The Golden Years
Technostalgia: A series about the Golden Age of mobile tech
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Join us for a look back at the best (and worst) of Android and Google over the years in our series Technostalgia.
Nostalgia
you never forget your first
HTC Inspire 4G retrospective review: My first Android desire
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Of all the dozens, if not hundreds, of phones I've tested over the years, I just couldn't shake my fond memories tied to my first Android phone, the HTC Inspire. So I bought one off of eBay.
Bring it back
The Google Pixel C was the best Android tablet ever made
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The Pixel C didn't live a long life or enjoy massive retail success, but its design and functionality were fantastic. I wish more people had the opportunity to experience just how great this product was, and I can only dream of what could've been if Google had refreshed it with new components.
Where it all began
Looking back at my first Android phone — the Galaxy S Fascinate
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We all go through a lot of "firsts" in life, including our first Android phone. The Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate is the gadget that ignited my passion for the platform, and today, I'm revisiting it to see how it holds up to 2020 standards.
STAY MOBILE
Take a journey with MrMobile back to When Phones Were Fun
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People love to say that phones aren't as exciting as they used to be — and while MrMobile would argue that foldables make this one of the most interesting periods in mobile history, it's certainly fun to look back on When Phones Were Fun.
Shield means support
There is one Android from 2015 still getting updates, but it's not a phone
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Apple announced this week that some of its phones from 2015 will be getting iOS 14 this fall, while on our side of the mobile fence, a phone is lucky to see two years of Android updates. Well, there is one lone success story in the "long-lived Android devices" category, and it's sitting under my big screen TV right now.
Old media
The Nexus Q was the weirdest Android device ever made
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You probably have absolutely no idea what the Nexus Q was. And even if you do, you probably never saw or used one. But its legacy can been seen across many very successful Google products since.
The one that wasn't ready
Android 3.0 Honeycomb: The Android version we all forgot
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Android 3.0 Honeycomb introduced a radical new UI and a host of exciting new features, but it wasn't quite ready for consumer use, and Google did little to fix the inherent problems. That said, Honeycomb contributed in a big way to Android's future growth.
2013 did it best
The Moto X was one of the best Android phones — it's time to bring it back
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Motorola makes a lot of good Android phones, but none of them are anywhere near as fun or exciting as the Moto X was. It's time to bring it back.
Back to the future
The early days of Android smartwatches were pretty hit or miss
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Smartwatches have been a pipedream for aspiring secret agents, affluent tech nerds, lovers of all things sci-fi, and so many more, for a very long time. Android seemed like a fitting platform to begin bringing the future to our wrists. In the beginning, smartwatches were sometimes big and weird, but also some of them were the best we've ever had.
Not so good old days
Quit lyin' to yourself: Android sucked prior to 2017
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Remember when you had to root your phone to make it something you wanted to use? Thankfully, those days are gone. Good riddance!
Clickety clickety
Physical keyboards were a golden era for Android
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In the early days of Android, on-screen keyboards were okay, but physical keyboards were still preferred by a great many of us budding Android users. I was one such user, and I miss those days dearly.
Retrospect
Android 4.4 vs. Android 10 — How Android has changed over the years
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There's more than seven years between Android 4.4 KitKat and Android 10. Just how different are the two versions, and can we trace the path from there to here?
kickstart my heart
These are the phones that kickstarted my love for Android
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Android looked a lot different in the days of the HTC Inspire, but it's the phone that pulled me away from my iPhone and sparked my love for the Android platform as a whole.