I LOVE HOLDING IT IN MY HAND.

Its edge-to-edge display. The aluminum frame wrapped in two pieces of curved glass. Its almost magical resistance to water. This might be one of the most beautiful mobile devices I've ever held. It's my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and I love it.

The month is July and it's hotter than Hell here in Boston, but I'm staying cool however I can and my Galaxy S7 Edge joins me for most of it. I've taken it kayaking, lake-diving, camping, and yes...in the shower. I'm so impressed by the vivid splendor of the screen, the attention to detail in the build quality, and the wireless charging. But I've always had a wandering eye when it comes to tech and the reviews for Motorola's modular-esque Moto Z are rolling in. The reviews range, it's clear this phone won't be the fabled 'iPhone killer' (because the killer of the iPhone will be time not any one product) but the reviews, the unboxings, the 'road test' videos all have one thing in common - they can't deny that the very concept of this phone is pretty cool.

I've always been a proponent of modularity, of moving toward a single-device lifestyle, and to see a company with a history as rich (if a bit rocky) as Motorola float such a concept on the world market made me very excited. Within days I started to view my S7 Edge as a jilted lover.

I wanted a divorce.

I hated its on screen keys and its botched OS skin-job. I longed for the futuristic promise of the Moto Z, to be able to project movies, to blast some music, to charge up, all with a simple snap. And as fate would have it Best Buy partnered with Verizon to launch the Moto Z 'Droid' for just $1 when pre-ordered on a 2-year contract. So I bought 2 of them and started our new family plan on Verizon.

And after just 10 hours and 2 trips to the same Best Buy store (yes, really) - where teenagers are given 'Expert' nametags and left in the trenches of curmudgeonly Gen-X'ers looking to buy the 'iPhone Nano' - we had our new Moto Z's! We received the JBL Soundboost speaker with our promotion filled purchase and we tried it out when we got home. A couple's bubble bath with the playlist House Relax from Spotify seemed the right first test drive. Simply placing the speaker shell onto the back of the Moto Z and it snapped into place with magnet-aligned accuracy. A bassy 'whoompf' emanated from the device signaling power and it was ready to go. The speaker was loud, full, and pushed crisp rich sound throughout the room. Little did I know in that moment that the JBL Soundboost would become my all-time favorite gadget of the Summer.

Every cocktail party, every camping trip, every night on the beach, every tailgate party - the Moto Z and the JBL Soundboost, with it's snappy little kickstand, became the life of the party. Friends actually seemed grateful when I popped the speaker-shell onto my phone and it was clear I could take their last-minute entertaining up a notch. I was hooked to the Moto Mod ecosystem, a sparce but quality smattering of accessories to the Moto Z. I got the TUMI powerpack backplate and treated the girlfriend to the black and white Kate Spade batterypack, an accessory that she gets compliments on pretty consistently.

NEVER NOT WORKING.

As leaves in the city began to yellow and another crisp New England autumn began to set in, I realized how much I loved this phone. Not just for the novel hardware trick of swapping out the backplate to suit any situation but for the near-stock Android M software experience. Motorola, a recent bastard child of Google, made the wise decision to hold on to it's pure Android heritage without sacrificing the ingenuity of it's internal software team. Moto Gestures, physical actions that act as shortcuts to snap a photo, turn on the flashlight, or mute the device and Moto Voice, the always-on Google-powered voice assistant are some of my favorite features. They are handy, intuitive, and most of all consistent in their behavior. They, like the entire Moto Z, just work - pretty much all the time.

The camera isn't going to win any cinematography awards, and you could make Thanksgiving dinner in the amount of time it takes the phone to boot up, and the built-in battery seems to be plucked from a 1960's hearing-aid, but those things don't bother me. They are good enough, and with an added Mod or two, those slight problem areas don't only get fixed, they get superpowered. All-day battery life or a Hasselblad lens added to my device in a snap. Android N should be here any day now (Right? Hello? Google?) and some added software functionality like split screen productivity and night mode will be great.

Pixelate It.

We're in the thick of Fall now and leaks of Google's first in-house phone the 'Pixel' begin to pepper the internet, A phone rumored to be the fabled 'iPhone killer' (Nope.) Google hosts what was considered my most tech enthusiasts to be it's weirdest low-budget keynote to launch the phone. I've already got a version of the Pixel Launcher, what is supposed to be the exclusive software experience for the new device on my Moto Z and I love it, some UI tweaks, some design refreshes, and a nice advancement to the 'pure Android' experience.

As soon as advertisements started hitting the mass markets on TV and online, the questions started coming. As the de facto technology nerd in my circle, it's not surprising for people to ask my take on the newest piece of tech. Whether they saw it on Snapchat or 60 Minutes really just depends on how many birthdays they've had.

"SO WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT NEW GOOGLE PHONE?"

For those who've asked my thoughts, whether they're seriously considering a swap from their iPhone or they just want to gain some context around what a "Google Phone" is, I tell them all the same thing: Having dug into the Pixel quite a bit now that it's November and the phone is officially on the market, I must admit I was surprised by my reaction. I switch phones like most people switch clothes. I like trying new things, seeing whats out there, and yes - having the latest and greatest new toy. iPhone, Samsung, Huawei, Sprint, Verizon, you name it, I've tried it. And the Moto Z, with it's consistent performance and it's growing ecosystem of accessories that not only push the technological boundaries but solve real-world problems, is my favorite phone to date.

For once I'm not scrambling to get my hands on the shiny new toy. My Moto Z has a few scuffs and maybe a knick or two, but it feels "lived-in", it's getting to that second nature stage, where you really don't need to look at your phone to find the home button or turn down the volume. It works whenever I need it to and it's fun and functional accessory ecosystem feeds my gadget-hungry habit enough to sate my appetite.

WIll I have this phone for two years? A concept that seems totally normal to most people and one trillion percent insane to me, I don't know. I can't even commit to a mattress for that amount of time let alone a smartphone, but if Motorola and it's partners are willing to give it their all with timely software updates and new and innovative Moto Mod accessories, then so am I.