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sevoneone

macrumors 6502a
May 16, 2010
905
1,165
2014 Moto X - Flat is boring

moto-x-2014-1.jpg


Great build quality. Upscale material options like leather. Feels fantastic and solid in the hand. Good AMOLED display, not too big. Always listening voice activation, wave to wake, chop for flashlight, twist for camera. Only weak spot was the camera.
 

AdaminOz

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 10, 2014
62
4
Melbourne, Australia
MotoX - interesting.

The OnePlusX looks nice but I don't want a Chikom device. isn't it a Chikom device, not just one assembled there?

Looks very Alpha-esque to me with the chamfered metal sides, and shape, but importantly lacks the flat glass front that the Alpha has. That kind of flatness is very nice and looks like the phone has been made from a bar of swiss chocolate. Remarkable when you see it up close - does anyone here have an Alpha? The Alpha followed the SII in design, but with metal edges, similar to the iPhone 4 or the Blackberry 9900s with their metal edges, but it has something to it that makes it look very flat.

I agree that the Sony Z series are very nice, but the glass wont survive a fall and as I said ,they're slippery. If you want to go caseless I'm not sure if they're good for that.

sony-xperia-z3-compact-14.jpg


Also the Alpha has a removable back with a "cats ear" like feel. In a fall the back and battery will come out, distributing the kinetic energy from the fall away from the glass and phone itself, and also it has slight bumps on each corner with an increased radio preventing further damage, and alllowing the pone to be sat on its side despite the presence of the buttons.

samsung-galaxy-alpha-design.jpg


samsung-galaxy-alpha511.jpg


They say they were inspired by their Cardphone, but it's obvious the Alpha is inspired by the SII. You can see some elements from the Cardphone in the Alpha, such as the chamfered edges, giving it an angular feel to the front. Compare the SII which seems to have, like the S3 S4 and S5, but not as much as them, a slight lip or curved edge up to the front but it's very much like the Alpha. The Alpha has a chamfer and then a completely flat front. I think the Sony's have this as well but the Alpha just looks completely flat.

SGH-P3102.jpg

samsung-galaxy-s2.jpg


As you can see the Sonys don't ahve the Alpha flatness, but a type of S3, S4, S5 lip but not the same curve but seems more flat than the Samsungs (even though the Z2 had chamfers). But the Sonys do have much tighter radii on their corners, which is nice. Still the SII and Alpha radii are pleasing for their shape. It's the 100% flatness of the Alpha that's striking when you realize it's a SUPER AMOLED there. So bright and so flat. I suppose the AQUOS has a similar effect when you look at it. It reminds me of being like a thin block of Lindt chocolate in its shape. But the Z series look nice. Take a look at this:

Sony-Xperia-Z3-2.jpg

It's this kind of Alpha thoughtful designwork that you can see Samsung putting into the S6 and S7 but again, I'm not sure how they would go if they were dropped compared to say an SII or Alpha.
 
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AdaminOz

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 10, 2014
62
4
Melbourne, Australia
Nice. All metal brushed or polished or just metal - what do you like better? There's glass (like the new Samsungs and the Sony Zs), or metal (like the iPhones and this Le Phone, and the HTCs and others, or plastic/rubber back (like the Samsungs before S6 like the Alpha etc). What do you like? Do you prefer removable or not removable?
 

nj-morris

macrumors 68000
Nov 30, 2014
1,897
800
UK
The Note 7 was very beautiful in its time. It's a shame, because it quickly got ruined by burn marks.

Apart from that, the S6 Edge+ is amazing looking, especially in gold. Also, I was a sucker for the iPhone 5 when it came out.
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,324
13,113
where hip is spoken
Ha, you beat me to it!

Always wanted to try that phone out.
The Sharp Aquos Crystal was my daily driver for 2 years. It was a terrific device. (the few issues that I experienced were Android-specific) Although it has a plastic/acrylic screen, it still does not have any scratches even though I've used it daily for 2 years and never with a screen protector.

The bezel-less design makes it feel more like a prop from a SciFi film than a functioning phone.

I have since moved on to an iPhone SE, but I continue to use the Aquos Crystal as a portable media player. (rooted it, froze some apps, performance and battery life are possibly better than new)
 
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AppleRobert

macrumors 603
Nov 12, 2012
5,726
1,132
Ha, you beat me to it!


The Sharp Aquos Crystal was my daily driver for 2 years. It was a terrific device. (the few issues that I experienced were Android-specific) Although it has a plastic/acrylic screen, it still does not have any scratches even though I've used it daily for 2 years and never with a screen protector.

The bezel-less design makes it feel more like a prop from a SciFi film than a functioning phone.

I have since moved on to an iPhone SE, but I continue to use the Aquos Crystal as a portable media player. (rooted it, froze some apps, performance and battery life are possibly better than new)

Dang, I wish the sound quality of others matched the Crystal as I use it as a portable media player myself. it is really good and I did not pay as much for it as other devices.
 
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AdaminOz

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 10, 2014
62
4
Melbourne, Australia
Some of the Chikom phones are looking very nice.

Mate 9 Hua (hello S6/S7 Edge!)
huawei-mate9-pro-3.jpg

Still have to say the Sony Zs Samsung 6/7 and Alpha are pretty nice. iPhone 6/7 does look nice but hard to hold. New Blackberries are Meh! imho. Classic LGs like Prada look nice. Any other favourites?
 

Channan

macrumors 68030
Mar 7, 2012
2,881
3,095
New Orleans
Some of the Chikom phones are looking very nice.

Mate 9 Hua (hello S6/S7 Edge!)
huawei-mate9-pro-3.jpg

Still have to say the Sony Zs Samsung 6/7 and Alpha are pretty nice. iPhone 6/7 does look nice but hard to hold. New Blackberries are Meh! imho. Classic LGs like Prada look nice. Any other favourites?
Yeah looks almost exactly like my Galaxy S7 Edge.
 
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