Honor 8: Huawei targets millennials with high-spec cheapie. 3 words – Food pic mode Huawei might be the third biggest smartphone seller on the planet but it has very little traction outside Asia. The Chinese firm is hoping the Honor 8 will change that. The handset, which was launched in the US last week and will be formally launched in Europe at an event in Paris on Wednesday, is being aimed firmly at the …
after a situation last year where despite having 12 phones which powered up, not one could be used because of network locks) I vowed to never have a network sold phone again.
Quite aside from the network locking is the SHITE they bundle with the phone you can't dump (I *still* don't want a Facebook app).
Hence I am happily rocking a Wileyfox Swift - brilliant device. Not locked. No shit.
What's network locking?
The practise of locking down a phone so your money only goes to one company, and usually at a higher rate than when you would have the option to switch. Especially hated by people who travel because it's especially abroad you discover WHY they wanted you locked in (or you'll find out when you receive the bill on your return). The aim of this lock is to make you bleed for wanting to amortise your phone (or being not rich enough to need that instead of buying it outright).
The lock-in is usually accompanied by network crapware that is burned into the phone in a manner that makes removal almost as painful as having to suffer it. But: notice I said *almost*.
I agree with the OP: never again. I rather revive my Nokia 6310 (come to think of it, maybe I ought to buy a new battery for it while I still can :) ).
after a situation last year where despite having 12 phones which powered up, not one could be used because of network locks) I vowed to never have a network sold phone again.
Whilst I agree to your points, the SIM lock can be removed. Some networks may charge for it, some may refuse to do it until contract period ends.
Others, like O2, are happy to remove SIM lock at any point for free (for normal post-pay contract at least).
The crowning turd was trying to get a £5 Alcatel from "Orange" to work with an EE SIM. Even though they are the SAME NETWORK the twunts at EE wanted £35 to unlock the thing.
THAT is why it's never again for me. And if I ever have to recommend a corporate deal, EE are not getting a seat at the table. However, corporate deals are starting to look old hat as BYOD spreads. Over the past 3 years we have seen our corporate deal halve making it a vicious circle ... less usage means less attractive deal means less corporate deals.
the twunts at EE wanted £35 to unlock the thing
Yeah, at some point circumstances beyond my control (aka a clueless investor) I was forced to use EE. It became soon evident to me that their bad reputation was deserved. Their approach to support was, er, "innovative", but not in a positive way. Never again.
Whilst I agree to your points, the SIM lock can be removed. Some networks may charge for it, some may refuse to do it until contract period ends.
.. and in some countries the network is now by law required to remove it after one year, irrespective of amortisation status (so even if you have a 3 year contract). Note, however, that you have to ASK for for it, it's not automatic.
@JimmyPage...
Totally agree about the shiteware that comes preinstalled on many phones these days, but just buying unlocked phones doesn't guarantee lack of shiteware. For example, the Sony Z series are great - apart from the shitty Sony apps that can't be uninstalled.
It now looks like WileyFox are going down the shiteware route - I updated mine a couple of days ago and now it won't stop spamming me about bloody Skype every time I open the dialler.
just buying unlocked phones doesn't guarantee lack of shiteware
That would be any Windows phone - the whole OS is crap. I've just had one in my hand which has the Edge browser and the question from the idiot relative who bought it without asking for advice first was how you could enter a URL in it - there is no sign of any input line anywhere.
To be honest, I couldn't find one either. I hope he returns it to the shop now and gets himself an Android phone. I mean, if you are having your privacy invaded, then let it at least be done by experts who leave you some functionality while they're doing it.. Or maybe a WileyFox one - I had a look and I rather like their ideas.
I am guessing that the battery is fixed which is a pity. I know the advantages but when my phone's battery started to fade I was able to get another no problem. My son dropped it and the battery can get a bit hot now so thinking about getting another replacement just in case (four year old phone struggling with demanding websites and apps is more probable cause).
ok theres a few phones out there with the same sort of spec for £300 http://www.archos.com/gb/products/smartphones/diamond/archos_diamond2plus/index.html
is but one ..
Huawei have gone from the cheap but nice phone to the sammy wanna be or the
Huawe iphone and there sales have slumped because of it .. dropped by 30% at home ?
tells a story .. with a so so screen they could have put this out at £300 but they got greedy ..
This always confuses me as a metric for how good a phone works. Unless I'm mistaken don't most (if not all) SoCs have dedicated video decoding (and encoding) hardware acceleration embedded within the chip these days? If video was purely software decoded on the main processor cores then "it handled video with aplomb" would make sense but when its decoded by a sliver of the silicon that is designed to do exactly that its hardly indicative of the phones performance in general.
1920 by 1080 resolution, with 423 pixels per inch,
And that PPI count is higher than the human eye can discern, making anything more than that a waste of time, effort and money. Crowing over the number of invisible pixels is straight out of the "this cam iz bestest 'cos its got more megapixels than that cam" school of review.
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