New Smartphones!

[XTreme]

Just ordered a pair of Samsung Galaxy A71 5G's for me and the wife!

It's got 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Drive, 6.7" screen, 4 cameras with the main one being 64MP, 4K video.........my Dark Motorcycling will look even grimmer now! Review HERE!

We've always had Huawei's.......which have been brilliant! But there's no way we'll knowingly buy Chinese products now.......given the situation over the last year!

So I pick the Samsung's up early next week.......and of course, all costs are tax deductible! Pity it's not the same for bikes! 

Please note that the information in this post will be of no use whatsoever to @Buckster

[Tym]

Im still using a flip phone that costs $10 a month for calls i totally ignore. 

[XTreme]

6 minutes ago, Tym said:

Im still using a flip phone that costs $10 a month for calls i totally ignore. 

I was a reluctant smartphone user......didn't get my first one till 2014. But it got to the point that I had to get one because the business required that I had internet connectivity at all times.

So I grudgingly got a cheapo Vodafone thing just to get started.......my boy even had to show me how to use it! 

Within a few days I thought......how the hell have I managed to live without one of these all this time?

I'm not one of those people who lives on their phone......but the permanent internet connectivity was a game changer for me and the business.

[Earache]

I have no service at my home, no service at my shop in Denver - dunno why i even have a phone. Should cancel it and go without as I rarely even use it.

About 3 calls per month and maybe 10-15 texts is about all I do.

[Sir Fallsalot]

I'm lucky or unlucky depending on your view, i have never bought a mobile phone, i have always had a company phone, never wanted a smartphone until one was thrust upon me, now i think i would struggle without it, good thing is the company i work for never asks for the old phones back when i get upgraded so always got a backup, I now have 4 i phones a laptop and an i watch which i smashed in work a few weeks ago cluttering up my cupboards 

[Pedro]

I am the guy amongst my group of friends that was last to get a smart phone. First got a Nokia with email capability, then a better Nokia, then an Iphone, now I can’t cope without an IPhone

[XTreme]

6 minutes ago, Pedro said:

I am the guy amongst my group of friends that was last to get a smart phone. First got a Nokia with email capability, then a better Nokia, then an Iphone, now I can’t cope without an IPhone

Exactly! In terms of business it's essential. The only other use I want is pics, vids, and GPS directions!  Social media, games, music, vids etc.....not interested.

I've got FB and Twitter on there, but I only access those on the PC. And shit like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok etc I've never used.

[Buckster]

I looked at my phone for a camera, not that it would be any good for the bike, the bike is outside and the phone is on the sideboard, the cord only reaches as far as the chaise.

[XTreme]

New mobiles have arrived! Off to the shop in an hour! 

[XTreme]

Got the phones! Very slick indeed! 

I've set up mine......got to do the wife's one after we've been to the animals.

But first thing was check the image quality as this is 48 megapixel compared to 16 on the Huawei.

Incredible difference.......file size of the one test shot outside the house was 6.5mb compared to around 3 on the Huawei. And you can pic out the textures on the mountains rather than just a blur.

These desolate places are gonna look great! Yes I know they're grim locations.....but now you'll see the grimness in much better detail. 

 

[Pedro]

1 hour ago, XTreme said:Yes I know they're grim locations.....but now you'll see the grimness in much better detail. 

 

[Grasshopper]

This is all very interesting as I am in a spot where I either pay the same for my older iPhone or get a newer one.  I don't really use the device for phone calls, not a fan of too much talking.  Maybe a text or two for work but I really use the camera feature and the GoPro App.  Also love the photo program on the iPhone.  I was looking at the iPhone 11, but now @XTreme you have me looking at the Samsung, just not sure I can go back to Android... 

[XTreme]

I wouldn't buy anything Apple.....it's overpriced for what it is!

[XTreme]

I tested the vid capability.......it's really impressive!

 

[Tym]

Top man class! 

[yen_powell]

My first smart phone was about 12 weeks ago, forced on me by work, I had to find a small child to show me how to work the poxy thing. They also made me have my first ever lap top a few weeks ago, it's like a proper PC but with a less usable keyboard, stupid small screen and no proper mouse, they'll never catch on.

 

I'm gonna have to get one of those switches so I can use my main keyboard, mouse and screen with it, I do my CAD and estimates on the proper PC and email them to myself when I've finished. I don't have WiFi at home so the lap top is using my phone for the WiFi connection when I work from home which is most of the week at the moment. I can see the amount of data used flying up on the phone, I wonder when work will get a red flag on that.

[XTreme]

22 minutes ago, yen_powell said:

My first smart phone was about 12 weeks ago, forced on me by work, I had to find a small child to show me how to work the poxy thing. They also made me have my first ever lap top a few weeks ago, it's like a proper PC but with a less usable keyboard, stupid small screen and no proper mouse, they'll never catch on.

I'm gonna have to get one of those switches so I can use my main keyboard, mouse and screen with it, I do my CAD and estimates on the proper PC and email them to myself when I've finished. I don't have WiFi at home so the lap top is using my phone for the WiFi connection when I work from home which is most of the week at the moment. I can see the amount of data used flying up on the phone, I wonder when work will get a red flag on that.

So how's life back in 1998 Yen? 

[yen_powell]

1 hour ago, XTreme said:

So how's life back in 1998 Yen? 

1998 was a good year for me computerwise. Windows 98 was out and worked pretty well as I recall, AutoCAD R14 was the first decent version with icons instead of just a side menu and tablet and making customised buttons which combined commands was easy and saved much time. I had lots of shortcuts on my screen, my own printer and my own desk. I could knock out work like billyo. Today I have an unstable desktop that loses shortcuts and customisations so often it's no longer worth bothering with them in the first place, we now have tool pallettes instead of menus so one click items take three clicks. I have no desk to myself and the one I am allowed to use has to be cleared each time I leave it, so reference items or other handy things are no longer to hand. If I want to look at a map of the borough for reference, there is no longer a big print on the wall, this is not allowed, I have to look at it online where it is slow to pan and freezes a lot and has numerous mistakes. The printer is two rooms away and there is always a queue at the thing and if there isn't it's because it is not working. If it is working my print sometimes doesn't make it through. When I received a letter, the writer didn't expect a response within a few minutes like email. My mobile phone battery lasted more than two weeks. The mobile phone itself did not make it look like I am trying to steal a book out of the library by pushing it inside my trouser pocket.

 

I feel better now.

[XTreme]

4 minutes ago, yen_powell said:

1998 was a good year for me computerwise. Windows 98 was out and worked pretty well as I recall, AutoCAD R14 was the first decent version with icons instead of just a side menu and tablet and making customised buttons which combined commands was easy and saved much time. I had lots of shortcuts on my screen, my own printer and my own desk. I could knock out work like billyo. Today I have an unstable desktop that loses shortcuts and customisations so often it's no longer worth bothering with them in the first place, we now have tool pallettes instead of menus so one click items take three clicks. I have no desk to myself and the one I am allowed to use has to be cleared each time I leave it, so reference items or other handy things are no longer to hand. If I want to look at a map of the borough for reference, there is no longer a big print on the wall, this is not allowed, I have to look at it online where it is slow to pan and freezes a lot and has numerous mistakes. The printer is two rooms away and there is always a queue at the thing and if there isn't it's because it is not working. If it is working my print sometimes doesn't make it through. When I received a letter, the writer didn't expect a response within a few minutes like email. My mobile phone battery lasted more than two weeks. The mobile phone itself did not make it look like I am trying to steal a book out of the library by pushing it inside my trouser pocket.

 

I feel better now.

1998 I was living in Chepstow and working in Gloucester and Cheltenham.

I liked Chepstow......but it was a bit weird that despite being in Wales (well my side of the town was) I think I was the only one there with a Welsh accent. 

And my eldest boy went to school in England (the other side of town). 

[yen_powell]

10 hours ago, XTreme said:

1998 I was living in Chepstow and working in Gloucester and Cheltenham.

I liked Chepstow......but it was a bit weird that despite being in Wales (well my side of the town was) I think I was the only one there with a Welsh accent. 

And my eldest boy went to school in England (the other side of town). 

You worked in a building society? 'Computer says NO, look you isn't it!'

I think I've been to Chepstow, one of those places that used to keep changing nationality.

We were visiting my girlfriend's best friend who was living in a hotel where her hubby was the chef and she did house keeping. They had a lovely flat attached to the hotel and all looked nice and cosy until I spotted a glass framed stairwell against one wall and a bloke walking up the stairs. That was the boss, their whole living area was in plain view any time he used the stairs!

[XTreme]

13 minutes ago, yen_powell said:

You worked in a building society? 'Computer says NO, look you isn't it!'

No......I was Regional Manager for Byte Computer Superstores! 

I was previously doing the same job but living in Milton Keynes (lovely place but can't say the same about the people)........I moved from there in 1997 because we wanted to be back in Wales.