Rebooting My Mobile Universe (Again)
About 18 months ago I was carrying a Samsung S3 mobile phone around in my pocket, and struggling to get it to last through the day. Although I “say” it was a Samsung S3, in reality it was anything but – I had replaced the launcher, the keyboard, and the text messaging application with better alternatives than the “special” versions Samsung had baked into their distribution of Android.
Therein lies the problem (for me) with Android. The handset manufacturers have the freedom to meddle with the operating system. They call it “adding value”, but in reality it's anything but.
18 months ago I finally snapped, walked into the local mobile phone store, and traded the Samsung S3 in for a Nokia Lumia 630, running Windows Phone OS 8.1. It was a gamble, and there were shortcomings, but overall I massively preferred it over both Android and iOS (we have iPads at home, and I've had several iPhones in the past too). When Microsoft built Windows Phone 8 they got the chance to approach the mobile operating system with a clean sheet of paper – and the result was smooth, fast, and efficient.
Then about 6 months ago my phone contract came up for renewal again – affording me the opportunity to get a flagship handset for peanuts. I took it, and have regretted it pretty much ever since. I chose an LG G3, based on the fact that they hadn't meddled with Android too much. Here's the thing – the phone is gigantic, and I don't use any of it's power at all. All I ever use it for is instant messaging, looking at the odd webpage, maps, email, the calendar, and of course calling people. Oh, I also use it to listen to podcasts on my way to work.
Skip forward to today, and Nokia (as a mobile phone brand) no longer exists – Microsoft have re-branded the phones, upgraded the hardware in the handsets, and are selling them at the same prices. My old phone (that my other half now has) has been replaced by the Lumia 640. It has more memory, a bigger battery, a bigger screen, a better camera, a rear facing camera, and 4G. I could trade my existing handset in, and get the Lumia 640 for “free” (I'm thinking of it as a strategic down-grade). It's also worth pointing out that Microsoft have settled their dispute with Google – Google Mail, Contacts, and Calendar now all work seamlessly – not always the case in the past.
Now I just need to figure out when I can get to a phone store to make the trade-in, and pick up a new handset. Easier said than done.