Bidding Farewell to Google...For Now.

"Mercedes Streeter" (smart) 10/04/2016 at 15:26 • Filed to: skynet

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Earlier this week, I reported that I might sell my brand spankin’ new Galaxy S7 if the new Google Pixel phone was awesome enough to captivate my heart.......

...And well, while I like the new Pixel phones, I’m going to keep the S7. I’ve finally gotten used to TouchWiz and dare I say, it’s not nearly as annoying as it used to be. TouchWiz today seems to have an air of Cyanogenmod about it, and I’m okay with that.

Part of this is that I just don’t like the Pixel’s design:

There’s a space at the bottom of the front bezel for something...anything...yet there’s nothing there. My S7 has two LED touch sensor buttons (that disappear when you aren’t using it) and a fingerprint sensor. It’s actually a feature I did not know I’d enjoy much more than having the buttons on the screen itself, but I do.

The other thing that makes the Pixel hard for me to swallow is the half glass/half metal of the frame’s back. I’m a big fan of glass phones and glossy metal phones, which is why I still have an old arse iPhone 4 I use for projects and now the S7 with its weird-cool glass-metal infused back. The Pixel’s housing is definitely very classy looking, but I was hoping for Google to kinda take the Honor 8 route and go full glass. Snazzy.

The last thing that makes it a hard buy for me is that price. I loved the Nexus program because it offered high performance at a price that was almost highway robbery. Instead, the Pixel has its sights on becoming a full-on competitor to Samsung and Apple. I’m okay with that, in fact it’s something I can get on board with. But, I think I’m going to wait for whatever they have next year. Or, maybe I’ll stick with Samsung. Who knows! :D

What do all of you think of the new Pixel?

Have a Mustang Meme for the road. :P

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 15:30

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I really like the Samsung touchWiz. It works really smoothly and does a good job with accidental touches on the edge screen.

lone_liberal > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 15:32

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I’ve been holding on to my OG MotoX because I didn’t want to deal with TouchWiz and was waiting for something with pure Android that was comparable to the top phones. This would fit the bill, but I really do not like those huge bezels. I might still end up with one, but it isn’t the slam dunk it should be.

Mercedes Streeter > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 10/04/2016 at 15:33

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I thought it was just my annoyingly long finger nails doing that to the LED buttons on the bottom. xD

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 15:33

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I was really hyped for the Pixels. I was ready to order one as soon as the reviews came out, especially since my G4 has turned into a steaming pile of shit in the last month or so. But $649 is way too much for me.

ttyymmnn > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 15:33

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That space at the bottom is for computery kind of stuff. Plus, it makes it look like an iPhone.

Mercedes Streeter > lone_liberal 10/04/2016 at 15:34

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A OnePlus might be up your alley then. They have their own silly skin to them, but it is possible to get standard Android on them.

404 - User No Longer Available > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 15:40

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Remember when most people replace their phone once every several years, not several months?

Pepperidge Farm remembers.

FromCanadaWithLove > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 15:46

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I find the Pixel is really trying to look like an iPhone. That’s kind of disappointing for me, I find the designs for the 6/6S/7 pretty boring.

lone_liberal > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 15:46

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I don’t think the OnePlus 3 likes Verizon.

extraspecialbitter > 404 - User No Longer Available 10/04/2016 at 15:50

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still got my galaxy s4. my battery swells up.

i’m like, yeah whatever

mazda616 > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 15:52

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I haven’t read much about this. Is it the replacement for the Nexus?

extraspecialbitter > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 15:53

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the Nexus 5x and 6p weren’t exactly eye candy when they came out.

par for the course from google/huawei/lg.

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > 404 - User No Longer Available 10/04/2016 at 15:53

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I’ve been following Miss Mercedes’ posts on this topic as a lazy way of researching replacing my almost 5 year old Galaxy S2. But I’m probably unusual, as you say, for how long I’ve had my smartphone.

djmt1 > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 15:55

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That price and a lack of front facing speakers has killed any interest I have in the Pixel phones. Plus as far I am concerned paying more than £400 for phones is dumb (I only buy unlocked phones every 18-24 months). I’ll probably go back to OnePlus but I should really stop buying Chinese phones since they keep breaking on me.

404 - User No Longer Available > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com 10/04/2016 at 15:57

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Well I know I’m in for the long run with my Priv. Could very well be the last phone with a PKB. Supposedly there’s a Mercury coming after but who knows what they are actually doing these days.

Mercedes Streeter > extraspecialbitter 10/04/2016 at 16:06

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True dat, and my Nexus 5X has baaaad “case rub” which is apparently a common issue.

Mercedes Streeter > 404 - User No Longer Available 10/04/2016 at 16:09

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To be fair, I’m getting free replacements. I Bought an iPhone 6 in 2014, replaced it with a Nexus 5X in 2016 (I was able to sell the dying iPhone for more than the price of the Nexus), and the Galaxy S7 was also free.

When it comes to using my own money, I do upgrades every two years...but since I’m doing this all for free? Why not? :D

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > 404 - User No Longer Available 10/04/2016 at 16:14

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Okay, I apparently need to step up my research, since I don’t know what Priv, PKB or Mercury are. If you were trying to look “in the know” then, mission accomplished. And I realize that I am definitely not up to speed on the tech.

Mercedes Streeter > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com 10/04/2016 at 16:21

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Android phones go far and wide as the eye can see lol. There easily has to be thousands of different Android models and manufacturers out there...hence why Android OS so easily overtook iOS as the most used phone OS.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > lone_liberal 10/04/2016 at 16:21

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Wait.....the Moto X from 2013? (Which was amazing BTW) or the Droid X from like 2010?

BeaterGT > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 16:23

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Probably still getting it. I’ve realized nothing will come close to the Nexus 5 anyway.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 16:29

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$649! Dear god I can get tires for my jeep with that. I got the lg g4 last may but with the motherboard issues this might be a one year phone. My s3 lasted 4 years while my g1 5 years as well. Only paid $350 new for it. I might consider a nexus if its in the 300 to 400 range.

Mercedes Streeter > lone_liberal 10/04/2016 at 16:36

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Ah bloody, you’re right..it doesn’t work on Verizon’s radio bands...I thought those types of phones were long dead.

Mercedes Streeter > djmt1 10/04/2016 at 16:37

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What kinds of Chinese phones have you had? I was always kind of suspicious of their promises of Galaxy power with the price of a generic smartphone.

Mercedes Streeter > FromCanadaWithLove 10/04/2016 at 16:40

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Unfortunately we’ve reached that point in phone design. We’ve made our phones so thin that the only acceptable forms they can take are rectangular candy bars or rounded soap bars. There are a few stand out designs (the Galaxy S7 and the One M series immediately comes to mind) but outside of those outliers, everyone wants to follow Apple.

I’ll take a thick phone anyday. Imagine the battery life you could get out of a phone that was as thick as an iPhone 4, but with today’s tech? I bet you’d be able to fit a 10,000mAh battery!

Mercedes Streeter > mazda616 10/04/2016 at 16:41

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Yep! Nexus is dead, in comes Pixel! It’s Google’s attempt at joining the high end phone market with Apple and Samsung.

djmt1 > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 16:47

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HTC One-M7 (Taiwan is technically China): The Camera lens melted due to a shitty update to the Zoe camera function.

OnePlus One: One of the sim card pins got stuck slighty and as a result the sim card would disconnect if the phones was moved in a vigorous manner.

Nexus 6P (Huawei made it): Currently on my third handset. The first phone had broken antennas and couldn’t connect to 4G. The replacement phone’s fingerprint sensor wasn’t attached properly and could be physically moved about under the body.

I should probably give the Koreans a second chance. I really enjoyed my S2 before Samsung’s forced bloatware update destroyed the battery. Either way I’ll probably hold onto my 6P until it breaks out of warranty and then pick up a OnePlus again. Having a sub £300 phone is an amazing feeling, I would like to experience again.

gawdzillla > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 17:05

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LG v20 here I come

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 10/04/2016 at 17:05

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I got a G4 last year too (which btw was a $600 phone at launch) and it completely shit the bed in the last month or so. It freezes up constantly, is unresponsive, and can’t hold a wifi connecton for shit. I was really hoping these phones would be affordable but google wants to go play with apple and samsung.

lone_liberal > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 10/04/2016 at 17:06

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Moto X from 2013. It is great, which is why I’ve been delaying getting a replacement.

Mercedes Streeter > djmt1 10/04/2016 at 17:11

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HTC One-M7 (Taiwan is technically China): The Camera lens melted due to a shitty update to the Zoe camera function.

What in the worl...how...how does that even work?

Nexus 6P (Huawei made it): ...

*Sigh* My 5X (technically a LG G4) always ran low on RAM on stock Android (Miss Tesla reports Nougat is better with RAM than Marshmallow was) and the frame itself was literally impossible to clean. Once my case rubbed onto the frame’s battery door, it was game over. Nothing would clean that unsightly mess. I can see why Google ditched LG and Huawei.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 17:13

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I’m kinda leaning towards buying google home, also I’ll probably upgrade my Nexus 6 to a Pixel as I quite like vanilla Android over the skins other manufacturers use. Also the constant updates are nice as well.

Mercedes Streeter > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 10/04/2016 at 17:14

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With $649, I can get two complete sets of tyres on the smart. xD

I don’t think I’ve ever paid more than $300 for a phone. Usually I weasel my way out of paying full price by putting the burden on something, or someone else...Usually eBay.

Mercedes Streeter > ttyymmnn 10/04/2016 at 17:18

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Indeed. However, I wonder if this is a side effect of the race to make the thinnest phone? It seems phones are getting thinner faster than the tech can be advanced to make thinner motherboards, screens, etc? I mean, Apple had to take out the headphone jack for their latest iteration.

I guess my other question is why do phones need to be paper thin in the first place? I would totally buy an iPhone 4 thick phone with the internals of a modern phone. Imagine the size of the battery you could fit!

ttyymmnn > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 17:26

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I’m not sure Apple took the hp jack out to make space. I think they are trying to be bold and edgy, pull a Steve Jobsian you-don’t-need-a-floppy-drive move. Although, I believe it did allow them to use a slightly larger battery.

I have been using an iPhone 5S, and I’m due for an upgrade this month. We recently got my son a iPhone 5SE, and I think that’s the way to go. The 6 is too big (for me), and I like the design and looks of the 5S (though I keep it in a case). The SE has all the guts of the 6, minus the better camera, so for me, it’s sort of a no-brainer.

404 - User No Longer Available > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com 10/04/2016 at 17:29

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I don’t blame you, blame BlackBerry. PKB=physical keyboard.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 17:30

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I like new since I get the factory warranty. I have the habit of making my electronics last 4+ years. Like my nexus 7 and my laptop (it can run autocad!).

Pistol Whipped Cream > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 17:33

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My favorite physical feature is the lack of camera bump

scoob > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 18:13

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It looks like an iPhone clone. Yes, HTC did it first but nobody will say or think of them first. And to nitpick even further, those icons do not follow Google’s own Material Design.

Actually, Google changes stuff in Material Design so much I guess this is the new Material Design.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > ttyymmnn 10/04/2016 at 18:38

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Considering that the space gained in the iPhone 7 is used for a larger vibration motor they didn’t actually need the space inside the phone.

Mercedes Streeter > scoob 10/04/2016 at 21:16

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Kinda! What you’re looking at is the new “Pixel” launcher. Also, Android 7.1 is supposed to shake up the icons and make them round...which honestly is a thing taken from Cyanogenmod.

Mercedes Streeter > ttyymmnn 10/04/2016 at 21:22

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#Courage lol

But yeah, TurbochargedSquirrel makes a good point. If you check behind the left speaker grille, there isn’t anything there, it’s there for show. A massive Taptic Engine resides behind the fake speaker grille. Tbh, I think the iPhone 7 is just a stop-gap until the 10 year anniversary. The exclusion of the headphone jack may have just been laziness, as they have a bigger project to worry about.

facw > Mercedes Streeter 10/04/2016 at 21:52

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I don’t know about the lens melting, but the HTC One M7 has a major defect that turns the camera purple (among other visual defects). It is supposed to be related to the sensor overheating (the damage is permanent). It’s an extremely common problem with the device.

MAXIMUMVRM > Mercedes Streeter 10/05/2016 at 07:00

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I was really excited to buy the pixel. But no waterproofing no sale. Would habe been the perfect 5" for me. Looks like I’m going to s7 or Xperia x performance

Tapas > Mercedes Streeter 10/05/2016 at 08:17

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I think its a good phone, but its not priced right.

You can get the Moto X Droid for far less money. Its only slightly less capable with 3 gigs ram instead of 4 and a less powerful processor (but it has 64 gigs + SD slot and a larger battery).

The only added features that the Pixel has is the new Android assistant stuff, which I have zero interest in. Also, they didn’t give an option to have expandable memory so yeah.