HTC One X camera review

Today was a great excuse for an Easter stroll, and to try out the One X's 8mp camera.

It behaved well (and once I have the right shortcuts setup, will be very easy to use) although quite disappointingly, after opening the application a few times it did freeze on a black screen and had to be restarted. Considering the immense processor power behind it, and the advertised camera capabilities (including 'best shot' - take lots in quick succession and choose the best) I was upset it crashed so soon, but time will tell whether it's a regular thing.

Otherwise, the photo quality was good, and I'll let you judge for yourselves below :)

HTC One X review - pretty damn good so far!

I'm writing this review from a brand spanking new HTC One X on O2. So new, in fact, that the shop in Portsmouth hadn't seen one 'unboxed' (cue great excitement from shop staff). They also hadn't got any of the new HTC accessories set up on their till system, probably a blessing in disguise for my bank account anyway ;)
So, first impressions:
- fast. Very, very, fast. Given that my last phone was an HTC hero circa 2009, I was expecting to see good things from the quad core processor. What I wasn't expecting, was the phone to synch all 260 something of my contacts in well under a minute. Having tried everything in great excitement once it charged, it still hasn't crashed or hung, and all the apps are very responsive. This thing's got power!
- user friendly. The lovely cursive HTC font floats over all the functions the first time you use them, explaining what to do. I also wasn't expecting to be gently guided through transferring contacts, but after selecting my old phone's make and model, detailed instructions followed and contacts and texts were sent across via Bluetooth.
So it seems pretty damn good so far. My only current gripe is that O2 claimed it would take 2 hours to connect my account, and so far it's been 7 and still no signal. Thankfully I have WiFi at home so can still play, and will report back again soon...

HTC One

HTC have just announced their new baby, and it's not called Edge, or Zeta as previously thought, but perhaps uninspiringly dubbed the 'HTC One'. The specs and design are anything but uninspiring however (if the rumours are true), and I'm really excited about this ground breaking quad core. I'll let you see for yourself:



Specs include:

• 8-megapixel camera
• 4.7-inc LCD display
• 1080p video recorder - with the ability to take photos whilst capturing HD video (!).
• HTC Sense 4 UI
• Tegra 3 quad-core processor 

According to Techcunch there are 3 versions - The 'One X' on AT & T, the 'One S' (similar specs but on T mobile) and the lower end 'One V' with no front facing camera, 3.7 inch screen, and 'unibody' design.

Social Media Tips 1 - Some LinkedIn Pros and Cons

Pros Professional information. Of all the social networks, LinkedIn is the most focussed on professional interests.	Cons Smaller Audience. Although LinkedIn has a huge user base, it is still not as popular as Facebook or Twitter.
Aids offline networking. After a networking events you can add people you've met on LinkedIn, reinforcing the relationship. Some people even have LinkedIn details on their business cards.	Lacks a personal touch. Online 'introductions' lack the depth of a personal meeting, and some people may prefer not to be put in touch without having met first.
Creates a forum for expertise. Taking part in LinkedIn discussions is a good way to demonstrate individual expertise.	Not as suitable for B2C/leisure&lifestyle As a more formal/professional environment, users are less susceptible to marketing and advertising concerning leisure time products and services.
Highly targeted professional advertising. People on LinkedIn are already in work mode so it's more acceptable to advertise B2B products. Adverts can be targeted by age, gender, seniority, job title and even company.	Not as fun! No farmville to see here people...move along now. As the most professional of the networks, LinkedIn lacks appeal for those who want  entertainment.
Competitor Intelligence Despite a general tightening of employee social media policies sensitive information can sometimes be gathered from CV's on LinkedIn.	Charge for some services  Some 'extra' services such as Jobseeker Premium, ask for a subscription fee.
Analytics Company page admins get data on visitors by industry, title, function and company, page views over time, clicks on jobs, clicks on employee Profiles, and clicks on job "Apply" buttons.

HTC - leading with an Edge?

You may not be surprised to find that I'm still deliberating over which mobile phone handset to get next. My HTC hero is lovely, but after 2.5 years it's dying a slow death, and the hunt is on for a replacement.

Of course, there is the great iPhone vs Android debate I had a few posts ago, and thought I might finally be leaning towards apple...but a part of me doesn't want to give up on android just yet. I'm proud to have been an early adopter and have a certain amount of brand loyalty for the geeky underdog. 

So before I make any hasty decisions, I'm just going to hang out for new releases announced at the February Mobile World Congress. A little digging around has unearthed rumours about quad core processors and I found this on techleash.com:

The first high-end smartphone to be announced by HTC at Mobile World Congress is going to be dubbed Edge. Among the HTC Edge’s features analysts suggest a 1.5 GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 4.7 inch touch-screen and an 8 mega-pixel camera.

HTC Zeta is supposed to be the second release that HTC will present this year to the market. Some analysts suggest that due to the leap in performance compared to HTC Edge, Zeta cannot be unveiled at the same event and a later release would be more reasonable. HTC Zeta is expected to feature a 2.5 GHz quad core processor, 1 GB of RAM and 32 GB storage space, a 4.5 inch touch-screen and an 8 mega-pixel camera.

Not sure I can hold out for the Zeta but the Edge already sounds like a giant leap from the antiquated Hero and I so I looked into it a bit further:

• No micro SD slot (but 32g on board memory)
• 1080p HD camcorder
• Additional 720p front facing cam
• NFC (near field communication) capacity (TBC)
• It's PRETTY: 

Altogether now...oooooh! Put it in your diaries people 27th February 2012 the Edge is revealed at the MWC, and android may be firmly back on my list.

When to tweet and post - are you missing your market?

Social media marketing is still a dark art. Some do it well, some do it badly, and some are opposed to the very idea. For those trying to hone their social media marketing technique, there is a lot of guidance out there on what to tweet and post. What there hasn't been much focus on is when to do so.

The infographic below from Argyle Social got me thinking...

According to their research, B2C Facebook campaigns get better engagement at the weekends. When you think about it, that's not surprising - the majority of consumers are at work themselves during the week, no?

Does this mean Facebook marketing needs to embrace the weekends? Just as retail has seen the opportunities in staying open at the weekend, should marketers be tweeting and facebooking their way into a Tuesday-Sunday working week? If that's when the audience is most receptive, then perhaps they should.

But we need to be careful abut generalising. Does this apply to all sectors, not just retail? Should recruiters, for example, try to market new positions online at the weekend? This strategy might not apply here, as people are perhaps not thinking in a work mindset and would show less interest. Also, from a recruiting perspective, is it a case of quality over quantity? The people who are responding at the weekend are perhaps more conscientious workers. Would you put someone forward for a job if they were on Facebook replying to an advert at 10am on a workday? 

Additionally, the B2B data shown above may not be as straightforward as it seems. Many people have different work and personal accounts, and who is to say that the same individual that B2B's are trying to sell to during the working week, isn't more receptive from a personal account at the weekend?

Analysing when to post is great, but only if you're very clear on your target market and what they will be doing at that time. You need to ensure the audience is there, willing to engage, and engaging in the right capacity. This may mean not only adopting weekend and evening posting, but also adopting a different strategy for posts and tweets published at this time, compared to those posted during the working week.

The Android vs iPhone debate (Part 2)

So a while back I posted this - an 'I told you so' on why android was finally winning, at least in terms of market share. I may - repeat may - be changing my mind. 

The HTC Hero I bought in 2008 is still alive and kicking. I haven't even updated the android version and it's only just getting slow. So what's the problem? Well there's two. Developers, and my general laziness.

Developers and Brands

Ok, so I don't have the stats. But amongst the many articles that sprang up about Steve Job's recent passing I found this little gem of a quote:

Jobs and his team taught companies that brands and technology can be interwoven without being complex and confusing - the reason brands still seek to develop apps for the iPhone and iPad first before thinking of other operating systems, despite Android having a larger market share. 

I'm not convinced it's that simple, but the facts remain - developers like apple. Brands like apple. Getting an 'app' for your brand is the latest big thing, and yet the android versions of these apps are missing or absent completely. Even freelance developers have their eyes on the prize, and most seem to be chasing the elusive 'super-app' (the new angry birds) to be sold on the iPhone app market.

My Laziness

When it comes to technology, I'm lazy. We all are. The point of technology is to make things easier (that and fun - I mentioned angry birds, right?). And the iPhone makes everything...just. so. easy. 

• easy synching with my mac and iPod
• easy browsing (android still isn't a great user experience)
• easy apps
• easy navigation
• easy listening (my android phone isn't also an MP3 player...)
• easy photography
• easy sharing

Yes I hate the monopoly. I hate how if I accidentally delete a track I have to re-download and pay for it again. I hate how you can only have 5 computers with your iTunes account on (or was it four?). But, when all's said and done, the iPhone is popular with brands - brands I want to buy things from, and interact with. The iPhone is also a very good looking and well designed phone, with a great user interface.

I may well be giving in...