Side note: I've always wondered what "lox" was in 2001: A space odyssey. I've always wondered why the heck they had salmon in the emergency rations. Was this a some futuristic British thing? Finally, thanks to this video, it has been answered. It also proves how much of a space nerd I am not!
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Falcon's Perfect Landing!
Side note: I've always wondered what "lox" was in 2001: A space odyssey. I've always wondered why the heck they had salmon in the emergency rations. Was this a some futuristic British thing? Finally, thanks to this video, it has been answered. It also proves how much of a space nerd I am not!
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Z3 Day 2. I'm lovin' it.
I don't get it. Comparing the Sony Z3 to the Samsung S6, I can't fathom why I'm loving the Z3 so much more! I think this is the 2nd android device I really like, the first of which is the Xperia ray. Never really got into the Nexus 4, and the android tablets I have/had? Blargh. No thanks. IOS ftw there.
To me, Z3 vs S6:
The ergonomics on the Z3 are poorer.
The hardware feels cheaper.
The screen just does not compare at all.
The camera is pretty crap compared to the S6.
The charger that came with the phone evidently doesn't supply enough current to charge the phone (I have to use my Nexus 4's charger lol)
Opening the waterproof flaps to charge the phone is fiddly.
Instructions on how to insert the sim card are practically non-existent.
The torchlight is an epic fail.
But somehow, the UI and feel of the phone is just right. I really like the included widgets, they just align on the home screen just right. THE BACKGROUND SCROLLS! And best of all, I didn't have to waste time "rooting" the phone or going through the app store to find replacements. It just frakkin' works!
So glad the S6 is sold. Hope the new owner likes it :)
To me, Z3 vs S6:
The ergonomics on the Z3 are poorer.
The hardware feels cheaper.
The screen just does not compare at all.
The camera is pretty crap compared to the S6.
The charger that came with the phone evidently doesn't supply enough current to charge the phone (I have to use my Nexus 4's charger lol)
Opening the waterproof flaps to charge the phone is fiddly.
Instructions on how to insert the sim card are practically non-existent.
The torchlight is an epic fail.
But somehow, the UI and feel of the phone is just right. I really like the included widgets, they just align on the home screen just right. THE BACKGROUND SCROLLS! And best of all, I didn't have to waste time "rooting" the phone or going through the app store to find replacements. It just frakkin' works!
So glad the S6 is sold. Hope the new owner likes it :)
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Goodbye S6, Hello Z3
So after a week of using the S6, I decided that I really do not like it, and put it on ebay, and got a Sony Z3 instead. Originally, I wanted to get the Z3 Compact for the size, but the prices on ebay had the Z3 for cheaper, so hey! Buuuuuy. Z5 was out of the run - price wise, and I didn't want something with a processor that's mainly for marketing to compete against newer iphones.
In the meantime, I've been using my alarm clock, aka a used Iphone 5S for my main phone. I was very surprised it actually worked since I've never put a sim card in it. Heck, it somehow even got a lte signal. Samsung, Sony, LG, still haven't got a clue how to include good alarm tones like Apple.
Haven't used IOS since IOS 1 on the very first iphone, and it was not as annoying as I remembered. If not for the weird love/hate relationship I have with Itunes, I would probably use an iphone, but I really, really like plugging in a usb cable and downloading my food photos which I never upload. So there.
Well first up, things about the Z3 that I liked:
- Alarm has adjustable snooze (yesssss!)
- Adjustable size clock widget (much win!!!!)
- Background now scrolls as I scroll through the home screens (YEAAAAH!)
- The "old school", "dated","bloated" Xperia UI that reviewers like to mention, I found very nice to use, not the gelded annoyance that is TouchWiz.
WIN! It does everything I want that the S6 does not!
That said, there are things about it that I think could be better:
- Screen: S6 is the winner by far, it's damned good. The iphone 5s arguably has a better screen than the Z3, but it's not something that's heads and shoulders better, like the S6's screen.
- Z3's Torchlight is a weak, pitiful thing. The S6 and 5S have kickarse torchlights.
- Ergonomics: The S6 my personal winner here. The S6's power button is exactly where my thumb falls, and the volume controls balance well on the other side to be managed by my index and middle fingers. The Iphone 5S's power button is my main nitpick. The 4S's power button is fine where it is, due to the shorter phone. The 5S requires more leverage to push. The Z3 has the power button where my thumb falls, but it's rather small. Also, the volume controls are below the power button, I find my finger movements rather restricted, attempting to change the volume.
I must say, I do miss having a physical switch for the sound/vibration like the Iphone, but with my day job, it's rare I need to quickly put my mobile to silent mode.
Now apps wise, I appeared to have bought a phone for UK's EE Carrier. There are some EE apps, which I haven't yet gone through to disable. Lots of Amazon apps, which I've gone through and disabled (can't be removed.) Several sony apps, but I'm a sony fanboy for now, so I'm just leaving them there for the time being.
Now I have to compare the Kindle app on IOS vs Android. IOS's version of the kindle app definitely just feels better to use. No irritating "please re-download this book to read it" crap. The Kindle app on the Z3 already gets this crappy warning the first time I loaded it up. Grrr.
Oddly enough, there is no notepad or to-do list on the Z3 (why, Sony, why?!). Had to use the app store. Blargh.
Other things is the Z3's screen is a super finger oil magnet. The S6's screen was somewhat better, but the ios screens in my experience can handle the oil so much better.
The biggest thing I will miss from using an Iphone is Siri. I like that I can ask her to (I've configured my Siri to speak with a sexy british accent, btw) turn on my 8am alarm, and she will ask me, which 8am alarm to turn on. Now that's damned useful. I can even get her to turn on *and off* timers.
Google now can do it all (and google now can actually turn on the torchlight, which siri can't for some reason), but it's hit and miss. I had to try several times just to get Google Now to set a 15 minute timer, and I have given up trying to use the voice commands to get it to clear the timer as it just brings up timer suggestions in a google search >.>
Guess you can't have anything.
The camera doesn't seem to be as solid as the S6 or Iphone 5s's, but that's through the live view. Lots of bloom, and not as much manual control as the S6's camera. I've got to test it more, but the S6's camera is just *that good*. Iphone 5s _appears_ great, but as mentioned, I have zero interest in pulling up itunes just to download photos. BLARGH.
Now with the Iphone 5S, I'm able to get almost 4 days of battery life with my usage patterns, though I usually charge it on the 3rd day before bed. It's a nice quick charge too, about 2 hours, on some random usb charger. The S6 charges just as fast with its QuickCharge 2.0, gonna miss that. The Z3 is appearing to take *forever* to charge up, so we'll see. What I'm looking forward to is the "stamina" modes that promise a really long battery life. If it can give me 4-5 days between charges, it'll be great!
In the meantime, I've been using my alarm clock, aka a used Iphone 5S for my main phone. I was very surprised it actually worked since I've never put a sim card in it. Heck, it somehow even got a lte signal. Samsung, Sony, LG, still haven't got a clue how to include good alarm tones like Apple.
Haven't used IOS since IOS 1 on the very first iphone, and it was not as annoying as I remembered. If not for the weird love/hate relationship I have with Itunes, I would probably use an iphone, but I really, really like plugging in a usb cable and downloading my food photos which I never upload. So there.
Well first up, things about the Z3 that I liked:
- Alarm has adjustable snooze (yesssss!)
- Adjustable size clock widget (much win!!!!)
- Background now scrolls as I scroll through the home screens (YEAAAAH!)
- The "old school", "dated","bloated" Xperia UI that reviewers like to mention, I found very nice to use, not the gelded annoyance that is TouchWiz.
WIN! It does everything I want that the S6 does not!
That said, there are things about it that I think could be better:
- Screen: S6 is the winner by far, it's damned good. The iphone 5s arguably has a better screen than the Z3, but it's not something that's heads and shoulders better, like the S6's screen.
- Z3's Torchlight is a weak, pitiful thing. The S6 and 5S have kickarse torchlights.
- Ergonomics: The S6 my personal winner here. The S6's power button is exactly where my thumb falls, and the volume controls balance well on the other side to be managed by my index and middle fingers. The Iphone 5S's power button is my main nitpick. The 4S's power button is fine where it is, due to the shorter phone. The 5S requires more leverage to push. The Z3 has the power button where my thumb falls, but it's rather small. Also, the volume controls are below the power button, I find my finger movements rather restricted, attempting to change the volume.
I must say, I do miss having a physical switch for the sound/vibration like the Iphone, but with my day job, it's rare I need to quickly put my mobile to silent mode.
Now apps wise, I appeared to have bought a phone for UK's EE Carrier. There are some EE apps, which I haven't yet gone through to disable. Lots of Amazon apps, which I've gone through and disabled (can't be removed.) Several sony apps, but I'm a sony fanboy for now, so I'm just leaving them there for the time being.
Now I have to compare the Kindle app on IOS vs Android. IOS's version of the kindle app definitely just feels better to use. No irritating "please re-download this book to read it" crap. The Kindle app on the Z3 already gets this crappy warning the first time I loaded it up. Grrr.
Oddly enough, there is no notepad or to-do list on the Z3 (why, Sony, why?!). Had to use the app store. Blargh.
Other things is the Z3's screen is a super finger oil magnet. The S6's screen was somewhat better, but the ios screens in my experience can handle the oil so much better.
The biggest thing I will miss from using an Iphone is Siri. I like that I can ask her to (I've configured my Siri to speak with a sexy british accent, btw) turn on my 8am alarm, and she will ask me, which 8am alarm to turn on. Now that's damned useful. I can even get her to turn on *and off* timers.
Google now can do it all (and google now can actually turn on the torchlight, which siri can't for some reason), but it's hit and miss. I had to try several times just to get Google Now to set a 15 minute timer, and I have given up trying to use the voice commands to get it to clear the timer as it just brings up timer suggestions in a google search >.>
Guess you can't have anything.
The camera doesn't seem to be as solid as the S6 or Iphone 5s's, but that's through the live view. Lots of bloom, and not as much manual control as the S6's camera. I've got to test it more, but the S6's camera is just *that good*. Iphone 5s _appears_ great, but as mentioned, I have zero interest in pulling up itunes just to download photos. BLARGH.
Now with the Iphone 5S, I'm able to get almost 4 days of battery life with my usage patterns, though I usually charge it on the 3rd day before bed. It's a nice quick charge too, about 2 hours, on some random usb charger. The S6 charges just as fast with its QuickCharge 2.0, gonna miss that. The Z3 is appearing to take *forever* to charge up, so we'll see. What I'm looking forward to is the "stamina" modes that promise a really long battery life. If it can give me 4-5 days between charges, it'll be great!
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