I am not exactly the type of customer that can be reached easily by mobile phone manufacturers. I don’t have very high standards when it’s about phones. What I need is a device which allows me to receive and do phone calls. Apart from that, it’s fun if the phone can show me notifications, run a few apps or if I can take a few snapshots with it. You guessed it, any smartphone will do. And my last phone did it for a very long time. I also check the look of the phone, but once I got one, I will be happy for a long time. Back then I fell in love with the Sony Xperia P, and funnily, I even wrote a post about the purchase back then. Today I stopped to use the phone and I got the funny idea to calculate for how long I used it. To be exact, I used it for 2511 days, that’s basically almost 7 years!
But everything comes to an end. Last year I started to notice that apps ran slower and slower, but I was still not impressed because I am not exactly the type of person that uses many apps. I am a very casual mobile user because if I want to watch pixels and dive into the digital world, it’s much more likely that I will power up my PC at home to have a fine time in front of a large screen, with a fast machine. But I don’t want to deny that phones can be very practical for small tasks, like readings news, checking notifications, chatting with friends, listening to music or watching photos and videos someone sent you. So, when the problems turned up, I uninstalled less important apps to be easy with the phone memory and to make the device faster again. However, I knew this would just be a temporary solution as apps become more demanding with each update, which means I now also needed to uninstall some important apps. But a bigger problem turned up this year. Battery life got really bad, the phone could barely still make it through the day.
Now it was time, after 2511 days or 7 years, I had to get a new phone. But as I don’t have high standards when it’s about phones, I was looking for a mid-range device. But still, I knew what kind of brands I would be interested in. Almost everyone around me owns a Huawei smartphone these days. And I did not just hear good experiences from family members and friends, I could also test different Huawei smartphones and I was amazed in terms of design, performance and cost-benefit ratio. I also liked the idea to get a Chinese device, because if it makes imperialist politicians mad, it’s like doing a good deed. On a more serious note, let’s be honest, as a consumer I follow my own interests and not the ones of politicians. And my interests are very simple, I want to get a decent product without paying a fortune. So, I went with a Huawei smartphone, to be more exact, the Huawei P20 Lite. It’s a gorgeous smartphone and I already fully set it up and enjoyed playing with it…
Of course, after all those years, it’s no wonder that this new phone is much faster than my previous one. The display is much larger too, which sound good at first but I might need to get used to it as I preferred small phones in the past. The first thought I had was, the bigger the display, the higher the chance it could take damage. So, I went into a local smartphone store and asked for full cover protective glass products. I was afraid that those protectors would look ugly but he showed me one that was designed in a way that you barely can see that the front has a protector on it. I loved it, and for a small fee, he started cleaning my display and attached the protector. I also purchased a very slim and minimalist book cover in black, to protect the phone even more as I sometimes carry keys in the same pocket where I have the phone. The book cover is from the brand Black Rock, and it looks great but I might write a short post about with a photo another day.
For the first day using my new phone, I can just say that I am pretty happy with the purchase. As I don’t purchase phones often, I am not exactly the type of guy who writes smartphone reviews. And this article here isn’t one. I could imagine writing a review but only after a long-term test. But I am honest with you, it’s unlikely as I usually write about other things. But if I do it, as a subscriber you will find out! My final words should be a compliment to Sony because my Xperia P was a very long-lasting phone and I loved it all those years. But then again, I don’t see any reasons to regularly purchase new phones. Anyway, it must be said, the Xperia P got beaten and used and if you overlook the aged hardware and the declining battery, it’s still not completely damaged today!
What about you guys? Do you hold onto your phones until trouble shows up or are you fascinated about the smartphone market that you’re often inclined to make the jump much earlier?
Diary of Dennis 
I finally got a new phone but really, it was because I was tired of paying top dollar for a phone I barely ever use. Now, I’m paying $14.48 for unlimited text and telephone. I use the phone when our “landline” — which is really a cable phone — stops working or the power goes out. Or I’m in the car and forgot to tell someone something. For another $10 I could get unlimited broadband, but I don’t really use my phone that way and I’ve got enough issues with my other devices.
I also do NOT give ou my cell number to anyone except friends I might actually call. The last thing I need is a million calls from spoofers and scammers.
Same here. Don’t need to pay much. I use WLAN networks most of the time anyway. Either at home or when I visit friends… family and closest friends share WLAN access anyway. Outside I have data disabled as I don’t want to get annoyed by technology when I am busy with whatever I am doing right now. I am probably the worst customer phone providers or phone manufacturers can get. I am just not interested to pay much for this type of stuff.
I never ever shared my phone number either… just friends and family. What I love is that new phones can now carry two cards, which means it’s possible to use two numbers in one phone. Great, because then you can share one with family and friends, and the other one with business or work-related people. You don’t need two phones for that, which is awesome.
I never get into the upgrade cycle that the big companies try and create. I’m on an iphone 6s plus — which for me is a great phone despite being about 5 generations old. It’s the last version of iphone that has the 3.5m headphone which I wanted. Those huawei phones are terrific. Astonishing value with good customer service (depending on your location). Android phones need a bit more upkeep then apple I think but not so much if you limit the amount of apps that monitor/track your activities. The P20s are sleek indeed.
I find it especially ironic when people already upgrade after 1 generation… specs barely changed. It’s either about having too much money at hand or about having no clue how small the effect of the upgrade will be (like megapixel wars for example, as an amateur photographer I always laughed about the megapixel advertisement).
I don’t get the point why they want to kill the 3.5m headphone jack. I’ve read Samsung is now getting rid of it as well. I mean, 3.5m headphone jack worked perfectly fine and you can use it anywhere, except in the future with more and more phones. Totally stupid.
Limiting apps was a big factor to get a new phone too. Android version on my Xperia was pretty low and I didn’t have this feature. Now with the Huawei and Android 9, I can finally set permissions individually.
I first wanted to get the P30 as my mother has it and I liked it. But for my casual mobile device use-cases, I thought I could as well save money and went with the P20. Apart from that, it’s not much different anyway.
Ps try ‘Brave’ as your default browser. Good privacy and usability. Chrome is ‘vacuum cleaner for your personal data’!
Oh, I learned about Brave in the cryptocurrency space… 😀 Nice to hear that it’s getting more and more fans.
I only got my first smartphone a year or so ago and it was a hand me down from someone who was upgrading. I mostly use the phone for talk and text but I thought it would be handy to have as a music player and camera when I’m out and about and not carrying one. I keep my mobile data turned off most of the time as my cheap plan does not have a big allowance. I am not crazy about this phone but it does the job and I won’t upgrade it until I have to.
I do like the idea of a phone that will take two cards as I don’t like giving my mobile number out, it’s for friends and family only but more and more businesses are requiring you to supply a mobile number now and even my job search provider said that mobile numbers are the default for them. I told them that when I am at home my mobile is often on charge or in my handbag or on top of the fridge where I may not hear it. I don’t want it with me all the time. I prefer to give out my landline number.
Yep, that’s the good thing about them, they do at least replace point-and-shoot cameras very well, or things like music players. Now we have it all in a single box. I’m like you. Small data plan, and with mobile data turned off as well because most of the time I just don’t want to get distracted by technology if I am outside, and I know if it’s important, people won’t write me a message but make a phone call… everything else can wait until I am logged to the next WLAN network, which is either at home or when I visit friends and family who give WLAN guest access. So, I never a saw reason either to get a plan with more mobile data or speed.
Two cards are really good. I am happy about this feature and I will put a second card into it, and I think a prepaid card is enough. Always disliked the idea too to share my private phone number with people at work, authorities or anyone who isn’t part of my closest and trusted circle.
By the way, I think it’s more and more a trend to disable mobile data. I remember when smartphones were new, everyone was crazy about it and went through life like a zombie. I remember you and me actually had this topic on our blogs, that people were in zombie modes outside because of the total distraction of their phones. It’s probably still the case, but at least in my circle, I see the trend that people got over it… it’s not new anymore, and people start to enjoy the time without technology again when they go outside. I realized this a few times now when I met friends and I like that, because that’s how it was in the ’90s or around millennium… people did spend time with each other outside, and not with technology. But then again, I think it’s probably just my friend circle that got tired of smartphones… using public transport or walking through the city, I still see many zombies 😀
You will always see people using their phones on public transport I think. I occasionally read the news headlines on the bus but prefer a Kindle for actual reading. Everyone has their headphones on of course.
True. I am actually more concerned about people that cross the streets while texting on the phone. Or like I’ve seen several times, people who do things on their phones and forget to watch traffic signals and cross the street when it’s red.
On Tuesday I had to go to the doctor and it took a long time until they called the first patients into the rooms. I sat there for two hours, and my patience was really tested. I think after 30 minutes I started to play with my phone and some other people did it as well. But then, an outgoing woman started a casual conversation about the good weather, and the conversation took the route about what you can do during the summer in our city and everyone talked about things they’ve done. That conversation came out of nowhere, and everyone started to participate. That was pleasing and out of the sudden, time was running much faster than previously when I looked at my phone.
Yes, that’s a time when I’d probably look at it too but chatting is more enjoyable.
By the way, my other comment was unfinished. I hit the button before I was finished. Feel free to delete it.
Happens 🙂