Let's Talk Tech
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!
Whelp. It’s been four months with HTC’s newest flagship, and we’ve just received official word that there will be a Windows Phone variant of the One soon out.
The M7 was my favorite Android of last year. Has the M8 lived up to the expectations set by its predecessor? Let’s take a look!
Related:
M8 vs M7 Speaker Comparison
M8 vs GS5 Photo Comparison
M8 vs GS5 Video Comparison
Slickwraps Real Cork Skin for the HTC M8
Shop the HTC One M8 on Amazon to support this channel!
As part of my Birthday WEEK celebrations, I finally got to take a tour of the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA. For the trek I paired a PhotoJoJo Wide Angle Smartphone Lens with my Lumia 1020, and here are the results!
We want protection. We want style.
Ballistic is taking a crack at satisfying both of those desires with their new Tungsten Slim case for the iPhone 5 and 5S. Let’s take a look!
More info on Ballistic Cases.
Shop the Tungsten Slim at Best Buy.