EdiAUG - Honor -Skyscanner Events

What a week! As well as with my day job, this week I was busy helping facilitate the Edinburgh Android User Group - Honor - Skyscanner events.

The events were hosted by Skyscanner in their Edinburgh and Glasgow offices (one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday) and featured a short introductory talk from Skyscanner and a talk from Wilkin Lee of Honor about Honor and Huawei.

Not only were the talks interesting (even if I do say so myself), but Wilkin used a familiar competition format and gave away a Honor Holly at each of the events.

I had a great time and have delayed new device purchases until the Honor 6+ is out at the beginning of May. The camera, especially in low light conditions, blew me away and the device overall is lovely.

Interested in engaging with me and EdiAUG for an Android/mobile related event? Ping me on Google Plus.

Thanks to Skyscanner for support and hosting, and thanks to Wilkin and James of Honor for travelling to Scotland for the events.

All About Android 203: Wow What a Huawei Watch

This week, while in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, I was a guest on All About Android to talk about what is happening in the world of Android.

Thanks to Jason and Ron for having me on the show and to my colleagues who facilitated my participation from the apartment in Barcelona.

Did you find our Huawei Watch meltdown funny? You weren't alone: the good people at TWiT.tv made a TWiT Bit out of it.

You can vote for my app in the Arena (Cat Simulator) until Tuesday March 10th here too.

Globul BG

Recently Candice and I went on vacation to Bulgaria. When there, I picked up a few prepaid sim cards so as to be able to use some of my devices without incurring expensive roaming charges.

Globul was the network which made the process of purchasing the SIMs the easiest, and the rates were in my view very reasonable. For Lev 9.90 (£3.98 / $6.42) I purchased a prepaid data only SIM with a 2GB data allowance. Even though the SIM was meant for data only devices (tablets, laptops, mifi etc) it worked fine in my OnePlus One, so I was able to engage in the usual social networking and play Ingress too.

If you plan on visiting Bulgaria and need a SIM, check out Globul and consider their network, I personally recommend them. The Globul network is also available in English : http://www.globul.bg/eng/

All About Android 165: It's Creepy... Creepy Good

This week I had the honour of being a guest on All About Android, the TWiT.tv show about all things Android. I really enjoyed being on the show with Gina Trapani, Jason Howell, Ron Richards and Bryan Burnett. Discussing some of my favourite subjects on AAA was great! Check out the episode here.

You can also subscribe to All About Android on YouTube, TWiT.tv and on iTunes.

March of the Droids 2014

It is that time of year again: the days are getting longer and warmer, the fridges have faster turnover of Hooch and/or Cider and some of us have started rocking our solar power banks. Yes ladies and gentlemen, it is almost time for March of the Droids.

March of the Droids is an event organised by Android Enthusiasts throughout the UK and has the backing of several websites and companies. This year one of the sponsors is my employer Skyscanner, and I will be giving a talk on Mobile Application Testing at Skyscanner.

March of the Droids 2014 takes place on May 10th (12:00) in Bournemouth, Dorset (England). The plan for the event looks great with Paul O'Brien (MoDaCo), Jon Love (Clove), Tom Mleko (HyperBees) and myself giving talks. As well as the talks, there will be the usual real life socialising, libations, food, shenanigans and tomfoolery.

At time of writing, there are still some tickets available so if you would like to attend the reasonably priced event (£12.50) you can buy tickets here.

I look forward to catching up with everyone there, delivering my talk (and prizes too) and having a great time. Who knows, we may even end up trying to give away some smartphone cases...

Feel free to pop a comment in the section below if you have any questions.

More details on March of the Droids 2014 can be found here: http://www.marchofthedroids.co.uk/

If you are looking for flights, car hire or a hotel for the event check out http://www.skyscanner.net/

Ovivo Mobile shuts down

Ovivo Mobile, the UK MVNO has just shut down. The Ovivo website is giving the announcement and their customers the option to get their PAC code.

The operator's unique offering was the £0 a month sim card (250 minutes, 250 texts and 500mb data) funded by mobile advertising.

Here is the announcement from the Ovivo website:

Dear OVIVO Customers,

We are very sad to announce that for reasons beyond our control, OVIVO Mobile is closing down on the evening of Wednesday 19th March 2014.

We'd like to thank each and every one of you for your support and friendship over the last two years.

To keep your OVIVO number, just fill out this form, and we’ll send you your PAC code.

PAC code request form

To request a PAC code please complete the form below. There is no need to request a PAC code if you do not wish to keep your number. We will arrange for your PAC code to arrive as quickly as possible but there is a high demand for this service.

I'm quite annoyed. Just last week I purchased a SIM card from Ovivo for £20. The SIM card was delivered today and can't be activated.

Not happening. Not happy.

If you too are an annoyed Ovivo customer, feel free to vent your anger and frustration in the comment section below.

Goodbye Virgin Media Mobile

Today I'm getting a PAC code from Virgin Media Mobile and transferring my number to another network provider. The reason for this is the changes Virgin Media Mobile made to their Pay As You Go Big Data & Texts tariff and the reduction of the data allowance on the tariff.

Goodbye!

The "Unlimited" data allowance with every £10 topup is gone, replaced  by a 1GB data limit. This isn't enough on the device I use that number in, as I stream podcasts while on the go to it.

I'll be switching to Three UK who offer 300 minutes, 3000 texts and All You Can Eat Data for £15 per month. It is slightly more expensive but I have had good experience with Three UK with my contract SIM cards and their data service in Edinburgh is excellent.

Hello again!

So long Virgin Media Mobile. I hope to see you change your tariffs again. If the changes are good I might be back, but for now I'm off to Three.

As usual, feel free to leave comments and/or questions below. 

Google Voice UK Is Here!

I've just made my first Google Voice call from my web browser and called my parents in Italy. Call quality was good, there seemed to be no latency.

In GMail, in the Chat section down the left hand side of the screen, a "Call Phone" option appeared today.

When clicked, the option gave me a chat pop up with a different interface from the usual one.

I used my trial credit ($0.10) and tried a couple of test calls from here in the UK to Germany and Italy. Both times call quality was good and there was no latency.

I also topped up my account with £10 pounds credit through Google Checkout. Easy Peasy.

I'm happy Google Voice has finally arrived in the UK. This will shake up the VOIP market more than the Tesco Internet Phone service did a few years ago... How long before I'll be able to use full Google Voice on my Android phone like my friends in the USA do?

MoDaCo Forums' Facelift

One of the online forums I use most is MoDaCo. MoDaCo is a forum where a lively and friendly community of people such as myself discuss, communicate and exchange information regarding mobile phones (mainly smart ones), tablet computers and their operating systems (both official and unofficial). Founded and run by Paul O'Brien, the MoDaCo Forums have just had a facelift.

Android @ MoDaCo's New Board Index.

The MoDaCo Forums' new cleaner inerface is in my opinion much cleaner and smoother than the older slightly clunky interface. The right panel is easier to navigate and search seems to be working better for me.

The HTC Desire New Board Index.

The best part of the general facelift Paul gave the MoDaCo forums in my opinion is the new mobile interface. I can now use the forum from my mobile devices more easily and using much less data than before. The mobile forums interface is optimised for touchscreen smartphones and is simple and clean.

Android @ MoDaCo's New Mobile Board Index

The New Mobile HTC Desire Board Index

Well done to Paul and all who were involved in the facelift of MoDaCo Forums. If you have never been on the MoDaCo Forums and are into mobile technology in general, why not spend some time there? The friendly and helpful MoDaCo community will be there to help you get started.

As usual, feel free to add comments and/or questions here. If my blog template is now fixed, you should also be able to Google +1 this post too.

Samsung And The Galaxy Tab: Left To Their Own Devices...

In the UK, on November 1st 2010, Samsung launched the Galaxy Tab, a 7-inch tablet computer. Running Android 2.2 FroYo as an operating system, with a 1 GHz ARM processor, 512 MB RAM, 16GB of storage (expandable via microSD), it looked excellent with a  specification sheet like that.

Samsung Galaxy Tab (official image courtesy of Samsung)

I had a chance to play around with the Samsung Galaxy Tab in October at a conference, before the official launch. At the time I didn't get a chance to use it for long, but it seemed good. The same Samsung customised skin from the Galaxy S Android phone had been ported to a larger and higher resolution screen (1024 x 600) and seemed to be very snappy and responsive.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab I got to play around with in October next to my trusty T-Mobile Pulse Android phone

Before I go any further, I should state that I work for a retailer that sells the Samsung Galaxy Tab, participated in the set up of the display units in  a store and have been playing around with the device since a couple of days before the launch. This disclosure should preemptively avoid any "Screw you Mike Arrington...!" moments. (If you don't get the joke, watch Leo Laporte losing it here)

After playing around with Samsung Galaxy Tab for over ten days, I've lost my initial interest in the device for three reasons:

1. Before having an in depth experience with the Tab, I had read about the Google statement saying Android 2.2 FroYo wasn't yet ready for tablet computers, and that it was still aimed at mobile phones. Only after using the Samsung Galaxy Tab for a while did I realise how right that statement is. On the surface all is well with the user interface and the pre-installed applications, but when installing many apps from the Android Market (such as the Engadget one or Robo Defence) the applications are in a letterbox on the large 7-inch screen. To add to that, even though Swype comes as a standard keyboard on the Tab, using a keyboard on the multi-touch  screen is uncomfortable and slow. I really hope the device gets an update to the iteration of Android for tablets.
2. Screen legibility in a bright environment is ok, but the tempered glass touch-screen is smudged easily and is a very reflective. I wouldn't be able to use this device as a portable web browser/ebook reader as much as I would like to, because my eyes were very tired after demoing it for just over six hours in a strip lighted store.
3. The price is steep. In the UK, at launch, the Samsung Galaxy Tab was sold at £529. After a week on sale, the price was reduced to £499. Still, when compared in functionality to a netbook with an integrated 3G radio, the Galaxy Tab is double the price.

If you were considering purchasing the Samsung Galaxy Tab, my advice would be to hold on to your hard earned cash a little longer. Android tablet computers are just starting to hit the market, but Google (main input and guide of the Android platform) doesn't think the operating system is ready for these devices. My advice is to wait until the Android platform is slightly more mature and Google endorses the use of the Android OS on tablets. If you do buy one, you may end up doing a Samsung Galaxy Tab reboxing like Jeff Jarvis did with his Apple iPad...

Samsung and other manufacturers (Archos, Toshiba, Advent, etc.) who decided to jump forward into the market before Christmas with Android tablets may just be left to their own devices when it comes to the long term longevity of their products and software updates.

Feel free to let me know what you think and ask any questions in the comments section below.