This Week in Mobile - This Fortnight in Mobile
Matteo sums up the last couple of weeks and rants about Ryanair.
Welcome to This Week in Mobile (TWiM), Tech Travel Geeks' weekly column covering what has happened in the world of mobile. If we haven't covered it on Tech Travel Geeks we'll link to the best content on the web.
Spring in Edinburgh, shot on the Meizu 15. #Meizu15
We skipped a week of TWiM as we have been busy. Lukasz is bouncing around the Pacific doing sightseeing and extreme sports, while I’ve been busy in Edinburgh.
Today I started early and flew down to London on Ryanair, and I’m now judging myself harshly for saving a few pounds and having a horrid travel experience: flight was late in taking off and landing and when we finally did get to St Ansted (that’s Stansted if you didn’t know) we had to wait over half an hour for the doors to the aircraft to be opened. I didn't know it was possible, but on Ryanair you can have a window seat without a window. Next time I will spend a few extra pounds to fly to London City and have a better overall experience as well as actually arriving in London. Luckily I'm feeling fresh, with the confidence a roll in my hand luggage brings...
Honor 10
The Honor 10 as seen in China. Will there be any surprises at the global launch in London?
So, mini-rant over, today I’m in London for the Honor 10 launch event. The Honor 10 shouldn’t be too much of a surprise because it was announced and released in China a while back: based on the Huawei P20 (not the P20 Pro) the device looks as shiny as its predecessors (the Honor 8 and Honor 9) with some awesome gradient paint jobs. Keep an eye out for the full coverage of the Honor 10 global launch and device first impressions here on Tech Travel Geeks.
LG G7 ThinQ
"Notch notch!" "Who's there?" "Who do you ThinQ?" "Why the LG G7 ThinQ of course!"
LG launched the LG G7 ThinQ recently. There has been a lot of criticism of the product in the tech press, despite the device being a good all-round release on paper. I haven’t had the pleasure of playing around with one yet, but Myriam and Nirave have and discussed it in depth on the Mobile Tech Podcast. I really enjoyed listening to the episode and ironically did so on my LG G6 (still one of my daily use phones).
Xiaomi Expanding in Europe
Big news from Xiaomi: the Chinese smartphone company has partnered with Hutchison, the parent company of Superdrug in the UK and the Thrtee networks in Europe and will be selling their products here soon. I’m looking forward to seeing how this works out. The whole Xiaomi range is affordable and excellent value for money, and if they can deliver on support and after sales service we may see very rapid growth of their product in European markets.
Speaking of Europe, it is GDPR Day next week. I have popcorn, beer and a bit of schadenfreude while I watch all the update emails from companies come in. The brands that bring value to me will be the ones I continue to engage with, all the rest will be a good riddance.
We are going to start posting more (and better)content in the next couple of weeks because our setup process is in a good place. Remember to check back here on Tech Travel Geeks and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
This Week in Mobile - Meizu 15 in China
This Week In Mobile is a bit late this week because Matteo has been in China at the Meizu 15 launch event. Lukasz has managed to show us what is in his bag too…
Welcome to This Week in Mobile (TWiM), Tech Travel Geeks' weekly column covering what has happened in the world of mobile. If we haven't covered it on Tech Travel Geeks we'll link to the best content on the web.
A rainy Wuzhen, Zhejiang, China. Shot on Meizu 15 #ShotOnMeizu15 #Meizu15
This Week in Mobile is a bit late this week (again) because I was travelling in China while Lukasz is still on his epic journey around the world with a very densely packed bag.
Motorola G Series Launch in Brazil
Motorola, also known as Lenovorola, have refreshed their popular G Series of Android powered devices, announcing the Moto G 6 Play, the Moto G6 and Moto G6 Plus. I haven't had enough time to look at these devices in depth or follow the launch closely, but luckily our friends at Android Central have and did a great breakdown of the announcement and launch over on their site. Below you can find Daniel Bader's excellent explanation on video too.
Meizu 15 Announcement in Wuzhen, China
The Meizu 15 Launch stage, as shot on a Meizu 15...
As Chief Pixel Density Enthusiast at Coolsmartphone, I was a guest of Chinese technology company Meizu for their Meizu 15 launch event in Wuzhen, Zhejiang, China. You can catch all coverage of the event and the products on Coolsmartphone.com.
The Meizu 15 series, which is comprised of the Meizu 15, Meizu 15 Plus and Meizu M15 is a delightful range of devices. Hardware is well built, has excellent specifications and good ergonomics. Meizu's new version of their Android-based operating system, Flyme 7, has been refined and improved. Overall the Meizu 15 is a pleasure to use and I'm enjoying using it as one of my main devices.
China is on the path to being the first cashless society from what I can see, and AliPay and WeChat are the most used forms of payment. The occasional outlet also accepts UnionPay, but Mastercard and Visa as accepted forms of payment are a rarity in my most recent experience. We had to try hard, but finally found a place for dinner which accepted MasterCard (my Monzo card) in Shanghai. We set to order a quick meal before heading to the airport. Thanks to a misunderstanding using Google Translate we even managed to over-order dim sum, but it was definitely worth it.
We also managed to catch a Maglev train from Shanghai to the airport. I would definitely recommend doing it if you happen to be heading from Shanghai to Pu Dong Airport (PVG).
What's in Lukasz's bag?
Lukasz has finally published his "What's In My Bag" for his round the world trip he is currently on. As expected there is plenty of tech. He is a Tech Travel Geek after all... We look forward to getting more updates from him #soon.
That's all for... last week. I'll try and get back into the weekly TWiM rhythm from Sunday onwards. Safe travels everyone!
This Week in Mobile - droidcon Dubai 2018
This week Matteo and Lukasz have been in Dubai, attended droidcon Dubai and avoided melting or catching fire...
Welcome to This Week in Mobile (TWiM), Tech Travel Geeks' weekly column covering what has happened in the world of mobile. If we haven't covered it on Tech Travel Geeks we'll link to the best content on the web.
Arjaan by Rotana Dubai lobby #dubai #uae #hotel #lobby
If last week was relatively quiet on TWiM, this week is quite busy. I was busy at work and then travelled to Dubai (on KLM of course...) to represent my employer Skyscanner at droidcon Dubai 2018.
Some of the heroes who made droidcon Dubai 2018 possible at in5 Dubai. #droidconae
I really enjoyed droidcon Dubai 2018. Not only did I get to meet lots of new awesome people, all much more talented developers than I will ever be, but also managed to catch up with many of the veterans of droidcon Dubai. It is clear that Kotlin is now the preferred language for future of Android development, as well as other platforms as well. As a recovering Test Engineer, it was also a pleasure to see how much emphasis was put on tools and practices for delivering quality software in many of the talks.
Lukasz at droidcon Dubai 2018. #droidconae #ShotOnPixel2XL
Lukasz, our very own Chief Aperture Officer, also managed to attend a few sessions of droidcon Dubai 2018. He was in the UAE at the beginning of his epic 6 week trip around the world. Not only did he help me discover that two gin lemonades can be extremely expensive, he also assisted with my final preparations for both talks at droidcon Dubai 2018. While I was arriving home in Edinburgh, Lukasz went skydiving in Dubai today. I'm sure you will all enjoy the impressive video of his experience below.
Now, I mentioned I delivered two talks at droidcon Dubai 2018, and as well as my long-planned official talk I delivered one on behalf of Tech Travel Geeks in my capacity as Chief Mobile Opinionist. "The State of Mockodile in 2018" is a tongue in cheek talk about customisation on Android. Video below.
My travel to and from Dubai was on my favourite airline KLM. As usual their excellent service was enjoyed. My most used device while there was the Huawei P20 Pro. In the first week I had some reservations about the device overall but now I'm being won over by it.
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While Lukasz and I were travelling to Dubai the world didn't stand still (how inconsiderate). There were no major announcements during the week, but the buzz around some upcoming Android smartphone launches is getting much louder. The OnePlus 5T is sold out across Europe, and this is a clear indicator that the One Plus 6 will be announced soon. I reported on Coolsmartphone of how Meizu has acquired patents for in-screen fingerprint readers. It is unlikely we will see the functionality in the upcoming launch of the Meizu 15 range, but this is exciting for their device launches of Q4 2018.
That's all for This Week in Mobile for now. We'll have more content for you soon.
This Week in Mobile - Quiet Preparations
The Tech Travel Geeks Chief Mobile Opinionist Matteo covers the week's main mobile news subjects for us.
Welcome to This Week in Mobile, Tech Travel Geeks' weekly column covering what has happened in the world of mobile. If we haven't covered it on Tech Travel Geeks we'll link to the best content on the web.
It has been a relatively quiet week for mobile related news and most of us are still getting over last week where we had some pretty major announcements.
My retail unit of the Huawei P20 Pro arrived and I unboxed it on the Tech Travel Geeks YouTube Channel.
First impressions of the Huawei P20 Pro are good. The device feels great to hold and use, the notch isn't an issue for me and the camera still has to win me over. I'll go more in depth on that later this week, here on Tech Travel Geeks.
I'm packing my bags at the moment as I will be travelling to Dubai to speak at droidcon Dubai, the largest Android developer event in the GCC. My talk will be on the Saturday, and this time I am officially representing my employer, Skyscanner. Expect some great content being published on Tech Travel Geeks in the coming weeks as Lukasz will be in Dubai too and we will be shooting video there.
Lukasz published his video of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ vs the Samsung Galaxy S9+. As usual the production values of his content are amazeballs. I really need to up my game on video to at least try and keep our content consistent.
My Pixel 2 XL received its April Security patch. It continues to be one of my main mobile devices and is coming to Dubai with me.
Until next week, that is all from This Week in Mobile. Let us know if you would like to cover anything specific in the coming weeks.
This Week in Mobile - Xiaomi and Huawei Mix it up!
Welcome to This Week in Mobile, Tech Travel Geeks' weekly column covering what has happened in the world of mobile. If we haven't covered it on Tech Travel Geeks we'll link to the best content on the web.
I'll just put this out there before I type any more: though this post is being published on April 1st 2018 there are no April fools in here. None. Don't bother looking for any. It is pointless to search for an Easter Sunday Aprils fools in here.
This week two of the biggest handset manufacturers in the world released their new flagships. Xiaomi announced the Mi Mix 2S and Huawei announced the P20 range (P20 Pro, P20 and P20 Lite). Both these manufacturers happen to be Chinese and both are expanding globally.
I'm particularly interested on what comes from China in the mobile space and always actively use at least one device from Xiaomi and one from Huawei. Currently I'm using a Xiaomi Mi 6 and a Huawei Honor View 10 (as well as a Huawei Honor 7X).
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S
The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S
Xiaomi started the bezelless craze a while back with the original Xiaomi Mi Mix. My friend Iain has one and he very kindly let me play around with it. It is a lovely premium device.
This week Xiaomi announced the Mi Mix 2S, which is the latest version of their bezelless line. Powered by the latest and most powerful chipset from Qualcomm, with a dual camera on the back, a 18:9 aspect ratio display and ceramic and metal build the device sits comfortably in the premium category of smartphones.
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S front and back
I expect this device to sell well in Asia and southern European markets where Xiaomi is already a popular brand. An important ingredient to the recipe of the future success of the device is pricing: the entry level model (with 6GB of RAM) starts at around $530 and the top end model (with 8GB RAM) will be around $650. Dan Seifert over from The Verge explains more in the video below.
Huawei P20 Range
Huawei's P series devices are their flagships, usually launched in the first half of the year. This week the Chinese manufacturer announced the P20 line.
Huawei P20 Series
At the top of the range the P20 Pro sits with a 6" AMOLED screen (with a notch), a large battery, AI capable chipset and software and a new triple camera on the back.
Huawei P20 Pro technical specifications at GSMArena.com.
The cameras, one 40MP, one 20MP and one 8MP, paired with Huawei's own chipset and software are the main highlight for me. This weekend I caught up with our friend Jonathan Morris from jmcomms.com and saw what the camera can do in person. I was really impressed by the results, and look forward to hopefully having a Huawei P20 Pro of my own next week.
Check out Jonathan's content on the Huawei P20 Pro over at jmcomms.com.
Alex Dobie over at Android Central did a great preview of the P20s and also released a great video about it. His description of the camera setup of the P20 Pro as "absolutely bonkers" is pretty much spot on.
The Huawei P20 and P20 Lite fill in the lower price categories all the way down to the mid-range while bringing the same design language and most of the same software features.
Huawei P20 technical specifications at GSMArena.com.
Huawei P20 Lite technical specifications at GSMArena.com.
The P20 Series from Huawei touches on the mid-range, with the P20 Lite, and all the way up to the high end with the P20 Pro. The P20 Pro puts itself in the same category as the Google Pixel 2 XL and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus with price, but promises better cameras thanks to the partnership with Leica. I look forward to bringing you my impressions once I get my own P20 Pro.
Tesla Model 3
This weekend I found myself informed and amused by the Modern Dad (Phil Nickinson) and Mr Mobile (Michael Fisher) videos about the Tesla Model 3. Check them both out below.
Great videos which get me thinking: how quickly is the driving experience going to change in the next few years? Phil's perspective as a dad whose daughter is going to be learning to drive soon is interesting and his logic is sound.
I'm sure Lukasz has certain opinions and expectations of the Tesla Model 3, so I'll let him start thinking of writing a post about it soon...
Thanks for reading this far if you have. We will wrap up this week's edition of This Week in Mobile here. We'll be back next week, safe travels!