I am obsessed with my phone storage space

I don't know why but I'm so obsessed with maximising my phone storage. I keep clearing its cache and clearing media in my WhatsApp.

Maybe it's all because of that, my WhatsApp.

I have been receiving so many photos and videos it's really clogging up my phone. 

And since I'm home, there are a few apps I don't use much. So off they go.

So from this...

...I reduced it to this.

I need to stop online shopping and window shopping with Shopee and Lazada. Off they go.

I have my Kindle Paperwhite with me and since I started working from home, I can't find the time to read anything anyway. So Kindle app, off you go.

The Facebook app is huge, second to my Outlook app. It went up to the size of almost 800MB. It had to go. I shouldn't spend too much time there anyway. Without the app I'll be logging in via Chrome. 

And finally my Outlook app. It's crazy huge. It went up to a whopping 1.1G! 

I can't remove it since I need it for work as I can't always be sitting in front of my PC every minute and every second. I did a search online but couldn't find anything that could help reduce the size, until I figured out something. 

It has to do with what I have in my Outlook. It syncs across all my devices and what I have in my PC Outlook is what I will have in my Android Outlook. 

So what I did was to clear my folders, i.e. my Sent, Clutter, and Junk folders. 

 

And voila! it reduced in size. Not by much though. It went down to 756MB but it went up to 897MB and now it's at 767MB. Not by much but I'm so glad that I figured it out at least. 

I'm not sure how long this obsession gonna last. I only have 64G internal memory, with a 128G SD card. But not all apps will automatically store documents externally.

And so probably I will be still obsessed, until I get a new phone with more memory.

pearlie

Buying a new phone when I don't need a new phone

I nearly bought the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra a moment ago.

But nah, I don't need a new phone, I keep telling myself. 

pearlie

After so many years of iPhones, this is a very frustrating phone to use

Some of you would know that I have always been an Apple person since I owned the iPhone 3G in 2009; followed by the 4 (2011), 4S (2012), 5S (2013) and 6S (2016). 

I even became the go-to-person among my friends when they need help on Apple and iOS stuff. I don't know why but I suppose I always make myself available to help them and I'd always try to figure things out for them. 

It all changed when I started to use the Razer Phone 2 and Android in 2019, when I run into so many problems I can't solve.

Maybe it's more the phone than Android. 

Android is alright. I find it hard to compare between iOS and Android because one is simpler and more intuitive while the other is more accessible and practical. I don't mind using one or the other now that I have used both. 

The problem I think is my phone. 

I keep having problems with it. My latest problem is that I have now lost access to my Internal Storage if I use the native Files app. I can no longer move my files to my Internal Storage because I can't get to it.

I wrote to Razer for help and I just got a reply to factory reset my phone. I don't know. I don't want to do that afraid that I will lose my stuff. I have never needed to factory reset any of my iPhones before. 

So now to move my files around, and particularly my photos, I am using three, yes three, apps. Google Go as a gallery app (yup, believe it or not, the Razer Phone 2 does NOT have a native gallery app to view photos), File Manager by Xiaomi to move my files and photos around and Files by Google to easily view where all the files are. 

That's too many and I'm bound to ditch one. So far File Manager by Xiaomi looks good except that all the icons and thumbnails are so small. I am sure the designers of the app are all in their 20s who do not realise some of their users would need a magnifying glass to use their app.

Let me go buy one now...

pearlie

Update: ah, I found the solution! I fixed it and in a way where the Razer people should know since it's their product! And not ask me to unnecessary factory reset my phone!!! 

My take: Android vs. iOS

After using iOS for the past 10 years, I've finally jumped ship and have been using Android for 2 months now. I'm still discovering new things and having fun with it. 

And so for those who might want to consider shifting from Apple to Android, here's my take on what's better in Android and what's better in iOS. 

How Android is better than iOS

1. I find that Hey Google is way better than Hey Siri. It's much more more intuitive and you'll get more things done with Hey Google. 

2. I like it so much how I can customise how my screen looks like in my Android phone. It uses Nova Launcher where I can pack all apps that I frequently use into the home screen–all 47 of them. I do the same with my iPhone too but it can only fit 28 in the home screen. 

3. I also like how I can remove the app names from the apps in my home screen. It looks much better visually and I recognise them by their app icons anyway. I do this via Nova Launcher and here is how it looks like, all 47 apps:

In comparison, I had this old picture posted in 2016 on how my iPhone looked like back then, all my screens. I've cropped out the bottom 4 apps that stays on every screen though. Yea, I sorted them all by colours. I suppose I'm quite a visual person and I found apps much easier this way:

4. It is much easier to find what you need in Android's Settings. When I'm in iOS, I always find myself trying to think and remember where the item is situated. Locations? Privacy? General? Where on earth? And I will be poking here and there until I find what I want if at all. In Android, I can simply just perform a search and find it in no time. 

5. I use the Android back button a lot. And it works seamlessly in and between apps. In my iPhone, I'd have to double click the home button, scroll to the app before to get back to where I was before. In Android, it's just a back button away and I'd get back to the previous app immediately. 

6. This is more the phone than the operating system, but I can add memory to my Android phone now. The Razer Phone 2 has a pathetic 64G internal memory and so I bought and installed a 128G SD card in it as external memory. With the iPhone memory, what you buy is what you get. 

How iOS is better than Android

1. I must say that the keyboard in the iPhone is much better than the one in Android when it comes to selecting text, hovering over text to position the cursor and using the spacebar to move the cursor. But Android is quite accurate when you tap where you need the cursor to be and you can move the cursor with your finger which you can't do it as easily in the iPhone. 

2. The one feature I miss most is the ability to shake to undo and redo in the iPhone. How I wish it's the same in Android. I once accidentally deleted a whole line of text. I never got it back and I couldn't remember what it was to type it back. 

3. I like the iPhone's ability to return to the top of the screen by just tapping the top. In Android, I'd be furiously swiping it up to get back to the top. 

4. As much I used to hate having badges on my apps in the iPhone with the number of items pending, I got used to it and it didn't bother me anymore. I soon found it useful to see whether my attention was needed. When I started to use my Android phone, I began to miss that. I didn't know what needed my attention. But now, I use Notifications a lot more. I don't remember using it much in my iOS days. But there is the Notification Dot in Android, without the number though. 

5. I prefer the management of pages in Safari where I can move them front and back. It cannot be done in Chrome. I suppose I should go find another internet browser app. 

Things to consider if you decide to move from iOS to Android

1. If you have purchased apps in iOS, you will now need to repurchase them in Android, if you still need them that is. I did buy quite a number of apps in iOS but when in Android, I've only repurchased 3 of them. Not too bad. But not cheap though. 

2. Some apps are only available in iOS. I once read that developers prefer to create apps in iOS compared to Android and so you might not get what you want in Android. I tried to look for alternatives in Google Play and so far so good. I got what I needed and what I couldn't I've ungrown myself out of it. 

3. The only casualty I had was my WhatsApp texts. I couldn't figure it out initially and couldn't transfer any of my text over. Had I known earlier, I would have at least save the important ones on the cloud. 

That's just my take anyway and with Android I think it also depends a lot on the phone model and not just the operating system. 

You may have other items on top of what I've listed above. Please leave a comment below or in Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!

pearlie

Me? Apple to Android?

I have gone Android! Haha. My friends and colleagues were so surprised because I was as Apple as I can ever be, beginning with my 3G, to 4, 4S, 5S right up to the 6S, and not forgetting my iPad 2, 3 and Air 2.

Not anymore.

And with that my whole family has gone Android and I'm not to be left behind. And I meant it—behind. It's another blogpost altogether but we felt that Apple is stuck in the their former glory and not only that, their prices have gone absolutely crazy.

Anyways.

It started with my son getting the Pixel 2, having sworn off Apple products. My husband bought the S10 when it was launched here on 5th March. He who does not line up for anything lined up 3 hours to get the phone and a free pair of Galaxy Buds.

Me?

I was left alone with my iPhone 6S. Not that I mind and I was prepared to continue to use it for two more years since I just got its original battery replaced.

Until...

I won a phone another phone at a lucky draw! For the record, this will be the third time I won a device in a lucky draw. I first won a Palm V back in year 2000. Then I won a Samsung Galaxy A7 in 2017.

And now?

I just won myself a Razer Phone 2! Two months ago. And I'm loving it. Though it is a gaming phone and I'm no gamer to begin with, I'm enjoying the change to Android and the experience of discovering new things. Android is more fun than iOS. And the screen and speakers are just awesome. I have even somewhat abandoned my iPad.

Just look at this beauty.



pearlie

One of my compulsive disorder

I think I have this compulsive disorder to maximize storage space, in my iPhone and iPad. 

I have a 64G iPhone and it freaks me up if I have used up more than half of the 64G space. 

Okay. I’m exaggerating. I won’t freak out but I tend to prefer to have lots of spare space. I just don’t know why. When you have it use it, right? 

I spent a big part of my day today cleaning up my iPhone, deleting apps, photos, content and messages. 

And I had to give up and delete messages that I’d prefer to keep but iMessages do not have an function to export messages like WhatsApp does. 

And I deleted more than 800MB(!!!) worth of space in just two string of messages with my husband and son. I must have kept it since day one when I started using the iPhone.

I removed the Facebook app too. It’s very data and space hungry. 

How have our lives been reduced to data and storage space? Cloud storage is another story. I am not paying for cloud space yet, but I think I will soon have to. 

pearlie

Helping my mom buy a new phone

I met up with my mom today to help her buy a new phone. 

She has an old Xiaomi Mi2 that was no longer working. She does have a Huawei phone, which I think is the Mediapad model, but it is too big for her to carry around. She is the rare kind of woman that does not carry a handbag. 

I wanted to show her the Huawei Y5 but she wanted one with a bigger screen. So it was finally between Oppo, Lenovo and Vivo. 

She settled for the Vivo Y51.

 

It has this one feature that sort of sold me over: a pull-up feature screen from bottom of the phone screen just like the iPhone. 

The thing is that my mom is the only one in my family that uses an Android phone and once when she asked me to help her with her phone rotate display, it took me a really long time to figure out how to do it when it only take seconds on the iPhone. This Vivo phone has it just like how I'd do it on the iPhone. 

I then advised her to port her number over to U Mobile and had to spend some time explaining to her with patience the difference between her phone memory and mobile data plan. 

pearlie 

Drums, books and an awful salesman

I got a bit bored staying at home today, having the day off, and decided to go for a walk at the mall. And off I went to Suria KLCC.

First, I got to watch this awesome drums performance at the concourse area. Too bad I was watching it from the second floor and what I captured here is an aerial view of the performance. But I loved it!

Then I was at Kinokuniya, my one and only favourite bookstore. 

It was nice to be in a bookstore again, though I did not get many books, just one. Kindle books, especially those on sale, are so much cheaper. I noticed a couple of titles which I got from Kindle probably $1.99 or $2.99 were selling at RM80 and above!

Next, I went to take a look at some smartphones for my mom. Her phone is not working very well and we thought it's time she got a new one. She wanted a simple one and so I went to look at the lower end models.

To start with, I was at the Samsung flagship store. I saw the J2 series and its quality looks bad. But the sales service was worse. There wasn't much information about the phones on display and so I asked the salesperson what's the difference between the J2 Prime and the J5 Prime models.  His answer?  "The specs of the J2 is lower." Okay, that's obvious. And so I tried again and asked about their performance. His answer? "The specs are lower." Okay, I'm done with Samsung.

I then went to the Huawei store and the salesperson I met was so much nicer in comparison. She asked me what I was looking for and made recommendations what I should get for my mom. 

I also wanted to take a look at the Microsoft Lumia models as well but I don't know know which stores carry them. I think there is one in Low Yat and I will try to make a trip there in the next few days. 

I was a good afternoon window shopping, something I have not done in a long time. 

pearlie

Mobile Phone Nostalgia

Do you remember the first ever mobile phone you owned?

I was using Nokia phones starting with the big bright yellow one until I had my then favourite Sony Ericsson W850i. I'm now a die-hard Apple fan. But looking at the pictures made me miss my W850i. I really liked that phone. 

I once blogged about my PDA/Device Nostalgia, and here's my Mobile Phone Nostalgia.

Nokia 5110 (1998)

Nokia 8310 (2001)

Nokia 6680 (2005)

Sony Ericsson W850i (2007)

iPhone 3G (2009)

Blackberry Bold 9700 (2009)

iPhone 4 (2011)

iPhone 4S (2012)

iPhone 5S (2013)

iPhone 6S (2016)

pearlie