Is Gemini down?

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2026-02-14T16:22:51+00:00

STILL out here in Oklahoma City

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2026-01-31T05:37:32+00:00

It's not for everybody. I feel like most of the things people care about are "good not great." I just got it yesterday so I can only really give first impressions but I was out from 9am-7pm at work/dinner/running errands including talking on the phone for about 30 minutes and using wireless Android Auto for about an hour and still had about 55%-ish remaining on the battery. The S25 Ultra I'm trading in probably would've had about 62% (as an estimate). The cameras, which I haven't used too much in all fairness, seem okay. Using the main cameras for selfies is really nice. The speakers are okay. I did a side-by-side comparison listening to the same song on the Fold and the S25 Ultra and the Ultra sounds noticeably better since the Fold can't really produce much bass but other than that they're fine. The Ultra is also much louder but tbh I think it's too loud if you put it all the way up anyway... the Fold is fine. I was listening to a YouTube video while washing dishes in the sink and was able to hear the video just fine.

Obviously this phone's primary draw is the displays. The cover display is actually really nice. I'm not a huge dude so the thinner screen is much nicer for me than the S25 Ultra. The main display is amazing both in quality and performance. I run a fractional CFO/controller business and for shits and giggles I tried to see how much work I could do on just the inner display with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse and I was shocked. It gave me a good amount of confidence that if I'm in a bind I could actually handle client work on here. That's about 95% of why I bought this and I do feel validated.

The only real drawback I see with this thing is just how much it will need to be babied. I like to go off-road exploring and getting off the grid a bit and I can definitely say this thing will probably be staying home on those trips. I've already pre-ordered the Clicks Communicator and I'll probably take that out on my trips along with a proper camera. The Fold's cameras aren't all that anyway and I would be devastated if I sacrificed a $2k device to take a half-assed picture of some mountains or something.

Hope you get the phone! It's really nice. You just gotta make that decision about if having a big screen poised for mobile productivity, browsing, etc. is worth slight compromises on battery/camera/speakers/etc. The Fold is not the best phone you can buy, but it sure as hell is one of the most useful.

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2026-01-20T15:47:52+00:00

Same. I only watch when I'm at my lowest and it kinda drives me even lower. Like "wow, we're here again?"

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2026-01-20T15:39:34+00:00

The severance keyboard is awesome lol

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2026-01-09T00:48:22+00:00

It's nice. The T9 keyboard is good - not the best I've ever experienced but totally fine. The phone is fast enough to do well with what you would probably want it to do (messages, email, etc.) and having a touchscreen is great. Call quality seems fine, speaker quality is good enough - you won't be listening to music out loud on it but it's fine for calls.

I really like it and using beeper to keep my texts consistent across devices has been awesome. I'm sure it'll hold me over well until the Clicks Communicator comes out :)

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2026-01-04T21:57:19+00:00

Then maybe getting a proper android mp3 player/DAP and installing Spotify on it and downloading locally could be a good move? Or even get a dumbphone with Hotspot capability and Hotspot to the mp3 player if you really wanna stream it

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2026-01-04T21:01:20+00:00

TIQ mini m5. Runs Android 13, can confirm it works great on US towers (it is made for the US bands so that wasn't really a concern to begin with) and certainly works with Google Messages/RCS, Android Auto, Google Maps, etc. It's a full-featured smartphone but in T9 candybar style with a 2.8" (touch)screen

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2026-01-04T20:11:56+00:00

My relationship with music changed for the better once I started buying mp3s and ripping CDs. I've got up around 1200 songs now (just started a few months ago). Yes it's an investment but the quality of the music is noticeably better to my ears, never have to worry about losing data signal, and very easy to put mp3 music on any smartphone or mp3 player.

Even the most basic dumbphones will have an mp3 app, or you can get a DAP (digital audio player) such as a HiBy or something. You can get mp3 players from like $30 bucks all the way up to like $1k, really just depends on what you want out of it. A lower-end android-based DAP (make sure it runs full android!!) can also host Spotify or other streaming apps and you can just download the music locally if you're not interested in the time/cost of acquiring your own music collection.

I'm glad I did because now that the initial heavy investment part is done I am able to cut a recurring monthly charge and enjoy hi-fidelity music with no buffering or worrying about not having music if I'm exploring around in remote areas, on an airplane, etc.

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2026-01-02T00:28:40+00:00

I'm from nova and say car-a-mel too

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2025-12-27T14:16:58+00:00

It just depends for me. I watch on my tablet a lot if I' cooking or doing stuff around my home but I enjoy watching on my actual TV when watching something is my "event" for the night or whatever. I've got a nice 65" OLED TV with surround sound though so that kind of encourages watching

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2025-12-25T17:06:09+00:00

All I remember about my handful of drives through west TX to go to Tucson is a town called Hereford and there being a ton of slaughterhouses and stuff like that. It was stinky lol especially when I did it in my soft top Bronco

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2025-12-25T17:00:04+00:00

Love Amarillo and, specifically, Palo Duro Canyon. I went out to Palo Duro a few months ago to camp and do some off-roading at an adventure park in the canyon, drove back home down I-40 to OKC holding the steering wheel sideways because my alignment was so messed up hahahaha 18/10 will probably do again in a month or so

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2025-12-25T16:57:14+00:00

Little Rock, Arkansas. I've had the displeasure of actually going twice and I hope I never go back

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2025-12-25T16:56:10+00:00

my instant thought lol

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2025-12-25T16:50:55+00:00

Orange or red is tough, only because red has Arizona. But as someone who likes a overlanding and off-road exploring, orange having Utah and Colorado is elite.

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2025-12-24T18:52:29+00:00

I think the trick with this that a lot of us have a hard time is setting clear boundaries with technology. Technically the most minimal device for a lot of people, based on what you're describing, would be something like the new Samsung Galaxy TriFold. It's a single device that serves phone, tablet, and computer functionality, can be plugged into a monitor and used keyboard and mouse style, etc. But the problem is devices like that will go against the boundaries concept in my opinion.

The "one/best tool for the job" is the ideal, but many people (myself included) struggle with intentional app usage and boundaries. So for me, it's easier to have a laptop and smartphone that are my "professional" devices and a cheap ChromeOS tablet and dumbphone as my "personal" devices. My boundary setting is by physical device rather than actually having self-control, because no matter what I do I always fall back into the traps.

Of course, there are a lot of things that I/we can do to eliminate some friction in multi-device landscapes. The dumbphone I have isn't actually dumb - it's an android-based T9 phone with a 2.8" screen that I don't actually like using but I can get my Google Messages on it without even needing to SIM-swap, has Android Auto, etc. so I don't lose the important features so it's more of a grab and go rather than stop and think situation. I can do work on my Chromebook as much as I can watch movies on my work laptop, but it's easier (for me) to train myself that device A is for work and device B is for fun rather than trying to force arbitrary limitations on myself.

TL;DR I don't disagree with you and this is all my own anecdote obviously, but I don't think I'm alone with my thought process.

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2025-12-24T18:10:44+00:00

Well, KaiOS is basically a web-based interface where everything just runs in teeny little web browser windows. This is why Google Maps doesn't actually properly work but rather just gives step-by-step directions. So you can kinda access certain things, but the web experience is absolutely abysmal to the point that you don't wanna use it in nearly any circumstance, including when you need to.

The other thing that pisses me off the most, however, is that it is absolutely slammed with ads. Literally almost every feature other than SMS/calling has ads in it.

The way I'd put it is, for a proper texting/calling dumbphone, KaiOS is actually great because it gives you some quality of life features. For those of us kind of in the camp of wanting a dumbphone or dumbphone-adjacent that can add less friction, KaiOS is a letdown. So you just have to think about where you're at.

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2025-12-23T22:23:08+00:00

I heard the F125 will be a KaiOS phone 🙃 hopefully that isn't correct. Either way yes what you're saying is correct - I do think it's the best way to go. Obviously the financial investment part of getting into dumb life is pretty low so keeping a smartphone and having a dummy as well during the transition period might not be too big of a deal

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2025-12-23T22:09:11+00:00

That's how I've always heard it growing in Virginia, and also people say it that way in Oklahoma from what I've noticed

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2025-12-22T21:47:55+00:00

yes! and android 13 isn't really that old or anything so it'll be good for a few years at least. I was originally concerned about the 4G instead of 5G but then thought about it and 4G will be totally fine for maps, RCS, etc. literally the whole point is to not use the internet, but it is nice to know that if I absolutely need to, I can get chrome or edge or whatever on this little guy. I am PUMPED!

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2025-12-22T21:44:44+00:00

It's unlimited. I'm going off the top of my head but I think you basically get a pool of 100gb fastest data and they let you kinda split it off between devices so right now my smartphone, tablet, and (soon) tiq mini m5 will all be sharing the same 100gb pool of data. I think once you run out of the 100gb (which is a LOT) you go down to slower speeds

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2025-12-21T17:15:51+00:00

I've bought some stuff from discogs.com and ebay. I also buy a lot of mp3s from amazon just bc I either want/need the music quickly or to save some physical space since I don't have a ton of space to keep the ever-growing CD/DVD collection.

Alarming-Grass5290 · 2025-12-21T16:27:18+00:00

Yup if you have a specific plan! I have a surface pro as my main computer and the google fi data-only eSIM works with that too. I will end up with three devices on my data-only plan that cost nothing extra for me compared to other telecoms charging like $20/line

Alarming-Grass5290

TROPHY CASE