Triplicate Thoughts

Image: Wired Google is a monster of a company. They have their fingers in so many pies it's amazing that all their services and products work as well as they do. While Search may be Google's primary business, the company is also known for one other very successful product - Android. Although Android is free, Google do benefit a lot from having 80% of the worlds smartphone-toting population own an Android device . That being said, being the owner of the most widely used mobile OS in the world has it's fair share of challenges too. It's well known that Android had a hard time growing up. Up until ICS, Android was still maturing into a state that many would consider "complete", as depicted in this drawing by Googler +Manu Cornet . In the comic strip, the mascot eating the ICS is the first to have a straight back, which is why after 3 years, we are still happily on Android 4.x. Other than the upgrade to ICS, Google have also made many other brilliant decisio...

Image: Google+ There was a lot of hype leading up to the launch of the OnePlus One. Like seriously, a lot of hype. So much so that people were beginning to get annoyed with OnePlus, who were actively mocking existing flagships while they themselves didn't have anything at the time to show. Their " Never Settle " campaign pointed towards a device that would please everyone, spec heads, Android purists, people on a budget and whoever else. A phone that would be second to none. A phone that no one would settle for, but a phone that people would actually want . But as is the case with every flagship, no phone is perfect. There will always be some criteria that a phone fails to fulfil for certain individuals. But if you ask me, the OnePlus One ticks more boxes than any other current flagship in the market.

Two cameras. Feature or gimmick? Image: Android Central Last year, I asked what's the difference between a feature, and a gimmick . In the end, I differentiated between the two by saying that a feature is practically useful, while a gimmick is not. I shared my thoughts on some of the current features offered by various flagships at the time, including BoomSound, Touchless Control, and wireless charging. As Android hardware is plateauing on the specs sheet, OEMs are forced to try to innovate in other ways, be them software additions to Android like Knock Code, or unique hardware additions on their phones like Duo Camera. I have some thoughts on some current "features" of smartphones in the market, and not all of them are useful if you ask me.