Wow, how did I miss this announcement - well I know I’m pretty much off the internet right now but I’ve only just caught up on the new Motorola Razr. I’d owned plenty of phones back in the day but the original Razr was and still is an iconic design. At $1500 I won’t be buying one on a whim to test out but it’s the first phone that has me lusting for something other than an iPhone. For me foldable is this form factor, not like the Samsung giving me two phones slapped together but something that is small to go in my pocket but is easy and satisfying to open and use when you want the bigger display. I’ll be doing my best to get on Motorola’s review list to see if I can take one for a spin.

I’ve had the Pixel 3a for an evening and wanted to share some really quick good and bad things I’ve found about it. This is coming from someone that’s been on iOS since the original iPhone and only uses Android on my day job phone.

The good

• Screen is great
• Feels great in the hand
• Fingerprint reader is quick and a nice change to faceid
• Widgets on homescreen
• Squeeze to use Google assistant
• Swipe down on fingerprint reader to see notifications
• Selfie camera gesture, flick of the wrist and it swaps between front and back cameras
• Swipe keyboard is better integrated into the OS

The bad

• App quality, especially productivity
• Apple music doesn't load my library
• Play store is laggy
• App switching not as fluid in the interface

From a device perspective I’m happy, from a software perspective I’m still getting my head around it. All my negatives so far are from my lack of experience with Android.

Next up is camera testing.

I’ve been browsing around looking at different ways to get a Pixel 3a and came across this return policy for Carphone Warehouse

Wow, you can’t actually return a SIM free phone at all. This is unbelievable in this day in age when compared to some other stores and their 14 day return policies.

If you are after a Pixel 3a (or any SIM free phone for that matter) then I’d avoid Carphone Warehouse completely.

I wasn’t expecting to watch Google IO yesterday but when I saw the introduction of the Pixel 3a I started to get excited for it.

I’ve been wanting to get an Android phone for a while but couldn’t justify the cost of the Pixel 3 to use as a reference device. With the introduction of the £399 Pixel 3a I was ready to jump in. I’ve cancelled my order for now until I can try one in store but it got me thinking about what I’d like Apple to borrow from the 3a.

Colour

Yes, more colours please across everything. I appreciate we have the XR but I want subtle design changes like the coloured buttons on the 3a white version. Goes without saying I’d like to see this on the iPad too. This also applies to accessories, those woven fabric cases look amazing.

Polycarbonate

If you’ve followed me for a while you’ll know I love the 5c. I’d give anything for something that looked like an X design but in a polycarbonate shell. It would be easier to repair, more comfortable to hold, lighter and bring the cost down a bit. I know the 5c didn’t exactly set the world alight but maybe the time is right to bring it back in spirit with a new model. Some will think I’m being silly here but I’d be all over a polycarbonate XS in yellow 😀

Offer better value for money

We know Apple isn’t serving the lower priced smartphone market but with sales falling why can’t they dip their toe into this market at least a bit. I’m not saying they could bring us a £399 iPhone Xe but how about £599?

What are your thoughts on the 3a?

I haven’t watched all of Samsung’s latest event but I did see the new Galaxy Fold, what a name… anyway a foldable $2000 smartphone is something I wanted to comment on.

My first impression when seeing it on the livestream was, wow that’s just two phones stuck together. It’s kind of cool to see something folding out to a bigger screen but this isn’t the implementation that makes sense to me. I’m sure on video I could see a folder or crease at the middle point that would just be distracting. I believe that sliding additional screen from the side is the way we’ll see this implementation. Think of a scroll that you roll out, not unlike the LG foldable TV that was announced earlier in the year at CES.

I’ve got to give it to Samsung for trying here and getting something out but it looks like a terrible implementation to my eyes.

Now with that price I have to think it’ll sell in the hundreds rather than millions here. Looking at the global smartphone slowdown this isn’t the answer, it’s high end luxury and the sales will show it. It’s a party piece to show off not something to use as a daily driver. However it’s good to get it out there and get some in the wild to see how it takes off and get some real world testing completed.

I’m not entirely sold that foldable is the future but whatever it is, this isn’t the end implementation. It’s a baby step, a stepping off point something that gets the technology into the hands of users that are willing to give it a go. For me it still looks like two phones stuck together, I’ll be waiting a while for the ‘scroll phone’.

After watching a few videos and a recent BBC documentary on smartphone addiction, especially social media I’ve decided to make some changes. This may or may not last but I want to give it a go. I don’t spend a lot of time of Instagram, haven’t used Facebook since January 2018 but still use Twitter and YouTube heavily. I find that as soon as I unlock my iPhone I’m instinctively reaching for the app icons of these two apps. The BBC documentary really highlighted for me the mind games employed by social media app makers and the lack of respect that they have for their user base. There is good and bad to everything but in recent times social media has been awash with the bad. Thankfully I don’t see a lot of it targeted at me but when I have it’s unsettling and reminds me to take a step back. Certain fandoms are toxic right now and changing your mind on a device or subject also gets you some flak. Having an opinion is important but I’ve decided not to air it all in public on social media so much. I’ll still be sharing my thoughts on my passions here on my blog but I may be quieter on Twitter for a while. I also have a few new passion projects I want to get into and limiting my time on social media will give me some time back. Wish me luck and I hope a few of you will join along and take a step back for a minute.