an update where it combined multiple apps into one Office platform. It’s a handy upgrade, not having to swap apps to look through documents or reference spreadsheets.

On top of that, we know Microsoft is working aggressively on future hardware form factors, with a particular focus on dual screen devices.

The platform which runs the service seems less important to Microsoft than whether people are using their services. When a dual screen Surface phone arrives, it’ll run Android.

Microsoft’s services need to be ready to go at launch though. If an expensive gadget sporting the Surface brand stumbles on core Microsoft services, it’ll be an embarrassing misstep for a company which has struggled with their mobile strategy since the rise of the iPhone.

Thankfully, folks don’t need to wait for the Surface Duo launch to get a taste of Microsoft’s dual screen strategy. Current dual screen devices are ready to go. Continue reading “Microsoft Office and the Future of Dual Screen Phones”

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Samsung Galaxy S20: What is a reviewer’s responsibility?

There’s a minor controversy brewing around the Galaxy S20. I’ve been asked to comment on the issue, and my feelings on this topic are a little messy.

Samsung’s newest phones are apparently plagued with a few issues. While no one would argue against the new S20 series as powerful options in the Android ecosystem, camera gremlins are souring the experience for early reviewers. Some encountering an experience struggling to live up to inflating price tags.

Techies online are debating how seriously these camera gremlins should be factored into the conclusions of their reviews. It’s very likely many of these issues can be fixed with some software patches, and there’s a decently high probability a day one patch could be pushed to consumers.

Should a reviewer review the phone as it was sent to them under embargo? Should a reviewer anticipate what the phone MIGHT be after some polish? Should a reviewer hold a review to see if Samsung delivers the promised improvements?

How do I feel about this issue?

The short answer, I think reviewers should stop playing Samsung’s media circus game.

The long answer is, well, longer… Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy S20: What is a reviewer’s responsibility?”

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UAG Monarch Case for the Pixel 4 XL: When your fabric case gets gross…

Phone design is irrelevant. There. I said it.

When factoring in minute differences between glass on glass sandwich gadgets, a fraction of a millimeter of bezel, or an edge of a sidewall taper, manufacturers have largely agreed on what a modern smartphone should resemble.

That aesthetic is incomplete.

We want a daily driver phone, able to survive lifestyle abuse. To make our phone functionally usable in the real world, without having to baby it, you have to “finish” the phone hardware on your own dime.

You gotta slap a case on it. Continue reading “UAG Monarch Case for the Pixel 4 XL: When your fabric case gets gross…”

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Android 10 on the Sony XPERIA 5: Gestures for a Skinny Phone?

2019 was a strong year for Sony hardware. The Xperia 1 and Xperia 5 showed off a new skinny form factor, a bold new design which still echoed the hard-edged rectangular DNA of classic Xperias. I was very taken with this approach in my X5 review.

The other half of the phone review equation though, how well has the manufacturer updated the software for the phone?

Pretty darn well. Continue reading “Android 10 on the Sony XPERIA 5: Gestures for a Skinny Phone?”

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Cheap Phones Won Christmas 2019 -or- Consumer Don’t Listen to Tech Reviewers

We’re looking at an analyst report, so it goes without saying that these numbers should be taken with a fairly large rock of salt. That said, this report reinforces a handful of other sales reports and anecdotal examinations of the mobile market. Manufacturers go to great lengths to hide actual sales data these days. Shareholders don’t seem much interested in facts, as much as they are the perception of the brand, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t dig a little deeper.

Flurry Analytics published a report on device activations in North America over the month of December, focusing on the lead up to Christmas day, and how those activations changed from Christmas to New Years.

Out of all the individual brands sold in this region, it’s not too surprising that Apple topped the charts. Overall, Android outsold iOS, but only one company makes iPhones. Apple significantly outsold every other phone manufacturer this year.

What is surprising is the breakdown on the most popular iPhones activated over the holidays. Continue reading “Cheap Phones Won Christmas 2019 -or- Consumer Don’t Listen to Tech Reviewers”

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OnePlus 6 on Android 10: A High Water Mark

The OnePlus 6 is one of my favorite phones from 2018 to revisit. The last offering from OnePlus with a rear fingerprint sensor and a headphone jack, this phone STRONGLY tested my theory on waiting for the “T” version.

The OnePlus 6T was an exciting phone. It came in a gorgeous purple shell. It got a carrier deal with T-Mobile. However, the farther we get from 2018, the OnePlus 6 is the phone I hold closer for its practicality.

Over a year from its initial launch, how well is OnePlus keeping up with support for the 6? Pretty stinking well…

Continue reading “OnePlus 6 on Android 10: A High Water Mark”

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Nokia 9 PureView on Android 10: A Beautiful, Wonderful, Mess…

The Nokia 9 has been updated to Android 10, but that’s only a small part of this long-term review story.

I tend to slow-play my reviews. I don’t think you can really share the experience of using a smartphone when you’ve only used it on pre-release software a week before the phone is officially announced. Some manufacturers update faster than others.

I gave the Nokia 9 a little extra leeway because of the crazy camera experiment on the back of the phone. Getting the software right for that much hardware is a difficult challenge.

From March to December, I think we’ve given Nokia a fair window of software support. Continue reading “Nokia 9 PureView on Android 10: A Beautiful, Wonderful, Mess…”

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