Farewell, Shamu
My first Android phone was the last Nexus phone, the Nexus 6. For those that know me, I'm sure you've heard the story {multiple times, in fact} about how my first concert was the last Ozzfest. Which has now been proven to be demonstrably false, it was just the last one with Ozzy. Regardless, one cannot underestimate the importance of this in history. This is the best phone I have ever owned, bar none. A midnight black, 32GB Nexus 6 from ATT.
For Google, the Nexus 6 was deemed a departure from the traditional Nexus line of phones, since it was for all intents and purposes, a Moto X with "NEXUS" on the back. Being who I was at the time, coming from a water-damaged white iPhone 4, I did not realize this until I did further research and was only mildly interested in it.
{pictured: not a Nexus} I had never encountered my own, personal Android phone before, and this was my first out-of-the-box experience. And it was magical. Bigly magical. The box was deep, cardboard, stiff and basic, not the over-intentioned slick design miracle of my iPhones past.
{delicious.}
Aside from being a Moto X in disguise, it was also enormous, and by that I mean that this phone can very well be said to be a half a foot long in screen size. 6 inches of pure, unadulterated length and girth. You have never held a phone this long and wide, because they didn't exist back then {I think}. Because of this, the Nexus 6 was known to developers as Shamu, the whale of a phablet. I wore the mantle proudly for 2 years. This was a big league phone. The first thing I did was get rid of that pesky ATT logo on the back. Luckily, Google/Motorola seemed to know people would want to do that because it looks incredibly tacky, so I went to Youtube to figure out how to scratch that shit off, and did. Promptly.
{who wanted this???}
The phone felt like I was holding a rock, or a weapon, or some sort of futuristic swiss army knife device. It could cook breakfast for me, maybe. There was a LOT of room in there. It was enormous, and it made me feel giddy. I had the biggest, baddest phone on the block. But boy, in hindsight, was it ugly! All that bigness and badness came with the price of being incapable of use for those with small hands, in a world where me saying that didn't bring Donald Trump to mind. Luckily, I managed just fine most of the time with one hand, although having a half foot long phone will ensure you want to hold it with both hands anyways, if only for drop insurance.
{because actual insurance is expensive.}
That Motorola "M" dimple on the back was just as satisfying as the reviewers made it seem, and your finger always wants to rest there like the perfect little spot it is. It makes an otherwise ungainly phone into something of a wedge-esqe remote.
Being my first Android phone, it was the first one I ever rooted on my own. Albeit the first time with some serious hacking on the computer, and the second time using a lot more docile rootkit. Daily tasks included playing Fallout Shelter and downloading magazines and books that weren't on my Nexus 7. It was my daily driver, going to school, work, and everywhere in between. The one thing that both myself and reviewers did not like about this phone was the paltry camera. I know it's been 2 years since I got it, and back then it was fucking incredible, but hindsight is everything, especially in 2 year reviews. The camera sucked. I only realize it now. My Nexus 6, at the end of its two year life cycle, looked like this:
{there seems to have been an emergency.} Obviously, I say end of life cycle because the screen up and decided to crack under the most minute of pressures, leading me to toss it into the for-sale-at-a-high-price BIN on eBay. It sold for $110, which amounts to around $90- after shipping and fees. Towards the end of its days, Shamu was looking alright, running fine, the micro-USB charger working on and off in a variety of different situations despite being aggressively crooked. The front camera entirely exposed, which made for perma non-smudge selfies, if I ever took them.
{in better days with the back camera} The best part of my Nexus 6 experience was the size. I had never had a phone this size, nor one with so many inherent customization options that were plug-and-play. It was a great introduction to Android for an pre iOs 6 user. I shipped out my Nexus 6 on February 5th, 2017. With it, an era has passed. I sit forever on the throne of Android, having owned nothing but iPhones since the 3G {!!!}. I now own a very black, 32GB unlocked Google Pixel XL. Stay tuned for more rantings and ravings on that little number, hopefully before it explodes 2 years from now.
{have a safe journey, my friend} {Want to check out specs on my first Android phone? Check out the legit details at GSM Arena. Like I did, before I bought it. Seriously, GSM Arena is awesome, and they should pay me to say that.}
http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_nexus_6-6604.php
