Nokia

The Story of Yet Another Android Phone I Wont Have For Long

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In late July I went to the car phone warehouse in the mall at Canary wharf and bought a new Nokia 6.1 android phone. I have been on and off again if I wanted to purchase another android phone. A month or so ago I was in the same store and opted not to buy something. At the time I was convinced history would repeat itself and I would buy a phone simply to return it or sell it in a few months. That is what i have tended to do with Android phones. That may still be the case with this phone. My motivation this time around was I wanted a pretty big screen compared to the iPhone SE that I got from work.

The intention is to use this phone for work and have it be the only device i have the work management apps on. I am trying to keep the annoying work management applications off my personal iPhone X. The challenges the iPhone that I get from work has a tiny screen then I can’t really see any more. Instead of spending huge amounts of money out of my own pocket on work phone I figured I would splurge on an entry level android phone with the big screen to use for work applications.

I won’t use android for personal use due to my security concerns that I’ve outlined previously. I’m a little concerned about using it at all however for work applications I am less worried. Yes for those die hard people reading this i know that my location will be leaked to google and a whole bunch of other things issues with data collection they may have on me. For now I am not ok with it but willing to try the phone anyway. It’s like i know that cup cake is bad for me or that Amazon Echo in my office is bad for me. I eat it and have it but know i will likely have to deal with it somehow later.

My goal is to uninstall the work management application on my personal number. I have been lazy so having it on my personal phone has been nice. The final straw for me was my company switched management applications a few months ago. The new one requires you to change your PIN code frequently. It’s annoying and unnecessary and certificates and email application.

I started debating about purchasing an android phone a few months ago. At the time I opted to avoid android and see if I can make it work with the smaller screen iPhone for work. Recently I’ve been reconsidering my decision so I started researching options. I narrowed my options down to the Moto G6 plus for the new Nokia 6.1. Both phones reviewed very well. The Moto G6 plus seemed to come out on top in every review I read.. In any event it was close. I opted for the Nokia because it offers android one and a pretty plain-vanilla OS experience. That means in theory quicker upgrades to the operating system. For me that was a bigger selling point than all the other minor advantages the Moto G6 plus had. All reviews complained about the Moto reputation for slow operating system upgrades. That is a no no for me.

My first impressions of the phone are generally positive, for an android phone. The build quality seems pretty good. It’s a metal and glass phone. Some reviews questioned the screen quality. I don’t need super high density screens because I have enough trouble seeing things. This room is big bright and clear for me. For what I’m going to use it for it’s been perfectly fine so far. As expected my biggest issues with the phone are really with the android operating system and nothing with the hardware.

The android OS as always has been experience for me feels more customizable however clunkier to use than iOS. Using android phone means the trade-off that I cannot get texts from my personal number on this phone since I cannot use Apple messages.

Other annoyances with the operating system android ecosystem more specific is that my play store account can only be one region time. I can only change the region or country once every year. I thought Apple handled multicountry options poorly. At least Apple lets me switch between two accounts. Not sure if I can do the same with my play account. I have to try the same with the google play store.

I do like how the management app segregates the work apps from the personal ones. Is that and the bigger screen worth the security trade offs i know i am making by just carrying the phone? I am not sure. I like it however part of me already regrets having it. I am going to give myself a month at minimum to see if i use it and like it before deciding if it goes onto eBay.

Spring Cleaning with Ebay

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Yesterday I sold my Nokia E71. I know, I use an iPhone 3G. I also bought a E71 a few months ago to play around with. I was hoping to be able to switch between iPhone and E71. I know, I bought and returned a previous Nokia E71 for that same reason. I wanted to give the Nokia more than a day trial. The verdict was it is a great phone but even with its drawbacks I like the iPhone and even when I did use the E71 I would often switch back to the iPhone. So since I am currently on a sell my extra stuff kick I sold the Nokia on Craigslist.

So far in the past month I have let go of my Macbook, and the Nokia. I loved the Macbook, but the reality was I wasn’t using it so I opted for the much faster iMac desktop. I am even contemplating letting go of my HP netbook since I have my work laptop that is an ultra portable. I am also looking to offload my 160gig iPod. When I got the iPhone I thought I would slowly stop needing an iPod. That is exactly what happened. With my new 16gig USB key and 16gig SD card in my laptop I no longer need the 160gig iPod for any portable file storage. That means it is getting wiped and put up for sale.

I am also in the process of selling my old Airport Extreme base station, but that is only because I upgraded. That sale will recoup half the cost of the new one. Man ebay you are my enabler for buying new stuff!

What I am not selling is my old 23″ cinema display. It found a new home as my second monitor on my iMac. I need to rummage through my storage bins to see if there is anything else I want part with. Don’t you smell spring cleaning in the air.

Mobile Technology

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I tell everyone I used to hate traveling for work. That is partially true. In the end I dreaded the trips, the waits in the airport, getting lost in po-dunk towns in rental cars, etc. In the beginning I loved traveling. I think I did too much too quick. Also I did this during a period of the worst air traffic delays in the history of US air travel. I also flew out of the most delayed airport in the US. An airport that the FAA said accounted for 25-30% of all delays at the time, Laguardia airport (LGA).

This entry is not about my love or dislike of travel, that I can save for many entries later. What I am thinking about is the cool technology you can use or rely on when traveling.

Studies are coming out now saying more and more people are “cutting the cord” or becoming wireless phone only households. I have been using my cell as my primary (or only) home phone since 1998. Earlier than that I lived at home with my parents and they did have an extra line, even though I never used it.

When traveling you can use the coolest tools that keep you in touch or working. The stuff out now is even better than what I was able to use when I traveled regularly 3 years ago. Wow, it has been 3 years since I did that.

When I was on the road I relied on a laptop (Compaq Presario 1875 or something with an AMD K6-2 180mhz processor, then a number of Micron 15″ TFT laptops, and eventually a Dell latitude CPx). The laptops I have now kick the ass of the ones I had then. My thinkpad T-40 I use for work is literally half the thickness of the micron’s I used and 3-4 times more powerful. The battery lasts like 4 hours. If I got 90 minutes on the micron or 60+ on the Compaq I was happy. Even my tiny Powerbook gets better battery life than the old desktop replacements.

My cell phone back then was several flavors of the Nokia 6160, Motorola Timeport, or later on a Nokia 8890. The service actually was as good as it is now. T-Mobile’s coverage has gotten better, but I used to go everywhere with my AT&T Tri-mode TDMA Nokia’s. The phone was big but worked all over. From Canada, to Portland Oregon, to Portland Maine. The difference is I am paying about half the price I paid back in 1999 for about the same amount of minutes or even more minutes now.

The other difference with cell phones are that my Treo 600 is a handheld and a phone. I also get wireless internet access on it. For me between 1998 and 2001 that was impossible for me. now I can get email on my phone or use another phone with bluetooth to get mail on my laptop. I didn’t even have a blackberry then. I would have killed for a blackberry when I traveled. I take it for granted now.

The WiFi hotspots would be awesome to have had when I traveled. I used to use Laptop Lane at some airports back then, but they weren’t everywhere.

VPN software and Exchange 2003 with RDP over HTTPS would have been awesome. Either would have been awesome. At Datastream we had to use outlook from outside the firewall using AT&T Global net dial up. It was so slow. Now it would be trivial and fast to use, especially with high speed internet in some hotels now. When I went to vegas last winter I plugged my Powerbook (then a 15″ TiPowerbook) into the network jack in the hotel and I was able to VPN back to work. It came in handy when Keith needed something when I was out. That is the coolness I am talking about. Technology that just works when you are on the road.

If I was still traveling I would probably look at the bluetooth GPS receivers they have out now. Connect it to my iPack 1945 and know where I am. It would be killer.

What is also funny is that more and more people are using gadgets on the road. Besides the pain in the ass people on cell phones everywhere (writing this as someone’s phone goes off on the train). I mean laptops PDA’s, and other neat stuff. Around me right now on the train is 4 ladies with huge laptops doing work. One has to be my mom’s age. 4 years ago that wouldn’t be going on. When I am on the train to kingston I always see several people with blackberry’s or Pocket PC’s & Palms of several varieties. Then there are the iPods. They are everywhere. Note to self need new iPod for train trips like this. must replace sold one ASAP.

I just find these observations amusing. Why, because all this stuff that I see I have been doing for years. That is no big deal, but I always used to get made fun of by some of my friends about doing it. Then like clock work 6 months later they would be doing the same thing. I don’t consider myself a trendsetter but some technology stuff I get right away because I think it will work for me. I was that way with the first bluetooth phones. I got it and used it to connect to my PC and use a bluetooth headset. Turns out that it didn’t work very well, but it worked and I used it for months.

Enough of my observations. I am off to stretch my legs on the train for a while and maybe take some pictures with my Treo and post them to my MoBlog!!!

This blog entry was written while listening to Higher from the album “Human Clay” by Creed And Superman from the album “America Town” by Five for Fighting