phones – asty.org

Small phones are almost completely dead, and this is a shame

Posted on July 25, 2024July 25, 2024 by chrisa

I was pleased to find out the Moto Razr (2024) was available, and I’ve since purchased it for a review. But only because I want to use it 90% of the time folded in. I hate big phones!

And yes, I’ve been in tech long enough that anything over 5.5″ feels too big. Need I remind everyone that the iPhone line came with a 4.7″ screen for 6 years (iPhone 6 – 9 and SE) and we all got along just fine with it. Why on earth do we now all want a minimum 6.5″ screen on something we have to try and hold comfortably in one hand?!

A Moto Razr 2024 sitting on a MagSafe dock, displaying a web page while folded.

Samsung still produces something approaching hold-able with their Galaxy S line, and …

Sony Xperia 5 review: The next evolution of the XZ1/XZ2 Compact line, and I love it

Posted on December 2, 2019December 4, 2019 by chrisa

…and why it replaced the Pixel 3A in my pocket

I have to share this story before I start, which explains why I gave Sony the next chance to be my daily driver phone:

When my son’s old Nexus 5X broke earlier this year, I decided to give him my old Xperia XA2 phone. He is only 13 and forgetful, and of course managed to lose track of the phone awhile back. We looked everywhere for this phone, trying to call his number. It would continue to ring for three days; it did not start going to voicemail, indicating the phone had died. In an of itself this was already a decent achievement of great standby battery life.

What …

My Hands are Declaring War on Wide Phones

Posted on November 5, 2019November 5, 2019 by chrisa

I’ve had it with wide phone screens. I tried to adapt, I’ve reached, strained and contorted my thumb to reach the sides and top of my phone. I even tried to chase the trend that people seem to have of slapping rings on the back of their phone to keep their fingers securely on the back of the device.

I found a great ring/stand that works on almost any phone (affiliate link) which I do like a lot and it’s not even pricey. I’ve tried using text to speech, and become exquisitely aware of both how imprecise and vague words in English sound, and how doomed we really are with this technology, unless tech companies secretly employ humans to correct …

Moto One Zoom currently on sale for $360 w/Coupon

Posted on October 10, 2019October 10, 2019 by chrisa

A quick update that the Moto One Zoom I reviewed earlier is now on-sale (thank you Slickdeals) via eBay for $360 if you follow the details listed in this post, which involves using a coupon code at checkout. I personally think this phone is a steal at this price. Unfortunately it’s currently sold out of that gorgeous purple color, but the others are almost as fetching.

You can always pick one up from Motorola directly, and currently there’s a $50-off sale on their site (bringing the total to $399), or alternatively a free Moto G6 with purchase, if you happen to need a 2nd phone for a family member. Buying direct from Motorola is also a great option if …

Moto One Zoom Follow-ups

Posted on October 3, 2019November 5, 2019 by chrisa

Further updates: I managed to hurt my hand because of the screen width – check out my rant about wide phones here.

[Original content follows]

Here are some thoughts after my initial post on the Moto One Zoom now that I’ve had some time to think things over…

Hardware Oversights

I never even mentioned the in-display fingerprint reader, and I stand by this decision because unless these sensors are exceptionally bad, people really don’t care about them. The in-display gimmick is interesting, and probably all phones will have this one day, but it basically does its job. It’s a little slower than others (notably the Note 10) but it gets the job done.

I should also mention that …

Motorola Moto One Zoom Review: Why Isn’t the Tech Press Talking About This Phone?

Posted on October 1, 2019November 5, 2019 by chrisa

Further updates: I managed to hurt my hand because of the screen width of this phone – check out my rant about wide phones here. I no longer recommend this phone to anyone with non-gigantic hands…

[Original content follows]

I’m going to be more dedicated to updating my site these days, so let’s start with some quick thoughts on the amazing Moto One Zoom. Since I’ve seen no one cover the Moto One Zoom yet and I’ve had it almost a week, let’s talk about it: it’s amazing.

tl;dr: you should definitely buy this phone if you use any GSM carrier in the US (e.g. T-Mobile, AT&T, Cricket wireless and many others) or you’re in Europe. Here …