Kustom-izing Android

I look back and realize that I've been dedicated to the Android environment for quite awhile.  One of the things I love about Android is how open and customizable it is.  I was tired of looking at the same screens of nothing but icons, and seeing various screenshots of widgets in those early days allowed me to dream of having a truly personalized phone with a minimalist view.  I'd wanted something akin to an interactive wallpaper... something where the widgets would just seem to blend in to complement whatever background I was using for my device.

One of the first things I did was find a proper launcher.  To this day, I'm still using Nova Launcher.

To complement Nova Launcher, my searches led me to Zooper Widget.  It's a no-nonsense app that, if you did your research and stuck to it, you could set up any type of widget to your heart's desire.  Used in conjuction with other apps (Media Utilities which was also under Zooper, and Popup Widget, both come to mind), I was able to set up an icon-free launcher which also dynamically changed which widget I wanted to access based on what I tapped on screen.  Zooper has been my go-to widget for years.  And then that stopped.

As ambitious as my setup went, a few years had passed and there was a lack of updates.  Outside of learning how to program the date in binary, there really wasn't too much else that I could do, and it just became nothing more than a custom clock for me.  I'm sure there could have been more to discover, but I was resigned to spend any more extra effort, and I was content with leaving things basic and minimalist anyway.

Then my always trusty "twin" Flow recently introduced me to KLWP (Kustom Live Wallpaper).  Now, Kustom Industries has other apps, like KWGT (Kustom Widget Maker), but the potential for using a live wallpaper instead of a wideget was brought to my attention quite quickly.  Checking the odd tutorials online, and seeing examples, I instantly fell in love, and realized that those ideas I had implemented years ago could easily be brought back to the forefront.  I dare say that compared to Zooper, certain presets (especially when it comes to the clock) makes things easier, and the programming is similar enough where I was able to jump in without much effort.  Even the integration of programming within the various objects you're working with, along with specifying Global Variables and object grouping, makes this app feel a lot more robust that I've completely dropped Zooper from my phone.

Currently, I'm now using 2 Android devices:  My trusty Pixel 2XL, and for work a Samsung Galaxy S8.  Rather than mess around with my personal phone, I've used the S8 as my little digial playground to test ideas that I have, and see if can apply what I've learned (and continue to learn) for KLWP.  I've since uploaded a couple of sample videos on YouTube of what I've played around with.

The setup is not quite ready on my 2XL, but I've at least included a screenshot as a teaser :)

Living (Room) in Harmony

A few years ago, I remember asking to get a Logitech Harmony remote to keep things in my living room a little more tidy, and ended up with the Logitech Harmony 900.  It was a pretty cool device for it's time, with it's little touch screen and programmable buttons and all.  With a press of a button, I could have my TV, receiver, and set top box all start up at once.  I even tried to expand on its capabilities by purchasing the PS3 Bluetooth adapter so it could also boot that up with another command.  Now that those few years have past, the remote itself is still in a decent working order, though it can act up from time to time, like not quite responding to key inputs right away.  I still wanted to keep things nice and tidy, but didn't want to drop so much coin for another Harmony remote (because the really nice ones are a few hundred dollars).

I think within the last year or so, when IoT (Internet of Things) was really making headway into the consumer market, Harmony did the "smart" decision (pun intended) to create the Harmony Hub.  Not only is this a device for your entertainment unit, but it could also integrate into your IoT devices too.  How it integrated wth IoT wasn't really much of my concern.  I was happy to find out that I could just purchase the hub on its own (without any versions of the other Harmony remotes packaged with it), and it came in at a reasonable price.  Even better, all you need is an Android or iOS device, and download the companion app, and essentially just turn your phone/tablet/etc into a universal remote too.

I've had the Hub for a few months now, and it's been pretty cool so far.  I think one of the things that made me decide on purchasing it was the fact it also included Bluetooth.  Considering the PS3 adapter for my previous remote hasn't worked in awhile, I was able to get rid of that and just soley rely on the Hub to also control the PS3 instead.  Perhaps even cooler is the fact that there's Google Assistant compatibility.  Seeing as I've also got a Google Home Mini, I feel like I've given real purpose for it by pairing the speaker with Harmony.  Creating shortcuts with the Google Home app has allowed me to give shortened voice commands to, say, turn my TV on or off.

The only downsides that I've seen, or that I can think of at the moment, are as follows:

1. Would be nice if there was a litte more flexibility in arranging the pages for each function in the remote app.  Not so much arranging the buttons on each page, but rather arranging the order of the pages.
2. Should there be any issues with your local network, then you've basically rendered the Hub useless in controlling your entertainment system (which I should have considered prior to purchase).  My old Harmony 900 isn't compatible with the Hub.  Otherwise, I'm falling back on the individual remotes in a worse case scenario
3. It actually would have been interesting to have an app to control the devices through your PC as well.

With that being said, I think purchasing the Harmony Hub on its own would benefit a user with an existing Harmony remote that's compatible with it, and is looking into making their home connected thru IoT devices.  However, if you're only interested in controlling your home entertainment area, and willing to chip in a few extra bones, then grabbing the Hub with the basic companion remote may do you well.  Otherwise, you can always just take the risk like me and just stick with the Hub on its own.

Still Cubin' After All These Years

I'd recently received a Gigaminx puzzle from my brother for Christmas, which I'm still in the process of learning to solve.  Maybe I'm a little geeky, but I do find some entertainment trying to solve puzzles, and my brother knew exactly what to get for me.  It's only now that I realize that I've been solving your standard Rubik's Cube for the last 20 years or so.

You know that hair-tearing puzzle that "everyone" just can't seem to solve.  It was such a craze back in the 80s, and I guess my family wasn't immune to its allure.  Much like everyone else, as a kid I was just happy if I'd be able to complete one side of the cube, and then just stare at it and wonder, how the hell do I fix the rest of the sides?

Fast forward to the late 90s.  One fateful summer day, during my college break, I happened to stumble across a book my family bought from a local department store (that's long since been shut down), that happened to show off a solution on how to solve the cube.  Lucky for me, I'd also remembered where we kept the cube in the house.  I fondly remembered that one afternoon, following the algorithms present in the book, and to my surprise I'd actually solve Rubik's for the very first time.  I'd since called this basic method of solving the cube "The Hamburger Method", because it involved solving for the top and bottom layers of the cube, and then using a basic algorithm to solve for the edge pieces in the middle layer of the cube.

For a few years, I'd kept on solving the cube in this manner, realizing at some point how tedious it was to solve the cube this way.  Too many moves were spent, but I will say one thing:  It gave a better understanding on how to navigate pieces around the cube itself.  It came to a point where I wanted to be quicker, so eventually I did my searches online in the early 00s.  I'd searched for speedcubing methods and stumbled across the Lars Petrus method.  It's a pretty intuitive method of solving a cube, on the foundation of building from a 2x2x2 cube and expanding from there.  In a nutshell:

• You start at one corner of the cube, creating a 2x2x2 cube
• Expand that cube along one edge to then to create a 3x2x2 rectangle
• Using the free-moving layers, solve for the first 2 layers (F2L), leaving just one layer to fix
• Solve the final layer of the cube

I know, it seems a lot easier than it sounds.  I think it took me a good month until I felt completely comfortable in memorizing all the algorithms for solving the last layer.

After my interest in the standard 3x3 waned, I had to expand my horizons.  Now, I'm sure there are some people out there that have quite an expansive collection of cubes.  Compared to those people, I consider my collection modest:

• a couple of 2x2 cubes, one of which uses tiles instead of stickers
• a number of 3x3 cubes: tiled, a Tic-Tac-Toe variant, a 25th and 30th Anniversary to name a few
• a 4x4
• a 5x5
• Mirror Cube: a 3x3 variant that is not equally split
• Square 1: Not an official Rubik's, but another cube puzzle with an odd cuts that also put the cube out of shape when mixed
• Void Cube: another 3x3 variant that's missing all the centers

To this day, I still try to play around with the standard 3x3 just so I'm not out of practice and I don't forget those algorithms.  I should post up an updated video of me demonstrating the solve, but I guess for now, you can settle for an older, low quality video taken from my brother's phone easily a decade ago:

Google Pixel 2 XL - impressions (One Month)

Well, as per my previous blog, I went all in and opted to get the Pixel 2 XL  Now, I'd be resigned to call this a review of any sort.  It's merely the initial impression and opinion of the device so far.  Further to this, it's also going to be interesting in comparing my experience and "growth" (both software and hardware-wise) when upgrading from the ol' trusty Nexus 5 to this.

Let's start screen size.  Now, there's something to be said when going from a smaller screen to a larger screen.  I remember that feeling when going from the 4" Nexus S to the 5" Nexus 5, and it's a lot more of the same when jumping onto the 6" Pixel 2 XL.  I'm sure if I'd stuck with the 5" Pixel 2, I'd be just as happy, but there's something to be said when you're given more screen real estate to work with and view content.

The ol' Nexus 5 (left) with the Pixel 2 XL (right).  The tinting you see on the 2 XL is from the Night Light screen settings.

I'd always been tepid when it came to the larger screens, especially during the phablet boom that Samsung started with its Note line of devices.  One of the great worries was whether it would fit in the pocket comfortably.  However, with the introduction of the S8 and S8+, and its 2:1 screen ratio (c'mon, it's basic math, though I'm sure 18:9 gets the point across for screen size), it's suddenly made larger devices easier to pocket.  The Pixel has also adopted this resolution, and I'm quite happy how things fit, even with the casing I bought with it (the Spigen Tough Armor).  It truly is hard to go back to a smaller screen at 16:9... it would almost feel like a downgrade.  Couple this with both resolution and font size adjustments baked into Oreo, and the amount of information displayed on screen at once is downright incredible, especially for this screen ratio.

Keeping things minimalist with Nova Launcher, and loving those Live Wallpapers.

On the subject of screen, there's also the debate (race?) for bezel-free design.  I have my own opinions about this (which I'll likely put into another blog), but for what it's worth, there's an understated elegance to the design of the Pixel 2 XL's smaller bezels.  Yes, they're not exactly edge-to-edge like the the Samsungs, and nowhere close to the ambitions of the iPhone X or Essential PH-1, but I'm OK with this.  I don't want to say it's because of those front-facing speakers, because then the debate will come abouts regarding its 5" sibling, and why they couldn't follow suit.

Speaking of speakers, I'm actually glad they've put in the stereo speakers for their 2nd gen devices.  Only a handful of manufacturers have ever opted for these for their devices (the ZTE Axom 7 comes to mind, because of how ridiculously loud they tested, from what I understand).  To be able to watch videos and play games without worrying about the audio is something I think all manufacturers should consider including.  The 2 XL is loud enough, and that's all I ask for.  If I want clarity, I'll use headphones.

Watching videos is so much better with stereo speakers.  And the built-in stand on this Spigen Tough Armour case keeps the views hands-free too :)

Oh yes... headphones.  I'd like to think I'm in the majority of missing the 3.5 jack, but it's more than what many are complaining about (which is the convenience).  To be honest, for as long as I'd been using the Nexus 5 with a case (also a Spigen), there was much to be desired when trying to plug in a set of cans into an opening on the case that couldn't accommodate for my headphones' jack (my go-to set is kind of an entry level from Audio-Technica).  As compensation for this, I'd been using a $20 Bluetooth adapter (with mic) with my headphones, long before there was even an idea of removing this port at all.  They do provide you the USB-C to 3.5mm adapter, so I've primarily kept this connected to my AUX cable in my car..  The underlying debate behind the lack of headphone jack is with regards to DRM (shoutout to my buddy, Ajay, for bringing this to my attention).

A couple of other things that do irk me about the device are likely part of the growing pains of working with Oreo, and both are in relation to battery readings:

1. Not being able to access the battery usage directly from the Notification bar, like in Marshmallow
2. I kinda miss the graphical representation of how certain services/apps are using up battery

They're minor gripes that I can work around.  #2 in particular, from what I can surmise, is likely due to how battery usage, and service/app management, is now being handled by Oreo.

Otherwise, it's an outstanding device so far:

- Battery life so far as been solid.  I can get through a day on a single charge (between social media, gaming, and video viewing), and still be left with over 40% before I sleep.  I'm sure that 3250mAh battery has something to do with it

- It's quite responsive.  Doubling up the RAM from 2GB (Nexus 5) to 4GB, and having the latest O/S can also contribute to this as well

- Loving the camera so far.  Portrait Mode has been exceptional (for both front and rear cameras).  A couple of low light shots that I've tested have been brighter and clearer than expected.  There's also something to be said about having OIS to ensure shots stay clear

A random shot taken one evening while at the airport, dropping off family.  Standard HDR+ settings enabled.

- In relation to the camera and photos, it's interesting to play around with Google Lens.  It's amazing to see the information extracted from, say, a business card that I took a photo of.  It's still a new thing where it's still learning (it's more hit than miss on some of the photos I've had it analyze), but of the photos it was able to recognize and identify, it's pretty cool to get relevant information based on those subjects in the photos.

The question I suppose at this point is whether or not it's worth the $1000CA (for the 64GB).  I guess, for me, it definitely is.  Having lived the mid-range life for years, I was finally looking to see if having something of a no-compromise device would be what I'm looking for.  Much like their keynote introducing this device back in October, hardware is always going to be given, so the focus was more about how the software can drive this hardware.  The AI/machine learning, the OIS, guaranteed updates, and unlimited full quality cloud backup until 2020, not to mention the 24/7 support contact directly from the device I think may justify the price as much.

Oh, the whole burn-in/retention situation that's been reported since its release?  I guess considering I bought the device after the update was applied, I haven't experienced anything of the sort so far.

Inktoberfest - The Aftermath

Inktober 2017 has completed, and I'm happy to say that I've made it through unscathed.  Where in the beginning, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to keep up, by the end of it, it had become part of my daily routine.  I found that it really tapped into just how creative you can be, outside of drawing of course.  I mean, a lot of these words provided were so vague, but that also worked to your advantage.  Being creative means having no boundaries, and most certainly for some words, I really had to find a creative way to convey those words ("Poison" is definitely one that stands out for me).

Though I mostly just sketched my way through each day, I don't regret putting a small bit effort, compared to how I've seen others have.  I came to realize that it isn't how fancy your drawing is... just draw and follow the rules.  If it was based on how fancy my drawings ended up, you can certainly see when my good days were.

My friend and I who were keeping each other accountable each day were discussing our plans moving forward.  I may not have the same dedication for drawing each day after Inktober, but it certainly has made me realize that I would like to improve on my skills.  It has reminded me how much fun it is to draw, even if mostly on your own terms.  And there is certainly something to be said about drawing on physical media, compared with digital media... the fear of drawing something permanent without the luxury of the "Undo" option.  I love it :D

Interested in checking out my contributions for this year?  Search for pippopottymouse in IG.

Google Isn't Having an XL-ent Time

I don't quite consider myself an early adopter.  I've always believed in "trailing edge" technology.  This has always given people like myself a "wait and see" attitude, so you can let the rest of the masses unearth the issues for you.  Because of this, I've also taken an attitude to go with "the successor to bleeding edge", because more often than not those mistakes will be corrected upon, and additions will be made to make the sequel tech that much better.

I've resigned myself at this time to be willing to spend a little bit on a flagship smartphone, as this appears to be the trend nowadays, especially when the Google Nexus line was effectively killed off.  I'm also a little brand loyal, and seeing as I've only known the Nexus line for my personal devices in the past, there's something to be said about staying true to stock Android, and guaranteed updates straight from the source.  Sufficed to say, I've been keeping my eye on the Pixel line since their introduction last year.

Now, considering I've kept to the mantra of "going with the successor", I like many others had waited patiently for the official announcement of the new Pixel line of phones earlier this month, and wasn't disappointed (maybe save for the lack of headphone port).  It also certainly seems as well that the XL line is being pushed as THE PHONE to get.  Now that the phones are out, the reports of the screen of the XL have been making headlines.

Mind you, I don't really have any qualms sticking with the 5" Pixel (especially considering that it's not suffering the same fate as its XL sibling), but it is a shame that these reports and articles are tarnishing the little reputation that Google is trying to build as a company that can compete in the high end along with Samsung and Apple.

Then again, I still try to keep tabs on other devices nowadays to see if there's anything that might change my mind.  It's interesting to hear about the OnePlus 5T being teased, and how the Essential Phone has now just dropped in price.  If either can provide stock experience WITH OIS on their cameras, then I may just consider jumping ship.  Otherwise, as mentioned, I may just fork out for the 5" Pixel.  I can't deny all the software tech Google's packaged in their phones this year.

I just hope that Google can learn from this current debacle.  Perhaps the recent purchase of HTC will help it realize its hardware division for more than just the "squeeze" IP.

SUPPLEMENTAL (November 1):
I'd recently heard that the display panels used on the XL are from LG.  Funny enough, the 1st gen ThinkPad Yoga that I have also happens to use an LG Phillips panel.  This 2-in-1 laptop is known to have "ghosting" occur on the panel, so it's not a permanent burn-in.  I'm wondering if this is a similar issue with the Pixel 2 XL, as I had recently tweeted about, but I haven't seen enough tests involved to confirm this.

I'd like to think the #Pixel2XL screen issues are like what's affecting my #ThinkPadYoga 20C0, cuz it's also an LG panel too :P #ghosting

— Phil Angeles (@Flippin_Eh) October 28, 2017

At least w/ the #ThinkPadYoga 20C0, it's not permanent. Try going to https://t.co/RDtC11AXhT to test for #ghosting or #imageburn #Pixel2XL

— Phil Angeles (@Flippin_Eh) October 28, 2017

If that's the case, I'd probably be able to live with the XL as I've had my Yoga for a few years.

Inktoberfest

My usual online social platform of choice has been Twitter over these years.  Primarily because it's allowed me to share my quick thoughts or interesting links, and kill 2 birds with one stone by allowing those same posts to be shared to Facebook at the same time.

Now, only a handful of people are aware that I also have an Instagram account.  I'm not particularly active there, I think mostly because I've seen how "bastardized" (in my eyes) it's become... mainly with the overuse of hashtags (I mean... is it really that important just how many categories through hashtagging your photo needs to be in?).  If ever I've ventured in, it's because I'm curious as to the number of visual artists there are uploading their works (mostly drawings), and trying to find some inspiration through their styles.  You'll find that a majority of people I've followed there are visual artists.  As for myself, you'd figure I'd do the same, but I haven't.  Sure, I've uploaded a few photos, but none are drawings.  I guess because I don't really draw or sketch as much as I used to.

Now, a close friend of mine reminded me about Inktober.  I'd first been made aware of this period last year while doing the odd browsing thru IG.  The fact that you don't really need to worry about what to draw... just draw something based on the word of the day provided, certainly appears to make things pretty easy.  In all honesty, I was looking for an excuse to be a bit more active in IG, and perhaps Inktober may provide that first step.  Plus, it does afford for me to practice up on my sketching skills, and be a little more creative.  I also bought this little travel sketchbook awhile back, so I plan to use this for my drawings.

The prompt list for this year is out, so as of this writing, I've officially got 2 weeks to come up with a plan on how creatively I want to tackle each word.  It's a bit daunting to even think about doing a word a day for the whole month of October, but it's also exciting.  I haven't quite decided whether or not to reveal my IG account to friends/family... perhaps closer to the end of the month.  We'll see.

Wish me luck.

For The Love of Art

I recently attended my high school's 25th anniversary reunion, and one thing in particular stood out to me.  It wasn't your typical "how successful someone is" or "how much fatter we've become", but rather how much art has been a part of my life.  A letter written by a friend 25 year ago, that was also addressed to me, pointed out how much we used to draw back then.  Even one of my old teachers, after all these years, had held onto a drawing I did of him.  I know that I haven't drawn as much as I once have, but this fact didn't really hit me until this weekend.

It made me reflect just how long I have been drawing for.  I'd been drawing for as long as I can remember being able to pick up a pencil and paper.  I always say I had a knack for drawing, considering both of my parents were draftspersons/drafters.  Some of the earliest drawings that I can remember doing were typical boy things:  A dinosaur (a pterodactyl if I'm not mistaken), and a football helmet.  Now granted, memories of my childhood when I was only a few years old may be skewed about just how well they turned out, but I remember just how proud I was of myself to be able to draw.

Now, like most other kids just learning to draw, I'd doodle on my parents' newspapers, or I would trace over whatever pictures I could find.  However, because I'd always had an interest of learning how to draw, I remember my parents would give me the tools to feed this curiosity.  I recall having some type of "technical drawing" set for kids, complete with grid paper, straight edges, triangles, and circle templates to help me draw vehicles and the like.  I also remember getting one of those "learn to draw" books, which taught me basics, such as perspective, depth, and using primary shapes to plan how to create your subject.  I also recall other kids in my classes over the years that could draw really well, and that always pushed me to up my game.

Even through high school, I'd always take an art class every year as an excuse to keep on drawing.  I'd even go so far as to use the family's collection of encyclopedias, under the biology section, to get a better understanding on how the muscles were formed in our bodies.  High school was also a slight emergence in comic book collecting, as a way of finding inspiration on drawing like those great artists.  A few friends of mine and I would even go so far as to try to draw our own comic books.  We'd created alternative personalities of ourselves in comic book form.  On a side note, one of my nicknames that still carries to this day is a result of my personal character creation.

As I carried through college, I'd still continue to hone my skill and "find my voice", so to speak.  I had to evaluate my strengths, and what kind of style of drawing suited me.  I'd moved on from the typical comic book art and made my way through a manga-inspired style (much like, I'm sure, a lot of others, especially with the anime boom in the 90s).  I'd eventually fine tune things to a point where I feel it's something unique to me.  I still picked up some books to aid in my skills.  Even to this day, as I view a lot of other artists' work through Instagram, there always something I'd study and like to incorporate into my own style.  The problem nowadays I guess can be time.  But, as one of my high school art teachers once shared to her class: just keep sketching.

I'd recently picked up a little travel sketchbook to try to help me keep my skills up.  Especially now that it appears my young 2 year old seems to be showing an interest in drawing, just like his parents.  I'll do my best to teach him what I know, but also stress the importance of not paying attention about how good or bad his drawings turn out.  Let him find his voice, and if the interest still stays with him like it has with me, then he'll be just fine.

Zooper Binary Programming - How it Works

Awhile back, as a way of testing the AZ Screen Recorder app for Android, I created a quick short video highlighting my phone's minimalist setup:



Initially, I was thinking of creating a supplemental video detailing the programming behind my "binary calendar" setup (which I may end up doing anyway), but figured I needed to go into the mathematics behind the programming to show how the binary works.

I had originally stumbled across this blog when trying to learn how to program my own binary script.  I'd figured that trying to read a binary clock would be too much of a hassle for myself.  Besides, I was more enamored by the analog clock that I'd scripted for so long, I wanted something more elegant to subtly show the date, and so the binary calendar was born.

Anyway, after reading up on that blog I found, I couldn't quite grasp the programming initially, but it provided enough insight on why the math worked.  I'd noticed the correlation between the remainder patterns of when the numbers are divided, and how each bit in the binary is called upon.

First, a quick lesson on binary...

As the name implies, there are only 2 outcomes for an active bit: on or off... in other words, 1 or 0.  Each bit represent a set value: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.  Bits are aligned where the smallest value (1) is at the very end.

From there it's basic mathematics. Here is an example of a binary table:

	4	2	1
0	0	0	0
1	0	0	1
2	0	1	0
3	0	1	1
4	1	0	0
5	1	0	1
6	1	1	0
7	1	1	1

The top row represents the bit.  The first column represents the numbers.  If, for example, we wanted to represent the number 5 in binary, we need the 3rd bit (4), and 1st bit (1) active, hence the binary equivalent is 101.

So how to we translate this table into the programming?  As previously mentioned, there's a correlation in the remainder patterns when those number are divided by those same number patterns in the bits, starting from 2, as seen in the table below:

	8	4	2
0	0	0	0
1	1	1	1
2	2	2	0
3	3	3	1
4	4	0	0
5	5	1	1
6	6	2	0
7	7	3	1

For example, for each number divided by 4, the remainder is either 0 or something else.  However, we need to go a step further.  Again, looking at when the numbers are divided by 4, this actually represents the 2nd bit (2), so for each remainder value greater than or equal to 2, that represents an active bit.  You'll notice the numbers in red are the ones that match up with the binary table, just to give you a better understanding of what I'm trying to explain.

At this point, it's just a matter of applying the modulus function within Zooper's Advanced Parameters to determine the remainder, and apply it to whatever preset variable (whether it's for "time", or "date", or whatever requires a numeric value) within Zooper itself.  As an example, to determine the 3rd bit of the binary function:

$(#Zooper Preset variable#%8)>=4?true statement:false statement$

If you happened to stumble upon this blog in search of programming some binary into your Zooper widget, I hope I'd explained the concept well enough.  My apologies if it all seems a bit confusing.  This is really for someone who has invested some time already into doing some programming into Zooper, and has a basic idea of how the programming works.

The Death of Competitive Mid-range Android Devices

I recently posited the following on Twitter:

With the Nexus line gone, and the OnePlus 5 projected to go up in price, is the competitive mid-range phone dead?

— Phil Angeles (@Flippin_Eh) May 25, 2017

I think back to when I had first dove into the Android ecosystem 6 years ago.  I'd never owned anything close to a smartphone before, save for a BlackBerry for work (but that doesn't count).  The closest thing I had to it was an iPod Touch.  I could have easily stuck with IOS, but was turned off by the closed nature of the system.  At least a BlackBerry offered flexibility, but I wanted something more.  My brother had already started dipping his toes into Android, and I figured I'd do the same.  To be fair, the first Android device I played around with was some no-name Chinese tablet, running what I can only assume was "Donut", or "Eclair".

I did my research, and had settled on the Google Nexus S.  The thing that attracted me was that Google offered a bare-bones, pure Android experience... just the thing to jump into when you've had absolutely no real experience.  The other key was the price.  I believe I'd picked up the device for around $400US.  This trend continued with their Nexus line of phones, and a couple of years later, I upgraded to the Nexus 5... a phone I continue to use to this day.  It's a phone that truly epitomized the competitive mid-range device (reasonably priced that could hold its own against other phones twice the price).

Others have tried their best to be as competitive as the Nexus line of phones, and certainly the one that has found success is from OnePlus.  Their reputation, based on their tagline "Never Settle" has carried them through 4 devices over the last 3 years, with the 3T as their reigning champion.  Despite the folding of Cyanogen, they've persevered with their current flavor of Android (Oxygen OS), offering not just a pure Android experience, but a fully customizable operating system.

But now it seems the winds have changed.  Google has killed off its Nexus line of phones with the introduction of the Pixel late last year.  It's a true flagship device that's attached with a premium price tag.  I guess aside from the specs, unlimited full-size photo backup to the cloud and 24/7 support direct from the device doesn't come cheap.  With the OnePlus, recent speculation has their OnePlus 5 priced at $650US.

I suppose to truly stay relevant, you have to go big or go home with your improvements.  Perhaps at the same time, you're also trusting your customer's loyalty to buy in (pun intended) to your product, despite these changes.  I'd love to upgrade to a Pixel or OnePlus, but I can't justify dropping that much coin... at least not at this time.  I could always stick to the current Pixel or OP3T when the eventual Pixel 2 or OP5 do release.  Sticking to trailing edge tech isn't necessarily a bad thing, but that's another discussion for another time.

Hello World!

I guess what better title to use in christening this blog?  If you've happened to stumble upon this blog, then welcome!  My personal hope is this may jump start my voice out on the web.  Nothing in a big way... just to try something different and out of my comfort zone.

It does kind of remind me of my foray into Twitter 6 years ago.  I had no idea what I was getting into.  I figured my foot in the door would be to share my random thoughts, because that's really all I was doing through Facebook.  Thankfully the ability of linking my tweets to my FB account was possible, so I haven't looked back since.  Of course, Twitter has been more than just a way of sharing my thoughts, 140 characters at a time, and I'm thankful that I took that chance.

Though, I do wonder if people do blog still?  I'm sure they do... but I just thought that's evolved itself further into vlogs though YouTube, or other means.  Perhaps I'll find time to do the same, and just link it all together, and I'll just carve out a nice little place for myself on the net.  Even if all of this isn't far reaching, that's fine by me.