My New Phone.....

It's amazing how much we use our cell phones these days. We use them to text, email, take pictures,follow the news, and socialize. On rare occasion I even use my phone for a voice call. It goes everywhere I go, just like underwear. So picking a new one for personal use is no small decision. Especially for me.

You see - I'm not an iphone guy. The iphone is the most popular series of phones on the planet. I know they're great phones. Whenever I asked my friends for a suggestion they would say to get an iphone. But for some reason I don't like to follow the crowd on something so popular. I wasn't a big fan of the Beatles either when I was young. I just prefer to look for an undiscovered gem. The same with cell phones. (Are they still called cell phones? Maybe mobile phone is the term to use.)

My new award-winning ZTE Axon.

My old phone was different too. It was an unlocked phone from a company called Blu.When it was new it was pretty much  a state-of-the-art Android phone. It had a good camera and was advertised as the thinnest smartphone on the market. I think I've used it for almost 5 years. It still worked, but it had other problems. Whenever I updated an ap, or tried to save something I got the "insufficient storage" notice. So I dumped years of pictures into "the cloud", and deleted things I didn't need. But it didn't significantly help the storage problem. The death blow came when it wouldn't hold a charge very long. It had a battery that was not replaceable. So it was time to shop.

Now there are plenty of great Android phones. Manufacturers like Samsung, LG, and HTC all make great phones. For a hefty price. My carrier will sell you one of these top of the line phones for a few dollars a month on your bill. But you're still paying $6-$700 by the time your done. My goal was to find the best value. A great phone with great specs, at a price I could live with.

The One+ 3 - originally by invitation only.

I actually started looking last year. I was drawn to an obscure brand with great specs and great reviews called the One+. Maybe what drew me to it though was because it was hard to get. You couldn't just buy one. You had to be invited to buy it. The company would determine if you were worthy. That's a true story. Imagine someone saying to me, "Hey, that's a cool phone! Where can I get one?" I would reply, "I'm sorry. You're just not good enough!"

The more I looked, the more confusing it got. Some phones were strong in one area, but weak in another. I began to think I would have to compromise on some features if I wanted to stay at a reasonable price. Then I discovered a brand from South Korea called  ZTE.

Actually, the first time I ever heard of ZTE was at a Cleveland Cavaliers game. They would set up a table near where my seats were last year and give away things. Then I heard about the ZTE Axon 7.
For the nerds out there, this phone had the latest Snapdragon processor, the latest version of Android,

My ZTE texting gloves. Still unused.

a quad-HD screen, a fingerprint sensor, plenty of memory, and a 20 megapixel camera. It also is the first phone that is certified Google Daydream ready. That is Google's virtual reality program. All this for under $400. So I ordered it from Amazon.

When it came, I had to get it set up with a new nano-sim card. I also had to transfer my contacts, pictures, and thousands of text messages. (I don't really know what I'd do with 4 year old text messages, but you never know.) Finally, it was ready to use.

I downloaded my important aps, like Flash Seats with my Cavs tickets, and tried it out. I can say it's much more reactive than my old phone. The camera is great. It also has fantastic sounding speakers. It even came with some deluxe earphones to use.

So I am satisfied with my purchase so far. But will it last about 5 years like my old one? Time will tell.