Hi, I’m Joe “the Android Guy”. Perhaps you’ve heard of me. I’m that guy who says Android is the best mobile operating system out there, and that “Pure Android” is the best of the best. If you want a “Pure Android” phone, you own a Nexus. Notice I said you “own” a Nexus, not you “buy” a Nexus or you “use” a Nexus. You own a Nexus.

Nexus phones and tablets are (were?) devices commissioned by Google, sold directly to consumers (and occasionally through select carriers). They generally got [...]

2016 has been a really great year – the year of the midrange phone. Never before have we had so many compelling devices available to us for below $400. If I may be so bold, this may be the beginning of the end of smartphone flagships in the $650 and up range. We’re not quite there yet, but with so many great options at such a low price point, it’s a great time to pay attention to the industry.

And then there’s Google.

Just when you thought you had everything figured out, Google goes and drops some Pixels on us starting…STARTING…at $649. Remember Google? Google was the [...]

As much fun as it is to make fun of Samsung’s Note 7 fire issue, this is one area that could have impact to the entire smartphone industry. Samsung has a big fracking problem on its hands, and it needs to be very careful of its next steps. For those not familiar with the situation, let me catch you up. Over the course of the last few weeks, Samsung’s latest flagship, the Note 7, went on sale. Some users reported the phone would burst into flames while charging. Since then, Samsung has issued a global recall of the device, citing faulty battery issues, and has plans to replace every [...]

We are reaching a point in technology where hardware is plateauing. Moreover, devices are getting better and better and staying viable for longer because of it. Last year’s phone is almost as good as this year’s phone. So, we find ourselves not very motivated to upgrade. This has been shown in smartphone buying trends and retention trends for some time now. If we are holding on to our phones for longer, and the hardware isn’t or can’t get much better, OEMs are going to start freaking out in a big way.

Take Apple for instance. Arguably, one of the biggest [...]