*waving* hi there, remember me?! You'd be forgiven if you don't, I've been somewhat missing these past few months! My much loved, although often cursed, mobile decided to give up on me and that, along with my germy kids, has led to a pretty unproductive me. I am, however, back! And today this blog post comes courtesy of my brand new Google Pixel 2 (the small one!)
So it seems fitting that I dedicate this post to my first impressions of the phone itself 🙂
A caveat, this is a none scientifically analytical post. There's loads of them around already, you know the ones with all the benchmarks and snazzy technical language? Yeah, you won't get that here. This post is purely my impression and how it's fitting into my life so far.
After ordering just before the phone was released in the UK, I was super excited when my package arrived a week ahead of schedule - I would have got it earlier but it was dispatched on a work day and there was nobody to take delivery *sob*. The phone arrived minimally packaged in a plastic postbag and wrapped in a piece of cardboard. Google must really trust their carrier! I was impressed that the box inside was undamaged and the phone itself in one piece!
Inside the box came the phone, a plug, a usb 3 cable, an adaptor so you can use a regular usb cable in the usb 3 plug (and perhaps plug a usb key into your phone, haven't researched that yet!) And an adaptor so you can listen to music using a regular head set - Google have omitted a 3.5mm jack from this phone, I'm bummed about that 🙁 It also contained enough charge to switch on and get going. I needed to do the usual of finding out our wireless code (for once it was with the router!) and popping in my Google account. I had a groan moment when I remembered the two factor authentication but because I'd already popped my sim in it was all handled automatically. I also got the option of using the last phones setup to install all my apps which made everything so much easier (although I'm really not sure how I've managed to amass 210 apps!!)
Once set up I could begin checking the phone out and I have to say, so far I've been impressed! It's buttery smooth when carrying out tasks and so incredibly quick! I've gone for the 64gb option, simply because I can't justify the extra £100 for the 128gb and, with all my apps I have just under 70% storage still to play with which seems amazing!
The all important camera works well and fast, opening almost instantly. Over the past couple of weeks I've been putting it through its paces and first impressions are good although I haven't yet been wowed. After being in the Samsung camp for a while the aspect ratio is taking a bit of getting used to as is the not overly saturated images like the predecessor had a tendency to produce. I'm also underwhelmed by the options available in the stock camera app but I wonder if I just haven't discovered them all yet! I have to admit, the camera is one thing Samsung does well, it was one of the main reasons I moved back to them a few years ago, so it will take some time to see if the pixel 2 can measure up. I'll definitely update you!
The rest of the phone is pretty much par for the course. It's stock, clean, unadulterated android and I love it! Most android uber fans will be uttering duh right now but... I've had Google phones before (Nexus anybody?) and the first thing I did with it was to skin a Samsung touchwiz looky likey on top because I hated that stock feel. It seems that in my absence Google have upped their game and I can totally live with it!
Hardware wise, the screen is lovely and clear, the colours seem more natural than my Samsung and whilst the smaller screen is taking some getting used to (in the interim I've been using my old Samsung note, it was painful, 2gb storage, nuff said!) it's actually quite comfortable and the phone certainly fits well in my pocket. It also sits well in my hand, it's balanced well, the buttons are conveniently placed down the right hand side (not so great if you're left handed!) And I'm getting on well with the fingerprint sensor on the back. One of the very first things I did was add a gel case - I have kids, this thing is going to get dropped - so I haven't had to worry about it slipping from my hand. The speakers are also great, Michael Buble was blaring out beautifully this morning 🙂
I'm sure there will be loads more to write about this phone over the coming months (the 8.1 update and it's camera wizardry for one!) so watch this space, but as it stands right now I'm a happy bunny 🙂
So it seems fitting that I dedicate this post to my first impressions of the phone itself 🙂
Forgive the dodgy photo, I couldn't take a picture of my new phone with my new phone!
A caveat, this is a none scientifically analytical post. There's loads of them around already, you know the ones with all the benchmarks and snazzy technical language? Yeah, you won't get that here. This post is purely my impression and how it's fitting into my life so far.
After ordering just before the phone was released in the UK, I was super excited when my package arrived a week ahead of schedule - I would have got it earlier but it was dispatched on a work day and there was nobody to take delivery *sob*. The phone arrived minimally packaged in a plastic postbag and wrapped in a piece of cardboard. Google must really trust their carrier! I was impressed that the box inside was undamaged and the phone itself in one piece!
Inside the box came the phone, a plug, a usb 3 cable, an adaptor so you can use a regular usb cable in the usb 3 plug (and perhaps plug a usb key into your phone, haven't researched that yet!) And an adaptor so you can listen to music using a regular head set - Google have omitted a 3.5mm jack from this phone, I'm bummed about that 🙁 It also contained enough charge to switch on and get going. I needed to do the usual of finding out our wireless code (for once it was with the router!) and popping in my Google account. I had a groan moment when I remembered the two factor authentication but because I'd already popped my sim in it was all handled automatically. I also got the option of using the last phones setup to install all my apps which made everything so much easier (although I'm really not sure how I've managed to amass 210 apps!!)
Once set up I could begin checking the phone out and I have to say, so far I've been impressed! It's buttery smooth when carrying out tasks and so incredibly quick! I've gone for the 64gb option, simply because I can't justify the extra £100 for the 128gb and, with all my apps I have just under 70% storage still to play with which seems amazing!
The all important camera works well and fast, opening almost instantly. Over the past couple of weeks I've been putting it through its paces and first impressions are good although I haven't yet been wowed. After being in the Samsung camp for a while the aspect ratio is taking a bit of getting used to as is the not overly saturated images like the predecessor had a tendency to produce. I'm also underwhelmed by the options available in the stock camera app but I wonder if I just haven't discovered them all yet! I have to admit, the camera is one thing Samsung does well, it was one of the main reasons I moved back to them a few years ago, so it will take some time to see if the pixel 2 can measure up. I'll definitely update you!
The rest of the phone is pretty much par for the course. It's stock, clean, unadulterated android and I love it! Most android uber fans will be uttering duh right now but... I've had Google phones before (Nexus anybody?) and the first thing I did with it was to skin a Samsung touchwiz looky likey on top because I hated that stock feel. It seems that in my absence Google have upped their game and I can totally live with it!
Hardware wise, the screen is lovely and clear, the colours seem more natural than my Samsung and whilst the smaller screen is taking some getting used to (in the interim I've been using my old Samsung note, it was painful, 2gb storage, nuff said!) it's actually quite comfortable and the phone certainly fits well in my pocket. It also sits well in my hand, it's balanced well, the buttons are conveniently placed down the right hand side (not so great if you're left handed!) And I'm getting on well with the fingerprint sensor on the back. One of the very first things I did was add a gel case - I have kids, this thing is going to get dropped - so I haven't had to worry about it slipping from my hand. The speakers are also great, Michael Buble was blaring out beautifully this morning 🙂
I'm sure there will be loads more to write about this phone over the coming months (the 8.1 update and it's camera wizardry for one!) so watch this space, but as it stands right now I'm a happy bunny 🙂
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