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ludi
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Google Pixel impressions (gen1)

Sat Nov 18, 2017 2:44 am

Soooo...thanks to this little adventure, a Nexus 5X with which I was perfectly happy is now very close to being a doorstop. Irritating since I would have gladly used that handset at least one more year, and this was a lousy time to be spending new phone money. But a Google Pixel (gen1...that's "1" as in "has 1 headphone jack") arrived a day early and is now running in its place.

Conclusion: I like it. I like it a lot. Not only does it have a better fit-and-finish than the 5X while losing the 5X's camera bump, the 5.0-inch display means it's also just a hair smaller than the 5.2-inch 5X at the same 1080p resolution, and it fits my hand where the 5X felt a smidge large. Since I'm exactly the median height for American males and not a big build, the 5X was also a smidge large in my pocket. The UI is more responsive, applications perform better and are less likely to be evicted from memory during task switching, and the built-in-speaker is considerably better than the 5X. It also included a USB-OTG adapter and premium-qulaity C-A USB cable along with the C-type charger and C-C cable. At least Google got that part of the high-end pricing experience handled correctly.

I seriously considered the Pixel2 since I could direct-order that from Google and get the warranty whereas this was a sealed NoS unit from a fulfilled-by-Amazon seller, but the 2's higher price and lack of headphone jack (yes, I use it now and then) represented a fatal twofer. A pity Google abandoned the Nexus pricing model, as this unit (perhaps with cost savings such as a composite case and bonus USB accessory delete) would be a perfect midrange market killer.
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Airmantharp
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Re: Google Pixel impressions (gen1)

Sat Nov 18, 2017 3:17 am

I'm loving mine, but one bit of caution- I haven't used a phone case in half a decade, and my Galaxy S and Note phones would just split in half when dropped. I'd pick up the pieces, put them back together, boot the phone, and rock on. Maybe a new scrape, whatever.

That panel on the back that covers the camera? That's glass. And it shatters just like iPhones love to do- and I had to barter to get a replacement installed that I got off Amazon- thankfully, she took Starbucks :D.

So now I have my first phone condom. Breaks the small size a bit, but I'd like this one to last, and damn is it a nice phone.


[and I use that headphone jack too, daily... guess I'll have to warm up to dongles at some point in the future]
 
ludi
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Re: Google Pixel impressions (gen1)

Sat Nov 18, 2017 3:38 am

Noted, I already have it inside a Spiggen case and the tempered glass screen protector arrives early next week. My wife and I also both use pop-sockets as our PokemonGo addiction results in lots of handheld time, and my wife in particular has butterfingers.
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Airmantharp
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Re: Google Pixel impressions (gen1)

Sat Nov 18, 2017 3:59 am

ludi wrote:
Noted, I already have it inside a Spiggen case and the tempered glass screen protector arrives early next week. My wife and I also both use pop-sockets as our PokemonGo addiction results in lots of handheld time, and my wife in particular has butterfingers.


Yup, Spiggen is what I got- same coming for my Note 4, which is now my 'travel' phone, seeing as AT&T unlocked it. I scraped it back to stock, and need to figure out how to de-crappify it. So many AT&T apps for a phone that will never see AT&T again...


As for those pop sockets, I don't know if I'm more amused or appalled :D
 
ludi
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Re: Google Pixel impressions (gen1)

Sat Nov 18, 2017 9:23 pm

Airmantharp wrote:
As for those pop sockets, I don't know if I'm more amused or appalled :D

They look a bit odd but they sure do work.
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llisandro
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Re: Google Pixel impressions (gen1)

Sat Nov 18, 2017 10:09 pm

I have one and l have loved it, but when I updated to 8.1 it's feeling a little sluggish compared to 8.0, which felt blazing fast. my google launcher seems to be acting up, and it routinely crashes after I type a few characters- this only seems to happen if I start typing characters, if I swype it's fine. Never happened before the update. I've got nothing but gboard installed.

I've got a caseology parallax case, and it's handled a few drops gracefully. this is my first experience with a tempered glass protector and it picks up a lot less shmoo than the rhinoshield I had on my last phone.
 
Heiwashin
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Re: Google Pixel impressions (gen1)

Sun Nov 19, 2017 9:28 pm

I have no intention of replacing my pixel xl unless it's damaged. It does everything i need, fast enough, and some things can be done simultaneously on the screen. It's very nice to be able to use my two separate mapping programs at the same time so i can more easily match the details between the two. Also some things that just come down to raw power. With my old galaxy s5 youtube would sometimes be drowned out by using other apps in the foreground and cause it to either completely close or cause obvious slowdowns. I have very few problems with things of that nature now. One of my biggest gripes is it has some seriously annoying bluetooth problems, but nothing deal breaking.

I usually have my radio connected to my phone, however after the 8.0 update it no longer connects automatically. I will sometimes have my headset connected in phone status, and the radio is always media only, but if i make or receive a call the bluetooth will sometimes thoroughly spazz out and dc the radio followed by unintelligible garbling of the headsets communication.
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DancinJack
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Re: Google Pixel impressions (gen1)

Sun Nov 19, 2017 10:00 pm

llisandro wrote:
I have one and l have loved it, but when I updated to 8.1 it's feeling a little sluggish compared to 8.0, which felt blazing fast. my google launcher seems to be acting up, and it routinely crashes after I type a few characters- this only seems to happen if I start typing characters, if I swype it's fine. Never happened before the update. I've got nothing but gboard installed.

I've got a caseology parallax case, and it's handled a few drops gracefully. this is my first experience with a tempered glass protector and it picks up a lot less shmoo than the rhinoshield I had on my last phone.


You do know that 8.1 is on the first beta right?

Having said that, I have 8.1 running on my XL and it works great. I haven't had a single crash since I installed it (the day they released it).
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llisandro
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Re: Google Pixel impressions (gen1)

Sun Nov 19, 2017 10:56 pm

DancinJack wrote:

You do know that 8.1 is on the first beta right?

Having said that, I have 8.1 running on my XL and it works great. I haven't had a single crash since I installed it (the day they released it).


Oops, sorry I didn't make that clear. Yeah, I'm on developer preview on the smaller phone. This is the only thing that crashes for me. I also just don't like the new search bar on the bottom- it now slides all my icons up, making for a slightly longer reach, and takes up the entire width of my phone to launch a popup, seems like a step backwards.

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