It is huge. It’s 39 inches. 3840 x 2160. For $373, no complain. Period.

Well, I have to complain. As other reviews mentioned, there are more than a few annoyances. But then, I got used to most of them. Washed out colors, 30 Hz slowness and weird turn on/off behavior… they are okay. After all, I’m a programmer and need only a terminal and browser. I have learned Cmd + Option + 8 is a nice friend whenever I lost my little mouse pointer. I installed ScreenShade for darker brightness. And Slate became a must app. One thing I haven’t figured out is that font size is a little too small, and every time I plug/unplug the monitor I have to change it. It’s not a deal breaker though. Since it’s far from perfect, I’m hesitating to make it as a main monitor with external keyboard at this point. I’d rather staring at super sharp Retina longer although it’s a bit headache to use two monitors.

39-inch works amazingly well when I open a browser with developer tool and a terminal for editing a few files + running tests at the same time. No window switching is just great. Compared to tilted 24-inch, it’s not too tall and comfortable for my neck but I will never need bigger than this without cyborganizing my body.

Overall, I’m satisfied. With my limited budget, I’m not planning to try any $4k 4k monitor. I can’t tell this 39-inch is absolutely better than 27-inch 2560 x 1440 because I don’t think my productivity has been that improved. However, if you spend most of time for coding and stuck in the Mac ecosystem, MacBook Pro + SEIKI 39-inch would be a great budget option. At the end of the day, if you don’t like it, you can use it as a TV.

Right after landing at an airport in your country you’ll probably turn on your smartphone and start texting to family or someone close. When I arrived at Tokyo Narita International Airport, I had no Internet connection just like a visitor even though I entered the country through the “Welcome back” gate. I’ve been fine without phone for the past several visitings, but at the last trip to Japan, I finally got a B-Mobile’s SIM card to get connected.

I chose B-Mobile because I knew its name. Apparently there’s another reseller and it might be a better choice if your stay would be longer than 14 days. B-Mobile’s website looks a little crappy design but they should be reliable enough since they are a public company with 100+ employees. I purchased the 1GB 14 days plan for around 40 USD. You should check your smartphone’s specs carefully if your smartphone supports their network. While Nexus 5 worked well, Moto X for T-Mobile wouldn’t work, for instance. The download speed is fairly fast for messaging and Maps. I even enjoyed a video chat over its 4G LTE. As long as you are busy for being a tourist 1GB for 14 days should be more than enough.

Once you insert the SIM card (glad I didn’t forget a tiny SIM slot opener) it will be activated automatically. Note that if you’re sending the card to someone’s place you should be aware of that 14 days starts from the delivery day. I thought it will count from when I start using it. Other than that, my experience with the card was pretty good. You won’t lose the connection in some subways.

You can use Wifi at the Narita airport and some major JR train stations. Though hitting multiple “I agree” buttons every time you connect is required. Maybe because of some regulations, there are only a few truly free Wifi spots in Japan. Perhaps you’ll see “Wifi available” stickers at some cafes. Unfortunately, you need a certain mobile carrier account which makes no sense to visitors. At this moment, it is worth paying for the SIM card if you are not willing to struggle for complicated train systems and streets.

I bought Nexus 5. A month later, I got Moto X on the Cyber Monday. Since I’ve decided to get out of the comfortable Apple ecosystem, I wanted to have a deep comparison of alternatives. Believe or not, my impressions on the devices were very different from some reviews I’ve read. Overall, it was worth paying for two smartphones.

Why not iPhone

I’ve been a big fan of iPhone 4 since its release day. Retina is still beautiful, but if I look around in San Francisco, everyone has iPhone. That is, a little boring.

Go off-contract

T-Mobile has a great off-contract plan, $30 per month for 100 minutes talk + unlimited data, which allows me to try more than one phone easily. After the comparison, I can sell one of the phones through Craigslist or other websites.

Two smartphones in my hands

It was perhaps one of the nerdiest moments in my life holding two smartphones with a smile. The comparison started right after the nightmare of iPhone 4 + iOS 7; I almost cried out with the speed of Nexus 5. With its super sharp screen, the first impression on Nexus 5 was really great. When I saw few dusts on the brand new Moto X out of the box, I thought the winner is obvious. However, I’m glad I kept using both of them for a while.

Body

Moto X should be the same weight as Nexus 5 as its spec says, but I felt heavier when I grabbed it after a month of use of the Nexus. While Nexus 5 is a bit oversized to me, Moto X’s curved side and a dimple on the back gives my hand a great fit. iPhone 4 looks so small now. Soon after I started using the Moto X, I noticed fingerprints are too clear on the back. Maybe I just got used to it, I feel okay now though. Nexus 5 White, which I own, has quite different texture from Black version, doesn’t get too many fingerprints.

Screen

Nexus 5 has a much sharper screen in my opinion. It reminds me when I got iPhone 4 and stared at the screen with no reason just because it looked so beautiful. Some reviews say they prefer Moto X while the Nexus’s colors look washed out. I feel Moto X’s colors look a bit odd. After a month of use, I don’t terribly care the screen density of Moto X anymore. If I take a look at both of screens side by side, the difference is still clear.

Camera

With the latest KitKat 4.4.2, both of them are capable of taking okay pictures with fairly fast speed. Moto X has an interesting feature that allows you to start its camera app with shaking the device. I use the feature often. Its camera app lets you tap once and done. Focus control is optional. I even googled how to get focus on a certain object. Nexus 5 has a focus icon and shutter separately. Either of Android phones doesn’t give me any impressive pictures which is disappointing and makes me dream of iPhone 5s.

Notifications, home screen and vibration

Moto X notices when I pick it up, then shows its lock screen. This feature is great since I carry it in my pocket and whenever I pickup the phone its already active. When it gets some updates the screen fades in with a summary. This is pretty nice too compared to iPhone’s silent face. On the other hand, Nexus 5 has a tiny light with a few colors which blinks when there’s any notification. I have to press the power button to turn the screen on.

Android allows you to customize its home screen. I ended up with the default after I’ve tried more than a few app launchers. I like Nexus 5’s home over Moto X’s. It has sharper font-face and cleaner interface.

The vibration when you type is another feature that iOS doesn’t have. And Android doesn’t seem to allow to modify it by any third party app. Moto X and Nexus 5 have slightly different vibration, and I like Nexus 5’s better. I can’t explain the difference well. It’s just my preference.

Moto X has a few more cool features, but I don’t really use them.

Saying good-bye to…

From the first impression, I thought I’ll keep Nexus 5. Gorgeous display. Period. But, then, for daily use, Moto X just fits my hand very well. I didn’t know it’s that important. And, the notifications. Well, perhaps most important thing is that none of my friends has the device. Honestly, I’m still hesitating to give any conclusion, yet I would say the winner is Moto X.

Since it’s unique I sometimes put the device back top on the table, though I’m not sure if turquoise and yellow accent was the best choice. The colors you choose on Moto Maker and the real color might look slightly different. I wish I could see and touch all of (or some of) customizations somewhere. I would pay extra $10, maybe.

I bought the Moto X with $150 off, which means it was exactly the same price as Nexus 5. Now, Motorola offers it from $399.99. No big difference anymore.

There are many things that you wouldn’t know until you use it for a day or longer. As a geek, I must admit that I enjoyed this comparison a lot. I chose not-high-end phones at this time. Comparing iPhone 5s, Lumia 1020 or HTC One would be interesting too. So, what’s your choice?