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Showing posts from December, 2018

Why the Google Pixel 3 XL has a 'chin'...!

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After weeks with the Pixel 3 XL, an aspect of the phone's slightly odd design dawned on me. The 'notch' at the top of the phone has rightly caused controversy because of its depth - it's needed apparently because of the size of the front facing cameras and the use of a decent earpiece speaker. Regardless, it does let content flow up in the 'ears' to the top of the phone and it works well enough on the whole. But the bottom 'chin' looks wrong when you first see the phone - why is it quite so large? One theory is that it's to make room for (again) a loud speaker (and it's very loud), but I have another. You see, when a design takes the screen almost to the bottom edge of the phone and there's a notch at the top, media watching suffers by the playback window being off-centre. I realise that this is something of a nit-pick at some other phones, but could one reason for the Pixel 3 XL's bottom chin be that it matches the notch's de

Google Pixel 3 XL Case roundup

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Another flagship in for review - this time it's the bigger, notched Pixel. And it means more cases to try out and score! I've taken a likely cross-section of Pixel 3 XL cases, thanks to the folks at  MobileFun , kind people that they are, and also to the folks at  Totallee  and (especially, given the cost)  Noreve . See Mobile Fun's  complete range of Pixel 3 XL cases and covers here . In no particular order(!): Ringke Fusion, £13 This has been one of my favourite cases for the last few years, on several phones. It's crystal clear (it comes with protective layers that need stripping off), ruggedly made, and has moulded bracings in the corners, to protect the phone from corner drops. Being clear has the huge advantage in 2018, with phones now coming in premium finishes, usually glass, that you actually get to see the expensive smartphone you just bought. The corner bracings double as feet when the phone's laid down on its back, plus there'