18-07-25 Wednesday - Huawei Y7

So TW’s phone contract expired a few days ago and she popped into Tesco at the weekend to select a new phone. Everyone likes a new electronic toy from time to time. Before we went in, I was leaning towards suggesting the Moto G6 Play. It has a big screen and is cheap on a 24-month contract. I like a cheap phone, they tend to do most of the same things as expensive phones, but maybe not quite in such a flashy (I.e. quick) manner. The saleswoman recommended the Huawei Y7, she said it was quick and the camera was good. I’d had a P9 Lite, so I was happy with that as a recommendation, and TW took it.  

We picked the phone up on Sunday, and by Sunday evening TW was already complaining about the responsiveness (or lack thereof) of the phone, and the fact that the screen was dim and the camera was not good. To be honest, I wasn’t surprised. The Y7 had to be at least one step down from the P series, and although the screen was big, the phone didn’t look good. She was advised that she had 14 days to return it in case of dissatisfaction, and so she took them up on that offer. On Tuesday she took it back to Tesco and exchanged it for a Samsung A6. All credit to Tesco, they honoured their end of the bargain, they exchanged it without any fuss. Although the phone is slightly smaller and slightly more expensive per month, TW is happy. And in fairness the A6 performs better than the Y7. So there’s a tale for you; make sure you know what you’re getting in your next phone, and if you can, make sure you’ve got the option to swap it if you’re not happy with it.  

TTFN. 

Thursday 18-01-08 I A New Phone

I bought a new phone last Friday.

I had been looking at the Honor 7x, tempted by its big 5.93” screen. The only concerns were that it didn’t have fast charging (USB-C) or NFC, so I wouldn’t be able to use Android Pay. In 2018, even for phones less than £300, I don’t think those sort of things should be missing from a phone. I was looking on GSM Arena for other phones which met my criteria (USB-C, screen 5.5” or bigger, NFC, a few other things), and up popped the HTC U Ultra.

I followed the link to HTC UK’s website and saw that it was available for £279. Considering that the Honor 7x is £269, it was definitely a possible. I checked Carphone Warehouse and it was available there for £419. It was a steal, basically, especially when you throw into the mix the fact that when it was first released, HTC were asking £649 for the handset.

My only concern is that the battery is only 3,000 MaH on this beast. But with the fast charge option, it should be easy to keep it topped up. I’ll need to buy a couple of additional USB-C cables I think, but that won’t be too difficult.

I ordered the phone anyway, last Friday. I received an acknowledgement of my order, but didn’t hear anything else, until Monday when I received an email notifying me that the phone would be delivered on Tuesday. And so it turned out – luckily TW was at home to sign for the bugger. And I had to wait until the evening before I got to play with my new toy.

I do like it. I may have to charge it more often than I would normally like, and maybe a larger battery will be one of my prerequisites next time. But for now, and for less than £300, it is fast, the camera is good, and apps aren't randomly closed because the phone "thinks it knows best". And with fast charging available, I shouldn't have to spend hours charging it either.

I may revisit this in a couple of months, and see how I feel then. But for now, I'm quite happy with my new purchase.

TTFN.

Friday 16-10-28 Farewell then, Oneplus One

Last Wednesday I dropped and smashed my phone, my Oneplus One. I'd had it for over two years, so I think I got enough usage out of it. I was walking briskly to get up to the Station to catch a train, while at the same time trying to insert my headphones into the headphone jack, when suddenly my phone wasn't in my hand any more, but was face down on the pavement. So despite being in a case, that didn't prevent damage to the screen and the digitizer.

I was in a hurry because the RMT were striking, and the trains were less frequent than normal. Southern were able to run about 60% of their trains, so I wasn't worried about getting home, I just wanted to be on a relatively uncrowded train. So I blame Southern and the RMT for my loss.
I bought the phone outright in August 2014 and it's been the best phone I've ever had, unsurprisingly. It had a 5.5" screen and an 801 processor, as well as 64gb of storage. I kept it updated with CyanogenMod nightlies, which satisfied my need to be as up to date as possible, and it was running Marshmallow when the screen broke. I had been running CM on my HTC One X before I bought it, so the idea of buying a phone running Cyanogen out of the box was very appealing.
I was in a bit of a quandary after I dropped it, as it seems to be okay apart from the screen. So if I could get that repaired at a reasonable price, I could have carried on with it for another year I reckon. But Oneplus themselves quoted me between 80 - 100 Euros and firms up in London would have charged £99. Then there was the worry about not knowing whether those firms were reputable and if I sent it back to China for repair, how long would that take? So I bought a replacement, a Huawei P9 Lite for £199 (with a £10 SIM) from O2. They did have a Oneplus Three in stock, and I was tempted to buy that, but the price difference (the OP3 was £336) was too great.
The P9 Lite is a smart little phone, it has a 5.2" screen and only 16gb of onboard memory, which is expandable with a micro SD card. I did buy an SD card but unfortunately it wasn't "micro" - d'oh! Never mind, though, that can sit in the chromebook. I'll know next time to make sure I buy the right sized memory card. I'm very impressed by the camera on the P9, the pictures don't pixellate when you zoom in on pics you've taken, which is nice.  And it's got a fingerprint sensor, which I've become used to very quickly. The two things which are missing that I wanted in my next phone are fast charge and a USB-C connector. But I think I will be able to live without.
So the OPO is now sitting on eBay. Currently there is a bid of £36.02 on it but there are 12 watchers so I am hoping it will go for a bit more than that. If someone is able to get a screen / digitizer repair kit, and they have the patience and skill to replace the screen themselves, then they should be able to get themselves a powerful phone for about £100; they'll be happy and I'll make a bit and be happy too - that'll help pay for the P9 :-) .
TTFN.

Ladies and Gentlemen, my new phone...

I am taken by the specs and the low, low cost. Apparently this bad boy comes with a Snapdragon 801 processor (I'm not so worried about that, my current HOX is fast enough), a 5.5 inch screen, with some kind of power-saving technique which means it draws as much power as a 5" screen, and a 3100 mAh battery. And it's 4G. Excellent.

Except...

It's not 64-bit. I was listening to Android Central's podcast the other day and they mentioned the move to 64-bit is gathering momentum. Not that I really understand the difference between 32- and 64-bit; I need to look it up again. But they were talking about a possible future where the apps / OS were written for 64-bit and the 32-bit solution was a half-baked, cobbled together afterthought. Having said that, though, 64-bit processors for Android won't be available until 2015, so I'd get at least 6 months with what is apparently the best processor in the market at the moment. And what will this bad boy cost, I hear you ask?

£269.

You read it right, people. £269. I don't have it in my hand yet, and I haven't told my wife, but the 64gb version is going to be my next acquisition.

There's a bit of controversy around the way this phone has been promoted. Firstly, the company have claimed they are a start-up. Oneplus was started by a VP who left Oppo, and wanted to have a company with a different philosophy. Both Oppo and Oneplus have Oppo HQ as stakeholders, but apparently they are different firms.
Secondly, they encouraged people who wanted a One to smash their current flagship phone. They were running a comp to identify 100 people who would be able to buy the phone for $1. They will also be given three invitations to buy a phone which they can give to their friends. And then those folks, when they buy their phone, might also get invitations which they can hand on...
Thirdly, the invitation set-up is rubbing some people up the wrong way. Some people reckon they should just take pre-orders like everybody else. But at least people are talking about it.

Either way, none of those things bother me. This is a phone I'm planning to keep for at least two years. I can hold on for another month or two before ordering, and the specs look good enough at a reasonable enough price, that every time I look at it or use it, I will probably be reminded of what a bargain it was (will be).

Once I get my sticky mitts on this lovely beast I'll update here. I hope to have a glowing report. :)