Product Reviews

Product reviews of locally sold Apple-related accessories

The iPhone 12 mini review

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Took me a few days off from writing here but spent all that time using my new mini and putting it through its paces.

First thing first, it does have the lock screen bug widely reported, but the issue does not exist anywhere outside the lock screen app, so I am assuming it is unlikely to be a actual hardware issue. If you are worried it is better to hold off from buying the mini until Apple issues an update.

Now for the unboxing photos.

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The box is so small and thin this time round, (no) thanks to the removal of the power adapter and the EarPods, but well they had to cut cost somewhere to justify the increased prices for the 5G chips Qualcomm was shoving down their throats for losing the lawsuit. In case you haven’t noticed, other phone manufacturers slap high price tags on the version of their phones that have 5G support, thanks to greedy Qualcomm, who take a much bigger cut per chip the more expensive the phone is.

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Nevertheless, the tiny box, with the tiny phone, is so attractive.

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OMG so cute.

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Only paperwork and the cable in the box.

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This is how the mini looks now, after the screen protector treatment and a esr clear case.

I shall divide the review into a few parts.

One hand usage

This is fantastic. It feels almost exactly like how you will use an iPhone 5s before, where phones are still of the size you can handle them without the assistance of a ring or pop socket at the back of the case. Tapping targets one handed requires no stretching of the muscles between your thumb and your first finger and that reduces the risk of RSI in the long term. I can hold it with two fingers anywhere and not worry about the phone falling out of my hand because it is either too big, too heavy or both. If you wear skinny jeans with the phone in your front pocket the phone feel like it is not there at all. Squatting down in your jeans will no longer entice a small worry in you that the phone will either bend or even break from the increase in vertical pressure. So lovely.

The display

Is the display too small? From many years of plus and Max sized phones I thought it might be an issue going back, so I was pleasantly surprised that it took zero effort on my part. Just like driving and swimming, even if you have not been engaging in the activities in a while, your brain remembers how to do them. And the brain definitely remembers how smaller iPhones used to feel and how you used to control and manipulate them without any problems. On screen elements also happen to be the exact same physical size as the iPhone 5s and earlier iPhones (and the current iPad mini), so unless you used to have a problem with screen elements from those past iPhones you probably will not have a problem with the 12 mini either.

Is the keyboard too small?

I am typing this article on the mini at a speed probably even slightly faster than I am on my 11 Pro Max, so what do you think? The keyboard is now the perfect size for both one hand typing and two hand typing, instead of just either. It seemed that Apple had gotten the size of the on screen keyboard right the very first time, when they shipped the very first iPhone. Every other size iOS keyboard was some sort of a compromise.

MagSafe charging

It is wireless charging after all, and tends to heat up the phone slightly. But definitely not as much as using my standard Qi chargers with the 12 mini. I do not know why that is. Having the 12 mini snap to the magnetic charging puck every time I put it down to charge on MagSafe is Just. So. Satisfying.

Battery life

This is likely the one issue that you may face if you are a power user (like myself) and have problems even with the 11 Pro Max battery life (I had). The bigger your battery is the longer your phone’s battery life. The 12 mini, with its smaller battery capacity is not going to have better battery life than the 12 Pro or the 12 Pro Max. So far, I am finding that it has roughly the same battery life as my iPhone X, and actually last longer than an iPhone SE2 (which has a smaller battery). It is average, I guess. But I always have a portable battery with me anyways, even when I was bringing the 11 Pro Max out of the house. If you do not have access to portable power and must get a phone that can last you the whole day, then do not pick the 12 mini. Buy the 12 Pro Max instead. Will I trade all the benefits of the 12 mini for just the battery of the 12 Pro Max? I most certainly will not. You probably shouldn’t, either.

Conclusion

If you always wanted a smaller iPhone than the recent sized iPhones, get the iPhone 12 mini. You will not be disappointed. Also it is worth repeating that I think that the blue and the black iPhone 12 minis are the ones to get this year, despite my usage dislike of darker colors. The other choices are just really boring.

First looks at the Google Nexus 7

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Mine came in late last week, thanks to the help of a good friend. Been playing with it all weekend, here are the first thoughts;

1. It’s slightly faster than the Galaxy Nexus on Jelly Bean, but when you have lots of widgets on your home screen or try to do multiple actions at one time, the lag is no joke. So much for Jelly Bean’s Project Butter (edit: It’s pretty fast generally, you can’t see any legginess in the interface so long you don’t push it)

2. It’s supposed to be a tablet, but in reality it’s really a giant Android phone, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Certain apps with tablet interfaces don’t work very well on the small screen, especially due to the crazily short width of the tablet in portrait mode, so apps work way better in “phone mode” (you can choose).

3. It’s pretty light, and I’ll love to bring it everywhere I go, until the iPad Mini (definitely coming out, thanks sources) debuts of course.

4. Build quality is a bit shoddy, I can hear the screen moving every time I touched a certain spot on the screen.

5. Every single bad point about the Android OS remains, such as the ability to do work on it due to the lack of proper apps, fugly app interfaces, irritating country-based restrictions on what you can or cannot buy from them, which means in Singapore you generally get NO CONTENT to buy. No books no music no movies no nothing.

Conclusion: This is just a first look, but I doubt my opinions about it will change. The Nexus 7 is a toy. A toy you can bring along on overseas trips together with your MacBook Air because it’s so small and portable, to watch videos that you torrent off the net because Cathay’s In-Flight Entertainment is a joke. And there’s really nothing bad about it being a toy. I love toys. It’s just not an iPad, and will never be in the next 5 years or so.

“Best Cases and Sleeves for iPhone 4 in Singapore” Review Series – Fabrix Cases iPhone 4 Sleeve

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I can’t believe how long I took to finally get this.

I got my iPhone 4 two weeks ago at the Singtel Midnight iPhone 4 Launch, and it replaced my 3GS as my only phone less than twelve hours after the purchase.

My 3GS had a case (Incase Po on it all the time so I was always just slipping the phone directly into my pockets without any other protection.

The iPhone 4, however, is a thing of extreme beauty. And the last thing I will do to it is to use it with a case (in case you are wondering, there is no iPhone 4 antennagate outside the States. All evidence and news reports from around the world point to AT&T as the problem) that will hide the majority of its beauty, at least for the time being.

So what did I do?

First things first. Power Support Screen Protectors. The Best.

Next, a sleeve.

Instead of purchasing something immediately, I went home, took the old Sumajin off my iPod Video, and slipped my iPhone 4 into it.

One week later, I got so fed up with it that I finally caved in and ordered one of these.

And today it came.

Why a sleeve?

Read more

Product Review: Targus USB Hub for Mac “(Why I think) Targus believes that Mac users are suckers for anything made from White Plastic”

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Let me say this once and for all – USB hubs are generic devices. There are only two different types of USB Hubs, powered and unpowered. And the only difference between them is the inclusion of a power adapter, resulting in a higher price for the powered ones. The Targus USB Hub is obviously a portable type unpowered USB hub, so I’m not going to talk about the more-than-four-ports-and-powered hubs.

Let’s start with the price. On their official site it’s listed as 29.99USD, which translates to about 45SGD.

It looks like this.

It’s slightly bulky, is white. Looks portable. Sort of. Relatively simple design. Angles slightly the 4 ports so that bigger connectors MIGHT fit.

Now for my review.

Targus has on their website this following line;

“Stylish – This USB hub is designed explicitly for Mac users, with form and function to meet your needs and match your lifestyle.”

Really? How does the white plastic and the wraparound cable reflect a Mac user’s lifestyle? I don’t ever remember Mac users being the only people who will like all their accessories to be white, or require a wraparound cable in their USB hub?

What Targus seems to be saying here is this; “Mac users are suckers who will buy anything that’s made from white plastic, even if it’s priced way higher than everything else.” and thus charges a premium for something that does not offer additional value.

I could at least understand if Targus’ other non-Mac specific USB hubs are similarly priced, but no. They have a much smaller and portable USB hub that’s priced around 16SGD(price in Challenger). Better portability, same number of ports. What reason do they have to charge 3 times that amount for their USB Hub for Mac? FUCKING WHITE PLASTIC.

Maybe I can play devil’s advocate for a while. Maybe Targus truly believes that all Mac users should have a unique style, and should only be seen outside working on a MacBook Pro ladled with white accessories. Maybe Targus believes that Mac users will look cool doing that. Maybe Targus thinks that a Starbucks filled with humans wearing black turtlenecks and typing on a MacBook connected to dozens of white plastic accessories will be a superb scene. Maybe Targus thinks that Mac users are lemmings.

What do you think?

Even if they were going for the Apple white look, what many macs have white parts on them in the current Apple lineup? 2. Since last december only the old MacBook and the Mac Mini. And I believe their whole Targus for Mac range came out late last year or early this year. Maybe they should redesign their products to have the aluminum look.

Even then, no pass.

I won’t cough up the cash for one.

Verdict? Buy it if you are a sucker for white plastic accessories.

P.S. I don’t feel the same way about some of the other Targus for Mac accessories though. Will review some of them soon.