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: 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.
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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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