Tech Reviews, Tips, and Tricks

Sony Xperia L2 Review Part #4: Features and Specs

April 1, 2018 Leave a Comment

We continue our slow-moving review of the Sony Xperia L2 smartphone with a discussion of the features and specs! We break them down in three categories for readability… The next post will discuss the “User Experience” aspects of the review. For example, the screen being a fingerprint magnet or that battery life is pretty decent in real-world use belongs in that part of the review, it’s not a feature/spec 🙂

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Filed Under: reviews Tagged With: sony, sony l2

Phone Calls and Text Messages using Project FI Data SIM and the Sony L2 smartphone

March 24, 2018 Leave a Comment

In Part #1, we talked about the Sony Xperia L2 working with the Project FI Data SIM. But what if you want to use this to make or receive phone calls and text messages? It is a phone after all 🙂

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Filed Under: reviews Tagged With: project fi, sony l2

Moko Case for the Sony Xperia L2

March 21, 2018 Leave a Comment

I am a fan of using cases on phones for a variety of reasons. The Sony Xperia L2 [check our posts on it here] has nowhere near as many cases as some of the more popular phones, but it has enough of them to make picking not an easy task. As you may recall from my half a dozen Nexus 6 case reviews, I prefer the phone’s buttons to remain uncovered by cases, as the various overlays they use have their issues.

However, of the available choices at Amazon, I wasn’t certain any of them did not cover the buttons. A couple looked possible but it could have been the way they took the pictures. Of the various options, I only recognized one brand that I had previously bought a case from, Moko, so I picked up the Moko case for $8. Spoiler alert: it turned out to be a good decision!

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Filed Under: reviews Tagged With: moko, sony xperia L2 cases

The Sony Xperia L2 works with the Project FI Data SIM!

March 10, 2018 Leave a Comment

Hooray! The Sony Xperia L2 works with the Project-FI “Data SIM”! Last year I switched from T-Mobile to Project FI after the Big Magenta raised their prices and I realized that I was over-paying and under-utilizing what I was paying for. The “Data SIM” is a good opportunity to add secondary/backup smartphones to your primary line on Project-FI…

I did not check any of the bands before attempting to use the L2 on Project FI, so I did not know what to expect! I had already ordered a Project-FI Data SIM a few months earlier, but I activated the SIM card only AFTER I installed it in the Xperia L2.

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Filed Under: reviews Tagged With: project fi, sony l2

Upgrading the LG Stylo 2 from Marshmallow to Nougat

February 28, 2018 Leave a Comment

I did not intend to do this, but I accidentally started the upgrade process while fumbling with the phone, and so my good old LG Stylo 2 has been upgraded from Marshmallow (it came with Android 6.0 out of the box) to Nougat (Android 7.0).

Fear not, there’s nothing wrong with the Nougat version running on the phone. I haven’t noticed any issues or performance differences (faster or slower) with it. It is an aging phone obviously, but 2GVB of RAM is good enough if you rule rogue apps with an iron fist 🙂

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Filed Under: reviews Tagged With: android, lg stylo 2, nougat, upgrading

Sony Xperia L2 Review Part #3: The Bloatware

February 26, 2018 Leave a Comment

And now to something so not fun. Bloatware! Sony may not be as obnoxious as some other manufacturers with bloatware but they have their share, which I divide in three categories. Now the term “bloatware” is subject to interpretation. Some people consider everything that’s not part of the OS bloatware, others only consider things they don’t want/need 🙂

Third party apps

These are pre-installed apps from 3rd-parties (not Sony, not Google) that exist on the device and can be disabled but cannot be deleted. This drives me crazy. Why can’t we delete apps we don’t want?

The offenders are the ones you see in the picture plus AVG Protection and the Swype keyboard..

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Filed Under: reviews Tagged With: bloatware, sony, sony l2

Sony Xperia L2 Review Part #2: Initial Setup and Configuration

February 25, 2018 Leave a Comment

In Part #1, we unboxed the Sony L2. Here, in part #2, I am summarizing the things to pay attention to during the initial setup and configuration of the phone.

I personally prefer to turn on the phone, uninstall unwanted apps and go through the settings and turn off things I don’t want/need, and then connect to Wifi and login with the Google account. This requires an additional step of having to do a second pass in the settings because some of them get activated after a connection. But it prevents the stampede as everything tries to connect and install things before you can turn them off. Most people prefer to connect to Wifi first and then turn things off,so it’s up to you.

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Filed Under: reviews Tagged With: setup, sony, sony l2

Sony Xperia L2 Review Part #1: Unboxing

February 24, 2018 Leave a Comment

And we are back with our second smartphone text and pictures useful unboxing post, the new entry-to-midrange Sony Xperia L2, an unlocked GSM smartphone that straddles, at least features-wise the entry-level and the mid-range. In this post, we describe and show what’s in the box. A lot more is coming on this smartphone – please leave a comment if you have any questions about it!

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Filed Under: reviews Tagged With: sony, sony l2, unboxing

How to Install a microSD card in the Samsung Chromebook PLUS

January 14, 2018 Leave a Comment

The Samsung Chromebook PLUS (which I will call “SCP” further down this post to save up on space) has a microSD slot on the side. If you haven’t owned a Samsung device before or one with a microSD slot, in this post, we give you a visual guide on how to install the microSD card. It’s not hard, do not be afraid 🙂

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Filed Under: reviews Tagged With: howto, microsd, samsung chromebook plus

Initial SetUp of the Samsung Chromebook Plus

December 2, 2017 Leave a Comment

The Thanksgiving Holiday and ensuing shopping madness delayed our Samsung Chromebook Plus (SCP for short), but we are on the trail now! Now that we have taken it out of the box, it is time to do the initial setup. Make sure it’s fully charged or connected to AC power so you don’t run out of power in the middle of it.

It took me about 1.5 hours to do all the setup tasks, but I was also taking notes and multi-tasking while doing this. I haven’t done a Chromebook setup in at least four years 🙂 One thing to remember before you get started is that the first Google account that logons to the Chromebook is automatically designated by the computer as the owner. You cannot change it unless you do a factory reset. So make sure you decide that before getting started!

I logged on a Guest first and then with my Google account. I don’t know if this caused it, but on my initial login, I didn’t show as the Owner (I couldn’t make changes to the “People” section). After rebooting it for the first time, the Ownership was tagged to my account. So do not panic, reboot 🙂

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Filed Under: reviews Tagged With: samsung chromebook plus, setup

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SONY XPERIA L2

+ SONY L2 gets March 2018 update
+ HOW TO INSERT A MICROSD CARD INTO THE L2
+ SONY L2 FEATURES and SPECS
+ PHONE CALLS AND TEXT MESSAGES USING THE SONY L2 WITH A PROJECT-FI DATA SIM
+ MOKO L2 CASE REVIEW
+ XPERIA L2 upgraded to JANUARY 2018 SECURITY PATCH
+ XPERIA L2 WORKS WITH PROJECT-FI DATA SIM
+ UNBOXING THE SONY L2
+ INITIAL SETUP and CONFIG
+ BLOATWARE
+ INSERTING A SIM CARD

+ MUCH MORE COMING UP!

SONY RX10 MARK IV

+ UNBOXING OF THE RX10 IV
+ LOTS MORE COMING UP!

LG Stylo 2 (Virgin Mobile)

1. HOW to GET STARTED WITHOUT ACTIVATING it
2. UNBOXING (Text and Pictures)
3. UPGRADING from MARSHMALLOW to NOUGAT
*. COMING NEXT
* Review/Opinion
* Tips and Tricks
* Accessories and Cases
* More!

TECH TIPS

+ HOW TO SWITCH ONLY BETWEEN BROWSER WINDOWS OF THE SAME KIND ON CHROMEOS
+ Partially Working Task Manager for Android 7.0 (NOUGAT)
+ Pitfalls to avoid during Amazon Dash Button configuration
+ You can still buy Android phones on Virgin Mobile (IF you are an existing customer)

SHOE UNBOXING

+ FILA Memory Steelprint (Costco)
+ FILA Memory Narrow Escape
+ FILA Trail Shoes (Costco)

SAMSUNG CHROMEBOOK PLUS

+ INITIAL SETUP/CONFIGURATION
+ UNBOXING THE SCP
+ HOW TO INSTALL A MICROSD CARD

+ MUCH MORE COMING UP!

FOSSIL Q EXPLORIST FTW4004

+ SECOND IMPRESSIONS REVIEW
+ FIRST IMPRESSIONS REVIEW
+ SPECS and GUIDES
+ IT DOES NOT HAVE a FLAT TIRE!
+ UNBOXING (TEXT & PICTURES)
+ INITIAL SETUP AND CONNECTION

+ more coming up on this!

UNBOXING POSTS

TAOTRONICS TT-AD001 DIFFUSER

CORDCUTTERS

+ GETTING STARTED with MOVIES ANYWHERE
+ LIMITED TIME OFFER: Connect TWO services to MOVIES ANYWHERE, and GET FIVE FREE MOVIES

NEXUS 6 CASE REVIEWS

+ CaseMate Naked Bumper Case with Kickstand
+ Cruzerlite Bugdroid (soft)
+ Spigen Thin Fit (hard)
+ NagaBee Spring (hard)
+ Insten Jelly (soft)
+ Evecase S-Line TPU Swirl (hard)

TECH REVIEWS

STAPLES PENCIL STYLUS

NEXUS 6 REVIEW

1. NEXUS 6 Review Running Android 6
2. UPGRADING from Android 6.0.1 to 7.0
3. Switching the Nexus 6 from T-Mobile to Project FI

*. NEXUS 6 Review Running Android 7
* more on Project FI and Nexus 6
*. more Nexus 6 Case Reviews

Mediasonic HW-150PVR OTA DVR

1. UNBOXING (text & pictures)
2. THE REVIEW SUMMARY

ASUS M32CD Win10 PC REVIEW

1. UNBOXING (text & pictures)
2. TURNING it ON for the FIRST TIME
3. The SPECS
4. FINDINGS after THREE WEEKS
5. Running CPU-Z (screenshots)
6. Reinstalling Windows 10
7. more coming up

LATEST COMMENTS

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  • Browningate on Nexus 6 Case Review: Spigen Thin Fit
  • bdgeek on ASUS M32CD Desktop PC Review Part #4: Findings After Three Weeks
  • Maxx on ASUS M32CD Desktop PC Review Part #4: Findings After Three Weeks
  • bdgeek on ASUS M32CD Desktop PC Review Part #5: CPU-Z results
  • Dan on ASUS M32CD Desktop PC Review Part #5: CPU-Z results
  • bdgeek on ASUS M32CD Desktop PC Review Part #4: Findings After Three Weeks
  • Sarah on ASUS M32CD Desktop PC Review Part #4: Findings After Three Weeks
  • bdgeek on ASUS M32CD Desktop PC Review Part #2: Turning it ON for the First Time
  • Kelii on ASUS M32CD Desktop PC Review Part #2: Turning it ON for the First Time
  • bdgeek on ASUS M32CD Desktop PC Review Part #3: The Specs
  • bdgeek on ASUS M32CD Desktop PC Review Part #5: CPU-Z results

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