I'm like a kid before Christmas!
I'm a nerd through and through.... and there is nothing more exciting to a nerdy nerd, than getting some shiny new gear in the post!... and this past week, I've had two new shiny purchases arrive in the mail. One the of the interesting things about the Coronavirus support for self-employed people in The Netherlands is the fact that you are supported to the social minimum income based on your net income. So, this is the income AFTER expenses... and what this means is that it is an incentive for you to put some of your income towards expenses such as long term investments for your company to lower your net income.
For me, that meant that I had a couple of purchases (and perhaps one more further down the line...) that could be justified as legitimate work expenses whilst indulging my nerdy desires for new shinies!
The first purchases was thew new OnePlus mid range phone... the OnePlus Nord. This phone is a return back to the roots of the OnePlus philosophy of great hardware at a cheap price... which is what first got me on board with the OnePlus One back ages ago when you needed an INVITATION to purchase one!
So, there are a few compromises with this phone... pre-installed (but removable) Facebook and Netflix apps, and more problematically Facebook background services (which appear possible to also disable, but not uninstall...). These are pretty hefty compromises for a company that says "Never Settle", but it helps keep the price of the phone down I guess... However, the impact of these partnerships will heavily influence my choice to stay with OnePlus or to return to the Nexus/Pixel fold.
Also problematic is the fact that they are starting to move away from the emphasis on a clean and light version of stock Android as their UI... with a design philosophy that will move the UI towards a more "Samsung"-like experience... oh well, time to break out the old rooting tools!
Anyway, the requirement to move to a new phone was the fact that my current (old) phone is now nearing the end of it's security support cycle... which means that I am not confident wandering around the internet with that. So, I wanted to move as soon as possible to a supported phone that had a full security life cycle still ahead of it.
The second electronics purchase was a new audio recorder... this was on the wishlist for such a long time, as the Edirol that we were using for recording was probably nearing 10 years old! I mean, it still worked... but it was quite clear that newer recorders were much better in quality of sound recording and other little quality of life enhancements!
... plus, in this day and age... for a musician, the ability to make high quality audio recordings is starting to become the baseline! That said... most people don't listen to the audio, but will judge the quality of the music by the video! /crank
However, being a parent... it also means that I don't get to unbox and play around with my new toys until the kids are dealt with... which probably means this coming weekend... or next week... or something like that! So, expect a couple more posts about the hands-on experiences with these two goodies... when I find the time to play around with them a bit!
So... no playing with the new shiny hardware this evening... I have a couple of days away from home beginning tomorrow doing a small concert. On the other hand, I'm more happy to set up the phone on the home network rather than on the mobile network... and I'm sure as hell not joining the toxic sludge mess that is a hotel network!
I did treat myself to a little bit of a personal morale booster the other day... a very rare (for me...) launch day purchase of Crusader Kings 3 (bought via Humble Bundle which gives a nice discount for subscribers!). This is going to be fun!!!!!!! The ULTIMATE nepotism/patricidal simulator around!... stay tuned for a first impressions and a review!
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It's always a good day when tech-gadgetry arrives in the mail and you got yourself a couple of good ones right there. It sounds like you'll put both to good use.
I don't think we have NORD phone here in Australia but it sounds like then do goo stuff. What swayed you that way as opposed to any of the others? My brothers have Huawei phones and they have performed well for them. I have a Samsung S20, new only a few months ago...Wondering what made you go NORD...Or was it simply the cost-factor?
No, OnePlus still doesn't support the Australian market at the moment. I've not had problems with the OnePlus phones (I even got my mum on one...) in Australia, but they don't officially sell it there (gray markets do work...) and the telcos will not know what the hell the phone is if they need to do support. There are sometimes some band issues, but mostly it is okay.
I think part of their cost savings (from the old days at least...) was the grassroots guerrilla marketing (with low marketing costs)... and the highly target distribution to areas like Europe, India and places like that... avoiding the highly saturated Western (US, Australia, UK) markets that were already dominated by Samsung and Apple. This meant that they didn't have to load up on marketing and subject their phones to "partnerships" to just get noticed!
I've been with OnePlus since the Nexus line went belly up (the first OPO phone, with the invitation to purchase)... the OnePlus phones always offered great flagship hardware at cheaper prices, which always appealed the nerd in me! However, over the last few launches, the prices have been steadily increasing (not as bad as Samsung and Apple flagships... yet...) and that really started to irritate the OG community. Anyway, with the NORD, they have gone back to the original philosophy with decent specs at lower price points. This year, they are up against the Pixel 4a (which you CAN buy in Australia).
So, partly brand loyalty... although, I will have to see how this system UI change and the "partnerships" play out. The Pixel 3a/4a lines are less packed with internal goodies... but they have that awesome Camera software... I have my wife on a Pixel, she prefers the quality photos rather than the speed, storage, multi-SIM, high refresh screen and stuff like that!
I recently lost both my phones, personal Samsung S9 and work iPhone X...Wasn't a good day for sure. I replaced both of course, but was a bit confronted by the price of the S20 which I bought on a 24 month plan so I could pay it off periodically. Phones are (probably) indispensable but they cost so much! I've had desktop PC's that cost less than the S20 and it is a little mind-boggling that things have spiralled so out of control.
It seems your phone was a logical purchase and to be honest I think my next phone will be something a little cheaper, the Huawei or Oppo ones maybe? You made a good point about the marketing though...If they didn't pay 2 gazillion dollars for flashy adverts maybe the phone would be cheaper.
!ENGAGE 25
Take a look in at the Pixel "a" line (the mid ranger of the Pixel series).... great cameras, light software footprint!
Ouch, I'm not even going to ask how you lost two phones at the same time... cooked by leaving them in a car? It's been ages since I've bought a phone on a plan... these days, I go outright for the flexibility of changing providers. S20 is pretty awesome though... even if it also has an awesome price tag!
I'll take a look.
The phones were stolen. We with my wife having a bite to eat. Walked 15 steps to put rubbish in the bin, she was looking the other way...Taken by someone right under her nose. (I'd left them sitting on the low wall by the lake). She was literally next to them. Not her fault though, mind for leaving them there. It was not a good day.
Yep, I like the S20. Nice camera.
ENGAGEtokens.You are so into gadgets, that's nice!
Haha... yes, I figure we all need a vice or two... it beats smoking!
Hahaha indeed. Smoking is bad, I never smoked and never will
I have one plus 6T and am pretty happy with it. As you said, I would rather see them catering the niche crowd. It seems their target is to become the next Apple or Samsung as they have been announcing mobile phones in all price categories. They are coming up with the cheapest (200$) one plus phone called _ One Plus Clover.
I had got my mum a 6T and I was sooooo jealous! I was still rocking a 5 (no T).... so, when it was my turn to upgrade, I was tempted by the older model 7T... but the security lifecycle was too much of a consideration, and the 8 was just too expensive for what it was. So, Pixel or... NORD!
I have seen the Clover... looks like it is really aiming at the low end... perhaps too much so for my own pride! Odd that they are doing a US launch though!
A fellow nerd, Giggity. It is always exciting to get and even more unwrap new tech. I am a tech guy myself and I can't wait for your hands-on review.
Teehee... there is nothing better than unboxing the lovelies! Trying to keep them safe from that first scratch...
Oh. Oh. I love shiny new stuff.
I got a new IPhone SE a couple months ago. I really, really like it.
The story about how I went to the dark side relates a little. In 2017 my brother had died suddenly. Like went to bed healthy and didn't wake up suddenly. Being retired mostly I immediately went to stay with my Mom at my brother's house. I had too much time on my hands so decided I needed to 'root' my phone. I cooked it.
My other brother offered his used Iphone 6 plus. The bank he works for require them to carry an Apple product so they buy him a new one each year. The 6 was near two years old but worked perfectly so I took it. In April of this year the 6 went out of support for Apple. I was going to go back to an Android phone when the SE was released. By the time I traded in my 6plus and switched providers it cost me less per month than my service alone had cost. And I didn't have to relearn Android.
And I'm one of those rare birds that LISTEN to music. I look forward to your new recorder. WooHoooo.
That seems such a good way to handle stimulus to me, I can't even express. Another huge plus to the Netherlands...
Shiny shiny shiny!
... wait, how did you brick your phone (I'm assuming that you bricked it and it didn't go up in flames!)? Out of date root or an accidental download of the wrong image?
Ah well... good that you still enjoy the SE, I have heard good things about it... even if I would avoid it for myself!
The stimulus here in Netherlands has it's own mistargetings like any big cash splash... but at least they did realise that targetting some towards the lower end with the incentive to spend (rather than stash it away...) would go some way to keeping the money circulating in the economy! However... don't get me started on some of the other attempts that have just bolstered entrenched "too big to fail" companies...
I'm not exactly certain what I did, but it certainly quit working :)
I spent our first 'poor folk stimulus' on a new roof and we haven't had one drop of rain since so I don't know how successful that was. If/when we get another I'm going to buy some new glass for my Nikon or maybe a whole new camera. I'm proud to do my part in stimulating the economy.
I honestly believe that the reason there was personal stimulus money in the US was to temper people's feelings about bailing out the 'big guys'. Psssst, Hey. We'll give the hoople heads $1200 and they don't dare bitch about your billions!
I do like the SE. It serves my purpose well. Inspite of who built it :)
Yep... fully agree with that.
Looks like Christmas came earlier for you, haha, happy for your happiness! I wished I could make myself some presents too this year but this stupid pandemic made my whole life take a different turn! 😞
Yes... sorry to hear that. I think this pandemic has really thrown a spanner in everyone's plans. Still, if you have the ability... a little treat is sometimes what is needed to keep the morale up!
That's definitely a good day. I also always get giddy when a new box arrives at the front door. I'll admit to being a little jealous of that OnePlus. Hope it's as awesome as I think it'd be!
It is definitely a step up from the OP5 that it replaced! It's going pretty decently over the last couple of days... although, I have to say that I'm pretty underwhelmed by the current state of 5G!
Oooo. New shiny toys. Don't let your kids get hold of it. One of the bonuses of recently leaving my job is not having to use an iPhone everyday for work anymore. Having now used both apple and Android, the apple interface makes very little sense. It's was super frustrating when I needed to work quickly.
HAHAHAHA!!!!! My kids know that they can never touch my toys! They always go and bother my wife if they want that sort of thing...
I have my mother on Apple stuff, I know that there is a certain "sense" in the way that the UI works... but oh my god, it drives me nuts! Probably works in reverse as well... but APPLE is definitely wrong!
😆👍
Ohhhh~!!! I know how you are about bright and shiny toys!! :)) I can tell just by the intro to this post that you were a goner.
I'm curious to see how you like it once you get it all set up. Good luck and have fun on the road with your mini-trip!
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Haha... I've been having fun playing around with them and getting used to how they work and putting them through their paces. Mostly quite impressed... although, the audio recorder will take a bit more to learn to use it properly!
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I love getting new gadgets and for me being nerdy is actually being cool. I think this is another reason I love japan, they celebrate the nerd. You've got me doing some research as my phone screen is starting to die. Gives me some other options to look into, thanks for that, i'd never heard of it before
If you are looking a new phone, I can also highly recommend the Pixel "A" line... I have my wife on the 3AXL and the fact that it has mid range components with a FLAGSHIP camera/software is a really killer! The 4A is about to launch, so you could for that... or try to get a cheap deal on the 3A(XL).
thanks man I'll look into that also. Camera quality would be a massive plus