Triplicate Thoughts

Every Android purists favourite OEM, Motorola, yesterday announced their 2015 smartphone lineup. In a nutshell, it was a huge hit. Just 11 hours earlier OnePlus had taken the wraps of their 2015 flagship, the OnePlus Two , but after the Motorola event, it was all but forgotten. Motorola did what OnePlus wanted to do, and seriously disrupted the market by offering a pair incredible smartphones at prices that they promised will be about half the price of competing flagships. Many people were worried if Motorola would stay the same after the acquisition by Lenovo. Based on yesterday's event, we have absolutely nothing to worry about. Motorola is here to Play, and they are doing it in Style (lame I know). Here are my initial impressions on both of Motorola's 2015 Moto X's.

The new Moto's. Image: Ars Technica If there was one word I would use to describe Motorola, it would be "different". The Motorola we know today is not the same Motorola we knew before the acquisition by Google. In the sea of Android OEMs all competing to be top dog, Motorola do things differently from others. And Motorola's approach in making mobile devices too, is different from the others. Last year, I like many other Android enthusiasts were amazed at this different approach that Motorola took, both with their Moto X and Moto G. There was a lot that I felt other OEMs could learn from Motorola , and I even considered Motorola as my best OEM of 2013 . The Moto X introduced a renewed focus on the software and user experience, while other OEMs focused more on numbers on the specs sheet. And the Moto G was probably the first decently priced mid-range Android phone which was actually good, which is why it became Motorola's best selling smartphone of all time . W...

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: Engadget Google have made it a bit of a habit of theirs to suddenly drop surprises out of nowhere that kinda leave us shocked. First there was the sudden announcement of Android 4.4 KitKat , when everyone was sure the next version of Android was going to be 5.0 Key Lime Pie . Then there was the much anticipated launch of the Nexus 5, which happened "silently" online without any prior invites from Google (though many people were trying to act smart and  decipher the "clues" , only to look kinda silly in the end). Next there was the totally unexpected sale of Motorola Mobility to Lenovo . And most recently, Android Wear . Android Wear has gotten all the tech geeks excited. This is probably the most excitement we've felt since the Nexus 5 was finally released. Wearables, smartwatches in particular are still a relatively "new" area of mobile tech, despite smartwatches having already been around for a few years, like from Sony , Pebble and eve...

Image: Evolllution One of the best things about the Android ecosystem is that as consumers, we have plenty of choice. We have a variety of manufacturers to choose from, as opposed to iOS where you only have the iPhone, or WP8 where the only good option is Nokia's Lumia devices. Or even BB10 where you only have phones from BlackBerry to choose from. With Android, there is pretty much a phone for every type of person. Each OEM that makes Android devices is good at something different, which is why we have different devices made suitably for different types of people. They each have their own strengths, and of course weaknesses. That is what this post will be about - highlighting what I think is each Android OEMs strengths, and weaknesses.

Nexus 5 coming on October 28th! Not. Image: Pocket-Lint If 2013 taught us anything about the mobile industry, it's that when someone has a good idea an idea which people perceive as good, competitors will follow. Some of these ideas really are good, like HTC's front-facing BoomSound speakers, or Motorola's near-stock skin which allows for quick updates, but for some reason, nobody else seems to be following these ideas. But other ideas, which turned into trends within the industry didn't really make much sense to me. Which is why I wish they would stop as we enter 2014, or at least be changed in a way so that they do make sense. Most of these trends are " me too" trends, where OEMs do what others are doing just so they can say "we have that too!" , without actually putting much thought into their products. I hope OEMs actually think for themselves in 2014 instead of carrying on with these trends.

What will we see from the Android army in 2014? Image: iDownloadBlog 2013 was a good year for Android OEMs in general. Smartphones have made huge leaps forward from their 2012 predecessors. Smartphones from every major Android OEM are pretty much neck and neck in terms of performance, they each have their own strengths (and weaknesses) and Google have refined Android to the extent that you pretty much can't go wrong with any phone you buy. In the past couple of years, there have been some fairly consistent trends in the Android ecosystem. Some OEMs keep doing the same things which we come to expect, while others keep surprising us with things we never thought possible. A couple of months ago I wrote about what I expect from smartphones in 2014 , specs wise. This time I'm taking a more focused approach, and will share with you what I think we will see from each of the major Android OEMs in 2014.

Who's your pick for OEM of the year? Image: Phone Arena We're at the tail end of 2013, which means another year of product releases in the mobile industry is coming to an end. Well, technically the product cycles for 2013 have already ended, with all major Android OEMs having already announced their line-up for 2013. We've had some great products this year, some more spectacular than others. Some OEMs have surprised us with their flagships, and even with some other unique devices as well. My list of top OEMs for 2013 will not be based on any measurable metric; it will just be based on what I consider to be great contributions to the industry. It's not going to be solely based on who sold the most phones, who made the most profit, who made the "best" devices or anything of that nature. Of course I will take some of that into consideration but in my eyes, the best OEM needs to do more than just make and sell great products, they need to challenge the marke...

Motorola recently unveiled the Moto G , initially rumoured to be a "cheaper" version of the Moto X for the international market. And while it is less powerful than the Moto X, and significantly cheaper, it's not really a poor man's Moto X , no it isn't. If you ask me, the Moto G is Motorola's effort to redefine the mid-range smartphone market, the same way the Moto X was intended to redefine what we call a "high-end" flagship. As was mentioned at the event, consumers looking for a smartphone but who can't (or won't) spend the high amounts of money a flagship demands are restricted to two poor options; buy a new but cheap phone with outdated hardware (and possibly software), or buy an outdated flagship, which usually are still quite expensive. The Moto G aims to solve this problem by offering a phone that is both highly affordable, while at the same time highly respectable on paper. Motorola's approach to hardware and software, and thei...

Back in July, I wrote a simple guide comparing the current Android flagships at the time - the Xperia Z, the HTC One and the Galaxy S4. It wasn't meant to be an in-depth review, just an accumulation of opinions that I had gathered from various review sites, meant to help consumers decide which phone might suit them best. We are now approaching the end of 2013, and it's time for a second Android flagship guide, this time with phones released in the second half of the year. As I mentioned at the end of my first guide, this guide will include some of the most anticipated phones of the second half of the year, including the Galaxy Note 3 , the Moto X , as well as the newly released Nexus 5 . I'll also share some thoughts on the refresh of the Xperia Z, the  Xperia Z1 , as well as the LG G2 , the phone which the Nexus 5 is based on. There's a lot to talk about, so let's get started.

Galaxy S5? Image: Pentagon Post The smartphone industry is probably the most rapidly advancing industry in the world of technology. I mean look back at the phones from just two years ago. The standard Android smartphone back then probably had a WVGA (800x480) display, a dual-core processor and a 5MP camera. Flagships nowadays have FHD (1920x1080) displays, quad-core processors and 13MP (even 20MP and 41MP) cameras. The technology in smartphones is evolving at such a rapid pace, that phones generally look outdated on the spec sheet after just one year, or even worse, a few months. Earlier in the year, almost everyone on Google+ would recommend getting the HTC One, Xperia Z or the Galaxy S4. But now? People normally recommend getting the LG G2, Xperia Z1 or the Note 3. Like, phones from just 6 months ago are no longer worth getting. But that's a rant for another day. As we approach the end of the year, with the Nexus 5 (that's what I'm calling it until it's official...

Air View - a gimmick, or a legitimate feature? Image: Dial A Phone Over the last few product cycles, the word "innovation" has seen its significance dwindle quite a bit. Almost every "new" feature is said to be an innovation by OEMs trying to sell their product. But when it comes to journalists, reviewers and consumers like you and I, we tend to say that "features" nowadays are not innovations, but merely gimmicks.  When is a feature a gimmick? Are all features gimmicks? What's the difference? If we were to look at textbook definitions, a feature is " a distinctive attribute or aspect of something ", while a gimmick is " a  trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or business ". Now if you ask me, as far as smartphones go, these two definitions are practically synonymous. All distinctive attributes of a smartphone were put in there by the OEM with the sole purpose of attracting attention and business, right? So...

Image: Team-Android I've been very critical of Apple in my blog. It started out when I shared the reasons why I fell out of love with the iPhone and iOS . I then followed that up with my thoughts on how WWDC 2013 was more of the same , vindicating my decision to leave the platform. I then wrote what was to be my most popular and most +1'd post, which highlighted the reasons why I think Apple are one of the most hated tech companies in the world . On the other hand, I've written nothing but positive articles when it comes to Android. Like my favourite announcements from I/O 2013 , and the top 5 things I love about Android . So to prove that I am not a blind fandroid , and I am indeed aware of the shortcomings and weaknesses of my favourite platform, this post will be about the top 5 things I dislike about the best mobile platform in the world. Yes, this will be difficult to write.

Unedited image: Howard Forums Not too long ago, I asked you how far do you think the Android spec wars will go . At the time, it seemed like Android OEMs would just keep pushing the limit, and events at IFA show no signs that the war is coming to an end, with phones running on  3GB of RAM and housing cameras capable of 4K video recording , despite the fact that many people don't even have 4K screens to watch the video on. From an OEM perspective, it seems that the war will continue for quite some time yet. But what about from our perspective, the consumer? Do we want the war to continue? Do we need it to? My current phone is the HTC One X, HTC's flagship from 2012. Now for me, my upgrade path is clear; get a phone with a better screen (1080p), a better processor (Snapdragon 600 at least), more RAM (1GB just ain't enough anymore), and a larger battery ( 1800 mAh is freaking tiny! ). Those are the most important for me, hardware wise. But what about people who already ...

Image: Howard Forums A few days ago, LG blew past current display technology standards and introduced the world's first QHD (Quad HD) smartphone display; a 5.5", 2560 x 1440 display, which comes in at a mind-blowing 538ppi. Current flagships boast only 1080p displays with ppi around the 400+ mark. Saying only 1080p seems a bit weird to me. I mean, 1080p displays on a pocket-sized device is an amazing feat of technology. Just last year, the standard was 720p, which on a smartphone display, is already beautiful. Then 1080p displays became the norm, and the consensus was that you will only notice the difference between a 1080p display and a 720p display if you put them side-by-side and look really closely for differences. Most people will be quite happy with a 720p display, including me. Up to a certain threshold, more pixels just don't make a difference. This is the concept behind Apple's Retina Display. A display that has enough pixels that the human eye can...

Image: XDA The Nexus brand is quite unique. It's the most beloved brand among the Android enthusiasts, and despite being the purest brand of Android devices in the market, it's probably one of the least known brands among the global Android community. Being made and marketed by Google, most people don't know what a Nexus is. As a result of that, they don't even know what stock Android looks like. Ask any random Android user what brand of phone they are using, chances are you'll hear Samsung. Ask them what version of Android they are using, they'll say TouchWiz. Jelly Bean? 4.2? They won't have a clue. I began my Android journey with a HTC One X. Before making the purchase, I was deciding between the One X and the Galaxy SIII. I didn't know what the Galaxy Nexus was at the time. Not until about 4-5 months into Android did I discover and understand what a Nexus was, and what stock Android was. Now, after more than a year on Android, I am a Nexus fan....