TechTalk: Back to the BlackBerry - BlackBerry Priv First Impressions

I used to be a BlackBerry fan, but I'm ashamed to say that I jumped ship on them just before the rest of the world did. Despite using three of their devices in a row, Google's Android held a lot of my OS envy, and in 2011, I purchased the absolutely awesome Xiaomi Mi 2. Despite holding up incredibly well to three years of stress, daily use and damn near torture from me, it's beginning to slow down somewhat. In the spirit of keeping up with the latest tech trends, and under the influence of nostalgia, its replacement will be the BlackBerry Priv!

The BlackBerry Priv is refreshing for two reasons - firstly, it is a candybar phone with a slide-out keyboard [perfect for an oaf like me, who hasn't yet fully managed to become an expert user of touch-screen keyboards], and secondly, it's BlackBerry's first phone to run Android. Blackberry's clear wish with this device is to offer the versatility, functionality, and popularity of Android, combined with the legendary level of security that the Candian phonemakers were infamous [or famous?] for in the past.

First Impressions

The device is very well packaged, as pretty much all phones are these days. It was a surprise to me that the box didn't say BlackBerry in bigger writing towards the top of it, and chose to stick with just the device model and its tagline.
Upon opening the box, I was struck by the size of the phone. Coming from what felt like a 4.3 inch-displayed minnow, the 5.4 inch Priv looked gargantuan, and it's clear that, while this screen will be an utter joy to view things on, one-handed usage of the device will most likely be an issue. The screen is also beautifully curved, almost akin to the Samsung Galaxy Edge. The glass itself is Corning Gorilla Glass 4, and has survived a few days in my pocket with my keys.



On the right hand side of the device are three silver buttons that aren't overly-tactile, but stick out from the body of the phone just enough to be felt without too much probing. These are the volume buttons and a quick-mute button.

The left side of the phone features the lock-button.

The top of the phone features the SIM card and MicroSD [yes! That's right! Expandable storage!] slots, which both require the use of a SIM tool to be opened. The phone also utilises a nano-SIM, so those of you [like me] using the dinosaur that is a full-sized SIM will need to have a pair of scissors handy. A noise-cancelling microphone also lives here.

The bottom of the phone includes the 3.5mm headphone jack and a place to connect a Micro-USB cable, either for charging or for USB-MHL purposes. The BlackBerry Priv does support quick-charging, but a suitable cable for this is not provided with the device.

The back of the device contains the 18 megapixel Schneider-Kreuznach camera and dual LED flash. On first use [and before updating the camera app], the camera seemed absolutely painfully slow. In a world where most phones are happy to capture a snap in a fraction of a second, the Priv's apparent reluctance to take a quick photo does grate on the nerves a tad, but has improved since the update!

The speaker grille is on the front of the device - no stereo sound here, folks! Above this is a small metallic ridge. Push this up, and hey presto! You now have a phone with a physical keyboard.

Hang on... this all feels very... familiar...

For some, this may be a veyr strong reminder of BlackBerry's last foray into creating a device with a slide out keyboard: the BlackBerry Torch 9800.
As a former owner of the Torch, I surely hope that the Priv lives a longer and slightly better life. After just a few days, the Torch developed strange rattles, squeaks and general idiosyncracies, and in just over a year it died a very quick death. Here's to hoping that the Priv, which is clearly priced and created to be a 'premium' device, is much more reliable.

Running The Device In...

In recent years, BlackBerry have been a major partner of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team, and much like a Formula One car, the Priv requires a bit of 'running in', and doesn't function completely perfectly out of the box. In the first few days [especially while you're setting everything up and making it the device you need it to be], battery life leaves a lot to be desired, and with the heat that the device emits, it also functions as a neat handwarmer, as the 64-bit, hexa-core, Snapdragon 808 processor fires up and finds its feet.

However, after the first couple of days ended, battery life looks like it's on the way up, and the phone only heats up with excessive screen-on time, or intensive use.



So, after a week with the phone, things look initially positive. Stay tuned to see my full review, when I've used the BlackBerry Priv as my daily driver for a few weeks!
In the mean time, the BlackBerry appears keen to prove that it can put the "smart" into smartphone:

I have had some doubts about the #BlackBerry #Priv, but credit where credit's due: It's definitely intelligent...! #smartphones #android #calculator #maths #maffs #slowclapA photo posted by @amruth92 on Dec 7, 2015 at 10:12am PST

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Long Term Review: Clamcase Pro for iPad Air

Those who have read some of my previous work know that I've not always been a huge admirer of Apple. While their products have always been incredibly beautifully designed, I've always found them to be quite restrictive.

Last year, however, my Asus Transformer TF101 gave up the ghost, and I was rendered tablet-less for weeks on end. Oh, the horror! In the spirit of the holiday season (it was about December), I decided to bury the hatchet and buy the iPad Air, the first tablet in the world to have a 64-bit chip, allowing for faster processing speeds.

I'll admit it here and now: I immediately fell in love with my iDevice. Sure, iOS is a little more constrictive, but the apps are beautiful, the iPad itself is light, and it functions without a hitch. The only problem I had was that there was no keyboard. Armed with a leather multi-angled stand / cover, I was able to type pretty quick and coherent messages, but always missed the tactile experience of a proper keyboard.

Enter the Clamcase Pro - a BlueTooth keyboard case, designed specifically for the iPad Air. With its Macbook-esque looks, chiclet keyboard, and a hinge that's as flexible as an Olympic gymnast, it looked like the perfect choice for someone who was quickly and deeply falling in love with the iDevice aesthetic.

First Impressions

It's obvious, from the get go, that the Clamcase Pro was designed to fit the iPad Air like a glove. Not only are there cut outs for the rear camera and clicky buttons for the volume rocker, but there are also tiny little holes that match the speaker grill on the iPad precisely and perfectly. 

In fact, the Clamcase looks so embedded in the Apple 'ecosystem', that the hole for the headphone jack doesn't accommodate headphone cables that are bigger than those on Apple's own earphones! This has been met with consternation by several buyers, several of whom [including me] have ended up resorting to DIY tactics to ensure other headphones will fit.

There is one 'switch' on the device itself, and it's a tiny, sliding button that turns the keyboard on or off. 

The device is easy to pair, and the end-to-end process takes under 10 seconds, and the keyboard is lightening fast. It automatically shuts off after a extended periods of non-use, and will wake automatically if keys are pressed. The keyboard also turns off if the hinge is bent back at an angle past that of a typical 'laptop' angle, so it can be used as a media stand.

Looks beautiful? Check.
Functional? Check.
Practical? Check.

But how does it fare against the sands of time?

One Year On...

They say that beauty doesn't last forever. That statement holds especially true for the Clamcase, unfortunately, despite it being just over a year old.

Some of its imperfections were planned and caused by necessity. As a result of the headphone jack issue, my Clamcase's headphone jack has been crudely widened - but squint a bit, or look at it from afar, and you won't tell that it's a hasty, home rectification.

However, other parts of the device have sprouted very strange cracks - both on the 'inside' and 'outside' of the case. Whilst the case remains structurally intact when the hinge is bent at 90 degrees or less, bending it further means that the case opens up, and the iPad springs free. The interior aluminium-esque trim of the keyboard is coming off of the base of the keyboard, despite the case not being dropped or manhandled in any way. 

The cracks appeared superficial at first, but then began to appear right through the case, and required hasty and rather ugly mending with epoxy putty [which, again, doesn't appear too bad if you squint] and duct tape [which looks horrendous even if you close your eyes].

Thankfully, however, despite the strange signs of battering and bruising that the Clamcase exhibits, it still functions almost perfectly. The keyboard is a joy to type on, the function keys on the top row are a blessing for quick access to certain features, and the multi-functional hinge is still incredibly versatile [when the case isn't spitting your iPad out as you use it].

So, the bottom line is that, if you're buying this case to appease people who look at you as you use it [and, let's be completely honest here, isn't that half the reason for buying a device and accessories that look so good?], you'll be disappointed [and disappointing them!] after a year. But if you prefer function over fashion, this is a great keyboard, and can inspire and augment productivity on the go.

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TechTalk: Minix Neo X7 Part 1: Unboxing/Intro

For a few years, I've been highly critical of the programming that's available on TV. It appears that every channel appears to be completely full of poorly-written and shoddily-acted crap that people would only want to watch if they had scraped the bottom of the barrel in terms of boredom or procrastination. Given that I'm now in a new job with unpredictable hours, I'm hardly home to watch shows that I would actually want to see.

In order to get over these problems, most people have taken to buying smart TVs. These have shot down in price tremendously since first bursting onto the scene and are often ram-packed with apps to grant people access to Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and other on-demand services. Our Samsung TV, however, appears to be the most reliable item that my family has ever owned, and so we're not in the market for a shiny, bright, and exciting new television.

So, I've decided to solve these problems in my own inimitable style. Readers of my blog will know that I'm a big fan of gadgets from China [with purchases including the Xiaomi Mi2 smartphone, and a recent Ohsen 'dual-display' watch], and it appears that the new hit devices to head this way are Android TV boxes, which, essentially, make any TV 'smart', and also allow endless customisation. After months of browsing specs and checking out endless Chinese wholesale stores, I finally settled on the Minix Neo X7.

Why the Neo X7?

The Minix Neo X7 runs Android, the same Google-developed operating system that powers millions of smartphones and tablets around the globe. Having owned other Android devices in the past, I'm familiar with the system and interface, and know what I'd be up against. Android, in my mind, is quite a lot less 'restrictive' than Apple TV, and allows for a bit more tinkering.

What's on the outside?

The box is quite easy on the eye and has an aesthetic similar to Apple TV - though the platypus-tail shaped [and optional] WiFi antenna does turn it into a slight eyesore. 

Ports on the device include an HDMI [duh, how else would anyone connect it to their TVs?], an optical audio out port, three USB ports for connecting hard-drives or pen drives, an ethernet port to connect the device to your network using a network cable [or use the device as a router], a 3.5mm headphone jack, a 3.5mm mic jack, and an SD card slot. Phew! 

What's on the inside?

The Neo X7 sports a quad-core GPU, a quad-core processor, two gigabytes of RAM, 16GB of NAND Flash.

What else do you get in the box?

Packaged with the TV box comes an adaptor to power the device, an HDMI cable to connect the box to your HD TV, and a tiny remote to control the device.

Installation

All in all, installation is pretty simple. All you have to do is plug the HDMI cable into TV box and your TV, plug the adaptor into a power socket and into the socket on the box, turn the box on, and follow the instructions and prompts on your TV.

Stay tuned for my full review, where I'll explore the functions of the device and how well it actually works.

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TechTalk: Barnes and Noble Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight - FullReview

A bit of background...

[If you've read my unboxing post, you can probably skip this bit]

Because I've got a new [actually, it's not so new anymore] job in the city*, I've got to take the tube to work. I've decided that I want to get back into reading, and because most of my commutes look a lot

like this - with people violating your human rights on several counts, whilst also kneeing and elbowing you in body parts that you never knew you had - I thought it would be best to get an e-reader. Until now, I made do with reading "real" books [you know... those things with that stuff in them... what's it called again? YES! That's it! Paper!], and my trusty old Asus Transformer TF101 tablet [which is currently about as slow as an old goat, and about as attractive as one, too].

Given that reading with two hands is definitely not an option on the tube [because you don't want to let go of the rail and accidentally touch someone as you fall flat on your face, because you'd then have to verbally apologise to them, and that could cause a whole host of other complications], normal books and my tablet had to go, unfortunately, and have been replaced by this, my new Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight:

I covered most of the specs and start-up process of the device in my unboxing post, so I'll just go straight ahead and dive right into the review.

The review

The Outside

In terms of aesthetics, the nook is quite pleasing. Its rounded corners and rubberised, 'soft-touch' finish make it a pleasure to hold. The device is quite sleek and can be slipped neatly into a bag or backpack, and the four 'clipholes' [for want of a better word] around the device mean that it can be customised with a whole host of covers and accessories. These are accessories that you may wish to invest in - while the unit does feel solid and doesn't feel like it'd need too much protection, the back of it is a finger-print magnet, and requires a lot of wiping down.

The power button on the back of the unit, whilst being quite firm to start with, does loosen up after a while - but sadly, this means that it develops quite a bad rattle, which could potentially be quite annoying if you plan on travelling with the Nook Simple Touch a lot. The multi-functional 'n' button on the front works well [no rattles here], as do the page turn buttons, which function well on both sides, but take a little time to get used to. Other than these buttons, the device is quite minimalist - no funky d-pads or QWERTY keyboards that can be seen on other readers - just 6 buttons, a touch screen, and a micro USB port.

Having travelled with the device to work for around a month, I've sadly come to the conclusion that I must be the only person in the city of London to own any variant of the Nook Simple Touch. Anywhere you go, you realised that you've just backed the underdog in the e-reader world. Every single book-reading Londoner appears to own a variant of the Amazon Kindle. Don't let this put you off, though - throughout my time with the Nook, I've not had a single pang of jealousy for those who are Kindled up to the nines, no siree.

What does it do?

Well, it allows you to read.

That's it?

Yes, that's it. Unlike other e-readers on the market [namely, ironically, the un-named ones from China], this e-reader does not come with the full shebang, the full monty, or all the bells and whistles. There is no 3.5mm headphone jack for you to play music and listen to your books being read back to you. There is no secret button for you to enjoy a game of pac-man. There is no stock web-browser. 

This device is just an e-reader. I, personally, am more than happy with that. I've got an iPod and a Xiaomi Mi2 mobile phone, so I don't need yet another device that does absolutely everything - I'd rather have a device that allows me to read books, magazines, and the occasional PDF file, and be able to read well.

How do I get books onto it?

There are two ways. Firstly, and arguably the easiest, is to just hook up the Nook to your PC with the provided micro-USB cable and drag and drop books [in ePub or PDF format] to the 'books' folder. Simples. 

Secondly, if you sign up for a Nook account [which you'll be asked to do when you first boot up the device], you can browse the Nook bookstore, either on your PC or the Simple Touch itself, and choose any book you'd like to read and have it delivered to your device over your WiFi connection. Pretty snazzy, huh?

ePub books work incredibly well on the device, though the way it handles PDF files leaves a lot to be desired, with pages rendering slower than a narcoleptic snail. If you tend to use PDFs more than ePubs, I would recommend using a tablet or netbook device.

Battery life

Having never owned an e-reader before, I'm not really sure how to feel about the battery life on the device I've used. People have remarked that e-readers have incredibly long battery lives, and given that they only use power when refreshing the screen, using/searching for WiFi, or having the GlowLight on, one charge is meant to last over two months.

Sadly, in my personal experience, I've not seen evidence of this gargantuan battery life. One charge, for me, would last around a week and a half with the WiFi off, the GlowLight only being used for about an hour in total, and reading for about 2 and a half hours each day. 

Thankfully, though, I've found that if you give the Nook an extended period of rest [and by that I'm admitting that I got tired of reading for a while and I didn't touch the device for two whole weeks], it automatically powers down. This is quite pleasant - until you boot it up again and realise that it's deleted all of the bookmarks and saved passages that you had in your books, meaning that you might as well start reading your current novel from the beginning because you can't remember exactly where you were. 

The screen

The 6 inch screen on the Nook Simple Touch is a pleasure to read off. One of the reasons I decided to say goodbye to my tablet as an e-reader was that I couldn't handle the eyestrain of reading books on its backlit LED screen for hours and hours on end. The Nook's e-ink screen is easy on the eyes, and the adjustable GlowLight is fantastic for reading at night.

While text is crisp and clear to start with, this gets tarnished somewhat by 'ghosting' that occurs when you turn the page. The Nook, by default, is set so it only refreshes the entire screen after you turn six pages, meaning that you avoid the black-and-white flash of a full-page refresh occurring every page whilst also saving battery power. This means that in some cases, words from previous pages are left behind on the screen faintly - this doesn't cause much of a distraction, and can always be reduced by adjusting the number of pages between a full-page refresh.

The device has a touch screen [hence the name Simple Touch]. This makes use of a bunch of infrared beams being shot across the surface of the screen to pinpoint where your finger actually is. While the screen is incredibly responsive - typing on the keyboard screens that come up is actually a joy on this device - it can sometimes be a bit too sensitive - brush up against the device with a different part of your body as you hold it and you'll end up being accidentally moved 200 pages further in your book.

As I mentioned briefly in the unboxing post, the screen itself feels a bit like the textured paper in a book, in a weird way. If you decide to move pages on the device by swiping left and right instead of using the buttons, you can almost trick yourself into believing that you're reading a proper book.

The big change that differentiates the Nook Simple Touch from the Nook Simple Touch With GlowLight is the fact that the user can power on a strip of LEDs on the device that will spread light across the screen. While this is a great feature for those who enjoy reading at night or in dark environments, the execution could be improved somewhat - tilt the device away from you, and you can clearly see the strip of LEDs and the green tinge of the circuit board they're attached to. This hasn't been much of an annoyance to me, but if you're one to nit-pick, the Amazon Kindle may be a better device for you as "all the small things" have been executed to a slightly higher standard.

The system

The operating system that the Nook Simple Touch runs is... [wait for it]... Android. Even though, out of the box, it has limited functionality when compared to smartphones and tablets running the same type of OS, it can be rooted and modded to your satisfaction - so if just reading isn't enough for you, you can tinker to your heart's content. [I use the device as an e-reader only and have not done this, though you can find tutorials online. Of course, do this at your own risk!]

The stock system and software on the Simple Touch is responsive and functions surprisingly well for something running on an e-ink screen. Customisation features allow you to change the font, font size, line spacing, and margins within any particular book, which ensures that this device could be perfect for both young 'uns and more mature people in your life. 

By hooking the device up to a PC and dragging a few images over to the ___ folder, you can change the screensaver images that appear whenever you hit the lock button on the device. If you upload more than one image, these will cycle through in order. 

To sum up

All in all, the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight is a nifty little device. Stylish, light, and compact, it's the perfect device for reading books on the move. However, with prices in the UK starting at around £30, it may be a bit pricey for a device that, essentially, is a bit of a one-trick-pony. That being said, if you're a hardcore reader, I wholeheartedly recommend this device. It's simple to use, portable, and tech-lovers can have fun rooting and modding away.

Pros:

- Customisation options mean that the device can be used by anyone

- The device is small and light, perfect for reading on the move.

- The GlowLight is a handy addition and is great for reading at night without glare or eyestrain.

- The touchscreen is a joy to use and the system is incredibly responsive.

Cons:

- Books lose all bookmarks and reset to the first page when the battery dies or goes to 'sleep' after an extended period of non-use [though this may just be a problem with my particular device!]

- PDFs are about as useful as a chocolate ashtray on the Simple Touch

- Build quality could be improved, but I didn't find this to be too much of an issue. If you are concerned about your device, a whole host of covers and accessories are available.

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TechTalk: Barnes and Noble Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight - Part One - Unboxing

Recently, I've taken up a new job in the city of London. As I live in the outskirts of London [so far north west, in fact, that they forgot to give my town a north-west postcode], this means that every day involves a 40-60 minute commute on the tube. As a result of the official rules of the Underground, whereby I can't look anyone in the eye, say anything out loud, or make any discernible or communicative facial expression whatsoever, this means that my brain pretty much switches off for around an hour every day - not so useful when you're in a job that expects you [to at least attempt] to be 'on it' from the word go.

Up until now, I've been reading books on my tablet, a three year old Asus Transformer TF101. Admittedly, it's been fantastic - it handles PDF files [such as magazines and journal articles] perfectly, and hasn't been too shabby at letting me read ePub books, either, having been my reader of choice for books such as One Day, and The Mechanic's Tale. Sadly, the tablet's starting to get a bit slow, and it's not exactly perfect for reading with on a tube packed with morning or evening commuters - turning the 'page' requires two hands [so you can't turn the page and hold onto the train at the same time if you're standing] or one hand and a nose [but I don't want to look that insane], and the tablet's a bit heavy to continuously hold for 30-40 minutes non-stop.  At the same time, reading for long periods of time can be a bit of an eyesore with a tablet.

As a result, I've now decided to become one of "them". That's right, I'm now one of those seasoned, hard-core commuters who know exactly where their oyster cards are at every moment of the day, know exactly which carriage to be on to get off as quickly as possible at their departure station, and carry an e-reader. My e-reader of choice is the Barnes and Noble Simple Touch, given that I was able to purchase one on eBay for around £40. I opted for a model with the GlowLight, so I could read in the dark without spending even more money on clip-on lights and other accessories.

Unboxing

The Nook Simple Touch is packaged stylishly in a two-part box, which slides out of a branded cardboard piece, fully loaded with information about the device, and reviews of the device - much like real books. 

The box contains the actual e-reader in one section, and the micro-USB cable, charging brick, and other gubbins in the bottom section. The device itself was packed up well in soft, foamy material, but the charging pieces were only protected with cardboard.

Getting started was pretty easy, and was achieved by pressing the power button on the back of the unit for a couple of seconds.

The front of the device features a 6 inch touch screen [that actually feels a bit like textured paper when you rub your finger over it], with an almost rubberized bezel that allows you to grip the unit well. The Simple Touch with GlowLight has a silver trim, making it look slightly different from the 'bog standard' [yes, that is a technical term] Simple Touch, which has a black trim. There are 'page turn' buttons on both sides of the screen - this means that it's easy to operate the device with just one hand, but these buttons are a little bit fiddly. The 'n' logo on the front pretty much does what you'd expect it to - wake the device up, enter menus, activate the glowlight, etc.

The bottom of the device features a Micro-USB port, allowing you to charge the device and connect it to your computer.

The back of the device has a power button that also doubles as a lock and 'wake' button, and an imprinted Nook logo.

Start-up and Setup

The setup of the device is quick and easy. Being a simple e-reader, it's not the most customisable set-up there is - but you wouldn't expect it to be. When you first boot up the device, you can select the language you'd like menus to be presented in, set up the WiFi [which will allow you to access the Barnes and Noble store to download new books - if you don't want to sideload PDFs or ePubs, that is], and test out the GlowLight. 

In general, booting up the device does tend to take a while,  but as e-readers only tend to use battery power when the WiFi is on, reading light is on, or page is refreshing, most people are content with leaving their e-readers with the screensaver on, rather than completely powering down the device.

Conclusions

My first impressions of this device are quite positive - it looks good, and it appears to function well. The GlowLight is incredibly easy to use, and the text looks quite sharp. But will it stand the test of time? Keep an eye out for my full review for details!

Gallery

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TechTalk: Xiaomi M2/Mi2 Full Review

After unboxing my Xiaomi M2 a while ago, and after having a few weeks to play around with it and use it as my daily driver, I’m finally able to compile a review of this quad-core beast.

The outside /  device tour

Firstly, before I show you around the operating system and software on the phone, let's concentrate on the outside of the phone. It's the first thing you see when you open the box, and the thing that'll probably be the element that you attempt to attract your friends with.

Here's the front of the phone: it features a 4.3 inch IPS, 'retina' display. Just below it are capacitive touch buttons, used to perform the stock Android features: menu, back, and home. These touch buttons are covered with some sort of silver film [underneath the screen], so they're reflective in the light, but don't light up in the dark. If you're looking for a phone that you can use very well in the dark, this might not be it [though, if you've got a lock-screen like I have (which you'll see later), you'll be able to use it as a reference point as to where the buttons are]. Just underneath the home button is a small LED light which you can use to alert you of different notifications.

Just above the screen are the Xiaomi logo [on the left hand side], light and proximity sensors [next to the logo], the earpiece that you hear calls through [just next to and above the sensors], and the 2.1 megapixel front facing camera [on the right hand side].

Here's the right hand side of the phone:

Those two silver things are the power button [smaller sliver thing] and volume rocker [longer silver thing]. When the phone is off, pressing a combination of these can be used to boot the phone into recovery mode. When the phone is on, the power button can be used to either lock or power-off the phone, and the volume rocker can [obviously] be used to control the volume. Pressing power + volume down will also take a screenshot, which is a handy little feature. I first thought that the power button was in a great place, but if you put a cover on the phone, it becomes a bit difficult to find, so covers with cut-outs for the buttons are a must!

The top of the phone features a 3.5mm headphone jack, and nothing else [and I figured you didn't need a picture of a 3.5mm hole in a bit of plastic].

The left side of the phone has no buttons or particularly distinguishing features.

The bottom of the phone features a micro-usb socket [which can be used to charge the phone, used with an MHL cable to connect to an HD TV, used with a USB OTG cable to connect pen-drives and other removable storage, or used to connect the phone to the PC], a small mic [used when you're in a phone call], and a small lanyard hole [just in case you want to attach a wrist strap, or a neck strap. Though at 145 grams, you might want to just stick with it being in your pocket].

The back of the phone features a very shiny Xiaomi logo at the bottom of it, with the URL of Xiaomi's website underneath it [I'm not personally sure how I feel about a URL being on the product. I'm sure 'Xiaomi' would have been enough]. Near the top you can see the rear speaker grille [used when you divert calls to loudspeaker, or listen to music or the FM Radio out loud], the 8 mega-pixel rear-facing camera,  an LED flash, and a rear-facing mic in order to make the most of the phone's EarSmart technology [which cuts down on the amount of background noise heard during a call]. 

Now we've had a look round the outside of the phone, let's take the back cover off. Taking the cover off is quite a job in itself. Much like the Nokia phones of old, there's no fancy latch mechanism or ergonomic way of opening this device; the only thing you can do is attempt to get your nail in in the crack [whoah, innuendo city], and gently prise it open. I've decided to shoot a short video of me getting the back open. This is about the third or fourth time I've done it, and it gets easier every time, but you probably won't be able to do it with freshly-cut nails. Note that the volume and power buttons are built into the back case - this is a fantastic piece of design, and means that if you're having any trouble with them, you can just replace them by buying another case. 

[N.B. Ignore the product placement for a brand of masala tea in the background. It didn't taste that great.]

Once you get the back open, however, you can get access to the big, bright, orange, 2000mAh battery [just in case the phone completely freezes and you need a way of restarting it], and the SIM card [this phone takes the normal size of SIM, and not a micro-SIM].

Key dimension specs:

126 x 62 x 10.2mm [4.96 x 2.44 x 0.40 inches]

Overall:

Some videos tend to make the phone look rather cheap, and the plastic back doesn't tend to look very photogenic. Hold it in your hand, however, and the phone seems to be built very well. There are no rattles [as of yet], and everything seems to be very solidly and tightly packaged. The phone has a decent weight to it, and feels as it is of premium quality.

The software and operating system / how it functions

Boot up and smoothness

So that's most of the hardware and the 'outers' dealt with. Let's take a look at the software.

As I said in my unboxing post, this is definitely a complete beast of a phone, which can be put down to the quad-core CPU, and the incredibly smoothness of the MIUI operating system. Even flicking around the home-screens is a joy on this device - everything seems to flow incredibly well.

If you're a business user, you'll probably want a phone that starts up quickly, just so you can get straight back to checking your emails as soon as you've left your latest meeting and turned your phone back on. Here's a video of the bootup process and times that you'll be expecting, and a video of me flicking around the home-screens for the fun of it [have I mentioned how much of a joy that is!?]: 

Of course, boot is not instantaneous by any means, and there are other phones out there that could completely blitz this one in terms of boot time. But if you're coming from a relatively old BlackBerry curve, you'll be happy that you won't have to turn this phone on roughly a day before you actually need to use it [N.B. I've got nothing against BlackBerrys... I love them -  but the boot process was incredibly slow and frustrating. I am, however, excited for BlackBerry 10 - but that's another story for another day]. 

As a result of the power of the phone, it runs games like Dead Trigger, Riptide GP, Temple Run, and Zombie Highway without fault.

Apps and games - this phone runs them all without a hitch.

Screen

The screen is very light and bright. Colours pop and are extremely vivid, and text comes across as being incredibly sharp. The only issue with the screen, however, is the brightness. While the screen does look fantastic when the brightness is pushed up to the max, it is a serious drain on battery-life, especially if you're using it often. Switch on the auto-brightness feature to save a bit of battery, and the screen develops a slight flicker, and is quite slow to respond to high-light conditions, meaning that you can't really see much until it adjusts. 

MIUI features

The reading feature in action

MIUI [the tweaked and skinned version of Android that comes with this phone; and a ROM that can be installed an many other devices] is a fantastic operating system [have I mentioned how smooth it is and how much I love flicking through the home-screens? Oh... I have. Oh dear]. It comes with a multitude of cool features -  It features a fantastic call-recording feature, which I have already put to good use; it includes a handy 'reading' feature on the browser which makes long articles even easier to read, and the original Chinese ROM comes with a siri-esque voice assistant [though it only understands Mandarin or Cantonese - I'm not sure which]. The good news, for all the safety-conscious or scared-of-the-dark individuals out there, is that MIUI also comes with a built in LED torch, which can be triggered either by opening the app, or by holding down the home button on the lockscreen.

The place where MIUI comes into its own, though, is customisation. Through the theme-store, users can select different looks and feels for their device, allowing them to show off something new every day, should they wish to. Of course, if you're looking for a bit more of a 'stock Android' feel, you can, with a bit of technical know-how, flash stock Android Jellybean to this phone.

The Camera

The 8 megapixel rear-facing camera isn't a slouch, and creates very sharp images. The 'tap-to-focus' part of the camera interface works very well [and can even achieve some low-level 'depth-of-focus' effects if you use it right], though the camera itself can take a little while to focus, and tends not to give an accurate representation of the level of flash it will use when actually capturing a photo. Low light images, unfortunately, do generate a fair amount of noise, but not enough to stop you from seeing what you've captured. Being a modern smartphone, of course, if the camera's not doing exactly what you like, you can install a plethora of apps to make sure that you get the photos you want. Not that you'll need them, of course, with MIUI's massive amounts of customisable camera features, which include [but are not limited to]: a voice-activated shutter [so you can clap or whistle to take a photo and don't need to fumble around trying to find any particular button], an HDR feature, and tools to adjust facial recognition and ISO. By default the camera isn't set up to shoot in its highest quality, but turning these settings up does tend to slow down the time it takes to actually capture a photo once you've hit the shutter button.

Videos can be captured in 1080p and also seem to look very good indeed. The sound that is captured by the mic[s?], however, is a little weird and sounds like a webstream that's being presented in low quality, so if you're using the camera for anything 'professional', you may want to record audio with an external mic. There is the option to record in several modes [including, for instance, black and white or sepia] so you can reduce the time it takes to edit your clips afterwards.

Overall

Upsides

• A very fast, smooth interface, and most [if not all] apps run without a problem.
• MIUI has some pretty nifty features
• The customisation features of MIUI and Android mean that you can tailor this phone to your liking.
• An active community of developers mean that there are updates to MIUI every week
• The Xiaomi Mi2 is available in 16gb or 32gb capacities
• There are a wide range of accessories and back covers available.
• The ability to under- or over-clock the phone based on how much power or battery-life you wish to use.
• The removable battery and the removable back cover, in my mind, gives it a distinct advantage over the LG/Google Nexus 4.
• The FM radio. Simply because it's a cool feature to have, it's great to be entertained with on long journeys, and my dad would have been besotted with it.

Downsides

• Battery life - you could probably squeeze just about two days out of this phone's 1000 mAh battery if you've got the screen brightness on low, radios being used to a minimum, and only actively using it for around half an hour a day. Though, with a removable battery, you could always carry a spare around with you.
• No MicroSD - personally this isn't a biggie for me [especially since it has USB OTG capabilities], but some may rue the fact that the phone has no MicroSD card slot.
• No LTE - again, this is not a big deal for me, and this phone is still very fast on HSPA+, but some may wish to go even faster than that!
• No real international support - Xiaomi is a Chinese company and [at time of writing] only supplies China with its products. To that end, if you end up having any real technical difficulties with your device, you're going to have to either pray that you find someone who knows their way round these phones, or use the warranty scheme that your seller offered with the phone [if applicable, and if you're covered by the terms and conditions of it].
• Reliability - I, personally, have had no problems with my device, but others have reported yellow-ish screens, dead pixels, and problems with the WiFi chips.
• 
  

To sum up:

This is, once again, a beautiful but beastly phone. It's fast, but this can sometimes come at the expense of battery life, but for the price, you'd be a fool to miss out on this phone. After Xiaomi have had such success with this phone, one can only salivate at the prospect of the Xiaomi Mi3, which, all being well, should be announced at some point this year.

Acknowledgements

Thanks, again, to ibuygou for shipping out the phone and making the buying process easy! From what I've seen in my email inbox, they've been running a few deals on Xiaomi Mi2s, and you might be able to get one at a very low price!

Thanks also to MIUIAndroid for translating the MIUI ROM into flawless English, and allowing us all to make the most of Xiaomi and Miui!

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TechTalk: Xiaomi Mi2/M2 First Impressions

The background info, yada, yada, yada.

Being rather nerdy and being someone who takes massive enjoyment out of this rapidly moving era of technology, I've had my sights on a new phone for quite a while. My old and trusty BlackBerry Torch 9800 [bought after a bit of luck on a bingo game] blinked its last LED notification, and I was forced to use my dad's old phone, a BlackBerry Curve, as my temporary daily driver. Despite the fact that I love BlackBerry devices [and my excitement for the BlackBerry 10 devices that are due to come out next year], I figured it was time for a change, and a time to really calm this Android envy that I've had for quite a long time.

After months [well... actually, days. Okay, fine, hours] of looking around on the internet, I finally decided that my next phone would be a phone from China. Now, usually, the phrase 'phone from China' should be met with a little bit of caution. Scout around in some of the dark and dank corners of the web, and you'll usually be offered a selection of dual-sim, cheaply-built iPhone rip-offs, all running a version of Android that was designed and built around the time of the Stone Age, with names such as ePhone, or SciPhone, or SkyPhone, or any other rhymes or puns that a Sun journalist would be pleased to churn out.

My new phone, however, and I've stressed this many times to my roommate, is a proper Chinese phone. It's made by Xiaomi, a manufacturer that is quickly but proficiently climbing up the ranks, and generating a huge amount of press around the globe. Their first offering, the Xiaomi M1/Mi1 was a massive success, and earlier this year they launched the Xiaomi M2/Mi2, a phone with a quad-core processor, and a new version of their Android-based MIUI [pronounced Me-Yoo-Eye] operating system. The rather impressive specs, coupled with a cheap price, ensured that this was going to be my next, shiny, new device.

Receiving the phone [the pre-main bit].

After waiting for the phone for months on end [and having pre-ordered from quite a few sources - some more reliable than others], my Xiaomi M2 finally arrived, courtesy of ibuygou.com. Naturally, I had been a bit scared. Some Chinese traders not only clone iPhones, but also clone Xiaomi's phones too, conning foreigners out of hundreds of pounds or dollars into buying a device that wasn't real. Thankfully, I received the real deal.

As the phone doesn't come with expandable storage via MicroSD card [but does offer USB-OTG support], I opted for the 32GB model, rather than the 16GB model, which I was anxious about filling up so quickly. In the box, as agreed with a sales rep from ibuygou, I also received a screen protector and cover for the device - I'm notorious for being a bit tough on my phones, and didn't want to see it live such a short life.

After a quick setup [though there was a bit of faffing about with keyboard settings that wouldn't let me type originally], the phone was on, working, had already put a smile on my face, and was kitted out with my tradition Christmas live wallpaper.

First Impressions [the actual main bit]

From the back, the phone looks like it's taken and mixed design cues from the Samsung Galaxy SIII, and the Meizu MX. From the front, people keep telling me that it looks like an iPhone. I personally hate that comparison, but if it helps you visualise it [why would you need to? There are pictures!] then go ahead.

Pictures and videos tend to make it seem as though it's flimsy, but in the hand it feels well-built, and has a bit of weight to it.

In short, performance wise, this phone is FAST. The graphics are smooth, games work flawlessly, the camera is unsettlingly good [I'm considering plastic surgery because the HD quality of the video is showing me up], and the customisation options within the MIUI rom are fantastic. I've had a little trouble with the keyboard, but that's more of an issue with me adapting to a fully-touchscreen device, and I'm getting better and better by the day. The one downside I have seen so far, though, is battery life. Whilst Xiaomi is going to release [or has released?] a bigger battery for the phone, the stock battery is just so easily drained with moderate usage - it's like taking a machine gun into a war to find out that you've only got three bullets to use. Still, though, the M2 has a major point in its favour for having a removable battery, in contrast with the Nexus 4, which, in my mind, is its major competitor.

Hopefully, if time permits, I'll update all of this with a full review video before the Christmas holiday ends. But they do say that you should never need a second chance at a first impression, and this phone certainly doesn't.

Acknowledgements and notes

• Thanks to ibuygou for being awesome when it came to selling and shipping this phone. 
• I've installed the MIUIAndroid rom onto the device. MIUIAndroid are a team of developers that translate the MIUI rom into flawless English [the stock rom is a bit dodgy when it comes to their translation], and their rom works fantastically, and they have a great community! Go check them out!

More pictures

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TechTalk: Exploring the social networking undergrowth

If you’re a keen follower of this blog (which I somehow doubt), you’ll know that it’s my (frankly, rather pathetic) attempt to cobble all of the things that I’m passionate about into one place, whilst earning a few pennies on the side (yup, those ads, unfortunately, aren’t decorative). Recently, though, you’ll have noticed that I’ve put several joules of energy into writing about social networks, be it Myspace, or Facebook. While one’s dead, and the other’s continuously adapting to make sure it survives against a challenge from Google+ or Twitter, it got me thinking: are there any more social networking sites out there?

Of course there are. To use a metaphor: just because Coca Cola and Pepsi are market leaders in the cola or (at the risk of sounding terribly unfashionable) “fizzy pop” it doesn’t mean that a person can’t choose to drink one of the smaller brands. Of course, there’s Tesco cola, Sainsbury’s Cola, and (if you truly want to slum it and risk several forms of infection) Lidl Cola. In the same light, there are some social networking minnows out there, some with some truly fantastic ideas, and others which, unfortunately, will probably cause the same effect as the Lidl Cola- but mentally, of course. Here, then, is my guide to three social networks that you might just’ve missed out on…

1. MyYearbook.com

We all remember Myspace, and we’re all familiar users of Facebook and Twitter. However, what would you think of if I asked you to picture a social network that looked to be the baby bastardisation of all of them?

MyYearbook looks pretty damn close to that image. It seems to have combined the “like”, “comments”, and overall blue-tinged colour scheme from Facebook, and the character limit from Twitter (which actually is rather infuriating on this site). This particular site, though, unfortunately, bears an overwhelming resemblance to Myspace. The “myspace whores” have returned, and they’ve struck this site with a vengeance. While I’m sure that most of the people on the site mean well, many of them struggle to type simple sentences correctly, and it’s jam-packed full of annoying guys asking lewd, rude, and downright nasty questions to girls who, it seems, can’t figure out how to put their ample cleavage away. Add to that the plethora of dating games, and an incredibly bad user experience and you’ve got yourself a truly shocking result.

If you’re into blurry pictures of girls in bikinis and can be bothered to learn a whole new version of chatspeak (where, it seems, users have attempted to type words with their foreheads and knees simultaneously), then this could just be a hit with you. I wouldn’t bet on it, though.

2. Yuwie.com

Unfortunately, at the time of writing, Yuwie has been put up for sale. Going to the site will only, unfortunately, show you the site’s logo, and tell you that the asking price is $15,000. So, then, it’s up to me to give you the premise of the site.

Yuwie seemed to be too good to be true, when I had first heard of it about four to five years ago. Basically it was a site that (and you can re-read this slowly, if it doesn’t click the first time) PAID people to social network. I, obviously, being a sucker for a quid or two (may I remind you again of the ads?), joined up.

The site itself was, unfortunately, miserable. While the user experience wasn’t that bad, the place was deserted. I had convinced a (now ex-) girlfriend to sign up so we could raise a bit of dough together, and other than each other, it seemed like the place was emptier than the inside of Jodie Marsh’s brain. Of course, while getting paid to talk to people was a very attractive proposition, the fact that it was based on ad-revenue probably caused several would-be users to return to the book o’ face. And I don’t blame them- I checked my earnings from the site last year, and I had made barely a penny.

I’d be lying if I said that I missed the site and its red colour scheme, but being paid to network is still a rather attractive proposition, not just to me- but also many others. So watch this space and see if Yuwie ever returns.

3. Dailystrength.org

I can’t help but feel that, at this stage, I’ve been overly negative in my reviews of these plutoed social networks. So here, then is my good deed and positive part of this post, and it comes in the form of dailystrength. I was debating about putting this in because I wasn’t sure about whether it was classed as a forum or a social network. It is, in essence, a site where people can receive crowdsourced help for their problems, whether they’re psychological or physiological, via online support groups. Think of it as a Yahoo!Answers site for almost every ailment you could think of.

The people seem to be incredibly supportive and keen to help, and if you’re in need of some support from experienced people, this is probably one of the best places to go on the internet.

Obviously, these sites will probably never threaten the dominance of the “big three” of social networking. But if you’re looking for a bit of a change, and don’t mind learning new interfaces and enjoying (or, indeed suffering) the company of new people, these could just provide some boredom killers for your time on the internet.

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