Looking forward for Android 14 on the Nothing Phone (1).

Android 14 beta is coming to the Nothing Phone (1) in the coming weeks, and is something that makes me happy.

The Android 13 upgrade for the Nothing Phone (1) came at the start of February, and it has been quite a nice upgrade. I actually participated on the open beta program that started on December 2022, and since then Android 13 felt like a good upgrade. As such, I'm looking forward to upgrading to Android 14, when it comes live.

If an open beta for Android 14 come around, I willing to becoming a part of the open beta. While I know the beta testing for Android 14 might not go as smoothly as the open beta for Android 13 went for me, it seems like a risk I'm willing to take.

I'll see if I make the jump when the know issues for beta testing come, but there is a high probability I might make the jump.

So far, the Nothing Phone (1) has been one of the top 3 Android smartphones I've owned, and it proven that middle range smartphones are a good fit for my use case. So much so, that if I jump brands I'd go for a Google Pixel.

Nothing has become on of my favorite Android smartphone brands, the others being Motorola and Google Pixel.

Software is a tool to fulfill the needs of its user.

When the discussion of which OS, or app, is the best the most important question is often left out of it. People tend to lose sight of what said OS, or app, is going to be used for by the end user.

For example, I've found out that the best OS for me is Linux Mint. Linux Mint runs like a charm on my laptop, and it has all the software I need for my needs. Yet, I wouldn't recommend it for someone who needs to use AutoCAD, or Adobe Photoshop, since they need macOS or Windows to use those apps.

Which OS, or app, is the best for any given user is the one that better fits their needs. There is no one size fits all, at the end of the day most software is developed in order to meet a certain set of use cases in mind.

At the end of the day, the best software is the one that works for you. That software can change as your needs change with time, I used to prefer Windows, then moved to Ubuntu, and finally I'm happy with Linux Mint. It might be that with time I'll move to other OS, but so far I've seen no need to do so.

The same goes for Android and iOS, the best one is the one that just works for you. The whole discussion about how the iPhone can do this that Android smartphones can't, and vice versa, is meaningless for most users. For the average smartphone user, the best smartphone is the one that works for her/him, no matter the technical specifications of the smartphone itself.

Each user have certain needs, and the best option is that one that covers those needs the best.

Flexibility to manage my time more effectively.

After a couple of years of using Remmina as a remote desktop client for work, it has helped me to be quite effective at work and to be able to keep using Linux Mint on my main laptop even after we returned to work on site.

To be honest, since it has been so reliable that I can't see myself no using my laptop for work and personal use since it allows me far more flexibility in both areas than having to use separate computers for both uses. Being able to seamlessly accessing all the data from me personal, and professional, lives from my laptop make managing both a lot easier.

While doing so can present some cybersecurity issues, those issues can be managed a lot easier with modern software and some time management skills so not be overwhelmed.

What I enjoy the most about what the mobility my laptop gives me, by allowing me to connect to the work server remotely, is that I can have more options from where and when I can complete certain tasks. As time goes on, it becomes more apparent that being able to have access to every aspect of my life from a single laptop, and a smartphone, makes managing it a lot easier.

When technology can be manage to better fill your need, it can empower you to become better at what you do, while allowing you to have a healthier personal-work life balance.

Nothing Phone 1 has become my favorite Android smartphone so far.

I've been using the Nothing Phone 1 for about 4 months now, and it has been the best Android smartphone I've used so far. To be honest, since the upgrade to Nothing OS 1.5.3, based on Android 13, I've seen a marked improvement in my user experience.

The only changes I made to how the Nothing Phone 1 comes out of the box, is that I prefer to use the Discreet Launcher and Jugo icon pack. Other than that, I don't make any more changes.

One of the things I like the most about the Nothing Phone 1, is that it doesn't come with much bloatware. Other than the custom launcher it comes with, and a couple of apps like a weather and Bluetooth paring apps, it is as close to vanilla Android as it comes.

So far, all my coworkers that have seen it have liked the design of the Nothing Phone 1 so far. Some like it because it reminds them of an iPhone without being a copy of it. I can see how, and I don't mind it since I like the iPhone industrial design while I prefer using Android over iOS.

I use my Nothing Phone 1 on Movistar network in Mexico, and so far it has worked like a charm. Since about January, Movistar has started to roll it's 5G network in Guadalajara, and where 5G is available I've been able to use it with no issues at all.

I do recommend the Nothing Phone 1, just make sure its compatible with your mobile provider network before buying it.

I prefer to be able stay mobile.

One of the things which make laptops a better fit for me, is that they allow me to work no matter if I'm not at the office. Being able to keep on top on of my job independently from my location, has become something that invaluable for me.

I'm someone that doesn't like to stay at the same place for long, and being able to work outside the office has become something that keeps me a lot more interested in my job. Being able to work outside the office keeps my job interesting, and helps me to focus a more since staying at the same place bores me easily.

To add to my preference to laptops, is that I like to keep my digital life with me where ever I go. That's why the laptop and smartphone combo works so well for me, since I can take them with me anywhere I go. 

In a way, I'm a digital nomad. I like to able to take my digital life where ever my real world life goes. My real world, and digital, lives have become integrated in ways that it is hard to separate them cleanly. So much so, that both my professional and personal life exist on both worlds.

I guess that I've become one of those who lives life on both worlds seamlessly, and can't imagine not being able to access either one at a moment's notice. While there are people I only interact with only on the real world or digitally, most of the most important people in my life interact with me both ways.

While I never intended to take this path, it came naturally to me. So much so, that I find it hard to give it up. Time has proven to me that a mobile life is possible, even within a single city, and that makes that much harder to give it up.

Beta testing Nothing OS 1.5.1.

I've been testing Nothing OS 1.5.1, which is based on Android 13, since it was released on December 2022. Since then, it has seen a couple of updates and only has improved.

To be honest, so far I haven't seen any bug that has been a deal breaker for me in my daily usage. So, I only expect to be better when the stable version is released, or at least stay as good as it has been so far.

I was somewhat hesitant to sign-up to the beta testing, but when I read what was expected from it when it rolled out I decided to jump in since there was nothing that would break the user experience in my daily use. So far, I've been proven right and it has been better that I was expecting.

Does that means that I'd recommend everyone to beta test? No, since beta testing might brake things for you that you need on the device you use. You need to read what is expected from the software release, and from that decide if you can help with the beta testing.

At this point, if you are looking for a good mid-range Android smartphone, the Nothing Phone (1) is one of the best options out there so far in 2023.

Linux Mint: my Linux distro of choice.

I've been using Linux Mint continuously since 2019, and it only has been getting better with time. Linux Mint was one of the Linux distros I tried when I was choosing a distro to jump to when I was making the jump to Linux back in 2012, which at the time I choose Ubuntu.

Yet, when Canonical decided to drop Unity as its user interface, I decided to make the jump to Linux Mint. I simply like Cinnamon as an user interface rather than GNOME, even if Ubuntu ships with a customized version of it.

To be honest, when GNOME 3 was released I was looking an alternative for it. At the time, I tried both Ubuntu's Unity and Linux Mint's Cinnamon. Unity won because at the time Cinnamon was a bit too buggy for my use, even though I preferred Cinnamon workflow.

As such, when Canonical dropped Unity for the main release of Ubuntu I made the jump to Linux Mint. The Linux Mint team had developed Cinnamon to the point on which all the bugs of the early versions of the user interface had been fixed, and added features that made it more useful for my use. Not only that, by the time I came back to Linux Mint, the decision to base it on the LTS version of Ubuntu made it all that much appealing to me. Specially since I've come to prefer stability over cutting edge technology on my daily driver.

Linux Mint has become my preferred OS by far, since its stable and just works for me.

Beta testing Nothing OS 1.5.

Nothing, company behind the Nothing Phone (1) asked for people to apply for beta testing for Nothing OS 1.5, the company's implementation of Android 13, to be pushed to selected participants on the December 15th of 2022.

After sleeping on it, I decided to jump on the chance to become a beta tester. Though I had the Nothing Phone (1) for a couple of weeks before that, the experience with it had been quite good. Though I know that testing a beta version of any software, specially on hardware you use as your daily driver, is quite risky the idea of getting Android 13 on my smartphone was quite hard to skip.

After a couple of day of using it, I'm happy to report that I've been one of those use case where I haven't seen no deal breaker bug. Actually, it seems that it works a bit better that it did with Nothing OS 1.1.7, which is based on Android 12. Though it's still early on the beta testing phase, it makes me hopeful that when the final version of Nothing OS 1.5 will be quite an improvement.

For what I gather from the communications of Nothing, I can expect several updates during the beta testing of the Nothing OS 1.5. So, the jury is still out on how much of an improvement it will be over Nothing OS 1.1, yet so far the signs are that it will be a solid one up.

Android still my favorite mobile OS.

Whit time, Android has proven to just work for me. While I tend to jump from one brand to another of Android smartphone as time goes by, Android itself keeps solidly as the mobile OS I prefer.

As newer Android versions come along, each has corrected things I disliked from previous versions and added new things that I actually like. For example, Android 12  has made the setting menu a lot better, and made it easier for me to manage notifications, and permissions, of the apps I've installed. Both have improved my user experience, and really made my user experience all that better.

Currently I've a Nothing Phone (1), which is expecting an upgrade to Android 13 in the coming months. Which is good news for me, since I'm looking toward to seeing how Google improved on Android. I don't really expect much on the side on improvements on the user experience, but the refinements promise to be worth the wait.

While I see iOS as something of a good mobile OS, and one that keeps Google pushing to make Android better, it still doesn't offer me what Android does. Mainly the user interface simply doesn't work for me, too cluttered for me.

So far, I rather keep on the Android side of thing.

There is no such thing as a perfect OS.

When people ask me why I prefer Android and Linux Mint, the answer is because they just work for me.

Would I recommend them to others? Well, that depends on their needs. Not everyone's use case fits either OS. While Android fit a wider set of users, Linux Mint doesn't. That's why I ask what do they need, even expect, to use their smartphone or computer for, since the answer depends on their user case.

The OS that better fits your needs, is dependent on things like what you are going to use your computer for, what software you need to use, among other things. Trying to say that any OS is the best, is depends on what the end user needs and not on the OS itself.

There is no OS that fits all user cases, so the best OS for a given user case depends on the details of each user case. Besides, there is no such thing as a perfect OS, since each OS is made to fit a certain set of needs.

Bluetooth headphones have won me over.

I freely admit that when wireless Bluetooth headphones began to become a mainstream, I was somewhat reluctant to make the jump. Mainly because all the bad press they got of bad audio quality for streaming music, and audio in general.

Until I got to try some Otium Beats that I got as a present some six years ago. They have a good audio quality, and a good battery life. The pretty much sold me to the Bluetooth headphones, mainly when I'm on the go. The main thing for me, was not having to worry about a cable snagging on something, or it getting tangled on my bag.

Yet, the fact that still has a cable paring the headphones was not optimal for me. Not a deal breaker for me, but I had the feeling that going for a pair of Bluetooth earbuds without the cable was the way to go for me. So when the time came to replace them, I went with the JLAB GO Air True Wireless earbuds.

So far, they have worked great for me. The sound is more than good enough for what I expect from the earbuds I use with my smartphone, with great battery life and not real issue for my use case. If anything, they have showed me that the sport variants of the Bluetooth earbuds could be a better fit for my use case.

A few days ago, my wired headphones that I use with my laptop died. Since my experience with Bluetooth earphones for my smartphone has been more than satisfactory, I decided to get some over the ear headphones for use with my laptop

After some shopping, I decided to go for some entry level headphones I got Mercado Libre(link in Spanish). What sold me, was it that it comes with a bag which is plus since I plan to bring them with me in my backpack where ever I go. After a week of use, they have been great. So much so, that when it comes time to replace them, I'll get a better set of headphones.

I should add that the laptop I use, runs my favorite Linux distro: Linux Mint. I'm using Linux Mint 21 Vanessa, and the headphones have been pairing without issues, and the sound quality has been much better than expected. May be not up to par for audiophiles, but much more that good enough for regular users that just want to listen to music, or podcasts, while they work to filter out distractions. So much so, that I'm writing this post at one of my favorite bars and I only hear the music that I'm playing.

So, if you had doubts about making the jump to Bluetooth headphones now is the time to make it. The options are wide, so you are sure to find one that fits you.