My Chinese Phone

The reviews keep saying that Motorola unlocked phones are cheap and good.  They will work for travel, even in China.  They  go on sale.  I  buy one.  But then there were battery issues so I buy another one.

In 2020, Zoom comes along and I am online more and there are memory issues.  Also, there is that annoying message everytime I turn on my car.  (My phone contacts are not synced due to not having Android 9. Nag.  Nag.  Nag.  I actually upload Android 9, but then a month later, functionality goes away due to low memory.)   So, I need the next phone.

I keep waiting for the next $200 Motorola cell phone.  It isn't showing up at Costco like it would every year prior.  Then, it was announced. Unwarranted versions would show up on Amazon.  This won't do.  2020, the year, is behaving differently.  Maybe, I want a different phone.

Am I even happy with Motorola phones?  How much memory?  What's the functionality?   Can I count on it to last 1 1/2 years like the last one?

I try an LG with 128 GB and 6GB RAM.  LG is a Korean company.  A safe choice. Amazon is scared off by looters and wouldn't deliver the phone.  I give up.

Okay, NOW the new Motorolas are available for $100 off from Google Fi.  Too late.  I've moved on.

The reviews are directing me everywhere else.  But, do I want another PC CP?  No! Sell me the most non-PC cell phone you have.  I'll take my chances.

I order a Xiaomi with NFC. Xiaomi is the number 4 brand for sales, mostly to the Chinese consumer.  My phone is not the flagship model and is about $100 more than what I've been paying, but it seems to be much more capable than Motorola G8s.   It is the global version of a Chinese consumer market phone that fully implements Google Android features.   That will do.  If I have to learn Chinese to get a good cell phone, I'll take on the challenge.

I get a pop up notification.

Google highlights an AARP article recommending cell phones for the senior market.  Sorry, Google.  Today, the purchasing decision will be based on what college age me would select.

The phone shows up with a 220 V plug in.  Since it is the "global model", it also has a cheap 110 V adapter.  Now I feel like I have rejoined the world.  I am traveling while staying at home.  Also, if I make it to China with this phone, it will work fine, just as the Motorolas did.

The reviews tell me that I have to register with Xiaomi to get the phone to work.  This doesn't feel any different than giving my data to Google or Samsung. Doesn't China already have my data?  I register.  

I keep getting this notification that my SIM card isn't registered.  The internet tells me this is no big deal.  So, I follow simple instructions and disable the notification.

I sign up for Google Pay and check out the NFC at the Costco Business Center.  Cool.  Contactless payment works.

A week later, Android 10 pops up.  My old phone couldn't handle 9, this phone does 10!  I install.  

Now, I have turned into a frog.  My voice is pixelated when my cell number is used on Google Fi.  Google Voice still works.

I figure out that Google Fi might not work as well with my new phone as it prefers CDMA and my phone does GSM.  I play with settings such that WiFi is used when possible.  

A day later, my wife finds some codes to copy into the dialer and I am no longer Kermit.  Google Fi works even if it is not optimum for GSM.

My Chinese phone gets along with my car, has memory to spare and I have that feature that the rest of the world has had for years-- contactless payment.  It will work when I travel.  It might last me more than 1 1/2 years.

Though the marketing does not highlight the fact, Motorola is a Chinese company that designs products for America.  Marketing is the polite word for "talking down to".

We could talk Chinese politics sometime.  I actually have a lot of thoughts.  For example, my father-in-law needs to sell his soybeans.

For now though, I am living my politics in my purchase of a phone.  Come on now, aren't Apple Phones made in China?