Wednesday, September 12, 2018

I am amazed at the power and speed of the latest Android smartphones. The Android operating system is on 85% of the world’s phones, but in Canada it is only 45% with Apple the dominant device with Canada’s 32 million cellphone users.  Like everybody else I will need a new phone sooner or later (3 year lifespan), so I thought I try some Android phones and Samsung was gracious to lend me one to use for the past few months. 

 

 Samsung Galaxy S8

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is a sleek design with a curved screen that is right to the edge of the phone. The phone dimensions are 2.68” w x 5.86” h x 0.31” d and 5.8” on the diagonal. It weighs 155gm (1/3lb) and comes with a 12 MP rear  and 8 MP front camera. It is powered by a 10nn chip that has 2.35 GHz of computing power that is the size of a fingernail. This processor is powerful enough to be used in drones as Android phones are sometimes used as the main computer to control the drone after the app is installed 

 

The benefits of the Android system ( I have always felt that Android was a iPhone clone in many ways) are that it works with all the Google apps and set up with my gmail account that I already had was painless. One thing I noticed is that the notifications feature that sends you highlights on your phone from your various apps became overwhelming as I had to turn it off on the apps I did want notifications from. There was also system alerts like data overage alerts that I did not have any control over that I found to be a nuisance, as I could not turn them off.

 

I was finally able to install the Vonage app on my phone (I was using a Nokia/Microsoft phone before)  as I use this VOIP service for my office line and now with this app. I can make and receive calls on the smartphone from the same number like I was in the office. This app acts like an extension and second line at the same time as I can receive calls on my land phone and if a second one comes in I can answer it on the smartphone or call out if I am on hold on the other phone. This saves on my cell talk minutes and I get unlimited calls to outside of Canada.

 

The bluetooth connection with my Android car stereo for music and the phone worked fine. It would be nice to able to receive text/email messages that can be converted to voice while driving with the option to reply verbally. Now this feature most likely will cause less car accidents, as they do not have the temptation to look at their phone now. Now, here is a feature the engineers have not relesed yet, so make the next generation of SMS messaging Bluetooth enabled with voice commands and text to voice messaging. This will save lives.

 

The screen is also ultra sensitive and I got a lot more pocket dials that I would have liked with this phone. During the summer it was in the hot sun and it over heated and the phone has an automatic shut down and I had to wait for it to cool down before it started working again.

 

The integration of Google Music with my song collection in iTunes was a simple transfer. I did have problems though in getting my full music collection on my smartphone as some songs were not playable as I needed a wifi connection. Even though I own the music and it was not a digital download.

 

 Edifer Luna Eclipse Bookshelf speakers

I connected a pair of Edifer Luna Eclipse bookshelf bluetooth speakers to the phone to listen to the music and the sound from these speakers was superb, when I used them at a family BBQ. The distance range was 50 ft. for the sound, which was good for small speakers. This sound was delivered with a 3” bass driver/woofer and 3/4 inch tweeter with each speaker having a dedicated amplifier of 15 watts for the tweeter and 22 watts for the bass. It also has a plug-in aux connection and remote control. Retails for $250 on Amazon. 

 

I did find that the battery lasts only 12 hours with light-medium use, if I was talking on the phone it would drain faster. I had to put the phone in medium battery saving mode to extend the battery life as normal settings would drain the battery faster. I did chip the edge of the phone on my ceramic floor so I had to get a rubber sleeve for it to protect it from addtional falls. I always wondered why OEMs put so much effort in making the technology better, but they forget to make the case better and not break when dropped. The biggest concern is that sooner or later the screen will crack, so it is best to buy a cover for your phone. 

 

At the end of the day this is a solid smartphone if you want to get an Android phone for your next device. Be wary though, it took me a while to figure out all nuisances of the phone and sometimes I found it overwhelming with all the new technical capabilities that some I don’t use, like Bixby, Samsung personal assistant. The Samsung Galaxy S8 is available as a $0 phone on some plans at Rogers or you can buy an unlocked one for $719 at Best Buy. My next Android phone I am going have a look at is the Huawei Pro 20. Also remember to recycle your electronic waste when you get that new phone.

 

 



 

About Me
Martin Seto

 
Martin Seto is the producer of the Canadian Online Publishing Awards (COPAS) with 30 years of life expereince in technology, advertising, media and creative exploration. He can be reached at marty(dot)seto(at)
reflexmediasales.com or 416-907-6562, and on LinkedIn.

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Lorene Shyba says:
Full of terrific information, Thanks!...
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