Finally bought and switched to an iPhone.

I've always been an Android person. I like the customizability of the Android platform. And I liked how I could interact with the Android phone itself; the widgets, everything.

However, being on Verizon, the one thing I absolutely hate about Android is how LONG it takes to get the latest Android OS update. Seriously, it took a full YEAR between the actual public release of Nougat and for the OTA install to be available on my phone. My premier Verizon exclusive top dollar Android phone. And you know that major cellular providers will have had access to early versions of that new Android OS for months prior to the public release. Verizon's excuse has always been something like, "We want to make sure our users have the best possible experience." BS. They really just want people to give up waiting and BUY a new phone with the newer Android OS.

So, when I was able to get a slightly older iPhone 6 Plus for <$50, I bought it.

I've had it for a week, and the DAY that iOS 12 was publicly available, it was available to download and install.

It's taking some getting used to, since I'm unfamiliar with how to access stuff. But I'm adjusting pretty quickly. ALL of the apps I used on my Android phone are available on the iPhone. In fact, a couple of apps that I've been waiting for a year to arrive on the Android are already on the iPhone.

Given that a decent phone now cost >$700, I'm probably going to use this one for quite a while.

And, I'm not really sure if I'll be heading back to Android.

You can't prevent stupid...

So, we have a client that is converting their entire organization from Windows to Mac. Great. Love it. Less work for me (after it's done) and a happy client. Reason? Some people couldn't stop clicking on every link they received via email. Ouch.

Part of this is getting a new iMac for the top couple people, for their home. Great. Good for them.

So one of our engineers heads out to one of the top people's house, to set up the new iMac. He gets it all set up and starts to install Office 2011. The top person notes that our engineer is prompted for a password to install software. They don't like that. They ask our engineer to disable that. The engineer, who's never been asked that before, sends me a text message to see if I know how to do this. I've never been asked to do this on an Apple product before either. I search Google to see if this is even possible. As I expected, it is not. Simply put, it is a fundamental part of Unix and, by extension, Mac OS X. The engineer eloquently explains that the reason it cannot be disabled is to enhance the security inherent within Mac OS X. Once explained, they like and appreciate the answer.

My question is... why do people get so defensive/frustrated/prickly when their computer prompts them to authorize the installation of software but also wonder how viruses and malware are so prevalent? Is it a power-thing? A "This-is-my-computer-how-dare-you-question-me" thing?

A large chunk of users just can't seem to understand that the "bad guys" are using a huge array of tactics to get to "your stuff". Whether that "stuff" is financial info, personal info or just the juicy pictures from last holiday's party, the "bad guys" just don't care. To them, it's just as much about having the "power" to do it, as it is to gain financially from it. Sadly, some companies have the same attitude about security.

Case in point, another client decided that $23 per year per computer for anti-virus was "too much". They are a double-digit, multi-million dollar a year company. So rather than pay the $400-600 per year (yes, that little) to ensure the entire company is protected against viruses and malware and maximize their productivity, they move to an open-source anti-virus solution. During the last 14 months, we've had to reinstall, from scratch (at their request), 14 laptops simply because their chosen anti-virus solution couldn't block viruses and malware adequately.

Seriously people, if you're too stupid not to protect your financial and intellectual property, you're probably too stupid to be in charge of said property.

I love/hate Verizon/Google...

Long ago, I was on Cingular Wireless. They sucked. They had crappy coverage and even worse customer service. Then they bought AT&T Wireless in mid-2004 (rebranded back to AT&T Wireless in 2006). After the purchase, they sucked slightly less. Very slightly. So I jumped to Verizon Wireless in late 2004. And honestly haven't looked back.

I've now been with Verizon Wireless for about 9 years. I've renewed my contract multiple times, upgrading my phones along the way. I'm currently on Verizon's Share Everything plan with my Samsung Galaxy Nexus. They have excellent coverage and, despite a specific Verizon store I no longer frequent, they have excellent service. For this, I loved Verizon.

I've owned the GNex since early July 2012; right after Google announced Android version 4.1, aka "Jelly Bean". At the time, this *was* Google's premier AOSP phone. Google promised at Google I/O 2012 that "the Galaxy Nexus would be among the very first devices to receive the Jelly Bean updates." When I first got my Samsung Galaxy Nexus, it was fast and beautiful. My previous phone (a Motorola Droid X) was pathetic next to this one. The GNex had a bigger and higher resolution screen, a much faster processor and the OS was awesome. For this, I loved Google.

My GNex came with Android version 4.0, aka Ice Cream Sandwich. My GNex finally updated to Jelly Bean in late October, 3 months after Jelly Bean was released and 1 month after Sprint's Galaxy Nexus also received Jelly Bean (4.1). Now it's mid-February and I'm currently running Android version 4.1.1. Every other GNex in the wild has received 4 (!!!) more Android version updates and are currently on Android version 4.2.2. I've asked the Verizon store reps if they know when 4.2.2 will be pushed out. They don't. I've search Google for articles from the top Android blogs to see if they know. They don't. I've sent random inquiries to various Google and Samsung and Verizon sources to see if they know. And they ignore me.

Everyone knows that Verizon takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R to allow OS updates to their phones. And Google, they let their "premier" phone be left without any solid accessories (where's my smart desktop stand or car mount??) and *allowed* Verizon to nit-pick the Android OS updates into obscurity.

For this, I hate Verizon and Google.

Will I move to the Apple iPhone 5... or 6?? No. As pretty as the iPhone is, it is not for me. The UI on the iPhone is cumbersome for me and how I want/need a phone UI to function. Just... no.

Will I move to another cellular carrier?? T-Mobile, AT&T or Sprint?? No. Their coverage isn't quite as good as Verizon's and their customer support isn't as good. Both according to friends that use those carriers' services and support.

So what are my options/suggestions??

First, don't expect to get the "perfect phone". There is no "perfect phone". Not even the iPhone. (not even close). For example, the GNex's 5MP camera sucks.

Second, buy the newest phone possible when you get a new phone. The likelihood that you'll get more OS updates is significantly higher. And it'll take longer before it reaches EOL and gets no love.

Third, if there is any chance that you'll want certain accessories later, make sure they exist *now*. Just because it is their current "premier device" doesn't mean they won't drop it for another device next week.

So which carrier will I choose and what will be my next phone?

Verizon. Why? They suck less.

Android. Why? It's not an iPhone.

I really like the Motorola Razr MAXX HD but by the time I get a new phone (in a year), it will probably be EOL'd. Besides, Motorola Mobility is owned by Google now. [shutter]

So... I still love Android... and not the iPhone.

OK, so back at the end of August I was looking for my next phone upgrade and planning on going with the iPhone 5. Why? Simply put, I was tired of Verizon being several months behind the curve with Android updates.

Flash forward to today.

After spending the last 2 months on a cross-country road trip with my old Motorola Droid X (to pass the time until the iPhone 5 "arrived") and with my wife's brand new iPhone 4S, I can say one thing with 100% certainty...

The iPhone is not for me.

There are just too many things that bug me about the iPhone. Granted most of the things I had issue with are based on "personal preference" but, given that this will be my phone for the next 18-20 months, I want something I actually like.

First, the Maps app (in iOS 5.1.1) sucks. We're not even talking about the iOS 6 Maps app either (which, from what I've read, sucks even more). The "old" one does not update your route in real time. It does not go to the next leg of your route after you've obviously made the "correct" turn; you have to manually advance it. There is no voice guidance; you have to read everything. Talk about a nightmare and driving hazard rolled up in one app. No thanks!

Second, there are no widgets on the iPhone. Oh my gosh, how I love my Android widgets. Even the crappy MotoBlur widgets from my old Droid X (running Gingerbread) were insanely better than having no widgets.

Last, lack of a real voice control for the phone itself. I've used Siri quite a bit and it works for simple internet queries. But for doing anything else on your phone... it's all but worthless. Android has great voice control, right out of the box. Grab the free Assistant app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.speaktoit.assistant) and it can do even more; from starting navigation, to searching for news and images, to looking up weather or sports, to sending out email or TXT messages or reading your incoming email of TXT messages to you. Pretty dang cool.

So, today I went back to the phone I left behind, my new Samsung Galaxy Nexus with 4G LTE. All the power and glory that is Android... and none of the shortcomings (IMHO) that is Apple.

I love Android... but my next phone will be an iPhone.

About 9 months ago, I dropped my Motorola Droid X and shattered the LCD screen. It still worked fine but it was only a matter of time before I sliced my finger on the broken glass. I was fortunate to have a buddy that could lend me a Motorola Droid until my Verizon New-Every-Two option became available. As cool and functional as the OG Motorola Droid was, it was also just too slow for my patience.

So, after hearing that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus was going to be among the first phones to receive Google Jelly Bean Android update, I opted to buy one early. I was quite happy with ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich) but eagerly awaited Jelly Bean. And I kept waiting... and waiting... and waiting. Granted I had mine for only 2 months, but vendors and carriers had Jelly Bean for months before it was announced. And other vendors and carriers had already updated their version of the Galaxy Nexus to Jelly Bean. So far, Verizon hasn't made any announcement of when Jelly Bean will be available for *ANY* of their phones.

So, given that my mom wanted the same phone and my growing frustration with Verizon's Android Update timeline (or lack of a timeline), I traded her my brand new Samsung Galaxy Nexus (I had to send my original, faulty one back) for her old Motorola Droid X.

Simply put, it's a solid phone. I hacked my original Droid X as far as it could go and then brought it all the way back to stock Gingerbread, with *zero* issues. The only thing that could have made the Droid X better would be a faster processor. And, yes, the Motorola Droid X2 was exactly that... and it sucked.

So, once I get ready to buy a new phone later this year, what will I buy?

An Apple iPhone 5.

Why?

Every vendor tweaks Android AOSP with their own GUI and their own widgets. And then every carrier takes that tweaked phone and puts (dumps??) on additional apps that they believe "adds value", consuming more internal storage space. And what does the user end up with? A great phone, slowed down by all the eye-candy tweaks, with a shorter lasting battery caused by all the power-hungry widgets and with less internal storage than advertised, thanks to the extra (usually unwanted) apps that the carriers cram onto it.

This is Android's greatest flaw (and by extension, Google's greatest flub). Simply put...

THERE. IS. NO. CONSISTENCY. FRAGMENTATION, PEOPLE.

I literally never got this before. I love Android. I love Google. But after using a recent Android phone, an old Android phone and then a brand new Android phone, it was painful. Like glaring. And annoying. It was like being blindfolded and being randomly fed a $4 burger, a $0.99 burger and a $12 burger. There was no consistency to the taste. Eventually, you just get turned off by burgers.

Both the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the Motorola Droid Razor MAX run Android Ice Cream Sandwich. Both are on Verizon's network. And yet they are massively different phones. Not just physically, but GUI-/Widget-/App-wise too. Users of one phone would have some trouble finding the same features on the other phone.

Now the HTC One X is also completely different too. And even more so given that it's on AT&T's network. Again, not just physically, but GUI-/Widget-/App-wise too.

And then there's the Apple iPhone. Between Verizon, AT&T and Sprint, it's the same phone. No extra apps. No extra widgets. No extra crap. The same great $4 burger, over-and-over.

Am I an convert? Not yet. But after using 3 different Android phones, my next phone will be an Apple iPhone. Go figure.

Google's Nexus 7

I keep coming across horrible articles trying to compare Google's Nexus 7 to Apple's new iPad and Microsoft's Surface tablets (among others). This Washington Post's article (http://wapo.st/LDDk4B) is a prime example (FYI, I posted the comment from FakeDude2).

The Nexus 7 is aimed squarely at the less-expensive, smaller 7" tablet market; not the entire tablet market. Adding the Apple iPad, the Microsoft Corp's Surface and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 (all 10"+ tablets) to these reviews is akin to adding a Ford F-150 truck, a Chevy Silverado truck and a Dodge Ram truck when comparing trunk space/towing capacity for sub-compact cars. Plus they're all at least twice the price (given the Surface's expected MSRP).

Out of the remaining devices (Nexus 7, Kindle Fire, Nook Color and the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0), the Nexus 7 has the *fastest* processor, the *highest* resolution and the *largest* application store. The only device that might prove a worthy contender is the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, despite having a lower screen resolution, and only because it has a microSD slot and a (albeit weak) rear camera. But with cloud-based storage easily available and almost no one taking still pictures with a tablet of any size, these features shouldn't affect the Nexus 7's ability to become the 7" tablet market sweetheart.

I, for one, am seriously considering getting both the Nexus 7 tablet and the Galaxy Nexus phone. Check them out here: (http://www.google.com/nexus).

How NOT to run a coupon promotion

When companies run coupon promotions, the idea is to get the customer in the store to purchase the item featured in the promotion and then either get them to purchase additional item-related products/services (i.e. extended warranty, accessories, etc) or get them to purchase additional items out of shear convenience or impulse.

On July 20th, Staples started just such a coupon promotion with $100 off any tablet (excluding the HP TouchPad, Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook) [found here]. Unfortunately, they decided to only run the promotion for 10 days; ending on July 30th.

After printing out my own coupon, I immediately started visiting Staples; in search of the Asus Eee Transformer 32GB tablet. The Transformer is a great Android-based tablet and a couple great reviews can be found here and here. Normal pricing is $399 for the 16GB and $499 for the 32GB. I wanted the 32GB version as I planned to use this as my primary device when away from my standard tower PC and wanted to install a large number of purchased apps. And with an additional $100 off, it would be a sweet deal.

I started by going to the Staples website on July 21st only to find that it was listed as both "Out of Stock" and "Delivery Only". Because the website had asked for my zip code, I hoped that it was only referring to the closest stores to me (<20 miles away). But, since I was headed off to vacation in a couple days, I was happy to start visiting stores further away in hopes of finding one. Sadly, I was unable to find a single Staples store (visiting several stores in San Jose, CA and Monterey, CA plus Sacramento, CA; while on vacation) that actually carried the device at all.

At this point, I was worried. How the heck can I purchase something that Staples has a killer coupon for if I can only get it from their website and their website states that it is "Out of Stock"?

-- Minor sidetrack before the conclusion --

So I started looking for stores that would accept the Staples coupon as one of their own. I visited the Best Buy in Sacramento (after discovering that Staples didn't carry it), asking if they honored competitor's coupons. They said "yes", but they didn't have the 32GB version in stock; only the 16GB version. "Sweet", I thought, "I can wait until I get home and support my local Best Buy".

After returning, I went to my local Best Buy to return something else and asked the Customer Service clerk again if they honored competitor's coupons. Again she said "yes". I then immediately went to the Tablet Section and asked the nice guy there if they had any 32GB Asus Eee Transformers in stock. "Yes", he said, "we have 3". "Sweet", I thought again, "I just need to come back with my coupon".

So I returned the next day (July 30th) with coupon in hand and debit card in hand. I grabbed another nice guy and asked for the 32GB Asus Eee Transformer. It took him almost 15 minutes to track it down, but he did. Here it was, my Android tablet of choice. I asked this guy the same question again, "does Best Buy honor competitor's coupons"? Yet again, he said "yes". Since he couldn't figure out how to apply the coupon, he had to go looking for a manager (uh oh). During this time, another new guy asked if I might be interested in an Accidental Protection plan. Since I was already spending over $400 on the tablet, I said "sure, a 2 year plan should work". So now my $545 (including tax, before coupon) tablet was now $700. Whoa.

After waiting 10 minutes, I noticed that the original guy to help me was standing over at the Mobile Phone department... without his blue Best Buy shirt on. Nice. Another 5 minutes later, and I pointed out that fact to the newest guy I was being "helped" by. "Oh yeah", it's 5:10pm. He got off 10 minutes ago." Really nice. Another 5 minutes and he asked if I'd like to keep the 2-year plan. I stated that I was more worried about whether or not they were going to honor the coupon. "Oh yeah. He (the guy who checked stock yesterday) already heard for the manager and the answer was no".

For the record, the guy who "heard from the manager" was less than 5 feet from me. And yet I did not hear him say anything to the guy "helping" me. And, for a full 5 minutes before they informed me of the manager's decision, neither of these 2 employees talked to each other. At all. So I was effectively being "held" until I decided on an impulse to buy it regardless of their decision. Not cool. So I didn't buy it from Best Buy either.

Shame on you, Best Buy. Train your employees better.

-- Now, back to the conclusion --

After my disastrous visit to Best Buy, I called Staples directly to inquire if there was any way to get "an item listed as Out of Stock" today. When she asked for item number I didn't have it (silly me) but she said she could look it up by the name (well, duh.) So I gave her the name of "Asus Transformer" and she thought she found it. But she wanted to confirm it further, by confirming the model and price (note this for later). I told her it was called the "Asus Eee Transformer" and I was looking for the 32GB at $499. She stated she found the right one and was looking it up now. She then noted to me again that it was both "Out of Stock" and for "Delivery Only", so it wouldn't be available in stores. She even pointed out that the 16GB version was the same. I pointed out that neither the 32GB nor the 16GB models had been in stock for the last 10 days, that I was checking every day and that their $100 off coupon expired today. "Oh yes", she said, "I see that it goes off special pricing (!!!) and that the coupon 'probably' expires today". Further more, she stated that it should be in stock again in "5 days". I reminder her that the coupon expired today, that their stores don't carry it and that they've been "Out of Stock" for the entire duration of the promotion (10 days). She could only state that it was "out of her control". Nice. "Pass the Buck" at its finest.

Needless to say, I have no Asus Eee Transformer 32GB Android tablet. Why? Because, during the EXACT time that Staples had a coupon promotion in effect, they had none in stock... AT ALL.

My only conclusion (and that of many others, if Twitter and Facebook posts count) is that Staples had no intention of actually selling ANY "current-model" tablets for $100 off.

Weak sauce, Staples. Weak sauce indeed.