Category: Mobility

Read More

Yikes! Two Galaxy S24 Series Smartphones are in the House

Yesterday, UPS delivered the Galaxy S24 and S24 Ultra, which I preordered from Samsung on Jan. 17, 2024. My wife and I each chose one of the three exclusive colors; she moves up from the S22 and I from S23 Ultra. The South Korean manufacturing conglomerate offered generous $450 trade-in value for her phone and $750 for mine. Combined with other discounts and incentives, which includes double storage, my out-of-pocket spend for the new model is less than the older one. For hers, I paid less than the discount given for the trade-in.

Last night, right before going to bed, I finally opened the box for a peak and a shock. Titanium Green wasn’t as strong a color as I expected. Oddly, the Featured Image and companion—even taken with Leica Q2—isn’t representative. The green isn’t as faint or pastel as you see but not really far from it.

Read More

Remembering Moto X

A decade ago today, Google released Moto X—a classic smartphone by every measure that matters. Two years earlier, the search and information giant initiated a $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility, which would manufacture the Android. Months following the initial launch, I bought the Developer Edition and loved it.

Moto X promised so much: American assembled in a Texas factory; made-to-order, with custom color and other personalization options; simple, straightforward online ordering, tight integration with Google services; voice activation and commands. Nothing like the device, the purchasing experience, or truly hands-free operation existed in 2013.

Read More

A Samsung Sentiment

I only vaguely remember being at the Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch event—looks like on June 3, 2011, based on the metadata of the two photos. These tech launches do blend together over time, after attending so many. I do recall being excited about the slate, which I called the “first true Honeycomb tablet”, referring to Android 3.1.

I am not yet a brand junkie, but could soon be, following my return to Samsung, switching from iPhone 13 Pro to Galaxy S22 Ultra in December 2022. Two months later, I traded that one in as part of my purchase of the S23 Ultra. My wife owns the S22, and I bought our daughter the S23 a few days ago. Yikes! The police took the 13 Pro, seeking evidence of a crime against her—and they’re not in any rush to give it back. Well, so much for the Fourth Amendment. Surely there are stranger paths from iOS to Android.

Read More

Lose Something?

I do not recall taking the Featured Image, presumably from a laundromat that my wife used to frequent in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood. In January 2010, we owned the same smartphone, so metadata can’t confirm whom. However, sixth of the month means me.

About that device: Nexus One, Google’s first of many mobiles. Do read my first three stories (sequentially presented), following the device’s debut. They accurately analyze what the mobile meant for the future of contextual computing, particularly around search and voice: “Google Takes Ownership of a New Mobile Category“; “Nexus One Foreshadows Google Mobility That Could Get Ugly for Apple and Microsoft“; “Google’s Superphone is Super Surprising“.

Read More

Out with the New, In with the Newer

My ownership of Galaxy S22 Ultra is short lived. The smartphone arrived on Dec. 15, 2022, and, today, FedEx delivered its replacement: successor S23 Ultra, which Samsung launched on Feb. 1, 2023. Feelings are mixed. For one, two months seems such short amount of time. For another, I am quite satisfied with the now older model. Additionally, I somewhat regret my color choice.

The smartphone comes in a choice of four standard colors: cream, lavender, green, and phantom black. Samsung sells four more direct: graphite, lime, red, and sky blue. Ordering from the manufacturer’s website, I opted for red, but hours later changed my mind. Unfortunately, undoing the decision would have meant cancelling the purchase and making another; I worried about losing the discounts and extras already given.

Read More

I Tipped Over the Apple Cart

During December 1998, I walked into CompUSA and walked out with my first Apple computer, the original Bondi Blue iMac. Appropriate timing, perhaps, December 2022 brought that chapter of my digital lifestyle to a close. I have moved on from the company that Steve Jobs’ vision built and which Tim Cook turned into an empire.

Since that winter’s day 24 years earlier, I primarily used fruit-logo hardware, despite additionally running Windows PCs for many years (since Microsoft was my beat as a reporter). The biggest gap came with my enthusiasm for Chromebook, starting in 2011 and 12. If Google still sold something as luxurious as the Pixel or LS successor, I likely would be typing on a Chromebook now.

Read More

Great Galaxy!

I don’t believe in the multiverse, but let’s pretend for the sake of narrative. In one reality, my wife and I continue to use the iPhone 13 Pro pair purchased in early autumn 2021. In another, we upgraded to the 14 models released this year. Along another path, we bought Google Pixel 7 for her and Pro for me. But in this here and now, we are unexpected owners of Samsung Galaxy S22 and its, considerably larger, Ultra sibling.

The saga starts with an insane crisis beleaguering our daughter, where, because of incompetence and mischief, she got locked out of her iPad, iPhone, and MacBook Air—and iCloud account! About a month later, and many Apple support calls or Genius Bar visits, she has regained use of the handset and notebook; iCloud is irrevocably lost, or so seems situation as I write. Someone, and she doesn’t recall being that person, activated recovery key, which my daughter does not have. Without it, Apple Support agents continually say she cannot regain access to her iCloud identity. Ah, yeah.

Read More

iPhone Turns 15

How many people engrossed in their handhelds remember, or even know, what cellular devices were like before release of the original iPhone on June 29, 2007? Coincidentally, my daughter changed service providers today. She expressed surprise, and glee, at how easy was the process going from one iPhone model to another, including the automatic porting of her number.

When there appeared to be a glitch with that process, I called her carrier to ask about the transfer. My daughter unexpectedly rang, and with one tap I merged her incoming call with the one in progress. How amazing is that? And calling is one of the least used functions, when a plethora of apps and social media demand interaction and get it.

Read More

Can You Say ‘Wicked’?

Kensington is one of the tonier San Diego communities, and dare I guess that privilege comes with money. Six days ago, when waiting to give my daughter a ride, I nipped boredom by pulling out iPhone 13 Pro and launching the SpeedTest app. For security reasons, my cellular carrier is removed from the paired screenshots; download left and upload right.

Wow is 5G wicked fast for the wealthy. The last home sold there, today, went for $2.025 million, according to publicly available records. The runt of the lot for all of June closed for a mere $1.1 million. Both for over asking price: $30,000 and $150,100, respectively. Hey, rising interest rates have slowed down bidding wars a bit.

Read More

Beats Me Why the Price Increased

Around the same day that I ordered iPhone 13 Proone for my wife and another for me—my sister called and the audio quality was crystal clear. For months she struggled to find a satisfactory Bluetooth headset, with little luck. She tried a different approach: Look on Apple Store, from which she bought Beats Flex for $49.99. Sis spends lots of time on the phone, computer, and video chats; she does software support for a non-profit. Outgoing audio quality matters. People need to hear her clearly.

I had already planned to buy something. While I carry my smartphones bareback, calling no longer would be device to ear starting with the 13 Pro. I can’t imagine that holding a 5G radio to my head is healthy behavior. My sister and I typically walk and talk during her hour lunch break; that’s too long 5G proximity to my brain. If the Beats Flex worked so well for her, surely they could for me. So on Sept. 22, 2021, I ordered a set from Apple Store and picked them up the next day from the Fashion Valley location.

Read More

His and Hers

Not so long ago, I swapped smartphones every few months. Various models and underlying platforms from different manufacturers demanded testing and review. But the pace of innovation has slowed, the overall market reached the “good enough” threshold, and I don’t write about tech on a daily basis. Hence, my wife and I have each carried iPhone XS since June 2019. That is until today, when we migrated to the 13 Pro.

The Featured Image is, appropriately, the last photo I will ever shoot with the XS. The 1TB Silver on the left is mine; the 512GB Sierra Blue on the right is Annie’s. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 25, 1/122 sec, 26mm; 1:02 p.m. PDT.