Welcome to CompuTown Edinburgh review of the Huawei P20, Huawei P20 Pro and P20 Lite.

Despite Samsung’s dominance in the Android world, it’s Huawei that is making up ground faster than OnePlus, LG or Sony. Huawei has announced the P20 and P20 Pro at an event in Paris. With top of the line specs, superb design and genuinely innovative camera set ups (particularly on the triple lens Pro), the P20 and P20 Pro are pushing the envelope in terms of Android hardware.

The expected P20 Lite was not mentioned at the event but it does exist. Here’s all you want to know about the Huawei P20 range.
Here’s a breakdown of the specs for each device:

Huawei P20

• Kirin 970 octa-core processor
• 5.84in Full-HD+ (2244×1080) ‘notch’ screen
• 4GB RAM
• 128GB storage + microSD
• Leica 12Mp + 20Mp dual-camera
• Front fingerprint scanner
• 3400mAh battery
• USB-C
• IP53 waterproof
• Android 8.0 Oreo

Huawei P20 Pro

• Kirin 970 octa-core processor
• 6.1in Full-HD+ (2240×1080) ‘notch’ screen
• 6GB RAM
• 128GB storage + microSD
• Leica 40Mp + 20Mp + 8Mp triple-camera
• Front fingerprint scanner
• 4000mAh battery
• USB-C
• Android 8.0 Oreo

Huawei P20 Lite

• Kirin 659 octa-core processor
• 5.84in Full-HD+ (2280×1080) ‘notch’ screen
• 4GB RAM
• 64GB storage
• 16Mp + 2Mp dual-camera
• 16Mp selfie camera
• Rear fingerprint scanner
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• 2900mAh battery
• Micro-USB 2.0
• Android 8.0 Oreo
• 148.6×71.2×7.4mm
• 145g

The P20 comes in black, champagne gold, twilight, pink gold and midnight blue while the P20 pro is available in black, midnight blue, pink gold and twilight. The pink gold and twilight colours are particularly striking, with chromatic gradient colours that shift in different lights.

The screen on the P20 is a 5.84in 2244×1080 18.7:9 LCD display while the Pro is a larger 6.1in OLED with 2240×1080 resolution. Huawei labels both as ‘full view’ displays.

The P20 and P20 Pro lack a headphone jack, though Huawei supplies USB-C headphones and a 3.5mm headphone jack adapter in the boxes.

There is an option in the display settings to hide the notch by introducing a black strip at the top of the screen. Clearly Huawei knows not everyone is going to love the design, so it’s a clever way to keep people from moaning about a feature that is inevitably going to crop up on several flagship smartphones this year.

The P20 has a 12Mp colour and 20Mp monochrome sensor with f/1.8 and f/1.6 apertures respectively. The P20 Pro impresses further with a triple camera set up, with a 40Mp (yes, forty) colour, 20Mp monochrome and 8Mp telephoto lens.

It’s worth noting only the 8Mp lens has OIS, meaning the other two sensors on the Pro, and both on the regular P20, only have AI-assisted stabilisation rather than physical stabilisation. Huawei claims the tech inside the phones, especially the P20 Pro, assists photography that lifts results above its competitors.

The Pro’s 5x optical zoom is certainly impressive and a good differentiator. In sample shots though the P20 Pro can deliver some outstanding low light shots. In fact, the Pro has the highest ISO ever on a smartphone at an insane 102,400. For reference, the iPhone X’s ISO is 5,400.

The Pro can take photos even if the light level is one lux. Suffice to say our full reviews of both devices will address these claims.

As with the Mate 10 Pro, Huawei makes some bold claims about artificial intelligence on the P20 and P20 Pro. As with all claims by smartphone manufacturers, this is not really AI – but the software smarts on the P20s are clever enough to take notice of, despite the shaky association with AI. The camera can intelligently select the correct shooting mode. You can also trigger Amazon searches on images UI-wide with a press of two fingers. Face unlock is also touted to be ‘100% faster’ than on the iPhone X and Galaxy S9.

Both phones ship with EMUI 8.1 based on Android Oreo 8.1 out the box. It still looks an awful lot like the Android cousin of iOS, and is often a far cry design-wise from stock Android.

Despite saying the phones would be available immediately on a global scale, the P20 and P20 Pro went up for pre-order on 28 March ahead of a 5 April release date.

In the UK, the Huawei P20 costs £599 and the P20 Pro will set you back £799. The P20 Lite is £329. Those who order before 5 April will get a free pair of £329 Bose QC35 II noise cancelling headphones.

CompuTown Edinburgh provides repair services for Huawei phones and all other brands including Apple, Samsung, Nokia, OnePlus and HTC. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us at computown.co.uk.

At CompuTown, we specialise in Apple repairs and pride ourselves on the quality of work we provide.   A while back one of our good clients came in for an iPhone X repair.  The back camera lens was shattered and Apple quoted him an obscene amount of money to fix it.

Since the phone was still under Apple warranty we took great care replacing the lens.  Bit by bit we removed the shattered glass from the phone ensuring the camera didn’t get damaged.

Once the glass was removed the iPhone was ready for a new lens.  New adhesive was applied and the lens was securely fitted onto the iPhone.

Finished product and a very happy customer.

Just recently the same client returned informing us that he dropped his phone and since he was away on holiday he had to take it to Apple.  He told us Apple could not even tell the phone was repaired by us and that they accepted it as if it was in its original state.

If you are looking for quality mobile phone, tablet and computer repairs look no further.  Come to CompuTown and take advantage of a professional service you can trust.  We specialise in Apple repairs but fix all brands.  We offer an express repair service for many devices we repair.  Most importantly, we offer a 3-month warranty for your peace of mind.  Just in case something does go wrong with your device, there is a service you can come back to and get it rectified.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 will be unveiled on 25 February an be available to pre-order from 2 March. We look at what to expect, and whether you should upgrade to the Galaxy S9.

Samsung Galaxy unveilings are exciting, but this year the update isn’t going to be as big as in previous years. We’ll see a performance improvement with the 10nm Snapdragon 845 (or the 10nm Exynos 9810 in certain areas).

The plus will come equipped with a dual camera while the standard S9 will retain its 12MP camera but might gain the ability to shoot 480fps 1080p slow-motion videos though this has not been confirmed by Samsung. The fingerprint scanner was moved below the rear camera, rather than to its side.

It’s a shame this fingerprint scanner is not going to be embedded into the screen – the technology is ready. Instead Samsung is said to be improving its iris scanner tech, combining it with face recognition for better results in all conditions.

The phone specifications have also been leaked:

• 5mm (5.8in, full rectangle)/143.3mm (5.6in, rounded corners) Quad-HD+ SuperAMOLED display
• Super Speed Dual Pixel 12Mp OIS (f1.5/f2.4) rear camera
• Super Slow-mo
• 8Mp AF Selfie Camera
• Stereo Speakers tuned by AKG
• IP68 Water & Dust Resistant
• Iris Scanner
• 64GB Memory/4GB RAM
• Wireless charging (pad sold separately)
• Earphones tuned by AKG

There are very few renders of the S9.  This is because it is going to look very similar to the the S8. The colours will be Midnight Black, Titanium Gray, Coral Blue and Lilac Purple and there is also a mention further special editions. You can see the leaked Lilac Purple and Coral Blue options below.

As before we’ll see a 5.8in Infinity Display on the Galaxy S9, and a 6.2in version on the S9+.  Something that isn’t changing is the battery capacity or charging speed. The Galaxy S9 will have a 3,000mAh battery and the Galaxy S9+ 3,500mAh, both with support for 15W adaptive fast charging.  Prices for both models are expected to go up by £100 for both models.

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Recently CompuTown clients have been asking us regarding the due to recent controversy surrounding Apple slowing down older iPhones with degraded batteries. In his recent interview with ABC News, Tim Cook announced that future iOS update will give users more insight into the state of their battery.  Moreover, the forthcoming update will give users the option to disable the throttling to maintain normal CPU performance, but will be at risk of unexpected shutdowns.

In its public apology letter regarding iPhone slowdown debacle, Apple described the update in the following way:

Early in 2018, we will issue an iOS software update with new features that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance.

This implied additional features of the battery screen in iOS settings to include more information about the iPhone’s battery health and whether the phone is being affected by Apple’s advanced power management throttling.

There was no mention of the option to disable battery throttling so either Tim Cook misspoke or he is sharing new details.

The new feature will make a lot of users happy who have openly asked for the ability to use their iPhone at full speed knowing that it increases the likelihood of their device randomly turning itself off if the battery cannot provide enough instantaneous voltage.

Apple will not recommend users disable the throttling as it may mean that they will not be able to use their device in emergency situations.

A developer beta in February probably means a public release of this update will be available in March.

CompuTown in Edinburgh provides quality repairs for mobile phones, tablets and computers.  We are excited to inform our valued clients that we now buy and sell mobile phones, tablets and laptops.  We offer competitive prices for your equipment and all our products are thoroughly tested and come with a warranty!  Whether you are looking for quick cash or to buy a second hand product you can trust,  come in and see our great offers!

CompuTown in Edinburgh PC building service is even known at the North Pole!  Santa asked us to build a PC for a young gamer who was nice this year.  We are just putting on last finishing touches just before it ends up under a Christmas tree of a very lucky child!

If you are looking for a PC, we can build one for you too.  Here at Optimus IT Solutions Edinburgh we build PCs per function, spec or budget.  Gaming rigs, workstations, budget PCs, we do them all.  Give us a shout and we’ll be happy to provide you with a free quote. In addition, we offer PC repairs and upgrades.

Call us on 0131 346 0111 or email us on info@computown.co.uk.

After months of rumors, OnePlus officially announced announced its new flagship smartphone.  It has confirmed the OnePlus 5T specifications, price and release date.

OnePlus has jumped on the bezel-less bandwagon with this device.  The OnePlus 5T sports a 6 inch OLED display with 1080×2160 display resolution, 18:9 aspect ratio and slim bezels.  The physical home button has been removed and the fingerprint sensor is now located at the back of the phone.

The OnePlus 5T is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor in combination with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage.  It comes with a 3300mAh battery.

Apart from the screen, the only significant change from the OnePlus 5 is the camera.  Instead of the wide and telephoto lens dual camera, the OnePlus 5T has a second @low-light camera”.

It is still a combination of a16megapixel primary camera and a 20 megapixel secondary camera but the latter sensor has a new f/1.7 aperture to match the primary sensor.  This should enable the camera to perform better in low-light conditions.

The front facing 16 megapixel camera has been retained but additional function has been added.  The OnePlus 5T has a face unlock feature which works using the front camera.

Other than these changes, it’s essentially the same phone as the OnePlus 5.  The company has confirmed that the 5T is going to be available in UK starting 21^st of November for £449 and £499 for the 64BG and 128GB models respectively.

The internet has become a vital part of many lives and some of us use it constantly throughout the day. This increases the risk of infection by viruses and malware. Infections can lead to identity theft and data loss. Every user should be educated in how to prevent virus infections and what to look for to avoid getting infected and spreading infections. This will keep up and everyone you connect with safer.

1. Avoid clicking on everything. There are numerous banners, ads and popups that are designed to get you to click on them. Most modern browsers protect your computer from getting infected unless you click on something yourself. Avoid clicking on banners and pop ups, especially those offering deals too good to be true. In addition, make sure your browser is configured to always ask for permission to download or run any files.

2. Beware of misleading popups. Some of the most dangerous popups mimic the look of legitimate anti-virus software. They are designed to trick the user into thinking their antivirus software has found an infection. In reality, clicking on them allows viruses to install. Ensure your browser is configured to block pop ups, adblocker plugin also helps to prevent them from appearing in the first place. If a pop up appears, don’t try clicking the “X” which typically leads to more popups. Instead, use the Task Manager to get rid of it.

3. Install Antivirus / Anti Malware software. This is an obvious one but surprisingly we often come across unprotected laptops. There are numerous free antivirus programs which may be tempting to many. Bare in mind those offer very basic protection which leaves your computer vulnerable to infections. Subscription-based packages offer additional layers of protection and are well worth the investment.

4. Run regularly scheduled virus scans. It is not enough to just have an anti-virus program installed. By default, your anti-virus software is not configured to scan your system. Virus scans can slow your computer down enough where it may be difficult to use it normally. Best strategy is to run a scan when the computer is not being used. Your software can also be configured to run regular scans. Try to schedule those when your computer is typically not being used. It is recommended to run scans once per week.

5. Keep your operating system current. Whether you are running Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, or any other OS, keep it up to date. OS developers are always issuing security patches that fix and plug security leaks. These patches will help to keep your system secure. Similarly, keep your anti-virus software up to date. Viruses and malware are created all the time. Your scanning software is only as good as its database. It too must be as up to date as possible.

6. Backup your data. This is a crucial preventive measure. Your data should be in three locations: your computer, an external storage device used for backup and could storage such as Dropbox. Your data is the target of most attacks. Some viruses go as far as encrypting your data and demand ransom to decrypt it.

7. Secure your network. Many of our computers connect to our files, printers, or the Internet via a Wi-Fi connection. Make sure it requires a password to access it and that the password is strong. Never broadcast an open Wi-Fi connection. Use WPA or WPA2 encryption. WEP is no longer strong enough as it can be bypassed in minutes by experts.

At CompuTown we always try to help our clients.  Just the other day we had a customer come in who was having an issue with his Apple Beats headphones.  One channel was silent. We decided to help him out.

Upon disassembly we discovered that during production the cable connecting the two channels was pinched and over time the wear and tear of the headphones severed the cable.  We replaced the broken part and after re-assembly headphones were working as good as new.

We wanted to share this story because we are all about our clients.  Even though we specialise in phone, tablet and computer repairs, we always try to go the extra step to help our valued customers.