HoFo Blog

Galaxy Z Flip
6.7 inch 21.9:9 FHD+ AMOLED ultra thin glass display
1.1 inch 300 x 112 pixel AMOLED cover display
Snapdragon 855+ processor
8 GB RAM / 256 GB storage
12 MP wide + 12 MP ultra-wide rear cameras
10 megapixel selfie cam
3,300 mAh battery
Android 10
Mirror Black, Mirror Gold, Mirror Purple
Available February 14th, 2020
$1,380 USD

Source: Liliputing

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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Galaxy S20
6.2 inch 20:9 curved AMOLED / 3200 x 1440 pixels / 120 Hz
Snapdragon 865 processor
12 GB RAM / 128 GB storage
108 / 48 / 12 megapixel rear cameras
10 megapixel selfie cam
4,000 mAh battery
GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G
Android 10
Cosmic Black, Cosmic Grey, Cloud Blue
Available March 6th, 2020

Galaxy S20+
6.2 inch 20:9 curved AMOLED / 3200 x 1440 pixels / 120 Hz
Snapdragon 865 processor
12 GB RAM / 128 or 512 GB storage
108 / 48 / 12 megapixel rear cameras plus TOF depth sensor
10 megapixel selfie cam
4,500 mAh battery
GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G
Android 10
Cosmic Black, Cosmic Grey, Cloud Blue
Available March 6th, 2020

Galaxy S20 Ultra
6.9 inch 20:9 curved AMOLED / 3200 x 1440 pixels / 120 Hz
Snapdragon 865 processor
12 GB RAM / 128 or 512 GB storage
108 / 48 / 12 megapixel rear cameras plus TOF depth sensor
40 megapixel selfie cam
5,000 mAh battery
GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G
Android 10
Cosmic Black, Cosmic Grey
Available March 6th, 2020

Source: Mobile Syrup

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Motorola Razr Blush Gold version coming this spring, company confirms

Motorola Razr fails to reach 100,000 folds in our test

How much electricity do all your smartphone chargers waste when not in use?

Welcome to the era of supercharged lithium-ion batteries

T-Mobile and Sprint’s industry-changing merger will reportedly clear its final hurdle tomorrow

From The Forums:

Looks like TMobile is getting their merger

T-Mobile could get Sprint for a lower price

[promo] Mango Mobile 50Gb/month for $25

Tracfone account suddenly shows "0 mb data remaining". Is this happening anyone else?

Has Verizon prepaid gotten better?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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It's time for a new thread of the week, our way of recognizing forum members for promoting valuable discussion here.

Every weekday yours truly posts a morning briefing, including the most popular forum threads—that is, the posts with the most replies—for the previous 24 hour period. For reference, here are the briefings for the past seven days:

Your Morning Briefing for Monday, February 3rd
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, February 4th
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, February 5th
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, February 6th
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, February 7th

Remember that the Monday briefing includes forum posts from the prior Saturday and Sunday, so all weekend posts are similarly eligible.

In each briefing, forum posts are ranked by the number of replies (from highest to lowest). That's subject to change, of course, so I did a quick recount of replies for all forum posts in the briefings above. With 44 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

AT&T Fees Outrageously High

Congrats to Elevatorguy for starting our tenth thread of the week! As a small token of our appreciation, please enjoy a month of Gold Membership on us.

We're hoping that this little enticement will further encourage the sharing of news, tips and other useful information on these forums.

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Motorola Razr review: A tragedy unfolds

We are gathered here to say farewell to our beloved BlackBerrys

“Sunfish” is the Google Pixel 4a with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730

Samsung teased the Galaxy Z Flip during the Oscars' commercial break

Infographic: 11 generations of Galaxy S flagships

From The Forums:

Tracfone lost all my data!

Total Wireless Legalizes Hotspot Use (10GB per line)

AT&T RAZR V3xx locks up with Ting SIM

Will Apple make Iphone and Ipad outside china

E911 Fees on Cricket

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

The Democrats Screwed America With an App No One Asked For

Drivers Claim Uber and Lyft Owe Them Millions in Wage Theft

Taxi companies in Vancouver seek injunction to stop Uber, Lyft from operating

Apple’s contract for indie repair shops is so invasive that some refuse to sign it

A Right to Repair Law Is Closer Than Ever

From The Forums:

change from verizon sim card to at&t sim card on a tracfone

2G/3G networks shutdown and international roaming

Anyone able to get call fowarding to work on red pocket GSMA plan

Gudp aol

DOJ says states have no business trying to block T-Mobile-Sprint merger

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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Back in the mid-1990s when my job mandated a fair amount of late-night cabs, Beck Taxi was the operator I would call. So imagine my surprise and delight to find out that they, like me, have embraced the 20th century [edit: 21st] with a compelling alternative to Uber and Lyft.

Like Uber and Lyft their smartphone app allows you to summon a car to your current location, but you can also just hop into any available cab and use the app to pay, via a QR code on the driver's terminal. This is especially handy because in downtown Toronto Beck taxis are literally everywhere.

You won't need to register for an account, just provide an email address where Beck can send the receipt for your ride. And to respect your privacy you can use PayPal for payment.

The drivers I spoke with said that Beck's entire fleet is compatible with their app.

One obvious difference between Beck and the other ride-sharing apps is the fares; there is no available estimate of what you'll pay because taxi fares are calculated by distance and regulated by the city. I'm actually fine with this, because with a metered cab I won't ever have to worry about surge pricing.

Another difference is that with Beck you can't rate your driver. Surprisingly I'm also okay with this, only because of recent and uniformly terrible so-called "five-star rides" with Lyft—I'm talking dirty cars (with baby seats and other unnecessary clutter) and drivers who are great at mashing pedals but terrible with directions, were it not for the large navigational aids mounted directly in front of their faces.

So fellow Torontonians, rejoice! There is yet another, possibly better way to get around the downtown core.

Links: Beck Taxi on Apple App Store / Google Play Store

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Motorola Razr fully torn down on video, virtually impossible to repair

Exclusive: This is Motorola’s Next 5G Phone with a Curved “Waterfall” 90Hz Display

AT&T’s low-band 5G now live in 13 more cities including Boston, St. Louis, Atlantic City, Dayton, and Wichita

Canadian Wireless Prices on a “Swift Decline” Says C.D. Howe Institute

Here’s what to expect from Mobile World Congress 2020

From The Forums:

2 -months with Visible, short review.

Would Verizon follow at&t?

Thinking about switching, T-mobile questions

Disabled Voice Mail Keeps coming Back!

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

The 5 best smartwatches our reviewers personally recommend

Skagen Falster 3: The most beautiful Wear OS smartwatch

Moto 360 (2019) review: The direct-to-DVD sequel of smartwatches

Huami Amazfit T-Rex Review: A Smartwatch that’s Durable in Build and Battery

​Amazfit GTS review

From The Forums:

Total Wireless (Verizon) - Hotspot Now Available on $35 plan and up

T-Mobile & Sprint now verify call with SHAKEN/ STIR

Monthly vs 30 day renewal for "monthly" plans

T-Mobile TV Commercials: February 2019

What the heck is this system icon?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Food Delivery Apps Are a Confusing Mess

TCL loses BlackBerry Mobile brand, will stop making BlackBerry phones

Can you really tell the difference between a Quad HD and Full HD display?

OnePlus overtook Samsung to become the #1 premium brand in India in 2019

Five OxygenOS features we hope to see in stock Android someday

From The Forums:

Will there be 32gb TF's under $80

Tmobile response to Verizon Super Bowl Ads

AT&T Fees Outrageously High

What John Legere had to say to Verizon

What kind of ill-fit appendage to text message is this?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
---------

It's time for a new thread of the week, our way of recognizing forum members for promoting valuable discussion here.

Every weekday yours truly posts a morning briefing, including the most popular forum threads—that is, the posts with the most replies—for the previous 24 hour period. For reference, here are the briefings for the past seven days:

Your Morning Briefing for Monday, January 27th
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, January 28th
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, January 29th
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, January 30th
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, January 31st

Remember that the Monday briefing includes forum posts from the prior Saturday and Sunday, so all weekend posts are similarly eligible.

In each briefing, forum posts are ranked by the number of replies (from highest to lowest). That's subject to change, of course, so I did a quick recount of replies for all forum posts in the briefings above. With 51 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

TextNow Free Talk/Text on Sprint

Congrats to GlowHF for starting our ninth thread of the week! As a small token of our appreciation, please enjoy a month of Gold Membership on us.

We're hoping that this little enticement will further encourage the sharing of news, tips and other useful information on these forums.

---------
Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Official renders of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip leak in black and purple, full specs surface

A week with Huawei Mate 30 Pro: is there life without Google services

FCC Confirms 'One or More' Carriers Broke the Law Selling Location Data

A guy wheeled around 99 phones in a cart to create traffic jams on Google Maps

Now that the Apple Maps redesign is complete, here are 6 more things it needs

From The Forums:

Is there a way to completely block being charged for text messages?

Moto E6 for $20 with a trade-in

What is pivotmobile app that just showed up ?

Anyone grandfathered plan with BTV got data throttled?

How long to port out of Red Pocket to Verizon?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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At the height of the SARS panic in 2003 a dear friend was working as a server in a downtown chain restaurant. During one of her shifts a family asked to be served by someone else, for no other reason than the fact that she was of Asian descent.

Of course you can argue that these people were only trying to protect themselves... better safe than sorry, right? Unfortunately it's not so simple as that.

Before this new outbreak is inevitably contained I would humbly ask you to consider that in protecting yourself you may also be inadvertently causing harm to others who don't deserve it.

Some further reading on the subject:

Chinese-Canadians facing hate, racism for coronavirus outbreak—much like the SARS outbreak in 2003

Fear over coronavirus prompts school board in Ontario to warn parents about racism against Chinese community

Canada's top doctor calls out 'racism and stigmatizing comments' over coronavirus

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Government Report Reveals Its Favorite Way to Hack iPhones, Without Backdoors

Forensics detective says Android phones are now harder to crack than iPhones

Samsung hopes 5G will save its slumping profits this year

The rise and fall of Android’s biggest competitors over the last decade

Librem 5 phone hands-on—Open source phone shows the cost of being different

From The Forums:

Factory unlocked moto e5 (xt1920dl)

Mint mobile free for 3 months

Which AT&T based MVNO has the best customer service?

Renewal message strangeness

FCC’s Latest Spectrum Frontiers Auction Ends

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

UK defies US and refuses to ban Huawei from 5G networks

Canada, isolated over Huawei 5G, is studying British decision

EU supports Huawei use in 5G networks in defiance of US

The 'Race To 5G' Is A Giant Pile Of Lobbyist Nonsense

Why Public Wi-Fi is a Lot Safer Than You Think

From The Forums:

TextNow Free Talk/Text on Sprint

Verizon Sending gUDP Letters To Data-only Device Users, Contrary to 2012 Statement

Tracfone fastactportal Text balance glitch?

T-Mobile Preps mmWave 5G & More in Miami for the Super Bowl

Strange upgrade text yesterday

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Wareable Hotlist: The tech set to shake up wearables in 2020

Fossil Hybrid HR review

Skagen Falster 3 unboxing: Another take on the Fossil Gen 5 Smartwatch

The Best Smartwatch for fitness

I replaced my Fitbit with a $35 Mi Band

From The Forums:

RootMetrics: Verizon's 4G Is Faster Than T-Mobile's 5G

Total Wireless Unlock

Better Together Bundle Discount Ending

Looking for information on Freedom Coverage (Vancouver - Lower Mainland)

Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

The best cellphone plans in Canada: Which deals are worth your money?

The FCC just opened up the 3.5GHz band 48 for 4G and 5G use

Preorders for Motorola’s Razr are now backed up until mid-February

Rumor: iOS 14 to support all of the same iPhones as iOS 13, including iPhone SE

The iPad's original software designer and program lead look back on the device's first 10 years

From The Forums:

Is my IMEI clear to sell?

Red Pocket's New But Worse Online Account Page

CBRS Authorized for Full Commercial Deployment by FCC

How to Detect Hidden Surveillance Cameras With Your Phone

Google Voice forward

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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