Let's Talk Tech
The Pixel 3a is CRAZY overkill for just covering the basics, but that seems to be the main takeaway from a lot of reviewers. So, I’m genuinely asking, what do you do on your phone? What would legit stop you from picking up a less expensive device? Let’s chat! Continue reading “What stops YOU from using the Google Pixel 3a?”
Before we get into this, I’d like you to check something on your phone. Look through your app drawer. Look up your battery stats. If you use any kind of Digital Wellbeing tracking, look at the list of services used. I’d like you to look up what apps and services really get used on your phone. I’ll come back to this, but you probably already know where I’m going after reading the title of this editorial.
In 2016 I was in Germany covering IFA with Jaime for Pocketnow. We had just finished a Huawei presser, the company showing off a new pair of premium mid-range phones. This was a bit confusing between all the various lines of Huawei and Honor gear, but they sent us away with a Nova and a Nova Plus to demo and review.
I was extremely skeptical. This phone was going to be expensive for its internals, starting at €400. Pricing it above my precious Honor 8 felt “wrong”. I am a professional though, so I popped the smaller Nova out of its box, gave Jaime the larger phone, and we shot a first impressions video from our hotel.
Reading the specs, being concerned about price, and then using the phone, those concerns slowly evaporated. Continue reading “Pixel 3a doesn’t just cover the basics: Your tech elitism costs you cash”
Is Samsung PowerShare a gimmick? Are you using reverse wireless charging on your Samsung or Huawei? Should you be taxing your phone battery to charge other gadgets? Let’s chat about gimmicks, deal breakers, and getting what we pay for.
When a phone has a feature that consumers might not use often, we call it a gimmick, and then act like it’s a travesty people are paying for something they might not use. How much is wireless charging “peace of mind” worth to a phone’s bottom line?
Continue reading “Reverse Wireless Charging is a Silly Gimmick”
Looks like we needed something to be outraged about.
A flurry of stories have been published, claiming deceit on the part of OnePlus. The zoom on the OnePlus 7 Pro camera is a LIE! It’s NOT really a 3X zoom! PITCHFORKS! TORCHES!
Except it is. It’s exactly what OnePlus advertised it to be. In fact, it’s a little better than what they advertised. You get a little more than what they listed on the spec sheet. The main thing OnePlus is guilty of is a clumsy execution, which we shouldn’t be too surprised about. This company is regularly “charmingly clumsy”.
We’ve got a lot to unpack here.
I like to check in with my Wife as a barometer for where “general” consumers might be when it comes to new gadgets. She currently uses a work issued iPhone 8 (which she asked for specifically as she wanted a smaller phone with TouchID), and she still has not given back my LG G7 after breaking her previous phone.
Typically when she buys her own phones, she’s leaned towards the entry level. She was excited by her Alcatel Idol 3, where she got a small phone, with stereo speakers, for less than it cost to replace the screen on her cracked Galaxy S5.
After that she got a Moto G5, where she was stoked to have a metal backed phone for cheap. Both the Idol and the Moto succumbed to the destructive environment of her purse, so she’s “borrowing” my G7, in a rugged armor case.
It’s doing OK…
So, I was curious what she would think about the OnePlus 7 Pro. No prep. No coaching. Just put the phone in her hand, and see how she would react.
Unsurprisingly, she kept it pretty practical. Continue reading “Mrs. GadgetGuy’s First Reaction to the OnePlus 7 Pro, Written as a One-Act Play!”
#TeamPixel sent over a #GiftFromGoogle! Here’s why I’m excited about the Pixel3a! Let’s chat real quick, since I’ve only had the phone out of the box for about ten minutes! Reviews and analysis to come!
Continue reading “I’m excited for Pixel 3a BECAUSE it’s not a phone for me!”
Better late than never DXO?
The V40 has been ranked and scored at DXO, and the results aren’t what LG fans might have been hoping for. A combined score of 93 places the V40 well outside the top ten list of current phones. It’s just above an iPhone 8, and just below a Note 8 in DXO’s ranking.
LG fans are understandably “not thrilled” with this conclusion, especially for how long the phone has been out. Sort of adding an insult to the injury of delaying their review this long.
The thing is, based on the way DXO shoots and analyzes image quality, they’re not wrong. The DXO testing suite is very consistent.
They just might not test for what you use…
Continue reading “A response to the DXO review of the LG V40: They’re not wrong, but…”
LG G8 vs Galaxy S10? It’s been said that there’s no competition, but that requires someone to completely ignore all the things LG does well. It CAN be OK for a manufacturer to focus on different features than what a more popular manufacturer chooses to include (or exclude). Let’s have a quick chat about tech reviewing on YouTube, and compare two awesome smartphones. Because apparently, only popular YouTubers can recommend popular phones. That’s not very fun…
Continue reading “LG G8 is PERFECT competition for the Galaxy S10 (Suggesting Otherwise is Silly)”