A place to discuss the latest developments in the world of technology.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand."
-- Albert Einstein
I've never been an earlier adopter of the "latest and greatest" mobile technology.
I didn't get my first smart phone until 2009, about a year and a half after I started developing analytics for smart phone applications. For development I was using a T-Mobile G1 (left). The trackball was ridiculous but fun.
My first smart phone was an iPhone.
When the early adopters ditched iOS and moved to Android I wasn't surprised. The advantages of tethering, custom roms/launchers, and the open file system were a no brainer. iPhones were for those who wanted a phone that "just worked" (although reception on AT&T was really rather bad).
In 2010 tablets were the thing, and for once I was an early adopter. At the the Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch party I played a game with an accelerometer mirroring its output to a 72 inch monitor - I wanted one instantly.
Critics can make fun of people who fetishize and obsess over phone design ("the bezels!", "the weight!", "the camera!", "the feel in the hand!", etc.) but in that moment - I understood. When a device exceeds your expectations and fires your imagination it doesn't matter how much is really just hype - you want it, and that's it.
My immediate need was a portable device with an HDMI out to a projector for the roof of my apartment.
So, Android entered my life. Cyanogen quickly followed (right).
When my first iPhone met a watery death I immediately got a new one and reveled in its 4.7 inch screen. I knew at the time that I was burying my head in the sand, but due to habit and pure laziness dealing with a switch to Android was not an option.
As with most users who made the switch from iOS to Android, the closed nature of Apple's file system (and iTunes) was the death knell. But I waited...for a really, really, really, long time. I relied on a laptop and an iPhone, but I knew at some point I'd switch to Android. The "throw it and see what sticks" initial experiments that were the G1 and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 were clues as to how fast Android was expanding.
The introduction of the Moto G5+ and other good mid-level Android phones like the Honor 6X, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, and the OnePlus 3/t is sort of like a Windows 95 moment for smart phones. Comparatively inexpensive and fully capable Android phones have hit the main stream.
The Moto G5+
It's got a decent processor that can manage power consumption pretty well, and it's sold at most major retail outlets in the U.S. It's compatible with all major US carriers and there's a variant for every geographical area (North America, Asia, South America, Europe). Lenovo rolled this out with completely different specs for each market. Some have NFC, some don't. Some have a compass, some don't. Some have 2gb, 3gb, or 4gb versions. It all depends on where you live and which version you buy. Lenovo also released the phone's kernel so custom ROM developers can do their thing.
Basically it's a 2015 flagship phone for $300 (U.S.). Amazon jumped on board with a discounted version featuring ads (weirdly it's now the same price without ads). Amazon isn't dumb and after the Fire Phone's failure they wanted in on the next mass seller in mobile tech.
What's impressive is that ARM processors, coupled with the latest version of Android, have reached a level of smoothness that make both fade into the background. The Moto G5+ has a Snap Dragon 625 chip - a mid-level processor that pales in comparison with an 820 or 821. The thing is, no one cares. Once Windows 95 and Intel processors reached the sweet spot in terms of price and basic usability they became the universally accepted baseline for what a computer should be. I think we've reached that point with phones running on ARM chips with the latest version of Android. The Moto G5+ comes in two flavors in the US - a slightly hobbled version with 2gb ram and 32gb of storage and a 4gb version with 64gb. It can run the most demanding apps (games) and its UI is "buttery smooth". It quick charges and battery life provides around 6 hours of screen on time. The Android version used by Lenovo is almost pure stock, but the additions are actually that - additions that add to the user experience instead of detract from it (Touchwiz, I'm looking at you) and there's almost no bloatware. While the resolution is only 1080p it's good enough for most people. It's 5.2 inch screen is a fine, but the bezels are pretty big - it's basically a bit smaller than a Samsung Note 5 or 6 but not by much.
The one unique addition to Android is the use of the fingerprint scanner as a track pad. When enabled a swipe left takes you back (context sensitive to the application), a swipe right displays all running apps, a tap takes you home. Android 7 introduced a split screen mode. This seemingly simple change (on Lenovo's part) and innovation (on Google's part) enables the Moto 5g+ to eliminate the soft "Back", "Home", and "Recents" buttons which frees screen space and allows the use of two apps at the same time. The fingerprint scanner is the only hardware input on the face of the device.
In 2017 this isn't really innovative stuff. For years power uses have been able to do all of the above - but now it's cheap, readily available, and works with almost all carriers regardless of where you are in the world. Samsung and Apple have been charging a large premium for their flagship phones for years, but that time is (seemingly) about to end.
Within a year or two the tech in the G5+ will be available for far less than $300. It's the reverse of "dumbing down" - it's "dumbing up". The camera isn't the greatest and the resolution isn't on par with the Galaxy S8 or S8+ but for $300 the Moto G5+ "just works" and it works very well.
Mid-level Android Phones are (pretty) Awesome
I've never been an earlier adopter of the "latest and greatest" mobile technology.
My first smart phone was an iPhone.
When the early adopters ditched iOS and moved to Android I wasn't surprised. The advantages of tethering, custom roms/launchers, and the open file system were a no brainer. iPhones were for those who wanted a phone that "just worked" (although reception on AT&T was really rather bad).
In 2010 tablets were the thing, and for once I was an early adopter. At the the Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch party I played a game with an accelerometer mirroring its output to a 72 inch monitor - I wanted one instantly.
Critics can make fun of people who fetishize and obsess over phone design ("the bezels!", "the weight!", "the camera!", "the feel in the hand!", etc.) but in that moment - I understood. When a device exceeds your expectations and fires your imagination it doesn't matter how much is really just hype - you want it, and that's it.
My immediate need was a portable device with an HDMI out to a projector for the roof of my apartment.
So, Android entered my life. Cyanogen quickly followed (right).
When my first iPhone met a watery death I immediately got a new one and reveled in its 4.7 inch screen. I knew at the time that I was burying my head in the sand, but due to habit and pure laziness dealing with a switch to Android was not an option.
As with most users who made the switch from iOS to Android, the closed nature of Apple's file system (and iTunes) was the death knell. But I waited...for a really, really, really, long time. I relied on a laptop and an iPhone, but I knew at some point I'd switch to Android. The "throw it and see what sticks" initial experiments that were the G1 and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 were clues as to how fast Android was expanding.
The introduction of the Moto G5+ and other good mid-level Android phones like the Honor 6X, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, and the OnePlus 3/t is sort of like a Windows 95 moment for smart phones. Comparatively inexpensive and fully capable Android phones have hit the main stream.
The Moto G5+
It's got a decent processor that can manage power consumption pretty well, and it's sold at most major retail outlets in the U.S. It's compatible with all major US carriers and there's a variant for every geographical area (North America, Asia, South America, Europe). Lenovo rolled this out with completely different specs for each market. Some have NFC, some don't. Some have a compass, some don't. Some have 2gb, 3gb, or 4gb versions. It all depends on where you live and which version you buy. Lenovo also released the phone's kernel so custom ROM developers can do their thing.
Basically it's a 2015 flagship phone for $300 (U.S.). Amazon jumped on board with a discounted version featuring ads (weirdly it's now the same price without ads). Amazon isn't dumb and after the Fire Phone's failure they wanted in on the next mass seller in mobile tech.
What's impressive is that ARM processors, coupled with the latest version of Android, have reached a level of smoothness that make both fade into the background. The Moto G5+ has a Snap Dragon 625 chip - a mid-level processor that pales in comparison with an 820 or 821. The thing is, no one cares. Once Windows 95 and Intel processors reached the sweet spot in terms of price and basic usability they became the universally accepted baseline for what a computer should be.
I think we've reached that point with phones running on ARM chips with the latest version of Android. The Moto G5+ comes in two flavors in the US - a slightly hobbled version with 2gb ram and 32gb of storage and a 4gb version with 64gb. It can run the most demanding apps (games) and its UI is "buttery smooth". It quick charges and battery life provides around 6 hours of screen on time. The Android version used by Lenovo is almost pure stock, but the additions are actually that - additions that add to the user experience instead of detract from it (Touchwiz, I'm looking at you) and there's almost no bloatware. While the resolution is only 1080p it's good enough for most people. It's 5.2 inch screen is a fine, but the bezels are pretty big - it's basically a bit smaller than a Samsung Note 5 or 6 but not by much.
The one unique addition to Android is the use of the fingerprint scanner as a track pad. When enabled a swipe left takes you back (context sensitive to the application), a swipe right displays all running apps, a tap takes you home. Android 7 introduced a split screen mode. This seemingly simple change (on Lenovo's part) and innovation (on Google's part) enables the Moto 5g+ to eliminate the soft "Back", "Home", and "Recents" buttons which frees screen space and allows the use of two apps at the same time. The fingerprint scanner is the only hardware input on the face of the device.
In 2017 this isn't really innovative stuff. For years power uses have been able to do all of the above - but now it's cheap, readily available, and works with almost all carriers regardless of where you are in the world. Samsung and Apple have been charging a large premium for their flagship phones for years, but that time is (seemingly) about to end.
Within a year or two the tech in the G5+ will be available for far less than $300. It's the reverse of "dumbing down" - it's "dumbing up". The camera isn't the greatest and the resolution isn't on par with the Galaxy S8 or S8+ but for $300 the Moto G5+ "just works" and it works very well.