HoFo Blog

Even with the growing popularity of the aspirational Apple Watch it is the humble Fitbit that remains the most common wearable I see on the wrists of passers-by. The very brand itself has managed, like Kleenex, to become a proprietary eponym. So let's have a look at Fitbit's Fall portfolio, officially launched this morning:

Fitbit Sense



Price: $429.95 CAD / $329 USD
Release: Can pre-order now; ships by September 25th.

Fitbit Versa 3



Price: $299.95 CAD / $229 USD
Release: Can pre-order now; ships by September 25th.

Fitbit Inspire 2



Price: $129.95 CAD / $99.95 USD
Release: Can pre-order now; ships by September 25th.

If anyone reading this ends up taking the plunge, kindly let the rest of us know if notification support has gotten any better.

Source: Fitbit via DC Rainmaker, Mobile Syrup

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G review

Infamous green tint screen returns with Galaxy Tab S7, Note 20 Ultra

Google's new Pixel Buds are plagued by quality control issues that need to be addressed

Rumor: Pixel 5 is slower than the Pixel 4, has same camera as the Pixel 2

Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 review: a truly great smartwatch

From The Forums:

Best way to test Visible before porting number?

OnStar bands

Raleigh NC Market seems promising!!

Potential black Friday deals coming?

Can someone help me a unlock a walmart/tracfone straight talk iphone 11 Pro?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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It's time for a new thread of the week, our way of recognizing forum members for promoting valuable discussion here.

Every weekday yours truly posts a morning briefing, including the most popular forum threads—that is, the posts with the most replies—for the previous 24 hour period. For reference, here are the briefings for the past seven days:

Your Morning Briefing for Monday, August 17th, 2020
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, August 18th, 2020
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, August 19th, 2020
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, August 20th, 2020
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, August 21st, 2020

Remember that the Monday briefing includes forum posts from the prior Saturday and Sunday, so all weekend posts are similarly eligible.

In each briefing, forum posts are ranked by the number of replies (from highest to lowest). That's subject to change, of course, so I did a quick recount of replies for all forum posts in the briefings above. With 32 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

iphone 11 on tracfone verizon stopped working

Congrats once again to jmart27 for starting our thirty-eighth thread of the week! As a small token of our appreciation, please enjoy a month of Gold Membership on us!

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

TikTok confirms it will sue the Trump administration

Apple apologizes to WordPress, won’t force the free app to add purchases after all

Top 10 trending phones of week 34

Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 w/ 4,000 mAh battery leak in live image with alleged specs

iPhone 12 Pro to miss on 120Hz screen due to supply issues

From The Forums:

FCC Wants Carriers to Prove Their Coverage Claims, T-Mobile and AT&T Say It’s Too Much

NEW Tracfone Rewards Program

Question for iPhone Users

Visual Voicemail and Wi-Fi Calling

T-Mobile prepaid account number for port out

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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Let's all remember 2020 as the year that the madness stopped. I'm talking, of course, about overpriced handsets. What did you think I meant...?

Anyway yes, flagships are still as expensive as ever (looking at you, Samsung) but Google and Apple, with the Pixel 4a and iPhone SE pictured above, offer a unique proposition: outstanding value for money, straight from the source of their respective mobile platforms.

On paper this unlikely duo is far from perfect. The Pixel is underpowered and the iPhone's screen size diminished by a massive forehead and chin. Yet both ship with the core competencies of their respective brands—Google's excellent imaging system and Apple's efficient and high-powered silicon—intact. And I have to mention Samsung again, because here in Canada you could buy both 128 GB SKUs of the 4a and SE outright, plus 1st-party cases for each, for less than the price of a single Note20 Ultra.

There is, of course, no shortage of cheap and cheerful Android phones, but because of the aforementioned camera and optimized OS, Pixel phones are in a class of their own. And for iOS, the last model you could buy new and unlocked for under $500 USD was the original SE in 2016.

So on principle alone I'm calling this early: these are the two most important smartphones of the year. My Pixel should arrive soon after its official Canadian release on September 10th; I might also try out iOS on the SE, just to see what the fuss is about.

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

iPhones with Fortnite installed hit eBay with prices as high as $10,000

Ming-Chi Kuo: iPhone 12 battery specifications downgrade, price is lower than iPhone 11 battery

Your Phone app for Windows now runs apps off your Samsung phone

New Pixel Buds feature drop arrives along with more color options

Motorola’s back to school smartphone sale takes $500 off razr, more from $100

From The Forums:

Pixel 4a, Wifi calling and VoLTE are enabled but how do I test to know it works?

Switching from Google Fi to Cricket.

Over Charges on H2O

Activation issue

Video Calling on Prepaid?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Apple becomes first public company to reach a $2 trillion market cap

Gmail, Docs, Drive, and more Google services hit by widespread disruption

Your Phone app for Windows now runs apps off your Samsung phone

Fossil updates its Gen 5 smartwatches with sleep tracking and more fitness features

A new 5G BlackBerry Android smartphone with a keyboard will arrive in 2021

From The Forums:

Issues activating year old phones?

What's With Tracfone?

Need advice for 3G shutdown

Cheap smartwatch?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G review

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ review

Apple removes thousands of games from the Chinese App Store, alarming observers

What's new in iOS 14 beta 5? Time picker wheel returns, 'Hidden Album' Photos toggle, more

Android 11 is taking away the camera picker, forcing people to only use the built-in camera

From The Forums:

Implications of having $0 balance on 30 day prepaid plan

Prepaid esim

Will T-Mobile take the number one spot from Verizon ?

Samsung S7 Need Help

Can i use my att s20 ultra kn tmobile?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Here are the Samsung devices getting three generations of Android updates

Your Galaxy Note 20 Doesn't Come With Headphones, So Here's How You Can Get Them For Free

The first smartphone with an under-display camera

The US bans 38 Huawei affiliate companies that evaded the Huawei ban

Parody of Apple's Mac vs PC Ads Used to Explain Canada's Wireless 'Oligopoly'

From The Forums:

New Unlimited Plans Coming 8/20

MMS not working on Android

Simple Mobile says Moto G6 will be incompatible Jan 1st

Cannot send images on iPhone to non-AT&T users

Tmobile Tuesdays contests rigged!

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
---------

It's time for a new thread of the week, our way of recognizing forum members for promoting valuable discussion here.

Your Morning Briefing for Monday, August 10th, 2020
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, August 11th, 2020
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, August 12th, 2020
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, August 13th, 2020
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, August 14th, 2020

Remember that the Monday briefing includes forum posts from the prior Saturday and Sunday, so all weekend posts are similarly eligible.

In each briefing, forum posts are ranked by the number of replies (from highest to lowest). That's subject to change, of course, so I did a quick recount of replies for all forum posts in the briefings above. With 45 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

What happened? Why is att in third place behind T-Mobile?

Congrats once again to T-Buttler for starting our thirty-seventh thread of the week! As a small token of our appreciation, please enjoy a month of Gold Membership on us!

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 review: time for a change

Amazfit Bip S Review

Top 10 trending phones of week 33

Apple waiting for improved worker conditions before starting iPhone production in Vietnam

This smartphone has physical kill switches for its cameras, microphone, data, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi

From The Forums:

Truphone: Alcatel 4052R (AT&T) SMARTFLIP my only option?

MP3 files appear in random order on my micro SD card rather than in filename order

iphone 11 on tracfone verizon stopped working

MVNO diferences??

Deprioritization for voice calls?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are easily repairable, iFixit teardown finds

Report: Google commissions Samsung to build a new chip for tracking body movements

Fossil Gen 5 Update Adding Sleep Tracking, New Fitness Stuff, and More

Google announces a new version of Wear OS based on Android 11 with Snapdragon Wear 4100 support

Huawei Fit Watch leaks and it looks truly bizarre

From The Forums:

What happened? Why is att in third place behind T-Mobile?

$10 1 GB plan

Is Verizon shutting down Band 13?

Ported to red pocket cdma but never got service working

Prepaid Visa or MC as autopay method?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

The next foldable Moto Razr will be announced on September 9

Apple releases iOS 13.6.1 and iPadOS 13.6.1

Telus Wireless Networks Crowned Fastest in Canada by Opensignal’s August Report

Instagram Faces Lawsuit Over Illegal Harvesting of Biometrics

Android is becoming a worldwide earthquake detection network

From The Forums:

New Data device Konnectone Car Smart

5G NR Low Band Max Speeds

T-Mobile take over AT&T spot as second-largest wireless carrier

My order

Strange vibration during Google Duo call

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra has a 120 Hz display, 120W fast charging, and 120X AI zoom

Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra and K30 Ultra not coming out of China

TikTok was reportedly tracking users, despite Google's built-in protections

It’s Not Just TikTok. Chinese Firms Face More US Roadblocks

Apple doubles down on iOS 14 tracking privacy as Facebook panics

From The Forums:

T-Mobile and Power Outages

Is there a Google Play App for checking phone bands?

xfinity mobile kicking my device off their network

Unlocked Verizon Galaxy S9+ on Visible

Dish Feels Prepaid is Backwards

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Top 10 Android flagship smartphones for July 2020

The Pixel 4a fabric cases are made from recycled materials, they are machine washable to boot

OnePlus Nord review

Kuo: Global iPhone Shipments Could Decline Up to 30% If Apple Forced to Remove WeChat From App Store

Tim Cook joins the billionaire club as Apple’s value climbs toward $2 trillion

From The Forums:

AT&T and SpaceMobile deal so we can use satellite on existing devices.

5G Standalone update questions

Tmobile now owns Sprint mvnos division, are (ex) Sprint mvnos still activating Sprint cdma devices?

Visible speed

After the storm.....

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
---------

It's time for a new thread of the week, our way of recognizing forum members for promoting valuable discussion here.

Every weekday yours truly posts a morning briefing, including the most popular forum threads—that is, the posts with the most replies—for the previous 24 hour period. For reference, here are the briefings for the past seven days:

Your Morning Briefing for Monday, August 3rd, 2020
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, August 4th, 2020
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, August 5th, 2020
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, August 6th, 2020
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, August 7th, 2020

Remember that the Monday briefing includes forum posts from the prior Saturday and Sunday, so all weekend posts are similarly eligible.

In each briefing, forum posts are ranked by the number of replies (from highest to lowest). That's subject to change, of course, so I did a quick recount of replies for all forum posts in the briefings above. With 37 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

5G &corona virus

Congrats to dieselguy26 for starting our thirty-sixth thread of the week! As a small token of our appreciation, please enjoy a month of Gold Membership on us!

---------
Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
---------

From The Web:

Top 10 trending phones of week 32

Snapdragon chip flaws put >1 billion Android phones at risk of data theft

Huawei to stop making flagship chipsets as U.S. pressure bites, Chinese media say

Bill Gates calls Microsoft’s TikTok deal a poisoned chalice

Alberta to Switch to COVID Alert App and Ditch ABTraceTogether

From The Forums:

Lg 125dl

FirstNet carrier update?

Warning: Ports to the $60 plan cab't downgrade for 60 days.

personal hotspot on iPad

Will Tracfone unlock Tacfone's own iPhone 7 if I use Tracfone's $49 eBay 365-day SIM for a year?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Here’s why you shouldn’t buy the regular Galaxy Note 20

Google discontinues Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL in US and other regions

OnePlus is poisoning its phones with Facebook bloatware

(Canadian) Government in contact with Apple, Google about COVID Alert device compatibility concerns

Trump Declares TikTok a 'National Emergency,' Officially Moves to Ban it

From The Forums:

T-Mobile says it’s now the Nation’s #2 Wireless Carrier

Shipping vs. home address

T-Mobile has consolidated the LTE & 5G Coverage Maps

Live Streaming Cell Plans

Is There a Messaging Service that can use the GV# to send SMS other than GV/Hangouts

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G looks like a much better foldable phone

Galaxy Tab S7 Unveiled – Samsung’s answer to Apple’s iPad Pro

Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is a big upgrade – with ECG and big price tag

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live TWS earphones have unusual looks, active noise cancellation

Canadian pricing and availability for Samsung Galaxy Note 20, Watch 3, Buds and Tab S7

From The Forums:

Dish will reportedly drop 2.5 million low income customers after buying Boost Mobile

Just pop in new SIM?

Verizon Prepaid or Total Wireless?

Help With Selecting VZW MVNO for Tmo Backup (DualSIM)

Can you port twice to the same Verizon Prepaid account?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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