Are you confused by the title of this post because you remember that I just purchased an LG G6 a few weeks ago? It’s true, I did buy one and I enjoyed using it… for awhile. Then a few bugs crawled in that annoyed me enough that I decided to return the phone while I was still within my 30-day return window with B&H Photo. The problem is that I had already sold my Nexus 6P. So I didn’t have another phone to use while I figured out what to get next. 

I tried putting my Verizon SIM into my ancient LG G3 and it complained that I had no service. So I tried an even older iPhone 4S and had the same result. I came to find out later that older phones like the LG G3 and iPhone 4S will not work with the newer SIM cards due to not being able to work with 4G LTE.

Not having a working smartphone would normally not have caused me to panic had it been a few weeks prior, but I had also recently disconnected my landline phone at home meaning that without a smartphone, no one could contact me.

First I thought about the higher end Android phones currently on the market that I might want to buy. The main ones I considered were the Samsung Galaxy 8, and the Pixel XL. Since I’m not a fan of the S8’s curved screen, I put an X through that choice. Then I gave some thought to the Pixel XL and although that would be the best choice for an Android fan like myself, I just couldn’t get excited about buying one.

So what did I do? I bought an iPhone 7 Plus and I’m as surprised by that as you probably are considering my last attempt to switch from Android to iOS failed 9 months ago with an iPhone 7. But this time is different for two reasons.

First of all, I don’t have any other Android phones to fall back on right now. So that means that I am forced to give the switch a better effort than I did the last time.

Secondly, I am ready for something different. Even though I always harp on the fact that Apple won’t let you customize your home screens like Android does, and that they lock down certain features like NFC, and their phones don’t have Qi wireless charging, I have to be honest with myself that I’ve been living without Qi charging for the past year with the Nexus 6P and I don’t use NFC at all these days. I do like to customize my home screens by moving around icons and adding widgets, but I rarely pay attention to the widgets I use. So my arguments for not liking iOS limited customization features are weak.

This past Saturday, I walked into my local Verizon store and walked out a few minutes later with a black 128GB iPhone 7 Plus. I’ve been using the phone for 3 days now and I have almost zero buyer’s regret. I say almost zero because the price of the iPhone is stupidly expensive, which makes me feel guilty for buying something so pricey for myself.

After 3 days do I miss Android? So far the only thing I miss is being able to arrange the icons exactly the way I want on the screen with black spaces here and there. But other than that one thing, I’m actually really enjoying the iPhone which surprises the heck out of me.

I’m especially impressed by how well all my other devices like my Kevo lock are working with the iPhone. With Android, it would take minutes to lock or unlock the door using the app on the phone, but with the iPhone, it only takes about 15 seconds. I also noticed that my Flic wireless smart buttons react faster with the iPhone than with my past Android phones.

Am I going to stick with the iPhone this time? It’s still really early in the switch, but so far it’s looking good!

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Julie’s gadget diary – I returned the LG G6 and even I’m surprised by the phone I’m using now originally appeared on on July 4, 2017 at 5:21 pm.

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I listened to Apple’s WWDC keynote a couple of weeks ago and didn’t come away with an immediate need to melt my Visa card on a bunch of new Apple gear like I usually do after such events. The new iPad Pro 10.5 looked nice enough, but I didn’t feel compelled to buy one.

I listened supportively as Dave Rees wrestled with his own buying decision. Dave and I both have older Samsung Galaxy tablets that are starting to show their age. Dave’s 12.5″ Galaxy Note Pro has freezing problems with his and the home button on my Galaxy S Tab 10.5″ has a short and often requires multiple button presses for it to go back to the home screen. It’s also very slow launching and switching between apps.

Dave ended up buying the iPad Pro 10.5 about a week ago and has been gushing about how great it is and that I need to get one. But even gadget peer pressure didn’t flip my gadget lust switch… until… it flipped. Now I am considering buying one to replace my sickly tablet. Why? Mainly because it’s time for me to have a new tablet and the iPad Pro 10.5 is the best tablet available right now. It would also be nice to have an updated iOS device so I can do some iOS app and hardware reviews again. The newest iPads in the house are the original iPad mini and an iPad 2 that Jeanne uses as an eBook reader. Yeah, it’s been awhile.

My mind isn’t 100% made up, but I’m definitely leaning in the direction of buying an iPad Pro 10.5 (and maybe a Pencil too). 

Anyone else in my shoes?

Be sure to check out Larry’s iPad Pro 10.5 accessories ideas post.

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Tagged: gadget diary

Julie’s gadget diary – The pull from the dark side is strong. I think I’m going to order an iPad Pro 10.5 originally appeared on on June 19, 2017 at 1:47 pm.

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I’m in the process of a tech downsizing. I’ve already physically downsized my phone from a larger Nexus 6P to a smaller LG G6 which just arrived yesterday. And now I want to downsize the amount of data I upload to the cloud by finding an alternative to Nest cams.

Why do I care how much data I’m uploading to the Nest cloud? Because I’m also trying to find an alternative to my insanely expensive T1 line. If you don’t know what a T1 line is, it’s my broadband connection. Where I live, I don’t have the options for connecting to the internet as people who live in larger cities or even smaller cities. I live in a rural area where I don’t even have access to cable TV.

I had a Hughesnet satellite dish over a decade ago, but it wasn’t a good experience so I went with a T1 line.

The best things about a T1 line are that it’s unlimited and that the line is managed and has 24/7 support if it goes down… which it does at least a few times a year.

But the bad thing about the T1 line beside the monthly price is that the speed is only 1.5Mbps down and 1.5Mbps up. Stop laughing, I know that’s slow. But it’s stable and it’s been my only option for the past 10 years until now.

The speed really hasn’t been a big issue when it comes to day to day surfing and even Netflix streaming. But if Jeanne and I are both surfing and one of us tries to watch a Youtube video, the other one knows about it because surfing comes to a crawl.

Now I’m going to try a wireless solution for my internet which comes with its own set of pros and cons. The pros are lower cost and faster speed, but the con is that it’s not unlimited data. It’s only 32GB a month. That might sound like a lot, but it’s not if you have home security cameras like the Nest cam which can upload from 60GB – 160GB a month per camera if you subscribe to Nest Aware which saves your video on the Nest servers.

I have 2 Nest cams in my home which means I am currently uploading as much as 320GBs a month which is 100 times my monthly limit. Yikes, that madness has to stop.

So it’s time for me to find a good home security camera system that has these features:

• Notifications sent to my phone when motion is detected
• 24/7 video saved to a local drive
• Easy access locally saved video even when I’m away from home
• Software that works with a Mac (although I could build a cheap PC or use a Windows laptop if needed)

If you want to help me brainstorm possible solutions, leave a comment.

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Tagged: gadget diary

Julie’s gadget diary – It’s time to find an alternative to Nest originally appeared on on June 15, 2017 at 6:07 pm.

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