OnePlus One Review

By Rich W Woods

I have been using the OnePlus One for a few weeks now and it is a very interesting phone. There are parts of it that are fantastic and there are parts of it that make me want to throw it in the trash.

It’s fast, the camera takes beautiful photos, and it runs Cyanogen. On the other hand, multitouch doesn’t work and there is a slew of other bugs reported by the folks in the OnePlus forums.

Nokia Lumia 930 vs OnePlus One: Rear Camera Comparison

By Rich W Woods
There is not much that the Nokia Lumia 930 and the OnePlus One have in common. One runs Windows Phone and one runs Android. One uses Snapdragon 800 and the other uses Snapdragon 801. One has a 5″ screen and the other has a 5.5″ screen. One has a 20 MP camera and the other a 13 MP camera. One has a 1.2 MP front camera and the other a 5 MP front camera. One records 1080p video and the other 4K. One is made by one of the oldest, well known cell phone companies and the other is made by a startup that didn’t exist a year ago.

There are a few things that they have in common. They are both unlocked and aren’t sold by any United States cell carriers. They both have a 1080p display. Most importantly, they both have cameras that I fell in love with the moment I used them.

The New Moto X has been Announced and it’s Amazing

By Rich W Woods

I never actually got my hands on the original Moto X although I heard it was great. While it had a mid-range processor, it had other sensors that used a minimal amount of power. I was always told that it “simply does things that other phones don’t”.

OnePlus One vs HTC One M8: Front Camera Comparison

By Rich W Woods

Many people don’t realize this, but all smart phones have a low resolution front facing camera. The iPhone 5S and Nokia Lumia 1020/930/1520 have 1.2 MP front cameras. Some have around 2 MP and the new Samsung Note 4 has a 3.7 MP front camera.

There are two phones, however, that have 5 MP front facing cameras. There is a big difference between a low resolution front facing camera and a 5 MP photo taken with a OnePlus One or an HTC One M8.

So which on has the best selfie camera? Let’s find out:

HTC Desire 820 Beats Nokia’s Selfie Phone to Announcement

By Rich W Woods

Before Nokia announced an affordable flagship Windows Phone that suspiciously runs a mid-range processor, HTC made an announcement of its own. The HTC Desire 820 will have an 8 MP front facing camera and a 13 MP rear facing camera. The device will also use a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor and it will be one of the first 64 bit Android phones.

HTC has had a great front facing camera for a long time. The HTC One M8 has a 5 MP front facing camera and that was clearly what Nokia had in mind when they released the Nokia Lumia 730 and 735 which have 5 MP front facing cameras with Snapdragon 400 processors.

Sony Announces Xperia Z3

By Rich W Woods

Sony just announced the Sony Xperia Z3. To be honest, it doesn’t seem like much of an improvement of the former model.

Sony Xperia Z3: Specs

The Sony Xperia Z3 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and a 20.7 MP camera, the exact same specs as the Xperia Z2.

It would seem that they missed an opportunity to use a Snapdragon 805 which Samsung used in the Note 4 that they announced today.

OnePlus One: First Impressions

By Rich W Woods

The OnePlus One looks too good to be true on paper: 2.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 3 GB RAM, 64 GB storage, 5.5″ 1080p display, 13 MP camera, 4K video recording, and a 5 MP front facing camera. And, oh, yea. The 64 GB model costs $349 unlocked. The 16 GB model costs $299 unlocked.

There is one problem. You need an invitation to get a OnePlus One. There are two ways to get an invitation: win a contest or get an invitation from someone who bought one already. I won a contest.

Too Many Ones

The phone that I’ve been using since April is the HTC One M8. The phone that I have been reviewing for the past two weeks is the HTC One M8 for Windows. I store all my files on OneDrive and take all of my notes on OneNote. Let’s not forget about the old Xbox One.

I feel like I could do an Abbott and Costello routine. “Go get me my One!” “Which One?” “That One!” “This One?” “No the other One!”

Microsoft is Interested in Cyanogen

By Rich W Woods

Microsoft has been in talks with Cyanogen, as has Yahoo and Samsung. According to reports, Satya Nadella had a sit down with the company.

For those that don’t know, Cyanogen makes custom Android ROMs, most notably the one that ships with the OnePlus One. It is very popular with many of the Android faithful.

What Would Microsoft Do with Cyanogen?

I finally received a OnePlus One on August 30, 2014. The Cyanogen mod that runs is beautiful. Personally, I am a fan of Windows Phone, but this is not made for Windows Phone.

What would Microsoft do with Cyanogen? Microsoft cancelled the Nokia X line of Android phones after they bought Nokia.

The HTC One M8: HTC Sense vs Windows Phone vs Google Play: Which Operating System should you Choose?

By Rich W Woods

Just ten days ago now, HTC made history by announcing the HTC One M8 for Windows. It is the first time in computer history that a device has been available and the customer has had a choice in operating system at the time of purchase.

Because of this landmark phone, I have been spending quite a bit of time with it, comparing the rear camera, the front camera, low light, boot time, and everything I could think of between the HTC One M8, HTC One M8 Google Play Edition, and the HTC One M8 for Windows.

HTC One M8 for Windows	HTC One M8	HTC One M8 Google Play Edition

HTC Seeds Android 4.4.3 to HTC One M8 Owners

By Rich W Woods

Android 4.4.3 is now available for HTC One M8 owners. To update, simply go to Settings and tap Software Update.

Since Android 4.4.4 was available only a couple weeks after Android 4.4.3, it stands to reason that HTC could have simply skipped 4.4.3 and went straight to 4.4.4. It is not often that a flagship phone gets an update and it is still not up to date.