Rant: Moto G's Slippery Backside

Never in a week of owning a phone have I ever stood more chance of losing it on a count of it slipping from the depths of my pocket than I have with the Moto G.

By all accounts it's a brilliant device in all other measures, even to some extent, the camera (when you factor in the price of the thing), but Motorola have let themselves down hugely by adding that same buttery smoothness found in the UX, to the finish of the plastic black shell it ships with. It's about as slippery as going for a rushing in the rain while wearing your formal shoes. It's just that bad.

Why "mini" isn't necessarily a bad thing anymore

As an interest in a phablet market has continued to surge, and ordinary smartphone screen sizes are progressively stretching more and more - a trend that's starting to take off, at least amongst OEMs, is manufacturing a smaller companion handset to be available alongside a larger brother.

With Motorola's current Droid Mini, and the purported Sony Xperia Z1f - we're starting to see handsets pack more and more into less. It's astonishing to think only two years ago, Samsung's Galaxy SII flagship had a 4.3 inch display, and that nowadays its considered "mini". Also that the mere sight of an iPhone 4S, and even iPhone 5 user's screen inspires cute sentiments when matched up against Galaxy SIIs, SIIIs, S4s and HTC Ones that many more users are toting nowadays. But what's more is phones such as the Droid Mini and Z1f (provided it will release) are reminding us why bigger doesn't necessarily have to mean better.

Should waterproof phones epitomise the #bestofSony?

Looking over each of the major OEMs, one can arrive at certain areas they individually excel in with their current batch of devices - what with Samsung and their innovative *cough* gimmicky features, Motorola and battery life, HTC with design and sound, and LG for being a blend of both Motorola and Samsung with a considerably smaller amount of cheese in comparison with the latter.

If we turn to Sony, "waterproof" springs to mind, but if Sony were to hypothetically go down the drain tomorrow, would that kind of work really be worth carving into their headstone alongside their countless other accolades?

Reasons to Crave the Moto X - Size and Portability

Proof of interest in a phablet market is becoming increasingly apparent in more public spaces, and we've reached that stage where the mere sight of any iPhone display prior to the iPhone 5 registers on our 'cute-o-metre' (though the same could be said about the latter as well).

We've sat by, watched and even participated in this "bigger is better" mentality - which has extended equally to the numbers clocked on a processor and its cores. We've not been the only ones who have observed this however, and Motorola and Google have set out to make us reconsider whether we really should be caught up in the spec race.

Motorola believes their Moto X presents itself as a viable alternative in a world of smartphone sameness, and the titans already on offer, and while the Moto X doesn't shine in numbers on a sheet of paper, its objective is to wow users in its real world performance, use and personalisation. Part of this real world use factor boils down to the fit of a device in the hand, and the ease with which is can be taken places and used with little hassle. The size of the Moto X and portability is one of the reasons the device appeals to me, and what I'm sure will be many others. 

Next Nexus OEM - If it’s good enough for Google, it’s good enough for us.

As is often the case, if we’re not thinking about the devices we have, we’re thinking about what’s next - and the question of who will be making any of Google’s upcoming Nexi, and their design and specs are always a talking point for Android enthusiasts.

The Nexus smartphone is most significant, as it often introduces changes to the OS - via adjustments to UI and the inclusion of a host of new features. It’s for this reason, we gather on social media, in online communities, forums and boards to speculate as to which OEM will take the honours of developing and producing the hardware that encapsulates Google and the direction of Android.

It’s no wonder then, that we may be upset (to use the word loosely), if we discover a Nexus we've been holding out for is being built by an OEM we aren't too fond of.

Fusion ROMs - Mixing Features from OEM Skins with Vanilla Android

Flashing custom ROMs based on stock Android has been a fascination of mine from the moment I first rooted and flashed CM7.2 to my Defy. There's a certain appeal associated with being able to customise a device to reflect ones' personal tastes, and I'm sure it's shared by many whom read this very piece.

But it's not always the case that we want to part with certain features within OEM skins - even if they're only small features which please us. Take, for instance the Circles widget on Motorola handsets as of late. This particular Motoblur widget has captured the attention of countless individuals within the community, and has brought about a slew of imitation circle widgets in attempt to satisfy our burning desire for what is otherwise "just a widget".

eBooks or Hard Copies?

In this increasingly digitally affiliated world we live in, there's been a great brouhaha surrounding the future of books and the nature with which we'll continue to consume and read them. As tablets and eReaders continue to permeate the public sphere. The topic of who prefers what with regards to the format of books has been a consistent topic of discussion and for good reason - each pose their own individual pros and cons.

Rant: People who use voice assistants public

With Motorola and Google's (though it should be the other way round) push for "Touchless Control" as one of the Moto X's significant features, it's got me thinking: "how comfortable do you feel using a voice assistant in public?"

Thoughts on Google Play Music All Access

Almost day dot since its being made available in Australia, I've been utilising a little service called "Google Play Music All Access". It mightn't be news to anyone who reads this, but it's essentially a pay-by-the-month music subscription service, much like Spotify - only users are able to combine music into playlists in conjunction with their own music library "locker", which can comprise of up to 20,000 songs.

I admittedly was apprehensive before I decided to take Google's 30 day free trial plunge, not because it was free - or that I was too stingy to fork out $9.99 a month, which is the current going rate for first subscribers, but because I was concerned I wouldn't be able to live without it.

What do I mean by that? Well, I've made no attempt to hide that I still often use my iPod either when I'm out and about, or at home on a cheap twenty dollar stereo dock. The reason being was because it was easy first and foremost, and it was offline. "Offline" is a key word here, because streaming music while out and about has its nasty drawbacks (as I will mention later on). Having all my own music on me was a major plus, along with a few favourite TV shows. But all good things have to come to an end unfortunately, and sometimes for the better. My iPod classic has a meagre 29GB left of its 149GB it shipped with. I've been meaning to move on for some time now - and Play Music does a fair job of filling that void.

Android 4.3: Impatience, Nexus fever and slight jealousy

It's been a few days since the announcement and subsequent release of Google's latest Android Jelly Bean 4.3, and in that time - for those of us on Google+, it's likely if you're an avid fan of Android, that in some way or another you've been inundated with screenshots from fellow Android fanatics and their devices' requests to update to 4.3.

It was all shared love amongst the community initially, and even those who hadn't yet received any such update we're gracious enough to offer commiserations to those now basking in the very freshest jelly beans on offer. Most of the aforementioned were, (and still) eagerly awaiting - frustrated that their Nexi hadn't yet received the update, and this is spurred folks to come to loathe the next screenshot of something they didn't have.

Generating hype for the Moto X

For the past few nights, I've found myself  facing recurring dreams. Whilst each varied in what took place, a common thread persisted in each - the Moto X.

Each dream is so real, so lucid, and yet I have absolutely no idea how I end up in each setting, and why I have a white Moto X in my possession. One of the stranger parts of these dreams are that each centre around the launch of the device, to which I am present at each, and eagerly awaiting the announcement, without any notion of why I have the device on me already.

It's torture, mainly because the dreams are so lucid. In each dream I can feel the texture of the back casing, I see how it sits in my own hand, the way its always-on voice commands can be used, and the way photos shot with the camera turn out. It's so near, yet so far.

Sony Xperia Z Unboxing and Hands-On

We have a fairly new addition in our family. It's a sleek temptress with lines and angles that put my Droid RAZR HD to absolute shame. It's incredibly thin compared to the Motorola as well, but that's no difficult feat nowadays. It's also rather tall and wide, which posed a few concerns for its owner before it arrived. Those fears were quickly allayed upon first holding it however, and overall the Sony Xperia Z has actually made my sister interested in smartphones.

Anti-Theft Apps - how tall have you built the fortress walls on your device(s)?

Getting back into the spirit of writing (if there even is one), I found myself stumped today with where to pick things up from my somewhat lengthy absence. It was only as I was trawling through my G+ feed, searching for a source for inspiration that I was startled by the high-pitched, irritating tone of a security alarm fitted on the newly built house next door. Not showing an immediate concern for whatever was happening next door, I tried to drown out the sound with tunes but to no avail - 'Gimme Shelter' just wasn't the same with an alarm sounding in the background. After a good 3 minutes, I checked outside my window to see what all the fuss was about and realised the slip-up was caused by a real estate agent who had no clue how to turn the alarm off.

Photo of an old Gregory's map from the 1940s that we have in the family - unusual that it knew
 we'd  need to know the location of our mobile telephones one day...

It was then that I began to think about security. What would happen if you lost your precious gem of a phone at a restaurant, or on public transport - or worse yet, it was stolen. How would you react, and what methods do you have in place to safeguard any data that may be sensitive?

Google Drive - Cloud Storage Challenge pt.II

Google Drive continues to be the home for my primary office suite of sorts, and for storing most, if not all of my Uni related work - and now even extra stuff I work on outside Uni. It truly is becoming more and more a part of my life the more I'm using it. But don't assume that this entire post will express my love affair with this service, because not every love affair is rosy, there are bound to be some pitfalls and it's no different in this case.

Source: play.google.com

Launcher Challenge - Apex Launcher

To start my long overdue launcher challenge - I'll be talking about Apex Launcher Pro, which from the moment I first flashed a nightly CM9 build to my Defy, it was the first 4.0 launcher I bought and have mostly stuck with since.

An old screenshot I thought I'd
throw in

Already in my weeks since announcing this launcher challenge, in using other launchers I've found that I will never have the same dependency on Apex as I've had in the past. There are just way too many avenues for customisation and personalisation on Android, and Apex is only the start of it. But alas, I have to start somewhere with this challenge, so why not comment on what has largely been my primary launcher since Android 4.0?

Most Galaxies are Mere Pawns in Samsung's Game Strategy

Why don't we just come to expect a new phone or two from Samsung every fortnight?

To be quite honest, I'm tiring of Samsung's continued exploitation of the 'Galaxy' name and design language. Just in case you weren't aware, Samsung recently announced the Galaxy Mega 5.8 and 6.3, which look just about the same as every other Galaxy device on the market, save for the back and menu buttons on the 6.3 - which have been swapped around.

Source: ubergizmo

Changing the button configuration which has just about always existed on their range which feature that hideous physical home button is a worrying thought for me. I believe it signifies Samsung are aware that their designs are ageing quickly, and at fears of coming up with a new design language - they're playing it safe by making subtle design 'enhancements' to an otherwise stale slice of bread.

Xiaomi MI-2S - One Attractive Alien

I think I'm smitten for a smartphone from an OEM whose name I often find fleeting both in recollection and spelling. I've never been a fan of Chinese OEMs, but this quirky device brings premium specs at a bargain basement price that makes it an extremely difficult offer to pass up.

Themed Icons that aren't assigned to the App Drawer

As I gear up to write about Apex Launcher as part of my launcher challenge, I thought about something which I've never quite understood with respect to some icon packs - that being why don't certain app icons which do exist in the icon pack theme themselves in the app drawer, and why don't themers take the steps necessary to mend this annoyance?

Before I start, this post is not a rant about themers/devs not having themed an app I have - I realise I'm more than capable of emailing the themers/devs with a list of app icons I'd like to see themed. This post is questioning why when I sift through the often extensive list of icons in an icon pack, and actually find a themed icon for the Chrome app for instance, that the icon itself isn't themed in the app drawer to begin with.

Impatiently awaiting the arrival of Play Store Gift Cards

For the last week or so, I've found myself out of "Google dollars". By that I mean the prepaid credit card that I use to make all sorts of purchases through Google Wallet has ran dry, and by time I finally have the opportunity to go down to the local post office (the only place my card can be recharged), it's closed.

Ingress Activation Codes are going to send me to the madhouse

I don't think I've ever been more anxious to play a game as I am with Ingress. Part of this could come down to the fact that the game is in closed-beta and operates on an invite-only basis. Knowing that thousands around the world are "geeking" out, improving their health and are part of something I'm not makes me feel as though I'm struggling to prevent a rock from defeating me. Though I may not be living completely under a rock, unless I'm actually involved and playing the game itself I might as well be. You don't understand, I'm pacing up and down the house, thinking of a new, creative way of landing my hands on an activation code, should my artistic skill and efforts see me through.

Source: geek.com