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What Have You Done For You Lately?

By Stephanie Prince Ling, MFT



Do you find yourself wondering what you’ll be pouring yourself tonight once you get home? (whatever time that will be).  Do you question why you feel older than your actual chronological age? Are you concerned that at times you feel depressed; defeated; easily annoyed and frustrated with others? Work is hard. Life is hard and if you are not treating yourself well in the process, you may start to find that what was once your passion now feels like a nuisance and “just a job.”

It’s inevitable and happens quite frequently. When these “symptoms” occur, they simply cannot be cured by a trip to the doctor. The core problem most often tends to be poor self-care.  Self-care refers to actions and attitudes which contribute to the maintenance of well-being and personal health and promote human development (Thank you Wikipedia).  We have stopped tending to our personal needs and overlook basic necessities because other things have become a priority. We are so on the go and set in a routine, that when the going gets tough, we just get tougher. We have stopped smelling the roses. We are attached to phones, emails and gadgets that remind us that we need to pick up milk at some point the next time we have time to grocery shop. Negating self-care has been the impetus for reasons people experience things like addiction, poor work performance, depression and broken relationships. We have become consumed by deadlines, projects and pleasing others, that the sense of self is an afterthought. Let it be known that I am not on a path to promote narcissism and impulsive online shopping; I am simply reminding you that caring for yourself is just as important as breathing air.

So what truly is Self-care? Some people think of it as a trip to the salon for a mani/pedi. Some believe its an extra glass of wine at night because it was an exceptionally “hard day at the office.” While these things may promote temporary happiness (and/or drunkenness) it’s not true to the concept of authentic self-care. In essence, self-care is truly caring for yourself. This cannot be purchased, nor is it about self-indulgence. Self-care in fact is a lifestyle. It’s about creating balance and choosing behaviors to combat emotional and physical stress. Examples of these good behaviors are:  healthy eating; exercise; getting enough sleep; yoga; mediation, etc. Also, essential to self-care is establishing ways to self-sooth or calm our physical and emotional distress. Creating effective ways to respond to stress is key to sustaining lower levels of stress and preserving joy.

In order to begin or in some cases, reconnect with caring for yourself, it’s imperative to have one major key concept: AWARENESS. Begin with asking yourself if you are happy. Then ask yourself the following questions: Are you content and pleased with yourself, your attitude, your body - mind -and soul? How are you responding to daily demands? What’s your cure at the end of a stressful day? How do you reward yourself? How is your sleep? How is your health? And lastly, how are your relationships with others? If you are concerned about any of your internal responses, thoughts and feelings to the questions above- it’s time to take action. While maintaining homeostasis can be a challenge, it’s not impossible.

Here are my top 5 Self-care tips to get you started:

1. Slow down. This is a hard one especially for you Type A folks. This is critical so the mind and body can connect.

2. Laugh until it hurts.

3. “Actively” Listen to yourself. Be mindful of your needs. If you are tired, stop, rest, nap if possible. If you are hungry, eat. You get it.

4. Engage with others – reach out to friends and family; socialize.

5. Create Joyful rituals – perhaps with family or even just solo.

Be Well. 

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Charlene Amoia – Her Own One Woman Show

By Bridget Brady

Bubbly, busy and beautiful, Charlene Amoia shares her thoughts on acting, humanitarianism, getting older in a youth-obsessed industry, and even tells us about her one-eyed dog. A hard lady to get a hold of, we finally catch up while she’s in her car between auditions; proving that even over her blue-tooth headset, her charm can survive L.A. traffic.

We'll dive right in! What is your favorite part about playing Wendy the waitress on How I Met Your Mother?

Everybody’s having a good time, so it feels like home. Whenever I come back to do another episode, the director will say, “Welcome home,” and it really kind of just has that vibe.

Obviously, I'm catching you between appointments. What else do you have in the works?

I started recurring on ABC Family's Switched at Birth. I've done two episodes of that show, so that's pretty exciting. I'm looking forward to coming back again, and I just found out I got cast in a Lifetime pilot called HR with Alicia Silverstone, and that looks like it's a recurring role as well. I actually go out to film that this weekend in Atlanta, so those are the most exciting things I've got going on right now.

So what is your big dream? If you could wave a magic wand and have the career of your dreams, what would that look like?

I like the stability of being on a show. I think I would be on a show for several years and do movies on my hiatuses. I love movies, and if I could have a great movie career, I definitely would do that as well. But you know, from one movie to the next there's definitely a lot of downtime and waiting, so I think starting out I'd like to just book my own show, and then launch that into a movie career.

The acting industry and the entire entertainment industry can be very difficult. Have you ever wanted to quit and do something else? And why haven’t you?

I think that there's so much disappointment in this career, and there's just time that I've felt defeated, but I've never really wanted to quit because it's my passion, and during those times often I'll do a play or get back into class or something because acting is just a fueling for me. I love doing it more than anything else, so I guess I wouldn't really consider quitting unless I wasn't making enough money to sustain myself, and I haven't had that happen. I've definitely been disappointed . . . but I've been able to maintain this life without having to get another job, so I take that as a sign to stay in it, you know?

I like that. RevUp Ezine is definitely very supportive of the industry and the arts, so I would love to know what has worked for you to support and build your career. What are some of the tricks you have up your sleeve, or in your pocket; people or things that support you?

I definitely I spend a lot of time in nature. I try to get away from all of the business part of it. I just moved a little closer to the beach, so I run on the beach and spend time very close to nature as much as possible, and that really grounds me, and I think that's sort of a spiritual practice. I meditate and I also do yoga, but for me, getting out of work and into nature is the most extreme grounding force and supportive force that I have.

You touched on this, and I'm sure our readers would love to know how you stay so beautiful and in shape. What's your ritual? What's your routine?

Thank you for saying that. You know, that's interesting because you never really have that kind of image about yourself. I appreciate it. I work out regularly, and I do it mostly because there's a lot of instability in this career. The workout for me is something very consistent, and it's also really good for my mind. I think the physical aspect has been a side benefit of it, but the workout is also part of the spiritual experience that we were talking about. In addition to that, I do eat very healthy and drink a lot of water. I don't drink alcohol very much or do any drugs, so I think that makes a big difference for my skin. I really feel like you can tell when you're not eating badly or drinking too much—your skin just glows a little bit more.

Any industry tips for your fellow actors?

My experience of auditioning the first few years, with not a lot of successes, one little trick for me was just a mind shift really. Going into the audition room, I treat it now not as an opportunity to get a job so much as an opportunity to share an experience the way I would doing a play. So it's basically a one-show play for me, and I'm not looking for approval or looking for somebody else’s opinion. It's more like, “This is my take on this role and this story, and I'm sharing this story” and I think shifting from “Please give me this job” to “I'm doing a performance for you.” When I leave it's just like having done a show. It's made it a lot more fun. I know a lot of actors who don't like auditioning, but I think maybe because I’ve done that, I actually feel fulfilled to some extent just from auditioning.

I love that! All right . . . so if you absolutely had to pick another career, what would you do with your life?

I would definitely do humanitarian work. It's something I try to do a little of when I have the time now, but I want to expand into doing more of it. I love the stuff that Angelina Jolie has done, and I think that's really commendable. But more than anything, I just don't think there's a better feeling than when you actually give or help somebody else. I feel like that's the gift that you get, and you hear people say that, but when you do it and you experience it, it's like it's more pleasurable than anything else really. So that is what I would do full time, and hopefully I'll be able to combine that with my career as much as possible too.

Do you have a favorite philanthropic organization or political/social cause that you're really passionate about?

I've worked recently doing some reading for the blind and dyslexic. I've done Food on Foot, which is feeding the homeless and a great organization for women. There's an organization called Linens for Women International that really helps women, and I find that to be a really legitimate organization. I became aware of it because I saw a program on 60 Minutes.

Dream film or television job, who would is the co-star and director you’re dying to work with?

I would love to work with Woody Allen. That would be incredible and amazing. I don't feel like I get starstruck, but it would be like, “Whoa, yeah!” I've also been a fan of Johnny Depp since I was a little girl, so it would probably be him.

Do you have any odd talents? Is there anything that you do that's a little out of the box?

I can make funny noises. Kids like it at birthday parties.

So you're a big hit at birthday parties, and you could always use those skills for voice-overs, right?

That's true actually; I do a lot of voice-over work. I hadn't even thought of that, so maybe that's true.

You’ve monetized your strange skill. That's awesome! So what's the worst reaction that you’ve personally had to being rejected from a role?

You know, it's interesting because I feel like it had to do more with my agent experience in this business. But I was up for a job. It was a huge commercial campaign that really would have made a lot of money. It was for a bank, and I had a credit-union commercial already running. They wanted to make sure it was okay to do both, and in the time that they were trying to get in touch with them, they got a backup actress just in case I wasn’t allowed to do it and hired the other actress. The next morning, the bank said it was fine, but I’d already lost the job. I was in bed for three days. But it was very early in my career, and I think that was it, because I definitely had bigger disappointments. I tested for the lead of a pilot and that would have completely changed my life, but I think I had been in this business long enough at that point to not allow myself to lie in bed for three days and just think that was the end of my career.

Are you superstitious? Do you have any rituals that you do either before an audition or before shooting?

I'm not superstitious, and I don’t do anything for an audition other than prepare as much as I can, like put it up as if I was putting up a play. I spend hours working on it as soon as I get it. I really spend the whole night. A lot of people could probably work a couple of hours; I really just keep investigating and keep working. Then I treat myself. I will usually go to the spa and get myself a massage and a scrub and all that fun stuff, and sometimes I'll make a lot of soup and I'll do a little bit of a soup cleanse. Pure veggie soup and puree it. It's really good for the skin, so sometimes I'll do that if I have time.

I like it, celebrating your win, treating yourself inside and out. What is your greatest challenge in the industry, or what do you struggle with the most?

I think my one struggle with auditioning is when I have to memorize like 10 pages for the next day. Some people memorize very quickly, and I don't feel like I'm one of those people, and that's a struggle for me. That's why I work really hard. I can be a little bit obsessive in it, where I would spend so much time on the material just going over it and over it. And let’s see . . . I think that aging in this business as a woman is just scary because there are all those things about, “If you don't make it by time you’re 25” or something like that, you know it's just ingrained. I don't find it to be true; I see a lot of women working in their 30s, and I just read an article where someone said they made it when they were 40. It's not the same as men. With men I don't feel like there is a timeline. So there is that, that kind of undercurrent that you think about.

We know what you're good at . . . what are you terrible at?

I'm not a great speller, but it doesn't really matter because there's spell check on our phones now, but I feel like I was just never a good speller. When I was younger I was shy to read in front of people, and luckily, somehow I grew out of it.

We talked about your dream of having your own show and doing films when you’re on hiatus. Do you have a dream or desire to be uber, uber famous like Angelina Jolie, like “you can't go to the grocery store” famous?

No, I think that's more of a hindrance. Obviously I went into this career and that may happen, and you know a lot of people want that. I would prefer to be a working actor where people in the business know me so I could work forever. But you know, when you become this superstar like that, your life changes so much and you don’t get to live like a normal person anymore, and that's not fun. I don't do it for the attention; I do it because I really love what I do. Maybe for other people that would be fun for a while, but I think not to be able to walk out your door and go walking on the beach or go to the grocery store, I think that would be extremely uncomfortable actually.

What would you consider your greatest accomplishment in the industry to date?

I don't think I'm alone in this, but I've been told that I'm not pretty enough or not whatever enough. I think we're all told that, but I think the fact that I don't take that in. I think the biggest accomplishment honestly is when I hear no's for any reason, it really pushes me to find a side way in or a side door; okay, this person is blocking the door here, but I know there's another way. I really feel that completely and fully, I know that there's another way. Just because whoever it is that's telling me no, it's that person or that group's opinion, but that doesn't really mean anything. I think all these years, that has given me continual success, where I think with some people it would just discourage them.

Let’s get a little personal . . . Do you have a boyfriend? Can you give us a snippet of your personal life?

Sure. I currently have a boyfriend. We just moved in together, and it's someone who I am crazy about. I actually have never wanted to get married, and you know, things with him were just a little bit different and felt much more magical, and not that I'm jumping in that direction, but I'm very happy. And actually, we’re starting to work together­ —he writes. We just did a little project of our own because we have a one-eyed dog at home, and it's about the impact of rescuing animals. If anybody wants to watch it, it's on my website under the producing link. It's a really cute story about a woman who's depressed and can't really leave her house and runs into this one-eyed dog that follows her home and kind of changes her life and reminds her of love.

Is there anything that we haven’t covered, or anything that you would like to add?

I just completed a website, and if anybody wants to find out anything else about me, you can find it at CharleneAmoia.net. You can catch up with what I'm doing and see some of my reels and stuff like that. It's kind of a one-stop shop.

We finished our chat just as Charlene was pulling into the parking lot of her next audition. Far more than “pretty enough,” doing her own little one-woman show, and not willing to be bothered by no’s. I’m sure she nailed it!

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HTC One: Seven Months Later

By Kia Gargahi


When it comes to major Android smartphones, there are only so many that can be named off the top of the average consumer’s head. With its Robert Downey Jr. advertising campaign, the HTC One has become as embedded in the general public’s mind as Samsung’s Galaxy lineup. Even though this is the case, keep in mind that these flagships launched in Q1 of 2013, and we are now well into Q3 of 2013; other Android devices such as the LG G2, Sony Xperia Z1, and Nexus 5 have come to the market. But today, we look at how our coveted HTC One fares in the competitive smart phone market.

htc.pix

What isn’t there to say about the design of the HTC One? When this phone was announced in the middle of Q1 of 2013, it was highly acclaimed for its aluminum, gap-free unibody design, and critics everywhere claimed that this was the first Android phone that competed with the legendary iPhone in terms of design. Gone were the days of cheap plastic and present are the aluminum, gap-free designs of the future. Its dimensions come in at 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3 millimeters (5.41 x 2.69 x 0.37 inches) and weighs about 5 ounces or 143 grams.

Yes, it is without a doubt aesthetically pleasing, but that’s not all that there is to say about the design of this phone. It has, for example, an infrared blaster incorporated into the lock button (see picture below). While HTC may not be the first company to do so, it certainly has started the trend (the LG G2 features a similar IR blaster). Interestingly, HTC has chosen to place only two capacitive buttons on the front of the device: a home button to the right and a back button to the left (the menu button can be configured to show up as a short hold on the home button or as a three-dot menu at the bottom of the screen where applicable).

What’s the catch? This device comes with no expandable memory or removable battery, but as a result, it comes with 32 GB of standard storage, upgradeable to 64 GB in the developer edition (that’ll cost you $100 more). But that isn’t what you should be focusing on (yes, I’m annoyed by the shortcomings, too). The fact of the matter is that the BoomSound front-facing speakers are innovative and the aluminum looks great. The speakers, while not the loudest that you’ll find in your run-of-the-mill smartphone, provide the greatest audio quality in a smartphone that the world has ever seen.

Finally, the design is bar none, rivaling that of the iPhone 5S. It can easily be used with one hand and, while the awkward lock button on the left and the two-button layout might be hard to get used to at first, these setbacks hardly undermine the sheer beauty of the phone.

The HTC One features a 4.7-inch 1080 x 1920 pixel display at 468 ppi dubbed “super LCD.” Even now, this has the highest pixel density of any smartphone in the market. While pixel density doesn’t necessarily translate into great display quality, in this case, it certainly does. The LCD-display technology that HTC has incorporated into its flagship is phenomenal, arguably the best smartphone display in the market bar the iPhone’s retina display.

There are fantastic viewing angles with the HTC One, and there should exist no issue when viewing media with a group of friends circled around the captivating display and great-sounding speakers. Compared to the Galaxy S4’s “super AMOLED” display, blacks appear more dark purple but colors are more true to life; there is a bit of oversaturation on the Galaxy S4 (and AMOLED displays in general). The display is also arguably better than the Nexus 5’s (washed-out colors) and on par with the LG G2’s. The device copes relatively well in sunlight, coming nowhere near, however, the Kindle’s paper-white display technology.

To sum up, the screen is still one of the best available on the market, and the 4.7-inch size seems ideal to compensate for the extra inch or so the BoomSound speakers add in overall length.

The HTC One’s camera has been subject to criticism ever since its inception. The UltraPixel Camera has been regarded as a step backward by many because of its relatively low megapixel count (4, to be exact). HTC has been betting on the fact that increasing the average pixel size to a relatively large 2 micrometers (compared to the 0.5 or so micrometers of others) would compensate for its rather low megapixel count. Manufacturers scoffed as HTC seemingly dropped out of the megapixel race (see Lumia 1020).

While I don’t have samples ready to show (there are plenty available online), there are many pros and cons about the camera and its accompanied software. Let’s start with the positive, shall we? The camera is a killer in low-light performance, topping anyone’s list for best performance in these conditions. (I’m always asked to take pictures in low light). Furthermore, the camera produces some amazing close-up and landscape pictures (setting on auto will do just fine). The accompanying Zoe is a plu,s too, recording a three-second clip that can be converted into a GIF (so that’s how you make those!). Video taking is nice, capable of shooting in full HD and having the same benefits as the camera all around. The editing software that’s built into the phone proves useful as well, along with the camera settings. Although I may be making an overall positive case for the device’s camera, there are also some major problems.

Have you ever tried zooming in for photo editing taken by the One? Yeah, don’t. The low megapixel count DOES have its bad points, of course. Zooming will release a blur of colors and grains that really don’t look all that bad from far. This is essentially the illusion that the phone has been riding on: “Please look at photos from either a small screen or from far to avoid quality complaints.” There is also the issue of no physical shutter button. While on other devices such as the Galaxy S4 there is a dedicated camera button or the improvised camera button of the iPhone (volume up key), there is no such option on the HTC One. While I personally have rooted and customized my phone to allow for such a hardware tweak, the average user won’t know the meaning of what I just said. (Right?) Regardless, the camera also fails at times to perform even mediocre under bright conditions. There exists a purple tint at the edge of the photo under either bright or very dark conditions (see sample below).

While the photo above may look like it’s been modified under an Instagram filter, it hasn’t been.

With a 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 from yesteryear and 2 GB of RAM, the HTC One is running on slightly old tech. With the LG G2 Nexus 5 running Snapdragon 800, the HTC One may start to show its true age in this category. While the RAM count might not have changed in half a year, the updated processor definitely has advantages over its little brother.

Nothing against the S600 — the processor still runs fantastically in the HTC One. Battery life is better than the Nexus 5’s and slightly worse than the LG G2’s (about eight-10 hours of use depending on how you’re using the phone). You won’t notice any lag from the processor, as 5.0 is not as demanding as other modified versions of Android. Oddly, mobile data seems to come off as slow at times, resulting most likely from the interference from the same aluminum that looks so darn good. Multitasking seems a breeze; it isn’t rare to have 16 apps open and not notice a slowdown. This being said, the processor shows its shortcomings next to a S800-equipped device.

The HTC One’s processor can cause the phone to slightly heat up at times and can be irritating. Furthermore, the S800 just seems to perform tasks more quickly than the S600, as is expected with a major update to the chip line. Battery life is noticeably better on handsets rocking the S800 (have I mentioned the LG G2 enough?), and it would be advisable in this day and age to purchase a device with one of those bad boys.

Summary

Pros

Cons

+ Beautiful aluminum casing

+ Exquisite low-light camera performance

+ Seamless multi-tasking performance

+ Fantastic screen; great screen size

+ Good battery life

+ BoomSound, Zoe, IR blaster, BlinkFeed

- Poor camera performance in general

- Newer devices will outperform the HTC one

- No SD card slot or removable battery

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iOS 7 vs. Android KitKit: Which Had the Most Hype?

By Kia Dargahi


Android and iOS have come to be the most used and talked-about operating systems in the mobile industry. It comes to nobody’s shock then that when these gargantuan platforms receive major updates, everyone is watching. The two have been duking it out to become the world’s best and most-used mobile system, and Android is currently leading the latter of the two races. With this in mind, things may take a turn for the better for the Cupertino-based company.

iOS 7 was the first of the two major updates to be announced on June 10, 2013. Flashback a month however, and the first rumors regarding iOS 7 had begun to circulate the web. Inside professionals spoke of a flatter and completely redesigned operating system. It was an alien experience according to those who found themselves with the revolutionary software. Upon hearing this news, most thought of a Windows Phone 8 counterpart; however, this was not the case. Apple had managed to keep its OS very recognizable yet changed enough so that it would be considered cool again (the skeumorphism was getting old). When the official release started hitting shelves, it either blew away the user’s expectations or failed to meet them. iOS 7 can be described as a love-hate operating system; there doesn’t really exist a middle ground with this version of the iPhone operating system. Furthermore, the largely positive and optimist reviews made by those inside the loop had the general public waiting for a storm to arise, and in some cases, it did. Some acclaim the new features such as Control Center or AirDrop; however, others dismiss the so-called “breakthroughs in features” as a mere copy of those existing on Google’s mobile-operating system. This being said, it can definitively be stated that iOS 7 had a large amount of hype surrounding its imminent release.

When Android 4.4 KitKat launched on old Hallows’ Eve, the general public was more than pleased with the direction the candy-coated operating system was headed toward. The tech giant is taking a step away from the design that debuted on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich; the familiar shades of bright blue that once made the face of Android have been replaced with a motif of cards showing user-personalized information. Replacing the design creates a step into the future, making a sleeker and softer color combination that will doubtless be popular amongst those with modern vision. While this can hardly be described as the kind of jump in design and software that occurred from iOS 6 to iOS 7, this is without a doubt a hint of more to come from Google. In a sense, the version number says it all: 4.4. It isn’t quite the leap in technology that 5.0 will certainly be, but it will undoubtedly cover most of the issues that plague the fragmented operating system. Don’t think, however, that KitKat isn’t going to pack a sweet amount of features. 4.4 is said to run significantly better on older Android devices. Google has also improved the phone and messaging apps, unifying Google Talk and Hangouts (this will come in the near future). Furthermore, if a business or chain pops up on your caller ID, the search-engine giant will automatically add all of its contact information into your contacts — cool! That’s not all; Google Now can be opened from anywhere within the operating system with a mere “Okay, Google” — neat! Google is showing its intentions with the future of its operating system; the tech giant is willing to hold off on the big release for an entire year so that it can further improve the one thing that the operating system is made fun of for: fragmentation.

While it would be foolish to say that the loser of this “competition” is just not as good an operating system as the other, it clearly shows the directions that the two giants of our time are heading. iOS 7 was without a doubt the most-anticipated update of the year, and Android 4.4, the incremental update that it is, simply could not meet the expectations of this massive accomplishment. Apple wanted to make a bold move with iOS 7, and that’s certainly what it seems to have come off as. Google never expected the general public to think that KitKat would break the rules of mobile operating systems, but it does nevertheless expect noteworthy regard for its full focus on driving the operating system to a stable and defragmented future. iOS 7 may have come out on top this time, but there’s a storm looming over in the horizon — a sugary one.

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How Big Can Screen Sizes Really Get?

By Kia Dargahi


Whether you buy a smartphone for its design, camera, software, or popularity, the screen will always find itself at the center of each handset. Display technology has advanced from what it was just six years ago; as I sit behind my desk comparing the T-Mobile G1 to the HTC one, I can truly say that manufacturers have come a long way. Screens have gotten bigger and bigger in mobile tech, the biggest surge coming in the form of tablets. Just as Apple has seemingly made 17-inch screens obsolete by removing them from the Apple Store, one must surely think that we’ve plateaued right? Well, not exactly.

 

With the release of the Xperia Z Ultra, Sony showed us the whopping 6.4 diagonal inches that smartphone screens can achieve. While this may sound more like a tablet than a phone, there’s still reason to place this monster of a screen in phablet territory; you can hold it in one hand. But then again, you can hold something like the iPad mini (7.9 diagonal inches) in one hand as well, but Apple clearly hasn’t made a phablet out of that. I’m not entirely convinced that smartphones will ever cross the 7-inch border; the market for such a device seems to be lacking. This doesn’t mean, however, that if such a phone came into existence, it would not have a role to fulfill in the tech world.

 

 

Year after year, studies show that mobile media becomes more popular and more widely used. Those who don’t keep up with the times (I’m looking at you, Blockbuster) will definitely fail to be profitable. This, then, must be a part of the reason why there’s such a demand for larger and larger screen sizes on smartphones; we like to keep ourselves busy looking at music videos, movies, TV shows, sports, the list goes on and on. Not only this, but also the fact that more productivity can be done on larger screens. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 embodies this thought. With its multi-window feature, one can watch videos, surf the web or text while looking at the weather. And one feature the Note line brings to light: styluses.

 

 

Styluses usually come with larger-screen devices (5 inches seems to be the minimum). As the Galaxy Note line slowly but surely increases in size, one can’t help but think that it must stop somewhere. Some of the major handsets have clearly drawn the limit with stylus and screen sizes: Apple adamantly stuck at 4 inches (although reports claim the company might change its mind for the next iteration of the iPhone), Samsung stopped at 5.7, HTC at 5.9, and Nokia at 6.0. Interestingly enough, styluses don’t seem to come hand in hand with some of these devices; in fact, only Samsung and Lenovo manufacture smartphones with styluses. And let’s be real here, who owns a Lenovo smartphone?

 

It seems to me that styluses embody a thing of the past, a pen-like utensil that we used to use on our PDAs and some computers. This being said, without styluses, screens bigger than the dreaded 6-inch line just become too hard to use. This is partly why screen sizes won’t see the jump that they did from 2010 until now (4.3 inches was considered enormous back then!). It is quite possible that the Sony Xperia Z Ultra will remain the largest phablet handset that will ever release to the international market, and even then, how many people do you know that own one? (I only know of one person, and that already seems like one too many.) If I were a smartphone manufacturer, rather than competing in the screen-size race, I would take a step in Motorola’s direction by focusing on placing a screen in as small a chassis as possible (our pockets are only so wide and our hands only so large).

 

The plateau has become evident, and I think that it’s a turn for the better; R&D will be directed toward making displays sharper and in other features rather than just focusing on the size. iPhone users complain about the large screens of Android phones and, while some scoff at this accusation, others will concede that the iPhone is great to hold. I am more on the conceding side, but I believe that there is hope for the Google-coated manufacturers, and the Moto X symbolizes the first step. With a 4.7-inch screen, Motorola has made its flagship only marginally wider and taller than the iPhone 5S (onscreen buttons help to a great extent) and for that, we tip our hats to you, Motorola.

How Big Can Screen Sizes Really Get?

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