Thanks to cellular networks and wireless technologies mobile computing means you can work anywhere. Done well it can mean huge productivity gains. That means the right devices and apps.
Earlier today Oppo showed New Zealand media the R11 phone. We could talk about the 20 megapixel camera and features. Instead, let’s save time and get straight to the point: this is a NZ$770 premium Android phone.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 looks a little nicer than the R11. It feels better; although not NZ$750 better. While Samsung has more desirable software, the software on Nexus Android phones is far better than either.
NFC missing in action
Oppo didn’t include a NFC chip in the R11. This means it won’t work with the NFC payment services. This is not a technology New Zealand has been quick to embrace, so a lack of NFC may not bother you.
Also, Oppo uses a microUSB jack instead of USB-C. MicroUSB is starting to look dated, although this is unlikely to worry most users.
While Oppo makes a big deal out of the 20 megapixel camera on the R11, experience says the number of pixels is often less important than other camera features. It would be surprising if the R11 takes consistently better pictures than the Galaxy S8 . And anyway, it takes skill to the most from a camera, even on a phone.
Even so, on paper, the cheaper phone has more camera.
No doubt Samsung fans will be able to list more feature differences.
Does another $750 buy anything useful?
Some of these features will matter to some people. Yet, in practice, most phone buyers won’t get more everyday value from buying a more expensive alternative. Sure there will be geeks who think $750 is a small price for some esoteric extra feature.
We can’t ignore snob value, the Samsung brand carries a little more weight in certain circles. If you judge phones that way, you’re reading the wrong website.
Oppo is a Chinese brand. Most of its sales are in its home country. According to IDC it now has a 7.5 percent share of worldwide phone sales. That’s up from a year earlier. It still ranks number four in international sales behind Samsung, Apple and Huawei.
Another analyst company, Strategy Analytics, says the earlier Oppo R9s model was the world’s best-selling Android phone in the first quarter of 2017.
Oppo only started selling phones in New Zealand at the start of this year. It sells through the big electronics retailers and 2degrees. It’s hard to say how much of a dent it has made so far, but the company certainly seems bullish. It has relocated a number of senior managers to New Zealand and regards this market as a huge opportunity.
In any discussion of the phone market, we can leave Apple to one side. Whatever you think about the iPhone, it obeys a different set of market dynamics to Android phones.
Which leaves Samsung and Huawei. Maybe, at a pinch, Sony.
Oppo, credible alternative
By offering something which is arguably functionally equivalent to the better known brands at a fraction of the price, Oppo does two things. First, it offers buyers an affordable, credible alternative.
Second, it imposes price pressure on the established brands. A Galaxy may not look expensive alongside the iPhone. Next to the Oppo it borders on opulence or indulgence. These are two words that marketing people love to tinker with. They work in the because you are worth it school of branding.
Oppo’s big opportunity is with younger people, students and those at the start of their careers who can’t afford to splash out on pricy phone hardware. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
Monday Note’s Jean-Louis Gassée writes about the death of Windows Phone:
How could Microsoft’s Windows Phone licensing business model stand a chance against Google’s Free and Open Android? None of the Redmond giant’s complicated countermeasures worked, its smartphone platform is dead. And yet, inexplicably, Microsoft failed to use a very simple move…
Source: Fiction: Who Killed Windows Phone? – Monday Note
For a long time Windows Phone was a better phone operating system than Android. By better, I mean it was easier to use, understand and navigate than Google’s phone operating system.
It was also better because it provided essential information in a straightforward way. You could glance at your phone and see the important things straight away.
A better phone OS
Windows Phone was better because it integrated well with Windows on desktop and laptop computers. It was also better in that it played nicely with Microsoft Office. If you were wedded to Windows and Office, you could get huge productivity gains choosing a Windows handset over an Android.
Today’s Android phones have improved on all these things. Yet at the time Windows Phone was first introduced, it was streets ahead.
I know this better than anyone. I used Windows Phone everyday for the best part of two years. For me, at the start of that time, the advantages outweighed the negatives. Before the two years were up, the balance tipped the other way.
From a user point of view, Windows Phone lost its charm because third-party software developers ignored it. At best they neglected it. If any third-party developer did create an app, they failed to upgrade it as fast as their Android or iOS versions. But many apps, including important ones, never made it to Windows Phone in the first place.
Never mind that many of those apps were worthless one-trick ponies. There was a lack of choice, there was a feeling Windows Phone was becoming a forgotten backwater.
In his post, Gassée takes his time getting to the nub of how Windows Phone became a backwater. He writes:
Microsoft made a number of bad decisions that stem from its hardened culture…
For a long time, Microsoft’s orthodoxy placed the PC at the center of the world. When smartphones took center stage, the company’s propaganda censured talk of a Post-PC world. Smartphones and tablets were mere “companion devices”.
The simple move mentioned at the top of this story was making the operating system free to phone makers. That’s what Google did with Android.
Momentum
Gassée argues that Microsoft’s culture meant it didn’t think to make its phone operating system free until it was far too late. That’s true. By missing that boat, Microsoft’s phone OS never gathered enough momentum to attract third-party app developers. Meanwhile the Android and iOS app stores were filling with every imaginable phone application.
Which is odd, because know how to attract developers was a Microsoft strength with MS-Dos and Windows as it was building an empire.
From there it all went downhill fast.
Could Windows Phone return from the dead? Probably not. Apart from anything else, Microsoft has moved its focus to more lucrative markets like cloud computing.
Apple’s Smart Keyboard cover gives the second generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro basic protection from knocks and scratches.
Apple made the large screen 12.9-inch iPad Pro to travel. It may not be as portable as the 9.7 or 10.5-inch iPads, but the bigger display makes up for that. It is fast becoming my first choice travelling computer1.
The 12.9-inch screen on the second generation iPad Pro is tough. Even so, there is no point taking chances. What is the best way to keep it from damage?
Apple’s NZ$269 Smart Keyboard Cover is the obvious first option. It is light; only 340g. The 12.9-inch iPad is 723g. Together they weigh a shade over a kilogram. That’s a little more than the MacBook which weighs in at 920g.
Smart Keyboard cover
The Smart Keyboard Cover turns the iPad Pro into an effective laptop replacement. I’ve found it is good to type on. Not perfect, but good. One advantage is that it is as wide as normal laptop keyboard.
It is more comfortable for touch typing than the Surface Pro 4 keyboard. It compares with many modern laptop keyboards. This isn’t so true of the 9.7 or 10.5 inch Smart Keyboard Cover. I find the keys are almost too close together for comfort.
The larger keyboard is one reason why I prefer the larger iPad Pro.
In practice I’ve found the Smart Keyboard Cover provides enough protection around the house. It also works if I put the combination in my briefcase to travel to a meeting or work in a client’s office. The only downside is that it doesn’t accommodate the Apple Pencil.
More protection for 12.9-inch iPad Pro
You can walk about town with no more protection than the Smart Keyboard Cover. I have an Apple-made first generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro Silicon case. It’s helpful guarding against knocks and drops. This is also an Apple-made leather shell for the first generation model. Neither of these are still available on Apple’s New Zealand site. There are third-party shells.
The Leather Sleeve protects the 12.9-inch iPad Pro in style.
Apple’s new protective case is the NZ$269 Leather Sleeve. As the name says it slips over the computer. There’s enough room inside to accommodate the Smart KeyBoard Cover as well. Apple has added a space to take the Pencil.
Leather Sleeve showing the Apple Pencil slot
Although it is expansive, in practice it works better than the Silicon shell case. It is lighter and takes up less room. I’ve found it works great on airplanes, if you’re a regular flyer I recommend you invest in one. I also use the Leather Sleeve when I’m ducking out for a quick meeting in my car and don’t need to carry anything else.
Snugg Leather Sleeve
If the price of the Apple Leather Sleeve is too much, Snugg has a solid alternative. I first reviewed and used the Snugg MacBook Air 13 Wallet Case with my MacBook Air. It is ideal for protecting my 12.9-inch iPad Pro. After all, 12.9 inches is not a long way from 13 inches, so it fits well.
Snugg MacBook Air Leather wallet case works well with the larger iPad Pro
You don’t get the dinky Apple Pencil holder, although there is more than enough space in the Snugg case to take that. I’ve come away from meetings and conferences with papers in my Snugg case alongside the iPad Pro.
One other thing, the Snugg case is chunkier, or if you like, more rugged. It can take more punishment than the Apple Leather Sleeve. There are plenty of colour options, including a soft pink if you feel the rugged look is not for you.
I’ve left the best thing about the Snugg to last. At US$25 plus postage, it works out at around a quarter of the price. The problem is that Snugg product is out of stock, although you can still find some on sale online. Snugg makes tablet cases, but I prefer the Wallet case.
I’m thinking of from switching from a MacBook plus 9.7-inch iPad to a desktop iMac plus a 12.9-inch iPad Pro. ↩︎
Android owners move between brands. Even so, they are more likely to buy another Android than switch to Apple.
Staying put makes sense. We have a lot of money, time and energy tied-up in our apps, music, other media and services. Moving from one phone to another can be a wrench.
It can also mean more expense than the cost of buying new phone hardware.
Apple users tend to spend more on everything phone-related than Android owners. They buy more apps, services and music. That is a form of lock-in.
Learning
Even if you didn’t spend much money on extras, you spent time learning to use your phone. Switch brands and the learning starts all over again. Some people enjoy that. Many do not. Yet this learning amounts to another investment. It is also a different kind of lock-in.
Don’t discount lock-in. It can be significant. Lock-in is a form of inertia which adds friction to moving between phones.
It means you need to be unhappy or desperate to consider a switch. Moving phones is not something you should do lightly.
One reason Apple owners move to Android is money. On the surface it looks like you can save money by switching.
Take care with that line of thinking. The money you save buying a cheaper Android phone may be less than your investment in everything iOS. Don’t discount the time cost it takes to adjust to a new phone, or the cost of lower productivity.
In the real world, we should talk about perceived savings when switching phones.
Let’s assume you’ve decided you can’t live with Apple any longer. You’ve thought through the financial and productivity implications.
You’ve decided to move to Android. What should you look for? Which brands will give you the best Android experience and what traps can you avoid?
Bewildering choice
The first big difference between Apple and Android is choice. Most Android phone models come in a bewildering array of variations. Phones often have cheaper lite version. Some are small versions of large screen premium models. Others have less processing power or built-in storage.
Another difference is that the main Android phone brands have more than one range. Vodafone New Zealand lists 10 distinct Samsung phone models from the Galaxy S8 to the Galaxy J1. 2degrees has 12 Samsung choices. There are five Huawei models and three Sony phones at Vodafone. 2degrees has five Huawei and one Sony phone.
In New Zealand, iPhone 7 prices run from NZ$1200 to $1829 for the 7 Plus. That top iPhone costs 20 percent more than the most expensive Android phone on sale here at the moment. That’s Samsung’s $1500 Galaxy S8 Plus.
As a rule iPhone users will be more interested in the premium Android phones. Prices are not that far behind Apple. If you need to save money, head further downmarket.
That doesn’t mean rock bottom. You can save a lot more than 20 percent on the price and still get a decent Android phone. At $700 the Oppo R9s is less than 40 percent of the price of an iPhone 7 Plus.
Direct comparisons with Apple’s phone are not fair. They don’t compared on features or functionality. Yet, if you choose an R9s you’ll get a lot of change from the price of a basic iPhone 7. That’s a lot of money to spend on apps, music or elsewhere.
Oppo is an Android phone brand where Apple users will feel more at home than, say, Samsung.
While the R9s is not an iPhone knock-off, its design borrows much from Apple. In low light you might mistake it for an iPhone. Make that in low light and after a few drinks.
Skin deep
Many Android phone brands load a software skin on top of the Android operating system. Oppo’s software skin has a distinct iOS look. It seems familiar. That’s about where the comparisons end. You won’t mistake the R9s for an iPhone in use.
There are compromises moving to a low-cost Android. Cheaper phones don’t do as much. For many people the most noticeable difference is in the camera. Although the Oppo R9s has a great camera for a $700 phone, it doesn’t hold a candle to iPhone. Nor is Oppo’s camera software as easy to use as Apple’s.
If you don’t care for photography, this won’t matter. If you do, then you could save a decent amount of money towards paying for your next digital SLR.
You will find the R9s doesn’t feel as nice in the hand and it takes longer to perform some tasks than the iPhone. The screen isn’t as good either. While this is often harder to notice on a conscious level, it will register with your brain at some level.
If you use phones for social media more than anything else, these deficiencies may not matter. If your phone is where you get most of your work done, you may want to invest in a more powerful alternative to Apple.
Samsung, the obvious choice
For years pundits have written about Samsung’s iPhone killers. That’s a ridiculous cliche. And a crass, clickbait-driven line of thinking. Samsung is the one Android phone maker you could describe as Apple’s rival1.
Like Apple, Samsung makes beautiful hardware. Like Apple, the company innovates. While Samsung fans argue the brand innovates more than Apple, comparisons are meaningless. The two brands exist in parallel universes.
Still, the Galaxy S8 has to be at the top of any iPhone alternative list.
Sony also makes great Android phones. The company doesn’t have the market share or the presence it deserves in New Zealand. That makes it a less obvious choice.
Departing from iPhone expectations
Once a year Apple announces new iPhone models and updates the iOS operating system. As a rule of thumb you can upgrade every Apple phone from the last couple of years to the new software without a hitch. It gets trickier with older iPhones. One more than four years old might not make the transition.
In practice, almost every iPhone owner will make the update soon the software release. The only exceptions are where key apps don’t work with the new iOS. Users may decide they’d rather have that app than new operating system features.
Google updates Android software on a similar schedule. Android phone users often don’t get to upgrade their software. Some phone makers are slack about Android updates. Huawei is notorious for this, but others can be as guilty. Even the ones who make update can be slow and they may not update all models at the same time.
The upshot is that many Android phone owners are on older versions of the phone operating system. This can be confusing.
Distribution of Android operating systems used by Android phone owners in May 2017, by platform version
Take a look at this graph from Statista. It shows the distribution of operating system versions in use in May 2017. Only seven percent are on the latest, Nougat, version of Android.
Around a third are on the previous version. About a third are on the last-but-one version. That’s a more than two-year old operating system. The remaining users are on even earlier versions.
Fragmented Android
Apart from anything else, this fragmentation spills over in to the app world. It can be a source of friction with long-time Android users although some swear it doesn’t bother them. It’s something that will confuse many people moving from Apple.
If this bothers you, but you’re committed to Android, consider buying a Google Pixel phone. Google manages the Pixel brand itself. It means you’re guaranteed to get the purest Android experience. You’ll also get timely software updates soon after Google releases the new code.
Pixel phones can be hard to find in New Zealand, although some stores stock them. They’re not cheap, expect to pay around NZ$1300.
Like it says at the top of this post, you need a good reason to move from one phone operating system to another. The transition can be painless, it may even be trouble free. Only you can decide if the cost and effort makes the move worthwhile.
Similar issues confront an Android user switching to Apple. Some people make the move without a single glance back. Others pine for a feature that Apple doesn’t offer or doesn’t do as well as on the Android phone. It’s something of a lottery.
Samsung may sell more phones that Apple. But Apple makes the real money. This is not a volume game. ↩︎
There’s something about the screen of the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro that feels immediately novel but quickly becomes normal, and something that seems obvious at first but reveals itself as a deeper change after a few days. As a heavy user of the 12.9” iPad Pro, I’ve been pleasantly deceived by this new iPad, and […]
At MacStories Federico Viticci writes an early review of the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro. I hope to get my hands on Apple’s new tablet soon.
This feels like the computer I’ve been waiting for.
Since Christmas the older 9.7-inch iPad Pro has played an ever increasing role in my day-to-day work. I’ve switched to travelling with the iPad Pro instead of the MacBook on short trips. One added bonus is you don’t need to get it out of your bag for airport security inspections.
The iPad Pro is a more frequent companion when I’m working in town at client offices or in cafes.
10.5-inch iPad Pro more computer-like
MacOs is still essential when I’m away for more than a night or two. But that may not be the case when the new version of iOS arrives. Apple has included improvements which make the iPad more computer-like. Almost all the software I need to work is available on iOS.
My only gripe is that I make a lot more typos when using the WordPress iOS app than with my normal blog workflow. Entering text isn’t a problem, proof-reading is. If my eyes are not working properly I can’t always read the tiny text. Enlarging the text in the app is not an option.
Moving from a 9.7-inch to a 10.5-inch display means there’s about 17 percent more screen. That may or may not be enough to make a difference when reading, but it will make a difference with other tasks. The higher 120Hz screen refresh rate should also help.
I do a lot of typing on the iPad’s glass screen. The bigger screen will help this. Early reports say the performance is great too.
Viticci’s review only tells part of the story. We won’t really know how good the new iPad Pro is until the iOS update. But on what I’ve seen so far, the combination looks enticing.
Earlier today Oppo showed New Zealand media the R11 phone. We could talk about the 20 megapixel camera and features. Instead, let’s save time and get straight to the point: this is a NZ$770 premium Android phone.
There’s something about the screen of the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro that feels immediately novel but quickly becomes normal, and something that seems obvious at first but reveals itself as a deeper change after a few days. As a heavy user of the 12.9” iPad Pro, I’ve been pleasantly deceived by this new iPad, and […]