I was sitting in a motel watching the World Series, when I heard Stephen Hawking telling me to buy a Pixel 4[1].
That could be the beginning of a drug-fueled picaresque novel, but our power had been cut out, we had to move out of the house, and I wanted the Washington Nationals to win, and here was a Pixel ad[2] interrupting.
The ad was charming in its way. With Hawking's voiceover, it reminded us to look up at the stars and take pictures with the Pixel 4's Night Sight.
Yet using Hawking's uplifting tones to sell what really is just a feature update seemed an overly grandiose way of selling Google's latest phone.
I'd read somewhat lukewarm reviews of the phone. "Perfectly disappointing," my colleague Jason Cipriani described it[3].
What could I do, then, but take a look at it myself and see how carrier stores were presenting it?
I drifted to a Verizon store in the hope of being astronomically inspired.
I was immediately greeted by a kindly-looking salesman who, when I told him I'd like to peruse a Pixel 4, walked me to the back of the store.
This was poignant, as with previous Pixels that were exclusive to Verizon the displays had been right by the door.
Still, this salesman -- I'm sorry, solutions specialist -- was a Pixel enthusiast.
"I've got the Pixel 3," he said. "And I love it."
He showed me his Pixel 3 XL and it did, indeed, look like it had enjoyed considerable use.
"Why do you love it?" I asked.
"Because it's pure Android. When Samsung takes Android, it puts its own layer over it so that it feels more