Pocketnow Weekly 125: Oppo R5, DT Ignite, and the great Jumbophone debate!

Around these parts, even the slow news weeks sizzle with excitement – and that's just fine with us. On the rundown for this edition of Pocketnow's once-a-week mobile technology podcast: a bevy of Motorola rumor and speculation, new odd smartphones from YotaPhone and Alcatel ONETOUCH, and ominous developments in the land of carrier meddling. On top of that, Brandon Miniman returns this week as our podcast guest! Our former lion-tamer has a new Nexus 6 in his hot hands, and he's got some thoughts on jumbophones to go with it.

Best of all: thanks to our well-connected producer Jules Wang, we're broadcasting from new digs at WERS-FM this week, kicking off what we hope to be an extended stay at the radio voice of Emerson College – and one of the best radio stations in Greater Boston!

Sound like just the thing to sate your podcast appetite? Then, as always, Pocketnow has the podcast you've been looking for. Join us for Pocketnow Weekly 125 below –either through the live video stream at 12:00pm Eastern on December 4 (click here for your local time), or the high-quality audio version available later on– and shoot your questions to podcast [AT] pocketnow [DOT] com for a shot at getting your question read aloud on the air. See you then!Pocketnow Weekly 125

Recording Date

December 4, 2014

Hosts

Michael Fisher

Stephen Schenck

Brandon Miniman

Producer

Jules Wang

Podcast Rundown

Sponsor

(00:02:16)

The Pocketnow Weekly is brought to you by Squarespace, the all-in-one platform that makes it fast and easy to create your own professional website, portfolio, and online store. For a free trial and 10% off, visit Squarespace.com/pocketnow and enter offer code POCKETNOW at checkout. A better web starts with your website.

Thought Thread

(00:05:40)

Pocketnow's erstwhile Editor-in-Chief Brandon Miniman resurrects the tradition of the top-of-show thought thread with a treatise on big phones: their merits and shortfalls, past and future!

News

(00:21:43)

Devices

Alcatel OneTouch Pop Mega: solving the "big phone problem"?

Motorola six-inch Droid phablet could one-up the Nexus 6

Motorola Moto E follow-on rumored, specs detailed

Additional YotaPhone 2 release details emerge

10% of iPhone owners "very likely" to buy an Apple Watch, survey says

Oppo R5 unboxing: thinner than thin

Developments

What is DT Ignite and where are all these unwanted apps coming from?

Sprint gets aggressive about poaching AT&T/VZW customers with half-price deal

SwiftKey is powerful enough to help even Stephen Hawking communicate

Tough Spot

(01:07:20)

A segment about choosing the better of two unappealing alternatives. On today's installment: an old idea from the heady days of 2010! Mainstream tablets were new, and the cool hip thinking (to save some dough on a wireless plan) was to tote a dumbphone in one hand and a tablet in the other. If you had to do that in 2014, which tablet/phone combo would you choose, and why?

Listener Mail

(01:19:31)

E-mailed submissions from Kris, Syberpat, and Alex

Music

It may just sound like a ringtone to you, but our transition music track ("Radiation") is a real song, from a real album, by a real artist: Ali Spagnola. You can download that album, along with many others, at Ali's website here, visit her YouTube page here, and follow her on Twitter here!

•

See you next week; thanks for tuning in!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Around these parts, even the slow news weeks sizzle with excitement – and that's just fine with us. On the rundown for this edition of Pocketnow's once-a-week mobile technology podcast: a bevy of Motorola rumor and speculation, new odd smartphones from YotaPhone and Alcatel ONETOUCH, and ominous developments in the land of carrier meddling. On top of that, Brandon Miniman returns this week as our podcast guest! Our former lion-tamer has a new Nexus 6 in his hot hands, and he's got some thoughts on jumbophones to go with it.

Best of all: thanks to our well-connected producer Jules Wang, we're broadcasting from new digs at WERS-FM this week, kicking off what we hope to be an extended stay at the radio voice of Emerson College – and one of the best radio stations in Greater Boston!

Sound like just the thing to sate your podcast appetite? Then, as always, Pocketnow has the podcast you've been looking for. Join us for Pocketnow Weekly 125 below –either through the live video stream at 12:00pm Eastern on December 4 (click here for your local time), or the high-quality audio version available later on– and shoot your questions to podcast [AT] pocketnow [DOT] com for a shot at getting your question read aloud on the air. See you then!

Pocketnow Weekly 125

 

Recording Date

December 4, 2014

 

Hosts

Michael Fisher

Stephen Schenck

Brandon Miniman

 

Producer

Jules Wang

 

Podcast Rundown

 

 

Sponsor

(00:02:16)

The Pocketnow Weekly is brought to you by Squarespace, the all-in-one platform that makes it fast and easy to create your own professional website, portfolio, and online store. For a free trial and 10% off, visit Squarespace.com/pocketnow and enter offer code POCKETNOW at checkout. A better web starts with your website.

 

Thought Thread

(00:05:40)

Pocketnow's erstwhile Editor-in-Chief Brandon Miniman resurrects the tradition of the top-of-show thought thread with a treatise on big phones: their merits and shortfalls, past and future!

 

News

(00:21:43)

 

Devices

Alcatel OneTouch Pop Mega: solving the "big phone problem"?

Motorola six-inch Droid phablet could one-up the Nexus 6

Motorola Moto E follow-on rumored, specs detailed

Additional YotaPhone 2 release details emerge

10% of iPhone owners "very likely" to buy an Apple Watch, survey says

Oppo R5 unboxing: thinner than thin

 

Developments

What is DT Ignite and where are all these unwanted apps coming from?

Sprint gets aggressive about poaching AT&T/VZW customers with half-price deal

SwiftKey is powerful enough to help even Stephen Hawking communicate

 

 

Tough Spot

(01:07:20)

A segment about choosing the better of two unappealing alternatives. On today's installment: an old idea from the heady days of 2010! Mainstream tablets were new, and the cool hip thinking (to save some dough on a wireless plan) was to tote a dumbphone in one hand and a tablet in the other. If you had to do that in 2014, which tablet/phone combo would you choose, and why?

 

 

Listener Mail

(01:19:31)

E-mailed submissions from Kris, Syberpat, and Alex

 

Music

It may just sound like a ringtone to you, but our transition music track ("Radiation") is a real song, from a real album, by a real artist: Ali Spagnola. You can download that album, along with many others, at Ali's website here, visit her YouTube page here, and follow her on Twitter here!

•

See you next week; thanks for tuning in!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.