Bring on Lollipop!

So, as it turns out, Android L stood for Android Lollipop. I know for a fact that for the next (hopefully not too many) weeks I'll be abusing the Check for Updates functionality on my Nexus 5 way more than I should. It'll be interesting to see how Lollipop performs on my Nexus 5 and whether it solves the issues that drove me back to iOS.

If it does indeed solve the Bluetooth and streaming issues, then I have some hard decisions ahead. The newly announced Nexus 6 has Qi charging, a good (as far as the specs go) camera, water resistance (according to Motorola site, but suspiciously missing from many other spec listings), and vanilla Android, something that Samsung devices that match the other specs don't have. That combination sounds like something I could really use, although I'd miss the Touch ID I've grown to love on my iPhone 6. The size of the Nexus 6 is also somewhat concerning, especially when you keep in mind that I chose the regular iPhone 6 over the 6 Plus as the Plus turned out to be a little too large. However, with the recent announcement of Android Wear devices becoming available also in Finland, the size wouldn't be that much of an issue as I wouldn't have to take my phone out all that often since the necessary information would be available on my wrist.

But I guess I have to wait for Lollipop to land on my Nexus 5 to see if my main gripes have been addressed. I think I've mentioned how much I hate these staggered rollouts where you can't be sure when the new version is available for you. That's one more part where iOS still has a major edge in my books.

Viskiä ja olutta! Whisk(e)y and Beer!

This post has nothing to do with the typical topics of this blog. This is a statement against the nanny state my beloved Finland has become. We've reached the point where the Finnish authorities have banned the word viski (whiskey or whisky depending on our viewpoint and the nature of the actual drink at hand) in private blogs, because they interpret it as an advertisement for Olutexpo festival.

Yes, you read that correctly. The authorities here, in a supposed Western democracy with free speech as its natural ingredient have in fact threatened to cancel alcohol licenses for the Olutexpo festival unless the Olutexpo organizers get unrelated private bloggers to take down their blog posts where they discuss the upcoming event and possible whiskeys served there (read more about in Finnish here). Yes, that's right. An unaffiliated private blogger can actually do major harm to your business by blogging about it. All this in Finland in the year 2014. What the hell is going on in this country? WTF? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? WHAT THE FUCK!?

In their over-obsessed craze over diminishing alcohol consumption in Finland the authorities in Aluehallintovirasto have simply gone too far. Free speech is one of the cornerstones of a modern civilized society, and abusing one's legislative position (holding the alcohol license to unfair ransom) to diminish such a basic freedom is simply unforgivable. Just in case you wonder why the expo has only olut (beer) in its name when it has also whiskey there, it's because the very same authority made them drop the whiskey part from their name. That's how low they can go.

I just want to make clear that Olutexpo does indeed carry also whiskey (viski) and friends of either or both beverages might find the expo highly entertaining. I also wish to make it clear that I'm not in any way affiliated with Olutexpo but I'm furious about Aluehallintovirasto trying to turn this country into a new North Korea. I'll be awaiting for the takedown request.

I also suggest that folks in Aluehallintovirasto and everyone who shares their point of view take a brief course in Finnish history. The course should focus especially on how well the prohibition period managed to abolish alcohol consumption in Finland (Hint: Not quite).

iPhone 6

Even though in the last post I said I was going for the iPhone 6 Plus, I ended up making a last-minute diversion for the regular iPhone 6. While the 5,5" screen itself wouldn't be too large for me, the large bezels make the device a little too big for carrying around. I made myself a cardboard mockup based on the dimensions of the iPhone 6 Plus and the end result was that I would have too few clothes with big enough pockets to actually carry it with me. As I'm not too keen of the idea of having to use a bag to carry my phone around, I switched to the regular iPhone 6 to keep it pocketable. In addition, it was Erica Griffin's review that finally tipped the scale for me. Around the 12 minute mark she mentions performance issues she's not used to seeing on iPhones. That combined with teardowns that have confirmed only 1 GB of RAM also in the Plus and the scaling that's done for the display (read the details here), I'm somewhat afraid that the hardware in the iPhone 6 Plus might be a little inadequate especially when newer iOS releases arrive. As I already own an iPad 3, I didn't want yet another "whoops, we kind of underestimated the hardware needs for this one" iOS device, so the regular 6 looked like a safer choice with a smaller resolution to drive with its relatively low RAM.  

Now that I have my iPhone 6 I'm glad I did choose it. The phone feels great in my hand and the 4,7" seems rather optimal as a size. In fact, I like the size somewhat more than that of my Nexus 5, which is a bit on the large side even though it's still perfectly usable. Too bad that optical image stabilization and the better battery are available only in the Plus, but with the current bezels the Plus is somewhat too large.

What comes to the software, I'm really liking the extensions in iOS 8. Transmit and 1Password are insanely more useful with extensions, even though 1Password having to rely on the share sheet (iOS limitation here) is somewhat weird UI-wise when considering what the app does. I'm still happy to have that functionality available even though the current implementation is somewhat kludgy from the user experience perspective. What's more worrying is the amount of issues iOS 8 seems to be having. 8.0.1 broke cellular reception and TouchID for many iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users and now there are lots of reports about broken Bluetooth functionality. I seem to be among the lucky ones who haven't had any Bluetooth connectivity issues in iOS 8, but the amount of issues is somewhat alarming. When you add the iCloud Drive issue to the mix, it's clear that Apple has a QA issue on their hands. I've also had an issue where I could start slow motion video capture, but couldn't stop it in any other way than force rebooting the phone. Not good. I hope Apple gets their act together, as the reliability has been one of the selling points for iPhones. It'll be interesting to see how my Nexus 5 works when Android L comes out. If ART makes Android even more stable than it is now, Apple can be in for some rough times if they don't get their quality back on the track.

Returning to iOS

Oh wow, it's been quite a while since my last post. The previous Windows Phone update that did arrive during my hiatus didn't actually do anything regarding my Bluetooth problems, but there's actually a new one coming next month with some Bluetooth-related improvements, so maybe I'll need to give it a try once it arrives.

However, despite being rather happy with my Nexus 5 and not quite satisfied with the price of the iPhone 6 (especially when I need to shell out extra 100 euros for decent storage), it looks like I'll be getting the 64GB iPhone 6 Plus. Why's that, when it doesn't even have wireless charging?

Well, it all boils down to Chromecast failing to compete with the Apple TV. I didn't notice this shortcoming during the summer when it's off-season in hockey, but now that the new season started I tried watching a game with my Nexus 5 streaming to Chromecast. It was all pixelated and choppy. Tried with Chrome browsers on two different computers with similarly bad results. Switched back to my iPad 3 + AppleTV and the result on my 32" TV was indistinguishable from a TV broadcast. I even tried doing the streaming on an ancient iPhone 4 and there was no visible deterioration in quality. This combined with the fact that as a hobbyist musician I'm still much better served with apps available only on iOS and Bluetooth still working much better there, I think I'll just cough up the price and get myself the new iPhone, which my wife gets to enjoy when I quite likely upgrade to the 6S. She just doesn't like Android or Windows Phone, so me continuing on iOS means a steady supply of hand-me-down iPhones for her.

What comes to Bluetooth, even though I was relatively happy with the Android performance when I disabled the phone profile, it has recently started taking longer and longer to connect to my car's Bluetooth receiver and it's starting to be in the "really annoying" territory. Many benefits of wireless charging are negated by having to wait for a small eternity for Bluetooth to reconnect. It's actually so bad right now that I've actually taken an old iPhone 4 back into use just for Bluetooth in the car. It connects really fast (I haven't even got my seatbelt on when it's already connected) and once the connection is there, I don't get the occasional choppiness in the playback that I'm experiencing more and more on my Nexus 5. It looks like the notion of Android's performance deteriorating over time is not completely unfounded. Oh well, Android L might change that, but currently I'm using mostly my iPhone for podcasts as Bluetooth is just so much more reliable there. I'm using Pocket Casts as my podcast app and it has both iOS and Android version which sync their playback positions surprisingly well, so consuming the same content on two different phones is not an issue.

Now the question is how long will it take before I'm able to get the 64 GB Plus. It looks like they're in quite a short supply already. The 4,7" would be a nicer form factor, but when buying a phone that expensive, I'd rather take also that optical image stabilization and the relatively much better battery.

Waiting for Updates

Looks like I have multiple updates to look forward to. There's iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite coming for my Apple devices, Android L for my Nexus 5, and looks like there's also a new update for Windows Phone available soon: http://www.wpcentral.com/official-update-1-windows-phone-81-next-week-preview.

It'll be interesting to see whether the Windows Phone update solves any of the Bluetooth shortcomings I've experienced, but the most important thing is that Microsoft seems to have accelerated their WP update pace. Maybe there's some hope left for Windows Phone after all?

Google Play Issues

Just my luck. Of course it's only shortly after I publish a post praising Android when I run into issues with mine. I'm trying to migrate my todo manager to Toodledo, but it seems like Play Store is refusing to install the Android app on my Nexus 5. It's stuck at installing and I've got error 495 once. I've rebooted my phone and cleared Play Store's caches and app data, but so far nothing has helped.

I can install other apps (although they do take their time), but Toodledo appears to be stuck. I've tried to install the app on both WiFi and mobile data with similarly bad results. Sigh. Time for some additional troubleshooting, I guess.

UPDATE: It was up to WiFi. On a mobile network with a better reception and on a different WiFi network I could download the app just fine.

Liking the Green Bot

First of all, sorry about the delay with confirming that changing the audio settings as described in the previous post did indeed solve my Bluetooth issues and I've been a happy Nexus 5 camper ever since. I also got my case issues sorted out with a Spigen Neo Hybrid case, which I bought after a short tryout with the LG Snap Case for Nexus 5. The Snap Case added minimal bulk to the device, but I wasn't quite happy with the protection it provided. The sides were completely flush with the screen, so if my Nexus falls display first, the screen is most likely cracked. The old bumper case had its sides extending a couple of millimeters above the screen and I rather prefer that setup especially with a toddler around in the house.

So I went forward and bought a Spigen Neo Hybrid case in Champagne Gold after a recommendation in Google+, and my search for a case is over for now. I get decent protection, the case looks surprisingly good, and Qi charging still works. If only there were more room for a larger headphone jack, it would be close to perfection. I must also thank Google Play's customer support for its handling of my complaint about the discoloring bumper. When the support rep learned what had happened in such a short timeframe, they offered to refund the purchase straight away without any additional hassles. I've read some horror stories about Google's lack of customer support, but my personal experience so far has been quite the opposite. It was also a Saturday when I called them and got the issue sorted out. I was almost sure that it would be Monday to Friday only, but it seems like the Google Play support has rather decent opening hours. Good stuff, Google.

So with the Bluetooth and case issues both sorted out, the Nexus 5 is now my definite daily driver. Due to having two active cellular subscriptions (work and personal SIMs), I'm still carrying also my work-issued Lumia 925 around with me, but its use is relegated to acting as a backup just in case I run out of battery with my Nexus 5 and for playing Hill Climb Racing (and if someone knows how to sync my WP progress with the Android version of the game, please drop me a line :)). I also take a Lumia 620 with me e.g. to fishing trips and elsewhere where there's a serious risk of (water) damage to my phone. If there were a water-proof high-end Android device with stock Android available for purchase in Finland, I think I'd need to get one of those. Sony Xperia Z2 looks promising, but it's still a customized version and I'm rather impatient about getting the latest OS goodies, I'd really like a vanilla Android with those hardware features. If such a phone exists and I've just missed it, please do point out my ignorance and make my credit card sweat a little ;)

What comes to eagerly waiting for OS updates, Android L has some goodies I can barely wait for! I'm really looking forward to the battery life improvements, new design, personal unlocking, and the low latency audio recording and USB audio support. Maybe we'll get some of the iOS music apps I like ported to Android now? With Android L getting released in the fall, I'm rather happy that my Android device is a Nexus 5 so I'll be in the first wave of constantly checking for updates. If I had a spare Nexus, I'd try out the developer preview as well, but for now I don't think I want to take the risk with my daily driver. Maybe I'll do it somewhat closer to the release if impatience takes over. Oh, I almost forgot about the Chromecast improvements. I've bought one recently, and with the latest changes I think I'll be getting a couple more.

As I'm happy with the current usefulness of my Nexus 5 and the Android L update looks really promising, the iPhone 6 needs to be something truly exciting for me to justify its cost. Yes, I still think iOS 8 is a huge upgrade to iOS, but now when also Android L features have been revealed, I'm not sure if it provides enough advantage over Android for my use. Now the decision depends rather heavily on the iPhone 6 hardware. It might be that for example lack of wireless charging could turn out to be a deal-breaker for me now. Well, we'll see what Apple's up to in the coming months. Meanwhile I'm happy with my Nexus 5 and waiting for Android L to make it even better.

Technically Windows Phone is still in the race, too, but Microsoft really needs to pick up the pace and make something truly extraordinary to make me consider using WP before Android and/or iOS. I'm not holding my breath, though.