Google Nexus 6P

So after 2 years, I finally decided to upgrade my phone.

The plan was to upgrade it every year given the low price of the Nexus line, but when last year's Nexus 6 was HUGE, and cost as much as an iPhone, I decided to pass, plus I wasn't too keen on the build.

This year however, since there were two Nexus phone, and with the price brought back down to the range I wanted, all that I had left was to choose between the 5X or the 6P.

Personally I would have preferred the size of the 5X but in terms of specs, the 6P would be able to last 2 years and perform better should I skip a purchase again in 2016.

Size bump aside, and apart from the front firing speakers which is honestly life changing (why don't phone manufacturers do this more often? I don't recall this being patented), the camera quality is something I can really appreciate coming from the older Nexus 5. iPhones have generally enjoyed great photography but in 2015, it's good to see more Android phones keep pace.

Below are shots taken in various conditions and I can say I'm really happy thus far. None are post edited.

Indoor low light, shopping mall had its lights turned off as it was only 7am. Auto HDR

Same as above. Auto HDR

Back light washed out sky, but still manageable.HDR

Indoor with mall lights on. HDR

Indoor regular living room lighting. No HDR

Outdoor sheltered. No HDR

Indoor Florescent. No HDR

Indoor incandescent light. No HDR

Indoor incandescent light. No HDR

Besides the rear shooter, the front is pretty awesome too, 8mp, and wide angle, I'm not a selfie person, but when I do, I take a photo of my cat and I indoors.

Why no iPhone? Really boils down to price, After a lot of reading and user reviews from Android users, I am convinced that I can handle an iPhone now that iOS9 has a lot of the functions I want in a phone, but to put into perspective.

Nexus 6P 64gb - $899
iPhone 6S+ 64gb - $1,388

Overall I've no regrets with the phone, glad with the purchase!

Nexus 6P Review

So I've decided to get a Phablet sized Nexus 6P instead of the 5X, hope I'll get use to the size difference!

Google's New Nexus 5X and 6P

I've been meaning to upgrade my phone for awhile now, When Google launched the Nexus 6 last year it was an immediate no for me. The size was too big and I certainly didn't want something with too much heft taking up space in my pockets.

Fast forward 2 years, Google's launched 2 new phones (yay!), a 5 inch replacement as well as a 6 inch model.

The 5X is built by LG while the 6P will be made by Huawei. Frankly I'm not feeling the 6P, it looks odd, but it packs a few better items, specifically a faster chip, dual front facing speakers, and a larger screen (of course).

The 5X follows a same design over the original 5 which I own. It sports a single front facing speaker, and a slightly slower chip, though honestly living with the current Nexus 5 for 2 years now, I'd say all the chips this date can keep up to almost every task, so it's not a huge issue here.

The biggest thing for me is the camera, both the 5X and 6P will sport an all new Sony sensor that has a larger pixel size than its predecessor, making it take in more light.

For comparison:

iPhone 6
Pixel Size 1.5
no OIS (Optical Image Stabilizer)
8 Megapixels
f2.2 Aperture

iPhone 6S
Pixel Size 1.22
no OIS (Optical Image Stabilizer)
12 Megapixels
f2.2 Aperture

iPhone 6S+
Pixel Size 1.22
OIS (Optical Image Stabilizer)
12 Megapixels
f2.2 Aperture

Nexus 5X & 6P
Pixel Size 1.55
no OIS (Optical Image Stabilizer)
12 Megapixels
f2 Aperture

I found it interesting that the 6S has a smaller pixel size over its older model. But specs aside, it's down to the actual test that'll see if the Nexus camera holds up.

The samples look good though.

Lastly, the price, as I'm keen in only the 32gb model instead of the 16gb version, the 5X costs US$429 while the 6P sells for US$499 without contract.

Pricing was one of the reasons why I skipped last year's Nexus 6 too. If I were to pay top dollar for the device, I'd honestly be fine changing to an iPhone. But with the current Nexus phones back to the usual price structure, the 5X is pretty much a no brainer.

I admit I am still looking at the 6P, but still gotta get over the heft and looks, but if not the 5X is really fine with me.

WSJ Interviews One Plus Co-Founder Carl Pei

When I first saw the video, I didn't think much of it. But after watching, I'm impressed with what this guy managed to achieve from nothing, starting out expecting to at least sell 30,000 units of "the best smart phone" to actually selling over 1.5 million sets.

Like Steve Jobs, he never graduated, always wore minimalist (a bunch of the same tops), appreciated design, and had a pretty simplistic life. I even find his "experiments" where he lives out of Air BNB for a month and travels really light, very amusing.

I hope the One Plus 2 is a good phone, I wouldn't mind supporting if the price is right.

Economic Lunch

With the LT team and Jeffrey.

Fun Food Fifty 2015 - Sights

Random photos taken during the entire run. Some I like, some I wished could be better composed, or better thought out.

Taken with the Nexus 5.

Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Review - The Verge

I have to admit, it's been a damn long time since I looked at a Samsung phone and went "wow!"

The S6 Edge did that for me, and with the software being less bloated than before, and a camera that competes with the iPhone, I do think it's a phone I would put on my list if I wanted to get a premium Android phone.

Problem? Probably the same reason why I haven't dive into getting an iPhone yet, the price. At this point, I think I'm comfortable enough with iOS8 to be fine switching between and iPhone or Android device, but coming from a phone (Nexus 5) that cost half the price previously, it is a bit hard to convince myself to double up on premium when it comes to phones, at least for now anyway.

Nexus 6 and Android Lollipop Review - The Verge

Really decent review of the Nexus 6 and Google's new operating system.

I'm still not keen on getting such a large phone, but I am looking forward to getting the OS update for the Nexus 5.

Lunch @ Brawn & Brains

After BNI this morning. Needed coffee and something to eat, since B&B is just 5-10 minutes away, it's the nearest place for a good cup of java at this hour, so why not? May make this a usual Friday haunt unless it gets crowded then I'll leave for other paying customers.

Side note, both photos taken with the Nexus 5, it's no iPhone but I'm really loving the results from both pictures, the above being a play of DOF while the one at the bottom is a fake blur function using Google's camera app that measures distance of objects within the picture, seems like it did a pretty decent job. =)

I Don't Really Want a 6 Inch Nexus

I love the new iPhone, the only thing holding me back is having to fork out more than double the price of a Nexus device to own one for the few additional features.

That said, if the recent rumors are true, the next nexus is going to be a 6 inch slab, that's the size of the iPhone 6+ and Note 3.

I'm really not too keen on having a beast of a phone in my pocket. the Nexus 5's 5 inch screen is the magic number for me, plus I'm not sure about the overall design of the new upcoming phone.

I guess we'll see when it becomes official in about a month's time.

iOS 8 Review

As previously expected, it's new highlights aren't going to impress the Android user, but more importantly, it means the Android features I want are now in iOS8, along with the iOS features that I also like which Android doesn't have.

Still finding it hard to put down a grand for a phone though, so no iPhone 6C? =)

Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Review - The Verge

Obviously better than the last iPhone. The review doesn't touch on iOS8 much so it's not exactly an OS comparison.

Love the camera quality, features and the design.

The New iPhone 6 and Apple Watch (With The Verge Video Summary)

Managed to catch the keynote last night despite the crappy connection and loads of bugs during the live stream, the new iPhone is finally here, and it's pretty, I love the design though admittedly it feels like a nod to the HTC One's metal design and 2012 Nexus 4 curved glass surface. Overall, still a pretty looking phone, no doubt.

The next item on the list was the Apple Watch, love the fact that Apple is now in the wearables market, Android Wear is cool but without competition it cannot go anywhere. Apple seems to have upped the game in some areas which Android can definitely look towards, while some of the stuff are pretty much playing catch up with what the current offerings have.

What the current offerings DO NOT have are multiple styles, something Apple has done, a watch that caters to many, really love it.

Overall I'm looking forward to seeing Google push the envelope, the Moto 360 is an awesome watch, I really like it, over the Apple Watch, but without variety, Motorola may need to relook its current design and perhaps come up with something new in 2015 in time for the Apple watch's launch.

Google Now is a Stalker

Talk about stalkerish, I turned on Google Now today to check something and realised among the list of information, there was a card that wrote "Parking Location". I paused, took a second look, and clicked the map to double check, true enough it really was where I had parked my car this morning.

Talk about creepy eh? I can understand why people are concern with their privacy being invaded, personally I don't think I'm of that much importance for the big G or any company for that matter who'd want to keep an eye on me, so if it means more convenience, why not?

iPhone 6 Sapphire Display

I don't usually watch videos on pre-production or leaked parts cause they are boring.

But cause 2 friends who share similar views shared it, I figured I'd check it out.

Love the opacity of the display, and the durability. =)

New Hydration Bag

I had to clear vouchers before they expired on Sunday and didn't know what to get. The bag I wanted wasn't available, so this was the next best thing, hope it'll be a good purchase!

Side Note: Photos below taken with the Nexus 5 using Google Camera's Lens Blur feature...like pro only the first photo (except the second which is a bit wonky) =P

iOS 8 Features and Impressions - MKBHD

If you haven't caught the keynote, I felt this was a good digestible summary of iOS 8 on a whole.

This is why I'm excited for iOS 8, as an Android user, 2 of my favorite features I felt hard leaving behind if I were to ever switch were it's App-sharing feature where you can share an image or what not, from a gallery straight to a third party app while you couldn't do that on the older versions of iOS.

The next feature is third party keyboards, something I've been using for awhile now.

I guess what I'm saying is, if Apple did come out with a bigger screen, the next thing I'll have to ask myself is whether I'm willing to shell out $1k for a phone after being spoilt by high end yet highly affordable phones from the Nexus program, because a lot of features I love on Android are truly finding their way into iOS now, and as a Mac user, that is sort of a win-win right?

OnePlus One - Never Settle

Here's a phone that's been getting a lot of hype recently. Finally unveiled today at a keynote conference, the OnePlus One is a new brand and their flagship phone is one heck of a device.

• 13mp Sony f2.0 Camera
• 5mp front facing camera
• 4K Video
• 120fps 720p Recording
• JBL speakers
• 3,100mAh battery
• Audio chip set with support for FLAC audio
• USB 3.0
• Cyanogen UI

All this above is not just geek territory, but specs that rival (and some times better) the S5 and HTC One. The design is clean, and similar to the Oppo Find 7, no surprises there seeing the CEO was former VP at Oppo, so he most likely got them to make the phone to his specifications.

The phone will also come with changeable back plates for those who fancy something more than just white (made of cashew...yes, cashew) or black.

I managed to catch a little of the keynote, the CEO's quite an Apple fan and looks up to the company, striving for a philosophy similar to theirs, and judging from the clean design of the phone and use of a minimalist Cyanogen UI, the phone looks pretty cool.

The phone is so hot it's catching international media attention even though it's from a China company. First look videos are already out.

The best part?

16gb for US$299, 64gb for US$349.