The Galaxy Nexus – 21 Days Later

Well, I’ve done it. I’ve made it three weeks without an iPhone.

To be honest, I didn’t think I would make it. I mean, as much as I wanted out of the iOS ecosystem, my digital life was so tied into it, I actually thought I would be running back. Fortunately, however, my online life is heavily tied into Google, making the transition to an Android phone extremely simple.

CDMA controversy aside, the Galaxy Nexus is an amazing phone. While I’m not a huge fan of the fact that it’s a plastic built phone, I will concede that it still feels like a premium phone. While slightly heavier than my iPhone 4, it actually manages to feel lighter due to the weight distribution covering a larger space.

But before I continue, let me just say that I’m in no way attempting to review the phone. Reviews done by amateurs come off very subjective and are either full of praise or full of complaints. Instead, I offer my impressions of the phone after using it as my daily driver these last three weeks.

I haven’t missed my iPhone. Not once. I may have missed an app here or there (I’m looking at you, Instagram and Hipstamatic), but the phone itself has not been missed. In fact, I’ve grown to enjoy my Galaxy Nexus more than I enjoyed any of my three iPhones (2G, 3G, and 4).

Please don’t get me wrong. I loved the iPhone. I was among those that jumped at the opportunity to own one. I was astounded by its capabilities and simplicity. But over time, I grew bored with it. It was lacking something. It felt. . . incomplete.

Anyway, long story short, I decided to switch to Android. More specifically, a Nexus phone. So here are my thoughts.

With Ice Cream Sandwich, Android has finally caught up to (if not surpassed) iOS. It’s snappy. The term lag doesn’t even come to mind as I use my phone. Animations are buttery smooth, and everything reacts exactly as I expect it to. The screen is beautiful (but it’s a Super AMOLED screen, so while it may be technically more impressive than Apple’s Retina Display, the screen itself doesn’t appear as bright or vibrant as the iPhone’s. But it’s a minor drawback that’s only noticeable when the two devices are sitting side by side), and I think that it’s actually really cool that it’s made of curved glass. I don’t notice any substantial difference between it and a flat-glass screen, but it’s still quite impressive to me.

The screen is nice and large. It’s not too big (the Galaxy Note comes to mind), but it’s definitely bigger than the iPhone’s screen, making video-watching a much more natural experience. But it’s still small enough to make one-handed typing possible (though admittedly not as easy as on the iPhone). Some have complained about the size of the phone. I suppose I can understand if this writer is a girl or a really small guy. Throughout his/her review, he kept blasting the size of the phone. Now, I’m barely 5’9″ and hovering somewhere around 170 lbs. I don’t have large hands by any stretch of the imagination. For you musical types, my span is maybe an octave plus 2 or 3 keys. On my 13″ MacBook Air, my span goes from the A key to the ” key. And I haven’t dealt with the issues that this writer apparently dealt with. Typing with one hand isn’t a problem for me, and I’ve never had to “shimmy” my hand down the phone.

Actually, I’m more convinced now that the writer is most likely a girl because she mentioned that the Galaxy Nexus was too big for her pockets. That seems to be a common problem with girls’ jeans. Small pockets, I mean.

Anyway, enough about her impressions of the phone. Let me get back to mine.

LTE is ridiculously fast. Unfortunately, where I live now doesn’t get LTE coverage (but my parent’s house gets full LTE signal, so I may find myself hanging out in Morristown again). I ran a speedtest, and the LTE network clocked in at Wi-Fi-like speeds. While it’s a drain on the battery, I don’t worry too much about it. I have a spare battery, and I recently ordered the extended battery from Verizon (which was 50% off when I placed the order).

Speaking of battery life, I know that a lot of people have complained about it. I haven’t had an issue, but I’ve always been one to do that battery-drain thing when I get a new gadget. Basically, I let the battery run all the way down until the device shuts itself off. I then give it an overnight charge and run the battery all the way down again. I drain and charge like this for about three or four days, and 95% of the time, it has helped get me the most out of my gadget’s battery.

NFC and Google Wallet are a blast to use. I have a friend who works for Google, and while he’s not allowed to officially comment on the Google Wallet APK that’s been floating around the Internet, he did say that I shouldn’t be afraid to use it. In fact, I went to McDonald’s (which is something I never do) and bought something just so I could pay for it with my Galaxy Nexus. It was, to say the least, a whole lot of fun.

Face Unlock, like Siri for iPhone, is really nothing more than a novelty, and its usefulness wears off after a week or so. But I can’t deny the “wow” factor. It’s definitely a fun way to show off my phone to my friends.

Overall, the phone is a good fit for me. While I do have a few quarrels (namely, the Verizon branding—and lack of Google branding—on the back of my device and the sudden announcement that CDMA versions—including Verizon’s—would no longer receive AOSP support, Super AMOLED instead of Super AMOLED Plus, and a non-competitive rear camera), I’m much happier with this phone than I was with my iPhone.

That said, there’s a lot to love about the iPhone. It’s just not for me anymore. Personally, I like the freedom of being able to do what I want with my phone. I’ve become a huge proponent of widgets. I love having information at a glance. I like a little variety on my home screens. I like being able to find bargains on apps. But that’s just me. You may like the polish of iOS, or not having to think about customizing your phone to fit your needs. You may actually enjoy the walled garden and one-stop shopping for all your apps. You may be one of those “set it and forget it” types who’d rather have the manufacturer set up your phone for you than go through the rigors of personalizing your phone.

That’s just not me.

I made the switch.

So I finally made the switch to Android. I picked up the Galaxy Nexus today. To be honest, it’s a bit jarring after being an iPhone user for so long. I’ve lived in the Apple ecosystem for nearly eight years (my first Apple product was an iMac G5 back in 2005). My first smartphone was the iPhone, and I got it just a couple weeks after it came out. I even went to seeRatatouille in the theater the night I bought the iPhone. Since then I’ve owned the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 4.

So now that you know my background, here’s where I stand.

There’s some love, and there’s some hate. My main motivator right now is the fact that my life has become so intertwined with Google (my calendar, contacts, email, documents, and yes, even my wallet, are all in Google). So it stands to reason that I get a Google phone.

My secondary motivator is complete and utter boredom with iOS. There’s been nothing but negligible changes from Apple since iPhone OS first showed up. Meanwhile, Android has taken leaps and bounds in upgrading it’s OS.

Here’s a list of what I like and don’t like. I’ll start with “don’t like” so I can end on a positive note.

I don’t like. . .

• The fact that it doesn’t feel like a sturdy phone. I know, this is a matter of personal preference, but I do like a little more weight to my devices.
• The loose volume rocker. I don’t know if it’s just my device or if it’s across the board, but the volume rocker doesn’t feel like a very solid set of buttons.
• The lack of a mute switch. It was a luxury on iPhone that I took for granted. If I was going into a meeting or just wanted my phone to stay quiet for some reason, I could just flip a switch. Not so on this phone.
• The lack of a devoted messaging client. I know, it’s not really feasible for Android phones, but I really miss iMessages. I have a ton of friends with iPhones, and it just kills me that my texts are now going to show up in snot green on their phones instead of cool blue. ;-P Actually, I really just miss how fast iMessages were and the fact that you could see when the other person was typing.

I love. . .

• The customization options. Big deal for me. I’m sick of staring at a grid of apps and folders that I can’t really customize.
• 4G LTE speed. Okay, so it’s probably only a matter of time before an iPhone iteration gets LTE capability, but I’m really enjoying how fast this phone goes.
• Different security options. I know that iOS had the option for a multi-character passcode, but something about pattern locks makes me feel more secure. And the whole face unlock is cool, but I won’t really rely on it as a security option. It’s neat when I’m at work or with my friends at church (I work for a church), but when I go out to restaurants, pubs, and shopping, I’m mostly using the pattern lock.
• The ability to side-load apps. Sure I could jailbreak an iOS device, but I’m not a fan of voiding my warranty. With an Android device, I can get apps from wherever I want. I just installed Google Wallet onto my Verizon GNexus, and I can’t wait to try it out (though admittedly not tomorrow as a snowstorm is in the forecast :-/).

I’m sure the adjustment period is going to be difficult. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. For now though, I’m done with the iPhone.

It feels oddly liberating.

The long farewell.

Addendum: Apparently I went through many of these thoughts almost three years ago. You can read them here.

Well, I think this might finally be goodbye.

In the summer of 2007 I jumped on the bandwagon that was the iPhone. No, it wasn’t the best phone out there. It had a weak camera that didn’t record video. It supported only SMS in a world where MMS was becoming nearly commonplace (and why would you put a camera on your phone and not support MMS?). It also didn’t take advantage of AT&T’s then blazingly fast 3G service.

But it was so cool.

Since then, I’ve adopted two iterations of the iPhone at their respective launches: the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 4. I was a loyal iPhone user. And since I lived deep inside the Apple ecosystem, it made sense for me to be loyal to iPhone.

There was a time that my loyalty to iPhone was tested. In 2008 I began getting excited about the direction that Google was moving. I received an invite to Gmail, started using Google Calendar, and even had the opportunity to beta test the now-defunct Google Wave.

During all of that, I became intrigued with Google’s new mobile operating system: Android.

I watched with envy as feature after feature that I had been longing for on the iPhone OS (now iOS) leaped its way into Google’s mobile OS. But my hunger was satiated by my discovery of the iPhone Dev Team and their jailbreaking ways. And for a short while I was content with my jailbroken iPhone 3G.

But then there it was. Google’s first multi-touch phone. The HTC Nexus One was a sight to behold. Like the spark of rebellion against a dominant empire, the Nexus One openly defied Apple’s threats to sue anyone who dared make a multi-touch device. And I was growing more ready to join this new rebellion.

But alas, my heart was turned once again to the shiny black and silver object that resided in my pocket. On June 7, 2010, Steve Jobs announced the latest and greatest iDevice to go into my iPocket: the iPhone 4.

It was new. It was shiny. It boasted an amazing Retina display that made all other phones’ panels look like grids of incomprehensible pixel junk. And just when I was about to join the Rebel Alliance, Emperor Jobs beckoned me back. (The creepy foreshadowing of this video clip isn’t lost on me.)

The new iPhone was beautiful. FaceTime, the Retina display. . . other cool. um. stuff. Glass!

It was elegant. It was classy. It made me feel good about the iPhone again. I quickly forgot about Android.

But here I am, over a year and a half later, bored by the “same-old, same-old” found in iOS. Nothing fun in the UI. Micro-managing developers. The arrogant “we know what you want better than you do” attitude. I’m tired of it all.

While I’m certainly grateful for the iPhone’s pioneering of the smartphone world, and I thoroughly enjoyed the years that I spent with my iPhones, I daresay it’s time for me to leave.

And this time, I do believe I will follow through on my plans to leave the iPhone behind.

I mean, just look at what awaits me!

Check out this review from The Verge.

Why I love Nook (pt. 2) + preview of the New Nook

Please read pt. 1 here.

On Tuesday Barnes & Noble Booksellers announced their Nook 2, or “The Simple Touch Reader.”

The new Nook is much lighter than the original Nook, weighing in at just 7.5 oz. It’s even lighter than the Kindle 3. It sports an E-Ink Pearl display (probably my biggest jealousy point when it came to the Kindle 3); boasts 2 months of battery life (wi-fi turned off), which is reportedly twice as long as the Kindle 3; and has the coolest new feature among e-readers: a touchscreen E-Ink display.

No doubt Amazon will release an upgraded Kindle to compete with the new Nook, but for now I’ll just enjoy the fact that my e-reader of choice appears to be far superior to the Kindle 3.

Competition is already pretty hot, with Kobo releasing a new e-reader around the same time as the Nook. While Kobo’s e-reader isn’t as rich as the Nook 2, it does come in at $9 cheaper. Negligible price difference, but a difference nonetheless. Kobo’s battery life comes in at a paltry 2 weeks, shameful next to Kindle 3′s 4-week battery life and Nook 2′s 2-month life. Kobo also has the disadvantage of “ghosting,” an E-Ink anomaly that will be all but eliminated with Nook 2. These advantages are probably more than enough to justify the extra $9 for the Nook.

With this release, Barnes & Noble Booksellers is setting itself up to compete with some of the biggest names in their respective industries. This new Nook is aimed directly at Amazon’s Kindle, and it’s pretty obvious that the old bookshop is looking to dethrone the Internet shopping giant as the e-reader king. The Nook is already the second-best selling e-reader on the market.

Barnes & Noble also appears to be competing with Apple for a share of the tablet PC market. This market was opened by Apple’s iPad, and for a long time that was the only tablet on the market. Other companies eventually joined the fray, including Samsung, HTC, Motorola, RIM (Blackberry), Toshiba, HP, Acer, and Dell—all of them technology giants in their own right. But it was Barnes & Noble’s NookColor that took the top spot among them—second only to the iPad.

I’m excited to see what’s in store in the e-reader world. It’s only a matter of time before Amazon unveils the fourth iteration of the Kindle, but I’m probably going to go for the Nook since I’ve amassed a sizable library of NOOKbooks, and unfortunately NOOKbooks aren’t readable on a Kindle, and Amazon ebooks aren’t readable on anything other than a Kindle (or a hacked NookColor).

Check out CNET’s preview of the new Nook below.

Why I love Nook (pt. 1)

If you know me, you know that I’m something of a tech junkie. I’m an Apple user (though somewhat begrudgingly now, especially after observing the freedom associated with the Android platform), and and Nook fan.

My decision to purchase the Nook instead of the Kindle 3 had less to do with the strength of the device and more to do with loyalty to a brand.

Granted, if the Nook were vastly inferior to the Kindle 3, I’d have gone with the latter. But while the Kindle 3 is certainly a better device than the Nook, the differences were negligible in my estimation and for my uses.

But I love Barnes & Noble Booksellers. I’ve always loved reading, and while I was a child that store was my absolute favorite. The first time I ever set foot in a Barnes & Noble I was struck by just how big the store was. I was a little reader, and I remember loving little bookshops like Waldenbooks and B. Dalton Booksellers. But Barnes & Noble just had so many books!

I used to get lost in the aisles, looking for the latest Star Wars or Star Trek novel or a new Help! I’m Trapped In. . . book.

(Sure, I had a short-lived love affair with Borders Books & Music, but I soon went back to Barnes & Noble.)

I started getting into e-reading when Apple’s new iBooks app showed up on the iPhone. Sadly, the screen was far too small for me to enjoy the experience. So I quickly canned the idea of e-reading.

E-reading became more appealing after I got an iPad for work. I downloaded the Nook app for iPad, and began e-reading once again. Unfortunately, I was met with a new problem. Trying to read on an LED screen was giving me a headache. I almost gave up on e-reading again, but I weighed the benefits. E-books are often much cheaper than paper books. I can carry thousands of books on one device. With a wi-fi e-reader, I can read a new book instantly.

So I started looking into purchasing an E-Ink device.

The Amazon Kindle was widely used and very popular, but for some reason I was really drawn to the Nook. Perhaps it was the touchscreen nav tool. Perhaps it was the ability to use multiple e-book formats including epub. Perhaps it was the free coffee I could get if I used my Nook at a Barnes & Noble location.

Whatever it was, I jumped onto the Nook bandwagon. I’m perfectly happy with my decision, but like my love for Apple tempered by thoughts of Android, there was just a little bit of jealousy for the elegance of the Kindle, it’s outstanding battery life, and the E-Ink Pearl display.

That jealousy will soon disappear. . .

(Read pt. 2 here.)

New Emergence iPhone app

It’s interesting to watch how mobile technology has changed over the last few years. Apple Inc.’s App Store has been the catalyst for massive changes in the way we interact with our cell phones.

The American Church has always struggled with the tension between the changes in culture/technology and the unchanging nature of the Gospel. Some churches spurn the change in culture, equating cultural shifts with worldliness. Other churches embrace changes in culture, believing relevance to be of utmost importance.

But I believe that a third way is possible. Cultural abstinence yields an ineptitude in living gospel-driven lives. Cultural immersion yields lack of focus on the mission of the gospel.

Instead, what if churches practiced cultural discernment? What if churches allowed the gospel to drive their approach to the culture around them rather than forcing the gospel upon the culture (which it was never meant to do) or forcing culture on the gospel (which it was never meant to abide)?

Okay, so those last few paragraphs were completely unrelated to what I wanted to really talk about here. Which is this: I believe that to be effective in a “Web 3.0″ world, churches need more than just a web presence. Churches need a mobile presence.

Liquid Church has been developing a mobile presence for quite some time now, and their mobile website is a strong representation of a good mobile presence. (To view it, go to liquidchurch.com on your mobile browser; you’ll be automatically directed to the mobile site.) A new version is in the works as well. Here’s a sneak peak.

Emergence has gone one step further and made their presence known on the Apple iTunes App Store. (Click here to download the app.) I’ve placed a gallery of screen shots below. In the coming months, an Android version will be released, as well as a “feature-richer” iPad version.

Children’s Ministry challenge #1 – Curriculum

There’s no such thing as a perfect curriculum.

While searching for a curriculum for the ministry at Emergence, I was faced with the difficulty of finding an effective curriculum that’s fun and engaging, but teaches the Gospel clearly and effectively.

I fully subscribe to the “Orange” mentality, and I plan to shape my ministry on its principles. I believe that their methodology is good, but their curriculum for elementary children (252 Basics) leaves a little to be desired.

The philosophy behind the lesson strategy is great—large group/small group is an excellent format, and currently the most effective way to teach children.

Unfortunately, I was uncomfortable with the three basic truths that the curriculum uses as its foundation.

1. I need to make the wise choice.
2. I can trust God no matter what.
3. I should treat others the way I want to be treated.

The curriculum developers arrived at these core truths through what characterized Jesus as he was growing up (Luke 2.52). The problem is that these truths were extracted from the verse after an eisegetical approach to the passage.

Why is this a problem? At best, it teaches children how to model Christ’s life. Unfortunately, the curriculum lends itself far too easily to therapeutic, moralistic deism. The Gospel is missing from the foundation.

Why not subscribe to a different curriculum? In time I might. But for now, I’m sticking with 252 Basics because of the strengths in its format, the fact that it’s thematic rather than chronological (chronological is effective for adults, not so much for children), and its presentation of the salvation message.

So the solution I’ve come up with is intentional rewrites. It’ll take a lot of work, to be sure, but I believe this mission is too important to settle for anything less than what I perceive to be the “best.”

So I’ve rewritten two of the three basic truths.

1. I need to choose God’s way, not my way.
2. I can trust God no matter what.
3. I should love others like Jesus loves me.

Because of what takes place at Emergence, and our view of the Gospel, this type of change was necessary.

Aftermath by Hillsong United – Review

Hillsong UNITED is arguably the most popular “band” in the genre of musical worship. I say “band” because the UNITED projects are more like musical collaborations featuring the talents of several artists, all held together by musicians/producers Joel Houston, Jad Gillies, and Jonathon Douglass.

Aftermath is UNITED’s second studio album (the first being All of the Above, released in 2007) and marks a drastic change in direction for the musical group.

Stylistically, the album rests in electronica, and it’s reminiscent of music by Daft Punk, MUTEMATH, Sigur Rós, and The Postal Service, while still maintaining the driving rock that characterized All of the Above and subsequent releases (The I Heart Revolution in 2008 and Across the Earth: Tear Down the Walls in 2009).

Overall, the album takes a much darker and more mature tone than their previous releases, which all hearkened back to Hillsong UNITED’s days as the youth band United Live. Aftermath all but removes any semblance that they were once a youth band. All of the tracks point very distinctly to the cross of Jesus and all of the implications of what took place there.

The album opens with the song “Take Heart,” a quiet, yet epic, introduction to the hope that lies in the midst of the tragedy of Christ’s crucifixion. It quickly grows more upbeat with “Go” then slows back down with the next several songs. This second movement of the album culminates in the title track, a beautiful song that poetically describes the journey from manger to cross. This movement ends with “Bones,” a lyrically simplistic chorus that’s reminiscent of Imogen Heap and Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy soundtrack, and “Father,” a reminder of how the journey from “Aftermath” was all orchestrated by a loving God.

The third movement of the album consists of “Nova” and “Light Will Shine,” probably the only two songs on the entire record that remind us of UNITED’s roots in United Live.

The final movement is made up of the tracks “Search My Heart,” which will probably end up as the song most churches will use in their congregational song sets, and “Awakening,” an introspective ballad that cries out to God in response to living in the aftermath of Christ’s death and resurrection.

The beauty of the musical artistry far exceeds anything that UNITED has done in the past, but lyrically the album leaves a little to be desired. One of the strengths of Hillsong’s music from 2007-2010 was the songwriting talent of UNITED collaborator Brooke Ligertwood, whose final work with UNITED was featured in 2009′s Across the Earth: Tear Down the Walls (though she continues to write occasionally for Hillsong Church).

Musically, a vast improvement over All of the Above, but doesn’t quite reach the lyrical standard set by that project (and the subsequent recordings incorporating the style set by the 2007 record).

Aftermath will hit stores in Australia and the United States on February 15, 2011.

Something new

After shutting down restoredtograce.com I took a break from blogging. I’m an essayist, and as such I always need to go through several drafts of a piece before putting it on display for all to see.

But there’s something about blogging that’s always intrigued me, so I’m giving it another stab, but with a new spin.

First, you won’t see me post as often as I did on restoredtograce.com. For some reason I felt obligated to put up a new post regularly, and often my thoughts were rehashed or thrown up on the blog with no regard to whether I should even be saying what I said.

This blog will be far more random and diverse than my last blog. It’s more about what’s really on my mind and not what I’m forcing into my thoughts.

The tone on this blog will be more lighthearted than on restoredtograce.com. Nothing’s off limits here: books I like or hate, movie and TV show thoughts, video game reviews, tech, church-related stuff, music, theology. . . It’s all here.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.