My Pebble has finally arrived! I got a card through my letterbox at the weekend, notifying me that there was a customs charge to pay. I paid that online (not the easiest process, it has to be said), and yesterday, the long-awaited package was delivered!
The box simply contains the watch and a magnetic charging cable – all instructions (not that you really need them – it’s all pretty self-explanatory) are online. Getting the watch charged and paired with my phone (once I’d installed the companion app) was very easy. I am now getting notifications on my watch for sms messages, emails (though exchange emails don’t seem to show any text, only the sender and subject) and incoming calls.
I am also able to control music playback on my phone via the watch, which is quite cool. I have already downloaded and installed some additional watchfaces.
Next steps will be to download the watchface SDK and see if I can figure out how to code up a watchface of my own!
The pebble smartwatch project that I backed on kickstarter about a year ago is now shipping – I received an email notification yesterday to tell me that mine is on it’s way. I am looking forward very much getting it on my wrist!
Just a quick update on the Android experience… The HTC one V that I bought has proved to be a pretty good handset, apart from one fundamental flaw that I’ve decided that I just can’t live with. When using a headset (either the one supplied, or any of the others I’ve tried), there is a persistent and annoying hiss / interference noise whenever sound is being played. It sounds like interference / crosstalk from the processor – and it stops when the DAC powers off. This includes notification sounds, calls, and worst of all (for me) when listening to music. For a handset that makes much of it’s audio credentials (with ‘beats audio’) that’s simply not acceptable. In the light of this, I’m sending it back for a refund. Amazon have been completely fine with this. HTC are reluctant to admit that there’s a problem. Continue reading Unhappy release…→
Due to my previous track record of purchasing Apple products almost to the day that an upgrade to a new version is announced, I have decided to turn to the dark side for few months. As my phone contract ends and I don’t want to upgrade to an iPhone 4S with the imminent announcement of iPhone 5, I have decided to buy a sim-free android handset to use for a few months. It’s also a good way to do a bit of research into the Android experience – something that I’ve not done before.
I joked to a colleague that emerging from the Apple walled-garden is a little bit what I imagine getting out of prison to be like. The choice of manufacturers, never mind handsets is bewildering. Which version of Android should I be going for? Why do they all have silly names? How much RAM, how fast a processor (with how many cores), how many cameras (with how many pixies), what screen resolution, how much storage do I need?
In the end, I settled on HTC because I’ve liked what I’ve seen of their handsets in the past (and I’ve heard of them!). I dithered over whether to go for the wildfire S (very good value, but feels a bit flimsy to me, and is at the older end of the range), the Desire C (newer, but, according to reviews, a bit lacking in the processor department and again plastic-cased) or the One V (a little more expensive, but with a larger screen, faster processor and aluminium unibody construction). Sticking to the adage “buy cheap, buy twice”, I’ve gone for the One V.
HTC One V
First impressions are largely positive. The handset itself feels like a quality item, the unibody construction really helping to lift the handset above the competition. The screen is bright and sharp (though I suspect the default brightness setting of ‘stun’ may be helping this at the expense of battery life). The HTC sense UI looks very nice, and everything seems to perform well, with the handset feeling at least as snappy in use as the iPhone 4.
Downsides are that there is a persistent static / cross-talk noise when listening to music. I was actually going to return the handset on the basis of this, as I intend to use it as my primary music player when on the move, but it seems from a bit of research that ‘they all do that, sir’. Disappointing, especially as HTC are very keen to promote the handset’s audio credentials with the nasty ‘beats audio’ (which happily can be disabled). I will have to live with it, but it really is a minus point. I will see if future updates address this, but frankly I am not that hopeful – it seems to be a hardware issue. The screen does seem more prone to finger prints than the iPhone screen, but at least that’s solvable with a quick wipe. The wifi signal does seem to be affected by how you hold the device, which is, I guess, the downside to that unibody construction. Seems that Apple don’t have the monopoly on shonky antenna design…
The next challenge that I face is the huge variety of apps and utilities out there. If anyone has any recommendations for an Android newbie, I’d be very glad to hear about them! I am particularly interested in podcast management, now that I don’t have iTunes to do it for me…
Amazingly, after over 7 weeks and numerous phone calls, Virginmedia have managed to make my phone work again. The incompetence and lack of communication that they have showed is truly staggering and more than a little bit frightening. I have learnt that the only way to get any action is to insist on speaking to a supervisor when you contact ‘support’ or the ill-named ‘customer service’. Otherwise you just get someone in a call centre reading the standard script.
Still, I’m running back to the welcoming arms of BT the next time we move house. I’m not going through this again!
Well, despite what I said in my previous post, I’m still trying (thus far in vain) to get my phone problems resolved. I’m no further forward really – due to utter incompetence the new cable that was supposed to have fixed the problem was pulled through to the wrong place. I now have to wait until the 17th of July for somebody to have another go. I have had repeated promises of call-backs and updates which up have not materialised. I managed to claw a direct dial number for a manager in the telephone faults department today, which is at least some kind of progress.
Still, the message here is: AVOID VIRGINMEDIA LIKE THE PLAGUE…
