Tag: smartphone

Top 10 most coolest/innovative mobile phones (2020 edition)

There’s been a lot of mobile phone designs throughout the years, but IMO the coolest and innovative ones came from the 2000s. A time when mobile phones started becoming popular and trendy and manufactures started experimenting with different designs. A time before the iPhone and Android phones homogenized the way that phones look into a singular black slab. Here are just a few designs I found quite interesting:

10. Nokia 7600 (2003)

I mean, just look at it. It looks like a leaf. Now this phone wasn’t going to win any awards for usability but it certainly was a unique design that’s for sure. So just for that creativity I put it at this spot here.

9. Nokia 7280 (2004)

Another ‘what is that’ Nokia design. It has a lipstick form factor, and you can see the tiny buttons on the side of it for dialing. I mean, just wow how did Nokia come up with designs?

8a. Nokia N93 (2007)

Get used to seeing Nokia on this list. They made ALOT of cool devices. The Nokia N90, N93 and N93i were phones that were basically camcorders, and used a swiveling display. This phone could be used in landscape mode and as a video camera, and is rather unique in this design. Only the Samsung Alias 2 tried something similar (but wasn’t exactly the same since it didn’t focus on video recording)

8b. Samsung Alias 2 (2009)

The Alias 2 has a similar form factor the N93 except instead of being a camcorder, it has a unique e-ink keyboard which shifts and displays different text depending on the application and the context, which is very cool. So Samsung solves the problem of needing different keys very elegantly and in a way that hasn’t really been replicated since.

7. Nokia 3250 (2005)

Another phone with a really cool and usable form factor, the 3250 and the Xpressmusic 5700 after it had a twist design that let you switch between the different functions – as a music player, camera or phone. Again with Nokia and their out of this world designs.

6a. Nokia E70 (2006)

Really this entire list could be just Nokia phones, but the E70 had a unique flipover keyboard design that lets you use the phone as a text messenger in landscape mode. I have to say – another one of Nokia’s truly unique design choices.

6b. Sony Ericsson P990 (2006)

Tied with the Nokia E70 and released the same year, is another phone that shares the E70’s unique way of incorporating both a numpad and a physical keyboard. The P990 does it by having a numpad on the front of the phone and then peeling it back to reveal a qwerty keyboard underneath. Very cool.

5a. Samsung Exclaim (2009)

The first non Nokia on this list. The Exclaim along with the Pantech Matrix and Helios Ocean, packed not one, but TWO sliders into the device with different keyboards – one with a qwery keypad and one with a numpad. Again – remember how the days of non multi touch phones had to think of inventive inputs?

5b. Motorola Flipout (2010)

Tied for the number 5 spot is another interesting phone, the Motorola Flipout – just look at the size – is a small mini phone that also has a mini qwerty keyboard that flips out! very neat

4a. TMobile Sidekick 3 (2006)

Looking more like a handheld gaming console than a phone, the Sidekick 3 had a display that swivels out, and d-pad and directional buttons for navigation. It also had a great keyboard for texting and messaging. Definitely a unique phone for unique times.

4b. Nokia E90 Communicator (2007)

Another Nokia device, this one was the last in a long line of Communicator devices, and carried the ability to open up into a secondary display on the inside. Again very cool retro-futuristic design that we haven’t really seen since. Wish Nokia would revisit this series sometime.

3a. Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (2011)

This one is a TIE because both these devices are not even trying to be phones at all even though they are – but they are more like handheld gaming devices that also took a phone call. The Xperia play was like a PSP Go that ran Android.

3b. Nokia Ngage (2004)

The Ngage was just a device that didn’t look like anything before or since and also looked like it had an identity crisis – like a gaming console that sprouted a numpad.

2. Motorola Aura (2008)

Motorola’s swivel display here made of swiss bearings, was a luxury device that hardly anyone really saw when it was released and obviously still rare today. But what a unique way of opening the phone, it’s a phone that could be considered more of like jewelry than actual electronics

1. Samsung Galaxy Fold (2019)

Yes the most modern device on this list is also #1. Why? because of the pure technology of it. When have we ever thought about a phone with 2 different displays that also turns from a phone into a tablet? It’s just amazing what this device has heralded. A new category of foldable computers. Along with the Huawei Mate X, Z Flip and Motorola Razr Fold, a completely new category of devices has emerged, and I think that’s pretty incredible.

June 13, 2020
June 2020 gadget update

Every 6 months I do an update on the state of my gadgets and what I use.

Computers

Google Pixelbook (2017) – replaces 2017 iPad Pro 10.5, 2017 Porsche Design Book One

I needed a light, portable machine for watching movies and doing media consumption to replace my aging iPad Pro, and yeah surprisingly went for a device made in the same year (2017). Why? because ChromeOS does do more than iPadOS still in terms of behaving as a desktop OS – even though iPads now added trackpad support – and the three main reasons why I bought it was 1) cheap ($500) 2) lightweight (2.4lbs) and 3) 3:2 aspect ratio display. There are many great options for 2 in 1s these days – Dell XPS 2 in 1 (heavier, more expensive), HP Spectre X360 (no 3:2 display, more expensive, heavier), Samsung Galaxy Chromebook (more expensive, no 3:2 display, terrible battery life), Samsung Galaxy Book Flex (more expensive, no 3:2 display), Microsoft SurfaceBook 3 (WAY more expensive, heavier), HP Dragonfly Elite (more expensive, no 3:2 display) and none of them actually matched the Pixelbook surprisingly – and if I found a 2in1 convertible which matched the Pixelbook’s 3:2 display and had similar weight but more expensive, that would be fine too, but everything is more expensive + lacking either the 3:2 display or it’s heavier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHXW8GOO8tw

Alienware m15 R2 (2020) – replaces 2018 Alienware m15, 2016 Alienware 15 R3

I got this for a pretty decent price off of the Dell outlet store, so I thought yeah why not, my brother needed a decent gaming laptop so I sold him my Alienware m5 R1 and the R2 while not as expandable as the R1 and missing the extra numpad, does look substantially cooler with the white design, I must admit. Plus, yeah the usual specs: RTX 2060, Core i7 hexa core CPU, 1.25TB SSD, 16GB RAM. A decent secondary gaming computer and main portable gaming computer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PJwQbXJxsU

CyberpowerPC Syber C Xtreme (2019) – replaces 2015 Asus ROG G751, 2016 ThinkPad P70

The CyberPowerPC Syber C Xtreme is my main desktop gaming computer and the most powerful computer I have. It is essentially a built computer, with an AsRock motherboard, Intel Core i5 9600k CPU, 32gB Corsair RAM, 1TB Intel SSD, 3TB Seagate HDD, Corsair power supply, Zalmann cooler and Nvidia RTX 2070 GPU. This computer connects with my Asus ROG PG27UQ gaming monitor and Logitech G610 mechanical keyboard / Logitech G502 mouse for the ultimate home gaming experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T72MTTNGUqY&t=820s

Tablets/Phones

Apple iPhone 11 Pro (2019) – replaces 2017 Google Pixel 2, Sony a6000 DSLR, DJI Osmo+

Back to an iPhone again you say? Well the main reason I went back to it is because of the camera system. I wanted something to replace my bulky Sony A6000 camera + lens + DJI Osmo and this is one of the two best camera phones on the market along with the Google Pixel 4. But unlike the Pixel 4, this has an ultra wide lens in addition to the standard wide lens and the telephoto lens so the iPhone 11 Pro is the best camera phone on the market with 3 lenses (I’m aware there’s the Huawei P30 Pro as well but its quite a big bigger). So this has become my main phone to replace my aging Pixel 2 as well as my main camera as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2XNhH13_xQ

Motorola Razr Fold (2020) – replaces 2017 Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact, 2018 Astell&Kern A&Norma SR15

The Google Pixel 2 is actually my main secondary phone due to the Project Fi compatibility mostly, but the Motorola Razr has become my main music player device – I know, it’s an extremely expensive music player since it cost me even more than the iPhone 11 Pro – but its a really cool device, being the first vertically folding phone. I know many people will prefer the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip instead as its much more capable and spec wise much better, but Motorola has the better design for me, it’s a retro-futuristic implementation of an iconic device, and has a much bigger front touch screen than the Z Flip, which is important when using as a music player device. Since I mostly use my bluetooth Sony WF-1000XM3s now, not having a headphone jack is fine – and also makes my AK A&norma SR15 not that great of a device to use just for the bluetooth. I was using my Sony Xperia XZ1 compact as my main music player phone (which it was very capable at doing) until I got the Razr Fold.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drm5W4ao6iw

Music

Sony WF-1000XM3 (2019) – Replaces 2018 Astell&Kern Michelle

Believe it or not I have begun to embrace Bluetooth finally – and these wireless noise cancelling earbuds have replaced my A&K Michelles. Now do they sound as good? Of course not. But they are more convenient than having to unravel a messy amount of tangled wires every time to listen to something. And they are noise cancelling to boot. But it still has issues. Instead of having skipping sound issues with wires, now I have skipping sound issues with BT connection. Meh.. there’s nothing perfect out there I guess.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvuVmb1Q8CQ

Sony WH-1000XM3 (2018) – Replaces 2017 Sony MDR-1000X
These are my main closed back wireless/noise cancelling headphones which replaces my Denon MM400 (which were stolen at work) and my Bose Quietcomfort 25s (which broke) and Sony MDR-1000X (my previous NC cans). Compared to the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless and Bose Quietcomfort 35s, The sound quality is comparable to the Sennheisers but the noise cancellation is better. The noise cancellation is on par with the Bose and the sound quality is better, and its a lot more comfortable than the 1st gen MDR-1000X. It’s simply put one of the best wireless NC cans on the market right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oDPrwlKCfg

Bose Soundlink Revolve (2017) – Replaces 2015 Creative Soundblaster Roar 2
This is my portable bluetooth speaker, replacing my Creative Soundblaster Roar 2. It is smaller than the Roar 2, although it lacks alot of the Soundblaster features it makes up for it by looking and being very simple, playing 360 degree audio and being quite loud for its size.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3H79aK3dGM

Creative SoundBlasterX Katana (2017) – Replaces 2015 Creative T4W

Now used as my main computer speakers replacing my Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 and Creative T4W speakers. It’s the first soundbar designed specifically for computer use. RGB lighting, bluetooth, 7.1 virtual surround and a bunch of other options, has a lot of inputs etc – what’s not to love? And it gets REALLY loud.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IE6pzOJ1XY

Klipsch the Three (2017)

These stereo speakers are really cool and retro looking especially with the Ebony wood finish. Not only does it support DTS Play-Fi, Bluetooth, phono and AUX inputs but I usually hook it up to my turntable as it has a built in phono preamp! I’ve compared the Klipsches with the Polk Audio, KEF, AudioEngine, Fluance, Focal and other speakers but the Klipsches are definitely the best value for the performance and looks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC7MkPs6Z9Q

LG SL10YG + SPK8 (2019) – replaces 2018 Sony HT-ST5000 Soundbar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY1drAAryVk

Focal Elear (2016) – replaces 2015 Audeze EL8

These are simply put, better than the Audeze EL8s in every way, so.. yeah, it’s replacing them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A98-iBgA9M4

Google Home Hub (2018) – replaces 2017 Yamaha Clock Radio

The Google Home Hub replaces my Yamaha Clock Radio as a smart alarm clock + digital photo frame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clzL9rzfqsc

Cameras

Sony Action Camera AS300 (2016) – replaces 2014 GoPro Hero3+
Replaces my Sony Music Video recorder and GoPro Hero 3 as both my action camera and my wide angle camera that I can use for blogging, travel videos, action videos, etc and has optical image stabilization which no other action camera has! Also waterproof/dustproof as well and quite small, making it great for situations where my Osmo+ would be too heavy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzwuFP6rLCg

Main Computer collection
12.3″ 2400×1600 – Google Pixelbook (2017) – 7th gen Core i5, 8GB, 256GB SSD, 2.4lbs – light tablet/convertible
15.6″ 1920×1080 – Alienware m15 R2 (2020) – 9th gen Core i7, 16GB RAM, 1.25TB SSD, 4.7lbs – main gaming laptop
CyberpowerPC Syber C (2019) – 9th gen Core i5, 32GB RAM, 4TB SSD+HDD, 20lbs – living room gaming pc

Main Phone collection
5.8″ 1125×2436 OLED – iPhone 11 Pro (2019) – A13 Bionic, 4GB RAM, 64GB Flash, iOS 13, triple 12MP F/1.8-2.4 13mm-52mm cameras, Lightning – main phone/camera
5.0″ 1080×1920 OLED – Google Pixel 2 (2017) – Snapdragon 835, 4GB RAM, 64GB Flash, Android 10, 8MP F/2.4, USBC – secondary phone
6.2″ 876×2142 OLED – Motorola Razr Fold (2020) – Snapdragon 710, 6GB RAM, 128GB Flash, Android 9, 16MP F/1.7, USBC – music player

Other devices

Backup phones: LG G8X (dual screen / rugged / media), iPhone SE (small compact), Blackberry Key2 (physical keyboard)

Video game systems: PS3, PS4 Pro, PSTV, Nvidia Shield Pro, Cybiko Xtreme, Nokia Ngage, PS Vita, New Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, GPD Win 2, Nvidia Shield Portable, PSP Go, Atari VCS, Razer Phone 2

UMPCs: Onemix Yoga 3, GPD Micro, Toshiba Libretto W100, Vulcan Flipstart, Sony Vaio UX280, Sharp Netwalker, OpenPandora, Fujitsu UH900, Sony Vaio P, Fujitsu U820, OQO Model 2, Samsung Q1, King Jim Portabook

Backup Laptops: iPad Pro 10.5 (tablet), Porsche Design Book One (convertible), MacBook Pro 13 (macOS), ThinkPad TP25 (business laptop), Onkyo DX (dual screen netbook), ThinkPad X240 (Win 7), Thinkpad X61 (Win XP), Dell Latitude D600 (Win 98)

Watches: Seiko Kinetic, Bulova Joseph Bulova, Seiko Cocktail Time Honeycomb, Orient Sun&Moon LE, Junghans Meister Calendar, Frederique Constant Slimline Moonphase, Oris GMT, Pebble Time Steel, Fossil Abacus, Casio DBC32 DataBank, Motorola Moto 360 3rd gen, Apple Watch Series 3, Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2

Misc Tablets: Sony Tablet P, iPad Air, Lenovo Flex 20

PMPs: Philips PMC, iPod Nano, MS Zune, Creative Zen vision m, Astell&Kern A&Norma SR15, Archos 7, FiiO M5, Cowon V5W

Flip Phones: Samsung Galaxy Folder 2, Samsung Alias 2

Vertical Sliders: Sony Ericsson W995, Nokia N95, Samsung Exclaim, Samsung U900, Blackberry Torch 2

Horizontal Sliders: HTC Dream (Tmobile G1), HTC Touch Pro2, Nokia N900, Sony Xperia Play, Samsung Exclaim, Motorola Sidekick, Samsung Sidekick, Sharp Sidekick

Unique form factor: HTC Universal, Motorola Flipout, Nokia E70, HTC Advantage X7500, Nokia E90, LG EnvTouch, Jelly Phone, Palm phone, Nokia XpressMusic 3250, Nokia E72, Motorola V70, Sony Ericsson P990, Toshiba G910, Nokia N93i, Yotaphone 3, Neptune Pine

PDAs: Palm TX, Sharp Zaurus, Sony UX50, Zipit Z2, Casio BE300, Sharp YO180P, HP iPAQ 210, Psion 5MX, HP Jornada 720, MS Kin 2, Sony Mylo 2

Unique OS: Amazon Fire Phone, ZTE Open C, Samsung Z1, HP Pre 3, Blackberry Porsche 9981, Blackberry Passport, Nokia N810, Nokia Lumia 1020, Nokia E7, HP Elite X3, Palm Treo 700p, Sony Xperia XA2 (Sailfish), LG Nexus 5 (Ubuntu Touch), Essential Phone (Lineage)

Displays: LG C9 OLED TV (main TV), Asus ROG PG258Q (gaming monitor), LG 29WK600 (ultrawide work monitor), MMT FHD Monitor2Go (portable monitor), Royole Moon (HMD), Oculus Rift (VR)

Cameras: Sony HDR-AS300 Action Cam

Headphones: Master and Dynamic ME03 (earphone), Monster Gratitude (earphone), A&K/JH Audio Michelle (IEM), Fender FXA5 (IEM), Sony WF-1000XM3 (wireless earbuds), Sony WH-1000XM3 (wireless/NC/closed), Focal Elear (studio/home/open)

Speakers: LG/Meridian SL10YG + LG SPK8 (home theater soundbar), Yamaha TSXB72 (alarm), Google Home Hub (picture frame/assistant), Creative SoundBlasterX Katana (Alienware), Klipsch the Three (turntable), PreSonus Eris (monitors), Bose Soundlink Revolve (portable), Sony LFS50G smart speaker (Kitchen), Sony Smart Bluetooth Speaker SP60 (alarm), Google Home Mini

Misc Audio Electronics: Creative X3 (PC amp/dac), Behringer Xenyx Q502 (Mixer), Fluance RT85 w/Ortofon Blue cartridge (turntable), Cambridge Audio Solo (phono preamp), Schiit Vali 2 (headphone amp)

Microphones: Shure MV51 (PC), Shure SM58 (dynamic), MXL50 (condenser), Shure MV88 (iPhone)

Storage: 1x Synology DS412+, 2x Synology DS416j, 1x Synology DS418j, 2x Synology DS416slim, 1x Synology DS419slim, 3x Patriot Memory USB sticks, 1x Porsche Design LaCIE external HDD

Keyboards: Corsair K63 wireless (Syber C), Syber Keyboard (extra), Logitech G610 (Alienware), Lenovo Wireless Keyboard (Lenovo Flex), Mini Keyboard (Nvidia Shield)

Mice: Corsair Dark Core (Syber C), Syber Mouse (extra), Logitech G502 (Alienware), Logitech MX Anywhere 2S (travel), Microsoft Surface Mouse (Porsche Design/Macbook), Lenovo Wireless Mouse (Lenovo Flex)

Guitar Amps: Milkman 1W+ (main), Boss Katana Mini (mini), Vox Mini5 (travel/busking)

Guitars: Fender Stratocaster w/Rumpelstiltskin pickups (secondary electric), Martin OMJM (main acoustic), Gretsch G502 (travel acoustic), Duesenberg Alliance Joe Walsh (main electric), Bohemian TNT w/Lollar Gold Foil pickups (travel electric), Yamaha P121 (digital piano)

Pedals: Boss TU3W (tuner), Boss DM2W (delay), BBE Wah (Wah), Dunlop EP101 (Booster/Preamp), Maxon TOD9 (TS type OD), Wampler Euphoria (D type OD), Xotic Compressor (Compressor), Keeley Omni Reverb (Reverb), Wampler Tumnus (K type OD), Boss RC3 (Looper)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRAenAGsvVY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KM26eayVTo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aZUfXnJBhs

June 11, 2020
Why did Apple skip the iPhone 9?

Every answer here praising Apple like they’re some kind of marketing genius or something. No, the truth is that Apple isn’t very consistent with their naming. Period.

Let’s take a look at all the iPhones and see the reasoning behind those names

iPhone – this is the first iPhone and as such, this naming is totally appropriate. Otherwise known as the first iPhone or iPhone 1.

iPhone 3G – this is the second iPhone. there was no iPhone 2 because the biggest feature of the second iPhone was 3G connectivity therefore it was called the iPhone 3G. This is the only time the iPhone was named after one of its technology features – and set the naming scheme for the next decade.

iPhone 3GS – this is the first time the ‘S’ was added denoting ‘speed’. In the future, iPhone models with the ‘S’ appended are usually incremental upgrades, with the S standing for the signature incremental improvement which is usually the processor/ram i.e Speed.

iPhone 4 – Because the second iphone was named the 3G, the next iPhones all follow in numerical order. Not only that but this really was the 4th generation iPhone, so the naming here makes sense. The form factor was also changed here, from curved sides to rectangular sides (IMO my favorite design). Design changes are usually denoted with (but now always) new iPhone (non S) numbers.

iPhone 4S – a speed and camera upgrade, and also adding Siri support, it makes sense for this model to be denoted with the ‘S’ added to it. Also, some people says it paid homage to the then recently deceased Steve Jobs.

iPhone 5 – A display change from 3.5″ to 4″ along with the change to a lightning connector, as well as the first to support LTE, is the major differentiating factor here, warranting a new iPhone number.

iPhone 5C – this is the only time the iPhone has used a ‘C’ appended to it – this was meant to be the ‘cheaper’ version of the iPhone 5S – but the ‘C’ was never used for their ‘cheaper’ models ever again..
Edit: I’ve been told that the C stands for “colors” not “cheap”. It still doesn’t make sense. Other iPhones have colors too. They never used C again.
Edit 2: Ok I’ve been corrected again apparently it stands for ‘vibrant, bright colors’. Allow me to roll my eyes. In any case, it’s no less inconsistent and thus my point still stands.

iPhone 5S – a speed and camera upgrade, as well as introducing TouchID. No changes in design. These are noticeable incremental upgrades, so it makes sense for this model to be denoted with the ‘S’ added to it.

iPhone 6 – A display change from 4″ to 4.7″ is a design change, therefore warranting a new iPhone number.

iPhone 6 Plus – This was the first time the iPhone was offered in two different sizes at once. The ‘Plus’ model uses a 5.5″ screen but in every other respect was the same internally. Future ‘Plus’ models usually had a better camera upgrade.

iPhone 6S / 6S Plus – These were significant processor/camera upgrades that kept the iPhone 6 design, so it made sense for these models to be denoted with the ‘S’ added to it.

iPhone SE – I’ll cut Apple some slack here. Whether the SE stands for ‘Special Edition’ or ‘Small Edition’ this was meant to be a different line of phones. Although I think iPhone 6S Mini Would have been a better name and aligned with their iPad products more, as well as denoting the generation it was from.

iPhone 7 / 7 Plus – This is where Apple starts to become more inconsistent. There are design changes but they are not substantially different from the iPhone 6 design. The biggest difference externally is the removal of the headphone jack. Does that warrant a new number upgrade? Not sure. IP67 resistance is finally added. The Plus model (deviating from previous Plus models) has an extra telephoto lens. These are all internal upgrades – meaning the iPhone 7 / 7 Plus should not be a new version number, it should be another ‘S’ model, but since Apple obviously doesn’t want to name their next device ‘iPhone 6SS’ that’s why they bumped it up a number despite no design change.

iPhone 8 / 8 Plus – Why did this need to be a version number change? There is no design change at all, it looks identical to the iPhone 6/6S/7 and should really be called the iPhone 7S but I suppose the reason why Apple bumped this version is up, is because the iPhone X was released at the same time, and 7S and X seem to be too big of a gap (although they are skipping 9 anyways). So yeah.. this is a bit weird. It’s a purely hardware upgrade.

iPhone X – they released this at the same time as the iPhone 8. Granted, it’s a redesign – the screen is now a 5.8″ bezel-less albeit with a notch, and removes the home button in favor of FaceID, so it warrants a version bump. However, this is technically the first redesign of the iPhone since the iPhone 6. This should really be called the iPhone 7, not the X as the previous phones were all ‘S’ upgrades. But they went with 7, then 8, and then skipped 9, probably for the same reasons why Microsoft skipped Windows 9 (it sounds bad compared to 10 I guess as 10 conveys a much heavier upgrade, 9 just screams ‘almost there’), and they went straight to X, using a Roman numeral instead of an Arabic one no less.
Some dude answered below with ‘oh Apple changed their entire naming scheme and they are simplifying and unifying their naming with their computers now! no more S/Plus models!’ How wrong you were.

iPhone XS / XS Max – Oh boy. Back to the ‘S’ naming again. It makes sense this time because XS is an incremental upgrade – but why the XS Max instead of XS Plus?? In the future Apple has now changed their ‘Plus’ naming for their bigger models to ‘Max’ now. Ok… so XS Plus doesn’t roll off the tongue as well? I don’t think its a big difference.

iPhone XR – This is just weird. If this is supposed to be the cheaper model.. why not use the ‘C’ naming from the 5C? the XC doesn’t sound that bad. Instead it’s ‘R’ for some reason. I have no idea what the R might stand for. It has this ‘liquid retina’ display but that’s just marketing talk for Apple’s standard IPS display.
Edit: Someone told me it’s because the ‘R’ comes before ‘S’ in the alphabet and this is the cheaper model thus it’s the R. Wow. They did not use this naming for the iPhone 5C (cheaper than than the 5S) or the iPhone SE (cheaper than the 6S), and somehow I’m willing to bet Apple will not name the next cheaper model the 11R. It just sounds so weird. Sounds to me that like the 5C, this is a ‘one off’ naming.

iPhone 11 Pro / Pro Max – Back to Arabic numerals again. Ok.. and just to be clear, the new flagship model has the ‘Pro’ appended to it. What’s ‘Pro’ about it? An upgraded camera with a new lens. Ok… first of all why does that make it more ‘Pro’ than previous iPhones, and why does it warrant a version number upgrade? The design is unchanged from the iPhone XS. And now you have ‘Pro Max’ as well… this naming is really getting out of hand.

iPhone 11 – yes this is the successor to the iPhone XR as the cheaper model (the Pro model is the flagship). And no, I have no idea why it’s the 11, should be the iPhone XRS right? incremental upgrade, no design change.

iPhone SE (2nd gen) – Ok they should have just called this the iPhone SE2 here because naming it the same as the previous gen device is bound to be confusing and now you have to specify which generation it is. Same thing Apple does with its iPad line in fact, you have a whole line of iPads thats just named iPad and you have to differentiate them by specifying the generation instead of saying iPad 5, 6 etc..

iPhone 12 Pro / Pro Max – This is the successor to the iPhone 11 Pro and its a design change (went back to rectangular sides instead of rounded sides) so it makes sense. But only because there was precedence. as I noted, the iPhone 11 Pro doesn’t make that much sense.

iPhone 12 – it’s the successor to the iPhone 11 and the design is different. Makes sense here.

iPhone 12 mini – look, another new naming convention. First time Apple added ‘mini’ to the name of an iPhone. It makes sense since it’s smaller, but it really should have been used for the original SE as I said which was basically an iPhone 6s Mini. Isn’t this supposed to be the successor to the iPhone SE line? But we already have an iPhone SE 2nd gen but this is bigger than the original SE but smaller than the 2nd gen SE… gahhh forget about it. This is making my brain hurt.

iPhone 13 Pro / Pro Max / iPhone 13 / mini – This should be called the iPhone 12S because they are just incremental upgrades with a better camera, no redesign. I’m curious why they chose to bump it straight to 13, especially given that 13 is actually a number that most people don’t like for superstitious reasons.

So there you have it, Apple is inconsistent with its naming.

In particular I take issue with:

iPhone 3G – named after a technology in the phone, this was never done again

iPhone 5C – the only time they use the ‘C’, they don’t use it ever again for their ‘cheaper’ models or other colored models..

iPhone 7 – not a redesign, but gets a version bump

iPhone 8 – not a redesign, but gets a version bump

iPhone X – uses roman numerals, skips 9

iPhone XS Max – Uses Max instead of Plus for some reason

iPhone XR – why the R?? that’s just random.

iPhone 11 Pro – Where did the ‘Pro’ come from? It’s not more ‘Pro’ than previous upgrades were. And also not a redesign, but gets a version bump.

iPhone 12 Mini – now we finally decided to add mini? Should have added this way before with the iPhone SE!

iPhone 13 – not a redesign, but gets a version bump

September 11, 2019
What phone do you use right now?
I have 2 phones I use right now, and surprise neither of them are Apple or Samsung.
1. Essential Phone (Ocean Depths color)
Previously I was using a Pixel 2 but switched to the Essential because it just looks gorgeous. The bezel-less design, the materials the ceramic/titanium back, its not a very popular phone but it feels unlike any other phone I’ve used. There’s two gripes I have about it: 1) the camera is good but not great, it’s definitely a step below the Pixel 2 and 2) no headphone jack. How many meetings have I had to take on the street while going to work and had to find somewhere quiet all because no headphone jack and all my headphones are wired? I really wish companies would stop doing this. Otherwise, its a great phone. And it comes with 128GB of space standard which is ALOT. As a bonus, this phone costs about $250 on the market right now.

2. Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact

This has replaced my iPhone SE as my small phone of choice. This phone (like many of Sony’s products) is so underrated its ridiculous.
1. it costs less than $400
2. it has a headphone jack (which Pixel 2 / Essential / iPhone X all lack).
3. it has expandable microSD storage.
4. it is IP68 water resistant despite having the headphone jack.
5. The battery life lasts for 2 days. seriously. A full day on this with regular usage only takes up around 40–50% of battery life
6. speakers are awesome.. they are so loud they put the iPhone to shame
7. dual front facing cameras – one regular, one wide angle. Great for those wide angle selfie pics!
8. you can play PS4 on it remotely using remote play.
9. it charges with USBC. I know, most phones should these days but still! some still came with microUSB
10. fingerprint sensor on the power button. So convenient
11. dedicated camera shutter button
2 great phones, both underrated.
September 25, 2018
the iPhone 10th anniversary & legacy..

On the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, people have been celebrating how revolutionary it was.. and yes, it does deserve all that praise. Steve Jobs was a brilliant marketing genius and visionary. Apple products haven’t been the same since he passed away. The Apple Watch (whats the use case?), the iPad Pro (stylus?), the new iPhones (no headphone jack?) and the new MacBook lineup (all USBC?) have all been criticized a lot since they came out and some design flaws like the camera bump in the new iPhones, no headphone jack, the elimination of magsafe and switch to all USBC etc have caused to people to wonder if Steve Jobs was alive if those things would have been approved.
Well, I’m not sure, but definitely I can say the presentations haven’t been as awe-inspiring with Tim Cook in charge. He’s more of a quiet delegator whereas Steve could light up the room and take charge with everything.

The iPhone brought *capacitative* touch computing to the massive. Previously, touch screens have been mostly resistive touch which made those devices very hard to use and required a stylus to use them. Back in the mid 2000s I did use some Palm devices, Pocket PCs and carried around a hefty Windows Convertible PC (yes they had those back then!) all which required styluses to use. It was a pain.
After the iPhone and iPad came out, every device got much easier to use, and just using the fingers was so simple and easy.

There are some things I miss about the pre-iphone phones though. I think people unfairly look at the old Blackberrys and Windows Mobile devices as crap compared to the iPhone but thats not exactly true. People forget that the original iPhone had no 3G, no copy+paste, you couldn’t attach images in emails, there was no selfie cam, there was no video capability or flash, no third party app store, etc. A lot of smartphones back then had all those features. No it wasn’t as easy to install a third party app onto a Pocket PC or Palm OS device as an iPhone’s App Store, but there definitely was a thriving marketplace for those old devices. It wasn’t as bad as people thought it was.

Moreover, I liked how every device looked so unique. You had flip phones, slider phones, swivel phones, dual slider phones, transforming phones, etc. These days everyone has the same phone.. iPhone 7, Samsung Galaxy, etc the same black slabs everywhere. Back then there was very slim chances you and your friend had the exact same phone model. Here are some standouts (I own alot of these):

Nokia XpressMusic 5700

Blackberry Porsche P9981

Samsung Alias 2

Pantech Matrix Pro

Nokia N95

Nokia N93

Nokia E90

Nokia E70

Motorola Aura

Motorola Flipout

Yeah especially Nokia had a lot of really cool designs… we won’t be seeing these kind of designs anymore unfortunately.

And another thing is cellphone charms! remember those?

cellphone charm

Young people might not even know that back then, phones had a hole where you could attach a charm to it.. that hole is not longer on modern smartphones so cellphone charms (the way people could customize their phones) have now been replaced by smartphone cases, which IMO isn’t quite as great. Yeah you can still customize your phone with a case, but its not the same as having a good old fashioned charm.

So yeah just pointing out some of the negative side effects of iPhone’s legacy..

In other news, I’m going to Korea next month and not a moment too soon.. been dying here of boredom having nothing to really do. my plan right now is to just save up money for next year. After the hassle of getting yet another work visa at the border, I don’t really plan on doing that again. I’m planning to leave in another year or so, and go back to either Korea or Canada. Yes, that means I’ll have to leave my current job, but unless I can work remotely it just won’t work out. I don’t get enough vacation time with my current job to get the freedom that I want.

Also, planning on selling my home too. There are a few reasons for this. Yes having a place in San Francisco is nice and all, but the housing market in SF is beginning to cool off, and for the price I could sell my apartment for, I could easily buy another place in the US (I’m thinking San Diego because of the weather and West coast location), AND have enough spare money to help me get another place in Vancouver Canada (with the help of a mortgage) as well. I’ll just rent out a storage locker while the unit is on sale and then just move things out when I get my new places. But yeah that’s my longer term plan. My best friend in San Francisco is in the same situation as me except he is 5 years older so its probably even more urgent for him, but he doesn’t want to stay here either. And besides him I have very few friends and very little reason to stay in SF. 90% of my friends are in Korea or Canada so it makes more sense to move to those places instead. I’m in the USA just for saving up money that’s it, but hopefully the US/CAD exchange rate remains the same next year else I’m losing a lot of money if I don’t exchange now…

July 1, 2017
My gadget history

I guess continuing from where I left off at my fashion style, and similar yet different than my semi-annual gadget update posts, I just want to list my main gadgets over the years, the ones I carry and use everyday. I’ll also include vehicles, just for kicks because they are also “gadgets” in a way.

Vehicles
I got my first car in May 2009 when I got my internship at Environment Canada. So because Toronto’s TTC system sucks, I had to buy a car for the commute. I liked small, luxury cars so I eventually ended up with a 2002 Acura RSX, paid $6500 for it, with help of my parents.

It was a decent car, and I enjoyed driving with the sunroof down, listening to music and cruising a lot. I had it for a little over a year before I sold it in Aug 2010, to help pay for school, at only $3300 (I scratched up the car alot).

My second vehicle that I used from Nov 2012 to Apr 2016 was my 2011 Honda PCX 125 scooter. This was my primary vehicle in San Francisco, and I loved driving around in it. The freedom I had in it was much more than anything I ever experienced from a car.

Honda PCX 125

Bought it for $2500, sold it for $1300 (because again I crashed it and it wasn’t in good shape).

I can also list my parents’ cars since I drove them around before. The first car I remember our family having was an old 1980s Ford Escort, followed by my dad’s 1992 Ford Taurus, and my mom’s 1994 Mercury Topaz. My dad’s Taurus eventually broke down, and my mom’s Mercury was wrecked in a car accident which I was involved in back when I was 12. I was delivering papers back then and my mom went out to drive me and it was a really cold day with a blizzard so the driver t-boned us and fortunately we didn’t suffer any injuries but the car was totaled.

My dad got a new car, the 2000 Ford Taurus station wagon (he likes big vehicles), and my mom got a 2003 Honda Civic (which was new at the time). My dad drove that Taurus for like 15 years up until last year when it stopped working, and my mom’s Civic got totaled by my brother in a car accident in 2011. My brother was not injured fortunately, and my mom replaced it with a new 2011 Honda Civic. My dad just recently got a new 2015 Acura MDX 2 years ago, which was a really good ride. I think our family became more fond of Hondas/Acuras now (my mom had 2 Civics, my dad the MDX and me the RSX and PCX).

2009-2010: 2002 Acura RSX
2012-2016: 2011 Honda PCX 125
2017-: EcoReco Model R

(main) Phones

In 2005 I had my first cellphone (remember, kids didn’t have cellphones that much in those days!). It was a cheap Sanyo flipphone, and I used it sparingly to text or call my friends. In 2007 I upgraded to a Samsung D900 Black Carbon, which was thin, slim, and had a 3.2mp camera. I used that phone from 2007-2010 until I broke the screen.

Then I had an iPhone 3G from 2010-2011. I got an iPhone 4 after I went to San Francisco in 2011 and used it until it was stolen from me in Apr 2012. Then I upgraded to an iPhone 4S which is still one of my favorite phones, that I would use until Nov 2013, when I upgraded to the iPhone 5S. Because I don’t like big phones, I would stick with the iPhone 5S until Apr 2016, when Apple finally released the iPhone SE. And now the iPhone SE is my main phone. I would also use the Sony Xperia Z3C as my main phone in Korea from Dec 2014 to Aug 2016 when the screen got smashed.

2005-2007: Sanyo flipphone
2007-2010: Samsung D900
2010-2011: iPhone 3G
2011-2012: iPhone 4
2012-2013: iPhone 4S
2013-2016: iPhone 5S
2014-2016: Sony Xperia Z3C
2016-: iPhone SE
2017: Google Pixel
2017: Kyocera Duraforce Pro
2017: BlackBerry KeyOne
2017: HTC 10

(main) Laptops

In 2003 I had my first laptop, the Dell Inspiron 7500 and it was good for the time even having a dedicated ATI graphics card, although it had heating issues.

When I went to university, I changed to the laptop I would use the most, the Gateway CX2724, which I bought in 2007. It was a convertible tablet, and had a digitizer and pen with it, wayyy before Windows 8 came back. It was running Windows XP tablet edition!

I used this laptop until 2008, when I switched to the Dell Latitude E4200, which was a very small, portable, light (only 2.2lbs!) laptop that was very versatile. I would dock it in the docking station and use it with my monitor at home, and it was easy to carry at school.

I would use this laptop until Aug 2011, when I got my HP Envy Beats edition. This laptop had dedicated graphics, which I hadn’t had since my first laptop, so I could finally play games on it!

I would use this laptop until I felt that it was rather heavy to carry around all the time, and made me wish I had a notebook like my Dell again. The screen on it also later broke and doesn’t work anymore. That’s when I got my Lenovo Thinkpad X240 in Jan 2014, which then became my main laptop. I also had a Macbook Pro Retina 13 from 2012-2014 that I used mostly for programming or recording.

I used this until the screen started malfunctioning around Jun 2016. From then on, I used my work Macbook Pro Retina 15 as my main laptop until I got the Lenovo X1 Yoga to finally have my own personal laptop again. It now remains my main laptop as of Dec 2016.

2003-2007: Dell Inspiron 7500
2007-2008: Gateway CX2724
2008-2011: Dell Latitude E4200
2011-2014: HP Envy Beats 14
2012-2014: Macbook Pro Retina 13
2014-2016: Lenovo Thinkpad X240
2015-2016: Lenovo Thinkpad 14 Yoga
2015-2017: Asus G751
2016-: Lenovo X1 Yoga
2016-: Alienware 15 R3

November 30, 2016