Friday, May 27, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Review: Jabra STONE (Bluetooth Headset)
Review: Jabra STONE (Bluetooth Headset): Owning one of these headsets, I have to agree completely with the author.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Hey Huawei Support, You need to read this!!
Last weekend I purchased a Huawei Ideos S7 Slim Android Tablet. This device is amazing. Fresh out of the box all of the hardware works like it should. GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, all of it. I am very pleased with my device.
Although within a couple of hours I had discovered what I consider to be a bug, along with a couple of smaller issues.
The tablet simply won't let you run a launcher other than the stock launcher that came with the tablet. While this launcher is functional and works, I like many others like to install our preference of launchers on an Android device. The 3rd party launchers work great until the tablet is rebooted. Upon a reboot, the tablet interface completely locks up. You have to use adb to remove the 3rd party launcher and reboot the tablet so that it will become functional again.
I contacted Huawei support regarding this. Their response was " we don't support 3rd party software".
Well, I'm not asking you to support the other party's launcher, I am asking you to fix your software so that I can run the launcher of my choice.
In fact, the other party's launcher runs great on many devices there are currently being used and also just happens to be one of the most popular launchers in the market. And it is not just this one launcher that didn't work, I got the exact same results with multiple launchers.
What happens if a non-technical person purchases one of these tablets and installs a 3rd party launcher. They most likely will not be able to resolve this issue on their own. How are you going to fix this for the end user?
Will you make them ship it back to you so that can flash the tablet back to stock?
Will you issue an RMA number and then replace the tablet for them?
Support like this is going to cost. Once people find out that your software prevents the usage of a 3rd party launcher, your reputation will suffer. People will simply not purchase your tablet.
So tell your support people to get off of their high horse and take at look at the issue I presented them with and then fix it.
This brings me to my next topic, when I found out that Swype was installed on the tablet, I was very happy.
When I tried to use it, I found out that the version on the tablet had already expired.
Again I contacted support to find out why.... Their response was, " the software has nothing to do with actual device, re-download it from the market."
Wow, why didn't I think of that? Oh wait, I did. Due to the limitations of tablets trying to access the market, Swype is not available in the market. Go ahead, fire up your S7 Slim tablet and search for Swype in the market. You won't find it. Does your support team even check on these things before they reply to a customer. Was your software properly QA'd?
Seriously Huawei, support like this won't get you very far.
You may need to just step back and re-evaluate what is important? Your reputation, your customer base, or your profits. If you don't make the 1st 2 answers your top priority, then your profits will dwindle....
Although within a couple of hours I had discovered what I consider to be a bug, along with a couple of smaller issues.
The tablet simply won't let you run a launcher other than the stock launcher that came with the tablet. While this launcher is functional and works, I like many others like to install our preference of launchers on an Android device. The 3rd party launchers work great until the tablet is rebooted. Upon a reboot, the tablet interface completely locks up. You have to use adb to remove the 3rd party launcher and reboot the tablet so that it will become functional again.
I contacted Huawei support regarding this. Their response was " we don't support 3rd party software".
Well, I'm not asking you to support the other party's launcher, I am asking you to fix your software so that I can run the launcher of my choice.
In fact, the other party's launcher runs great on many devices there are currently being used and also just happens to be one of the most popular launchers in the market. And it is not just this one launcher that didn't work, I got the exact same results with multiple launchers.
What happens if a non-technical person purchases one of these tablets and installs a 3rd party launcher. They most likely will not be able to resolve this issue on their own. How are you going to fix this for the end user?
Will you make them ship it back to you so that can flash the tablet back to stock?
Will you issue an RMA number and then replace the tablet for them?
Support like this is going to cost. Once people find out that your software prevents the usage of a 3rd party launcher, your reputation will suffer. People will simply not purchase your tablet.
So tell your support people to get off of their high horse and take at look at the issue I presented them with and then fix it.
This brings me to my next topic, when I found out that Swype was installed on the tablet, I was very happy.
When I tried to use it, I found out that the version on the tablet had already expired.
Again I contacted support to find out why.... Their response was, " the software has nothing to do with actual device, re-download it from the market."
Wow, why didn't I think of that? Oh wait, I did. Due to the limitations of tablets trying to access the market, Swype is not available in the market. Go ahead, fire up your S7 Slim tablet and search for Swype in the market. You won't find it. Does your support team even check on these things before they reply to a customer. Was your software properly QA'd?
Seriously Huawei, support like this won't get you very far.
You may need to just step back and re-evaluate what is important? Your reputation, your customer base, or your profits. If you don't make the 1st 2 answers your top priority, then your profits will dwindle....
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
It's always the little things.
I know, it seems like I am picking on Huawei lately, but I think they are having some quality control issues. Don't get me wrong, this new tablet is amazing. I love this thing. It has easily become my new favorite toy.
I ran across something else that bugs earlier on the tablet. I was using the pre-installed version of Doc-To-Go to read a PDF. I decided to check for updates. Sure enough there was an update. So I installed it. (Updates never break anything right)
Not his time. He update installed just fine. But when I tried to run the app again, I got a nifty pop-up telling me that the app was not designed to run on my device.
So once again I say, Really Huawei!!!!!
Come on, we are talking simple software updates.
I doubt I will get a response if I email support about it. Support will probably just tell me they don't support 3rd party software anyway. Even if it is a modified version made to work for this tablet.
Oh well, it's not like I need the software anyway. There are several PDF readers in the market that do just fine.
I would like to take a minute though and let everyone know about ezPDF Reader.
It works great. And unlike several in the market, it will save your place when you exit. It works very well and is easy to learn.
I highly really recommend it.
I ran across something else that bugs earlier on the tablet. I was using the pre-installed version of Doc-To-Go to read a PDF. I decided to check for updates. Sure enough there was an update. So I installed it. (Updates never break anything right)
Not his time. He update installed just fine. But when I tried to run the app again, I got a nifty pop-up telling me that the app was not designed to run on my device.
So once again I say, Really Huawei!!!!!
Come on, we are talking simple software updates.
I doubt I will get a response if I email support about it. Support will probably just tell me they don't support 3rd party software anyway. Even if it is a modified version made to work for this tablet.
Oh well, it's not like I need the software anyway. There are several PDF readers in the market that do just fine.
I would like to take a minute though and let everyone know about ezPDF Reader.
It works great. And unlike several in the market, it will save your place when you exit. It works very well and is easy to learn.
I highly really recommend it.
Another #fail for Huawei
While putting my new tablet through all sorts of tests, I have discovered another issue. Swype. Out of the box the tablet has Swype installed.
Awesome I thought, I use Swype on my Vibrant and think it is great. So I changed the default keyboard to Swype.
Hmmmmm......
But when I tried to use Swype, I got this amazing pop-up telling me that Swype had expired. Really Huawei.
Seriously, what are you thinking?
This is an awesome pieces of hardware and perfect for those of us that aren't big fans of the 10 inch tablets.
So I emailed support again asking why Swype is expired on my brand new tablet.
I am still waiting for a response.
Update - So Huawei finally reponded to my question regarding Swype having been expired by the time I opened the box. I expected this response.
Frankly it looks like a canned email. Even with the Swype issue, (which is really a non-issue)the device is an awesome gadget.
If you need to reply to this message, please click 'reply' to include all previous correspondence. This allows us to track your issue more efficiently and to resolve your issue more quickly. We hope your experience with us has provided you with an acceptable resolution to your issue.
Regards,
Huawei Technical Support
Awesome I thought, I use Swype on my Vibrant and think it is great. So I changed the default keyboard to Swype.
Hmmmmm......
But when I tried to use Swype, I got this amazing pop-up telling me that Swype had expired. Really Huawei.
Seriously, what are you thinking?
This is an awesome pieces of hardware and perfect for those of us that aren't big fans of the 10 inch tablets.
So I emailed support again asking why Swype is expired on my brand new tablet.
I am still waiting for a response.
Update - So Huawei finally reponded to my question regarding Swype having been expired by the time I opened the box. I expected this response.
Frankly it looks like a canned email. Even with the Swype issue, (which is really a non-issue)the device is an awesome gadget.
Dear Customer,
Thank you for contacting Huawei Technical Support.
The application expiring has nothing to do with the actual device. I would try re-downloading the application and if that does not fix the issue, I would contact either Google for support with the Market or Swype.
Thank you for contacting Huawei Technical Support.
The application expiring has nothing to do with the actual device. I would try re-downloading the application and if that does not fix the issue, I would contact either Google for support with the Market or Swype.
If you need to reply to this message, please click 'reply' to include all previous correspondence. This allows us to track your issue more efficiently and to resolve your issue more quickly. We hope your experience with us has provided you with an acceptable resolution to your issue.
Regards,
Huawei Technical Support
Huawei Tech Support
I recently bought a Huawei Ideos S7 Slim Tablet. The tablet works great right out of the box. But as expected, I began installing tons of apps both from the market and side-loading them. Everything worked great. Launcher Pro worked great, VTL Launcher worked great, all was good. Until I rebooted the tablet.
When it came back on the tablet would not respond to any input. The touchscreen was completely dead. The widgets on the desktop continued to update as expected, I just couldn't interact with the tablet.
I began some basic troubleshooting. I used adb to remove apps that I had installed. Starting with the extra Launchers.
After each Launcher was removed, I then used adb to reboot the tablet. Removing Launcher Pro gave me the same results. An unresponsive tablet. So I removed VTL Launcher and rebooted the tablet.
This time when the tablet came up, it worked just fine.
So I reinstalled Launcher Pro and rebooted.
Again, not able to interact with the tablet.
So I used adb to remove the launcher and reboot.
All was good. I emailed support about the issue.
I even gave them the steps needed to duplicate the issue.
"I just purchased an Ideos S7 Slim last night and I think I have found a bug.
Thank you for contacting Huawei Technical Support.
We cannot provide support for any third party applications.
If you need to reply to this message, please click 'reply' to include all previous correspondence. This allows us to track your issue more efficiently and to resolve your issue more quickly. We hope your experience with us has provided you with an acceptable resolution to your issue.
Regards,
Huawei Technical Support"
When it came back on the tablet would not respond to any input. The touchscreen was completely dead. The widgets on the desktop continued to update as expected, I just couldn't interact with the tablet.
I began some basic troubleshooting. I used adb to remove apps that I had installed. Starting with the extra Launchers.
After each Launcher was removed, I then used adb to reboot the tablet. Removing Launcher Pro gave me the same results. An unresponsive tablet. So I removed VTL Launcher and rebooted the tablet.
This time when the tablet came up, it worked just fine.
So I reinstalled Launcher Pro and rebooted.
Again, not able to interact with the tablet.
So I used adb to remove the launcher and reboot.
All was good. I emailed support about the issue.
I even gave them the steps needed to duplicate the issue.
"I just purchased an Ideos S7 Slim last night and I think I have found a bug.
I installed a couple of additional launchers on the tablet. ADW and Launcher Pro and VTL Launcher.
They ran fine until I rebooted the tablet.
When the tablet came back up, it was hung and would not respond to any type of input.
I could see the widgets on the screen updating and the time was changing as it should, but the tablet would not respond to any input.
I used adb to remove the additional launchers and reboot the tablet.
With the additional launchers removed, the tablet went back to functioning as expected after a reboot.
Is there a way to fix this?
I like the default launcher, but would also like the ability to use other launchers as well.
Please advise."
I got this as a response.
"Dear Aaron,
Thank you for contacting Huawei Technical Support.
We cannot provide support for any third party applications.
If you need to reply to this message, please click 'reply' to include all previous correspondence. This allows us to track your issue more efficiently and to resolve your issue more quickly. We hope your experience with us has provided you with an acceptable resolution to your issue.
Regards,
Huawei Technical Support"
Ok, this doesn't make me very happy. So I sent them this:
"I'm not asking you to support a 3rd party application, I am telling you that if I install any other launcher, the tablet locks up. This issue isn't launcher specific, meaning that there is a bug with your version of Android, or the launcher that is installed by default. The launchers I have tested work great on many types of devices and are proven to have an excellent track record. They also have worked on all the other tablets that I have tested them on. Again, this proves that the issue is not with the 3rd party app, but appears to be a bug with the software on your tablet. I was able to duplicate the issue after I resolved it the first time. I am not asking you to support a 3rd party6 app, but to fix the software on your tablet."
Really Huawei, If you want to gain share in the US market, you are going to need to try harder than this and offer better support for your products.
It would be one thing if I were asking you to fix Launcher Pro to work on your tablet, but Launcher Pro has an awesome track record and works on many many devices out in the real world. The issue here is clearly with your tablet. Or am I wrong?
I am patiently waiting to see what their reply is.......
It would be one thing if I were asking you to fix Launcher Pro to work on your tablet, but Launcher Pro has an awesome track record and works on many many devices out in the real world. The issue here is clearly with your tablet. Or am I wrong?
I am patiently waiting to see what their reply is.......
Monday, May 9, 2011
Jabra Stone Bluetooth Headset
The headset works quite well, the only major drawback is the battery life. Sound quality is very good, but the headset only lasts for about 2 hours on a single charge. The good thing is that the cradle also doubles as a charger and is relatively quick to recharge the headset while on the go.
Posted from my Huawei S7 Slim tablet.
Posted as a test. This is a pretty cool little tablet GPS,Bluetooth, wifi, in a 7 inch tablet. This thing works surprisingly well and is fairly easy to type on. The device feels nice and study without being too heavy. It is definitely a tablet worth checking out.
I will post more after having used it for a couple of days.
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