Let's Talk Tech
Playing with phones like the 635, it further reinforces my belief that the flagship phone market is maturing and plateauing. The exciting growth for manufacturers will be at the entry level. This little Lumia shows us how far we can stretch a dollar with few compromises. Let’s take a look!
I was a really big fan of Kodak’s Pixpro SP1 Action Camera, and JK Imaging is adding to the line up with a new action camera capable of shooting panoramic video! Let’s take a look at a little adventure cam which captures a full 360 degree view of your exploits!
UPDATED! Youtube 360 Degree VR Playback!
See more samples from the Kodak Pixpro SP360!
More info on the Kodak Pixpro SP360.
It’s rare that I find an app which instantly becomes a “must download” service for my phone. Providing a one-stop shop for all of my vehicle mileage and maintenance tracking, Dash became a mandatory service for me after about two days of use.
Connecting to your car’s computer via a Bluetooth OBDII adapter, and utilizing the sensors in your phone, Dash provides Fitbit style tracking and alerts. It aims to make you a better driver, and hopefully that will save you money in fuel and maintenance costs.
Let’s check out all the features on tap in this free app!
The OBDII Bluetooth car computer adapter I used in this video.
More info on the Dash app and service at: https://dash.by/
Dash in the Google Play App store.
Dash in the iTunes App Store.
The cameras found on Nokia flagship phones are certainly formidable, but no gadget is perfect, and there’s ALWAYS room for improvement.
Here’s how I (and others who have commented on this blog) would tinker with Nokia’s camera software.
We recently covered the news that California will become the second state to mandate a smartphone kill switch on all new smartphones sold after July 1, 2015.
Of course, that’s almost a year away, and for you folks using an Android here’s how you can better protect your phone or tablet today!
I almost always have either a pocket knife or a tool kit on me, and now this multi-tool case from IN1 will make sure I’m never left high and dry for some tweezers or a pen! This might just be the perfect phone case for former Boy Scouts. Let’s take a look!
[Tony is a retired firefighter, and was kind enough to share his early impressions of his first Android phone, a Kyocera Brigadier on Verizon Wireless.]
How Do You Like the Build Quality?
It’s big and clunky. It reminds me of old school BlackBerry phones. I had a BB 8700 that could take a hit. My more recent Torch, not as much. The Brigadier feels more noticeably more durable. For someone like me who occasionally tests the ballistic quality of hardware, this is the perfect device for me.
From a regular perspective. The sound is good, the picture is good. I’ve watched video on the (720p) screen. I don’t play games, so I don’t know if it’ll be good for that.
Call quality is good. I had no idea what the term “tissue conduction” meant, but the ear piece is really loud and it’s easy to hear callers.
[The Brigadier screen is actually a large bone conduction surface allowing users to hear calls in loud environments and with ear plugs.]
I’m still unsure about battery life. It’s a little too early to tell if it’ll compare to my BB. My only complaint there is that it does have a built-in internal battery. I liked being able to replace the battery on my Torch. I would carry extras when I knew I was going to be away from a power source. I did buy a portable external battery for the Kyocera, so we’ll see if that is equally practical.
And the Sapphire Screen?
There is a video of a person trying to scratch the screen with a penknife to no avail. I don’t intend to do that on purpose.
In switching to the Brigadier, you also swapped carriers, how has that transition been?
I switched from ATT to Verizon. Verizon has great coverage but I lack 4G LTE coverage inside our condo. It literally works 10’ outside my door. Go figure. What I like about Verizon other than its coverage is that I can turn off that annoying message that tells people to wait for the tone. Like anyone whose been alive during the last 40 years wouldn’t know that. I hate wasting my time and others and all that message did was chew up air time.
Are there Android replacements for your favorite BB features?
One thing I miss from my BB is the autotext feature. I liked the ability to type in an acronym and have it expand to the whole word. I didn’t know that on Android those features aren’t in the “OS” but in the keyboard app. I didn’t realize I had more than one keyboard until yesterday. I just started playing with Google Keyboard which can do something similar for shortcut text, but it’s not the same as the BB.
My wife also replaced her BB with a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini. It feels like it would snap in a strong wind, but it’s a bit more portable by comparison. We are now officially a BB free household. Too bad, they’ve had some good products over the years but seem to have missed the boat on the smartphone market.
After test driving a Nokia, I knew I was going to get an Android. I use a lot of Google services for contacts, mail, and calendar. I already use Google Drive. I bought extra capacity. It works great, and it’s saved us a lot of grief for syncing info.
Thank you Tony for taking the time to share your experiences!
Time for another LOOTCRATE!!! The Villains Crate last month was a hit, and the only follow up which makes sense is to throw some heroes our way! Let’s see what’s inside!
Save 10% on a Loot Crate by using promo code “SGLOOT” at checkout!