Oh no, XDCX just got a new smartphone - 2015 Version

[XDCX]

I was checking IP Addresses the other days and I noticed that someone was reading this thread from April, 2012: Oh no, XDCX just bought a new smartphone......

I created that thread two and a half years ago as a warning to our members that I'd likely be posting various reports about my new Razr Maxx just like I did when I bought my first smartphone - my trusty Droid X.

Well, for the first time ever, I drifted away from Motorola and replaced my Droid Maxx with a Nexus 6P.

So far I like the new phone and the larger size has not been an issue like I feared. I know I'll miss wireless charging but the fast charging offered on the Nexus 6P makes that less of an issue.

[XDCX]

I've been known to be very brand loyal and was thinking about getting the new version of the Moto X but I was put-off by the small battery, lack of wireless charging and no fingerprint reader.

Hopefully the next Moto X will address some of these shortcomings and I'll jump back to Motorola. (Which is now owned by Lenovo - a Chinese company just like the maker of the Nexus 6P - Huawei.)

[tnpartsguy]

Originally Posted by XDCX

Hopefully the next Moto X will address some of these shortcomings and I'll jump back to Motorola. (Which is now owned by Lenovo - a Chinese company just like the maker of the Nexus 6P - Huawei.)

Yuck, Lenovo bought IBM's consumer PC division, and the stuff is absolute junk now...

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by tnpartsguy

Yuck, Lenovo bought IBM's consumer PC division, and the stuff is absolute junk now...

I was very happy when Google bought Motorola and was hopeful it would be an example of one great American company resurrecting another great American company.

While Motorola smartphones prospered under Google's ownership it was clear early on that Google's interest in Motorola was for their patent portfolio. When Google sold Motorola to Lenovo I feared it would be a big setback for Motorola. While it's too early to tell what Lenovo's ownership will mean from the product side, it's already clear that Motorola is offering a lesser level of customer support than they provided during Google's ownership.

Concerning IBM's Thinkpads, the first laptop that I bough back in 1994 was an IBM Thinkpad and it was an awesome computer. It's sad to see that Lenovo has lessened what used to be a great product line.

[mryan55]

I have stayed needlessly loyal to BlackBerry when it comes to smartphones. Other than an iPhone that I used for one contract cycle it has been nothing but BlackBerry for the last eight years or so.

I just had to jump over to the world of Android for the first time, as BlackBerry has dumped their own operating systems and has moved over to Android with their latest offering, the Priv. I thought about jumping over to a Nexus device since the price point seems pretty spot on. The newest BlackBerry is a bit expensive for what it is, but it has a physical keyboard, which is a feature I'm pretty fond of.

I have a Microsoft Surface Pro that I use for most of my stuff at home if I can't get it accomplished with a Chromebook, but prior to the Surface I had a a 2010-era Thinkpad. I like the Thinkpad pointing stick that goes back to the IBM days, but otherwise it was a rather anonymous piece of hardware.

[XDCX]

The rise and fall of Blackberry (both as a company and a stock) is worthy of a Harvard Business School review. In hindsight the company made so many mistakes in response to new competitors and went from the being the dominant company for smartphones to one that's just hanging on trying to avoid bankruptcy.

It will be interesting to see how Blackberry does now that they offer an Android solution. There are some that think the company has a bright future.

[XDCX]

After about a week's use I'm liking the Nexus 6P and the larger size has not been an issue. (I really like the larger screen when reading email and surfing the web.)

I'm not too impressed with the battery capacity but at least it offers quick-charge technology so it's easy to plug the phone in for a few minutes and top off the battery.

The other issue I'm getting use to is that the phone, compared to my old Droid Maxx, is somewhat difficult to pick up from a flat surface. The Droid Maxx has a slight arch on the back of the phone which made it very easy to press down on one side of the phone and pick it up on the other. The Nexus 6P is perfectly flat on the back making it harder to pick up the phone. It's not a huge deal but it is something I need to get used to.

The other thing that seems odd about the Nexus 6P is this is the first upgrade I've ever done where the new phone doesn't offer something new. My old Droid Maxx was capable of doing everything the Nexus 6P does - in fact, one could argue I've taken a step back by giving up wireless charging.

In the past I picked up 4G LTE when I upgraded from the Razr X to the Razr Maxx and I picked up NFC and wireless charging when I upgraded from the Razr Maxx to the Droid Maxx.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by XDCX

The other thing that seems odd about the Nexus 6P is this is the first upgrade I've ever done where the new phone doesn't offer something new. My old Droid Maxx was capable of doing everything the Nexus 6P does - in fact, one could argue I've taken a step back by giving up wireless charging.

In the past I picked up 4G LTE when I upgraded from the Razr X to the Razr Maxx and I picked up NFC and wireless charging when I upgraded from the Razr Maxx to the Droid Maxx.

I just thought about this statement and now see that I'm wrong.

The Nexus 6P has a fingerprint sensor that none of my previous phones offered. I use the fingerprint sensor all of the time and it works great. Hopefully app developers will be able to incorporate the fingerprint sensor feature in their apps and eliminate the need for passwords.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by XDCX

I just thought about this statement and now see that I'm wrong.

Looks like I'm wrong again....

With the Nexus 6P I can tether an Internet connection with my laptop by using the WiFi Hotspot feature. In the past that feature was always blocked by Verizon because they wanted me to pay an extra fee to use the data I already paid for.

In fact, I'm using a tethered connection right now from the Avi Resort/Casino in Laughlin. It's nice to be able to log on to the forum without having the risks associated with using a public network.

[XDCX]

I was updating apps on my Nexus 6P the other day and noticed that USAA had an update indicating that the new app would now allow Apple and Android devices that supported fingerprint authentication to use that process to gain entry to their system instead of a password.

I updated the app and authorized USAA to use my fingerprint instead of my password and it works perfectly. It's definitely easier to log in to the USAA app with a fingerprint so I imagine I'll use the USAA app more frequently now.