[Opinion] The best phone you've never heard of: the OnePlus 3T

I'll start this article by saying there probably aren't too many of you interested in buying a new smartphone right now.  And there are a bunch of new phones coming in the first half of 2017 - offerings are likely from LG, Samsung, and even HTC.  So for most people, playing the waiting game makes a lot of sense.

Having said that, if you are (or at the very least might be considering a purchase in the next 2/3 months) there's a phone you probably haven't heard of but should make your list.  If you listened to the Best of Tech 2016 Silicon Theory podcast (and you really should), you probably know where I'm going.  Let's talk a little bit about the OnePlus 3T.

[Opinion] The Galaxy Note 7 has been announced...but should you buy it?

Samsung announced the next edition in their Galaxy Note series, the Note 7, and it has sparked a very interesting response.  Sean P. around these parts was in particular very excited to see (and likely purchase) the next Note device, but has cooled significantly since the announcement.  Not that a phone priced at between $850-$890 depending on carrier should be an easy "pull-the-trigger" buy.  So if you are considering making the plunge, are already a Note user or fan, or just want to know what the big deal about this phone is, let's take a deeper dive into what's going on.

[Op-Ed] What might the 10 mean for HTC?

The most recent smartphones they've produced have not been big successes for HTC.  In the wake of the announcement of their most recent flagship device, the HTC 10, I'm asking myself the question: what could another failure mean for HTC?  But then I thought about it another way - what would a device that is actually a success mean for the Taiwanese company?  I've owned an HTC device in the past, and enjoyed it.  But HTC is a long way from the days of the Incredible.  Let's talk about the 10 and what it might mean for the future of this brand.

[Op-Ed] Do you need a tablet anymore?

Maybe a better question is: did you ever need one?  Don't get me wrong, as some readers will know, I have a tablet myself, the LG GPad, and while I don't use it too often anymore (since my wife has assumed ownership of it) it still does see a lot of use.  So it might seem silly that I would even ask the question of anyone needing a tablet, when I myself still do.  But I think there have been a few changes in the smartphone market (and elsewhere) that have maybe, just maybe, diminished the need for this once thriving tech segment.

[Op-Ed] Is virtual reality more than just a fad?

I had a chance recently to experience the Samsung Gear VR (by Oculus) and there were some really cool things about it.  In 15 minutes, I had a chance to view several cities in Jordan and watch the first part of the movie "The Perfect Storm" while in a virtual home theater - while doing all of this, my brain was almost tricked into thinking it was real.  Of course, my first thought went to "is this the first step towards a real life Matrix?"  Probably not...but maybe its time we talk about whether virtual reality (VR) is just a fad of the moment, or if its something that's here to stay.

[Op-Ed] What kind of market will the iPhone SE find?

Apple recently announced a refresh of their design from the iPhone 5/5s line, and are calling it the iPhone SE.  The odd thing about this refresh is that it now gives Apple not 1, not 2, but 3 different size iPhones for consumers to choose from.  After such a long time of offering a single choice in mobile smartphones, Apple has done a 180 and first moved up from a 3.5" display mode (iPhone 4), to 4.0" display (iPhone 5/5s), then finally the current generation iPhone 6s (at 4.7" display size) and the 6s+ (at a whopping 5.5" display size) - one might view this as a reversal of trend, as most smartphone OEMs these days are abiding by the motto of "bigger is better!" when it comes to display size.  But is this really what consumers want?  Are we stuck with nothing but smartphones that are so large they create an unsightly bulge in our jeans pockets?  Or has Apple found an untapped market, as they seem to so often do with their products?  Let's explore in more depth.

[Op-Ed] Are smart watches worth your time?

Since so much time has passed since the Moto 360 came into my life (including the release of its successor the Moto 360-2 and the Moto 360 Sport) I thought I might skip the straight up review, and instead focus more on the driving question behind this, and other wearables on the market right now: are smart watches a fad, a nice to have, or a must have?  I asked in the title of this article if "smart watches are worth your time" - using a very obvious but still clever pun - and hopefully I can answer this for you, and other folks considering picking up one of a great number of options available today.

[Op-Ed] The benefit to rooting an Android phone

Once upon a time, I was the proud owner of a Blackberry Pearl.  (Don’t laugh)  I had worked my way up at a previous employer to be in a position to recommend the products the company purchased.  Since mobile e-mail was king, we ended up purchasing a fleet of Blackberry devices.  My first smartphone impressed me so much that when I left the company I decided to buy one for myself.  I owned two before the Pearl was released, and I really though I had found the perfect smartphone for me.  The size, form factor, and RIM’s e-mail integration made this a real winner in my book.  Some days, I miss the feeling I had when I first got it…there’s nothing like the thrill of buying your next tech toy.  This was right about the time the iPhone began to gain traction as an all touch screen smartphone that had a host of other features that a Blackberry couldn’t hope to match.

[Op-Ed] Why people (including me) love to hate Verizon

For a while now Verizon Wireless has been the only game in town where I live.  Back in the day, I tried T-Mobile and AT&T and their networks weren't mature enough at the time to compete from a voice and 3G data standpoint.  Then of course came the 4G LTE tech and the data usage explosion, which only widened the gap between Verizon and their competition even further.  By the time both other major companies (no one really uses Sprint anymore, do they?) leveraged enough funds to increase their network infrastructure, I was already happy with my grandfathered unlimited 3G to 4G data plan.  I mean, come on...unlimited is unlimited, right?  And then came the real deciding factor - both AT&T and Verizon decided to stop offering unlimited data packages in favor of tiered data, and my choice was made for me: if I wanted to keep my existing unlimited data plan, I was going to be on Verizon for the foreseeable future.

[Op-Ed] Why can't I find the right phone?

So - my wife and I have Verizon Wireless and our contract(s) are coming due right after the 1st of the year.  We both are grandfathered into unlimited 4G plans, so as we look to replace our phones, we are considering buying off contract to preserve this precious data commodity.  I have the Galaxy Nexus LTE on Verizon and as an Android enthusiast, I love it.  So when I'm looking at all the new phone tech that is coming out these days, I take careful stock of it.  And at the end of the day, I am stuck with one question:  why is it I can't find the phone I want to replace my beloved Galaxy Nexus?

[Op-Ed] A completely unbiased Android users opinion of iOS 7 - it sucks

Image courtesy of Apple.com

So...yeah.  I'm an Android guy.  Have been for a long time, and its still my current phone.  But as many already know, I DO own Apple products.  Yes, even me.  For all my bashing of their not really being a tech company more than a marketing company and not having had an innovation since the iPad first debuted, I do like and purchase (or ask for as gifts) some of their devices.  This puts me in a unique position: to be on the outside looking in.  No "iSheep" fanboiness here...I'm looking solely at how the device works best for me.  And I have to be honest - I wish Apple would have left my iPod touch the way it was before iOS 7.

[Op-Ed] How wireless carriers are bringing about the "datapocolypse"

We, as smartphone fans and users, are moving into a very unique time in our history.  Mobile usage of smartphones (and other mobile devices like laptops and tablets) has increased the demand for mobile wireless broadband to astronomical levels.  Mobile carriers are providing this service to consumers, and are seeing profits skyrocket as users are removed from so-called unlimited plans onto more carrier friendly (and profitable) tiered data plans.  No longer do consumers need unlimited calling plans - they need bigger and bigger data packages.  This shift to mobile consumption of data by users on such a large scale and the incredible price gouging of consumers by voice and data providers is moving us towards a state of what I'd refer to as the "datapocolypse" -  where the demand for data is so great and the cost of getting it is so much that (as the saying goes) something's gotta give.

[Op-Ed]Why can't anyone but Motorola put a big battery in a smartphone?

With the recent release of both the LG Nexus 4 and the HTC Droid DNA, one thing jumped out at me right away with these devices:  whats the deal with the small batteries?  I think that most people would agree the #1 complaint about modern smartphones is the battery life, especially now that 4G LTE is on board most devices.  One company has managed to solve this problem quite well (and has begun to advertise as such on TV lately).  So why can't any of the other hardware manufacturers put some thought behind answering this consumer gripe as well?  Perhaps it's because it would make the phone too bulky or heavy to the point of being undesirable?  Perhaps it's simply not possible with current battery tech?  Maybe another reason entirely?  Let's take a closer look at the new phones and one of Motorola's flagship devices and see if we can find out what's really going on. 

[Op-Ed] How the iPad mini dilutes Apple's brand

iPad mini (front and rear)

I heard a report on the local news Friday morning about how there weren't the same long lines for the iPad mini (which launched on November 2nd) as there were for the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, and it got me thinking.  With legions of Apple fans around the world, why would the iPad mini go on sale with less fanfare than other devices from months or years past?  Is there a crack in the facade of a company that can seemingly do no wrong when it comes to the launch of a new product?  Let's dig deeper and see if there is evidence of what I believe to be true:  by making the iPad mini, Apple has diluted their own brand and potentially made a serious business blunder.

[Op-Ed] Where does smartphone evolution go from here?

The perfect smartphone is a moving target that is different for everyone.  In terms of raw specifications, each generation of new phones has surpassed its predecessor in computing power, memory, and display quality.  But now, tech users and producers alike find ourselves at a near "tipping point" in terms of the power and features of our phone technology.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2

HTC's has in the works the Verizon version of the "J Butterfly" device (specs and info found here) which is truly cutting edge.  Along these same lines, Samsung's announced recently (info found here) that 1080p resolution displays will be integrated into their phones by early 2013.  Other phones already landing this year (like the Samsung Galaxy Note 2) bear within them quad-core processors and as much as 2GB of RAM.  We have had LTE data speeds in mobile devices going back as far as early 2012.  All of this tech advancement makes me wonder - where do we go from here?  Or perhaps put another way: what will be the next big leap forward in smartphone innovation from major OEMs?