back to article A first-world problem solved: Panoramic selfies, thanks to Huawei's Ascend P7

Huawei took the number-three spot in smartphones last year – pushing aside Sony, HTC and Nokia – but it’s still practically unheard of as a smartphone brand in the UK. But that may change quite rapidly with the launch of its latest flagship model, the Ascend P7, unveiled today in Paris. Photograph of the P7 Yup, it's a phone …

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  1. Neil 8

    "The P7, however, is extravagantly well-crafted and boasts a slimmer profile"

    If only there was some way to demonstrate this. Perhaps one day the internet will allow for pictures, if only on technology sites at first.

    1. Malcolm 1

      We can only hope. Fortunately Huawei are demonstrating an early prototype of this Internet-with-pictures here: http://consumer.huawei.com/minisite/worldwide/Ascend-P7/

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Unfortunately

        This Internet-with-pictures is very slow to load. I think we should stick with plain HTML markup for the time being. An attempt to rush things might cause all kinds of problems.

        Incidentally, why does a relephone have a picture on its front where the dialler should be?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Coat

          Re: Unfortunately

          Is a relephone a phone which only receives calls from relatives?

          1. Fihart

            Re: Unfortunately @Stuart Longname

            It's a relephone because the (fairly) reasonable price makes it relevant to more people.

            Not sure how well the brand is doing in UK -- Vodafone who had an exclusive on Huawei's £100 model didn't seem to have any Huawei product when I looked in recently and were keen to show me the Motorola G instead.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Unfortunately

            Touché, but of course the r key is next to the t key and I had just swapped from a different keyboard.

    2. Anomalous Cowturd
      Stop

      Re: If only...

      You should have gone for the elReg Gold Subscription option. We see pictures, and get the news before it happens.

      ;o)

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    FFS

    "...you don’t have to be embarrassed to carry around."

    If you get embarrassed by the make/model of your mobile phone, you've really got a lot more than that to worry about.

    Being a bloody snob for starters.

    1. The elephant in the room
      Joke

      Re: FFS

      Unless you have a phone branded "Smallcock" with a logo in the shape of a small cock pointing at your mouth.

      1. EddieD

        Re: FFS

        Venezuala did this with the “Vergatorio” - local slang for penis, which Hugo Chavez described as "the tool for a modern society"...and apparently he said “whoever doesn’t have a Vergatario is nothing."

        Sexism rules..

  3. Don Jefe

    Truisms Spoken Aloud

    There's an unofficial focus group style practice here in the States that deals with how something is correctly pronounced. The idea is that you ask several people how to pronounce something to determine not only if they're illiterate, but to see if they are comfortable saying the word.

    If people don't like a word, or are unsure how to say it, then they just avoid using the word altogether. Which is fairly detrimental to a sales pitch, or even a management discussion about possibly picking up a product line.

    Jamo, Asolo, Festool and Cache from Intersystems (there's supposed to be an accent mark over that last e in Cache, but I can't find the accent mark...) are all brands or products from the upper end of completely different categories, but all of them went through a 'pronunciation awareness' period after their initial forays into the US didn't get the traction they had hoped (incidentally, that search engine a while back with the stupid name and preference for gay porn was never going to be a contender because 'almost nobody' speaks Gaelic and those that do rarely mangle it that badly).

    Ask some of your non-IT coworkers how to pronounce Huawei. I got 'Huey', 'hi way' and 'hooey' from a random sampling of three people. I'm not saying the name is a deal breaker, but there's no reason to complicate an already difficult uphill battle with a name people aren't sure about. Executives here just hate to say something incorrectly, can't stand being embarrassed you know. Plus, if you go out on a pronunciation campaign you're getting free space to flog your gear.

    It sounds silly, and probably is, but people won't put you in a conversation if they don't know how to say your name.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. Don Jefe

        Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

        I don't disagree, but you can wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which gets full first. If you aren't going to deal with reality you're better off staying in your basement/cube. People out here are running businesses and making money. It's fun. You should try it sometime.

        1. JDX Gold badge

          Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

          Don't you pronounce it in a Scottish way, or possibly the North-Eastern "H'away"?

          1. Jamie Jones Silver badge
            Facepalm

            Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

            I know it's wrong, but I keep reading it as sounding the same as Hawaii

          2. Anna Logg

            Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

            When I worked for them a few years back the Chinese Overlords pronounced it how-whey in a slightly Geordie fashion. Going back to the mid 90s many Americans I met pronounced Nokia Noe-kee-ah in an attempt (presumably) to make it sound like Ikea.

      2. elDog

        Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

        huh?

    2. GregC

      Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

      I don't think it's that big of a deal in this case, simply because when it comes to phones the manufacturer is hardly ever mentioned. Ask someone what phone they've got and you'll get told Galaxy S4 or iPhone or Nexus 5 - in my experience you hardly ever hear the words Samsung, Apple or Google/LG. This (assuming it makes some kind of sales impression) will be likewise known as the Ascend P7 or even just P7.

      As for the phone itself, now that the internet-with-pictures has arrived I have to say it's a very nice looking thing, the spec sounds good - if I was in the market for a new phone it would make for a tempting option. Not keen on the Win8 style widget that seems to be on the homescreen but presumably one can make that go away.

    3. Francis Boyle Silver badge

      Maybe Huawei could rename itself 'Kodak'

      It's supposedly easily pronounceable in every language on the planet and isn't been used for much these days.

    4. SkippyBing

      Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

      Sorry, you're saying there are people in the USA who're embarrassed to be heard pronouncing words incorrectly? It's just it doesn't seem to stop them trying to say Jaguar, route, schedule, herb...

      1. Don Jefe

        Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

        If you're referring to the 'English' language there's not a soul on this planet that speaks it 'correctly'. It's a hodgepodge of bullshit made up to suit the fancy of whoever is saying something at the moment. Fucking Klingon makes more sense than English.

        I've always found it hilarious that the English spoken in Scotland is far more historically 'correct' than what the English speak. Hell, people in backwoods Appalachia speak better English than the English. I really wouldn't get too high up on that horse if I were you, some Nepalese fellow who learned English as his eighth language might show up and shame you.

        1. Martin Taylor 1

          Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

          @Don Jefe: You haven't lived until you've had your English corrected by a Dutchman.

          1. Guus Leeuw

            Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

            Now, now, Martin...

        2. plrndl

          Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

          @ Don Jefe

          Frightfully sorry, old chap, but I must point out that “English” is, by definition, the language of the people of England. It follows that the way the language is spoken in England is the “correct” version.

          We are quite happy to have you foreigner johnnies speak our language, with your strange accents, as it saves us the fag of learning your language, but it is still our language.

          1. Don Jefe

            Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

            It's really sad when people don't know their own past, but jump up to defend it. If anything, the English people calling the English language 'theirs' is just a culture grab, laying claim to something they've had a ridiculously minimal impact on. The Scandinavians made larger contributions to the English language than the English people ever have. Hell, the French are responsible for more of the English language than the English people.

            So you go on waving that flag, it's barely your flag anyway.

            1. IsJustabloke

              Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

              An American chiding an Englishman for flag waving is more than a little comical. :D

              The language is called English because when we ruled most of the globe we took *our* language with us and taught it to the locals not wanting to bother with learning all the piddling little local languages.

        3. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

          historically 'correct' than what the English speak

          How to fail at all types of English one-on-one

        4. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud - @Don Jefe

          " English spoken in Scotland is far more historically 'correct' "

          I recommend getting a good textbook on sociolinguistics. The idea that an early form of a language is "correct" would have us all on Indo-European. Languages evolve.

          As for Scotland, do you mean Glaswegian, Edinburgh or Aberdeen English? But as Dunbar says,

          "Our plesance heir is all vain glory,

          This fals world is bot transitory,"

        5. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

          "I've always found it hilarious that the English spoken in Scotland is far more historically 'correct' than what the English speak."

          I believe that the correct response to this statement would be to use a Scottish phrase that roughly translates as 'go and line up over there'... and that is "far queue", spoken in a heavy glaswegian accent.

      2. mrfill

        Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

        I've always been puzzled about the word route and the American pronunciation. I recall a Mr Chuck Berry (a gentleman of the American persuasion) singing a popular tune about Route (pron. ROOT) 66 and yet, in conversation it becomes Route (ROUT) 66.

        As for Huawei, I would suggest a brand name of Happle or Hamsung

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          @mrfill

          There are regional "dialects" of English in the US, just as there with many languages. The US is a big place, with some significant cultural differences between areas. In some places "route" is pronounced ROOT, in others ROUT, so both are correct.

          There are a number of words for which this is true, as well as different ways to refer to the same thing. If you visit a US restaurant and they want to ask you if you want a soft drink, they will ask "what kind of soda do you want?" in some places and "what kind of pop do you want?" in others. And you'll really be thrown off if you travel to the right area for them to ask "what kind of Coke do you want?" They use Coke as a generic name for all soft drinks, even if they serve Pepsi products!

      3. Dan Paul

        Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

        Funny but we say the same thing about you folks. Strange but I seem to recollect that many of our forefathers originated across the pond and that most of yours were Gallic, Roman, Saxon, Angle or Viking originally. Ever hear the Scots Irish speak Gaelic? What about Acadian? Everything changes.

        Who's to say you're pronouncing or spelling correctly? It's all arbitrary and subjective anyway. What's with adding the "U" in color? Why do you misplace the second "E" in center?

        You don't speak Old English anymore do you? Language Evolves!

        1. Jamie Jones Silver badge
          Happy

          Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

          "What's with adding the "U" in color? Why do you misplace the second "E" in center?"

          You do realise that the only reason you deviated in the above 2 ways is down to the Spanish influence on yous? :-)

          1. Dan Paul

            Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

            No dipshit, I live on the Northern border of the USA right near Toronto and 80% of the radio and TV I grew up with was Canadian. The majority of people there are mainly of Scottish or English descent NOT Spanish. Any "deviation" came from indoctrination (education). Before the fearmongers came into power, we used to go there to Canada every weekend. Now you might wait 3 hours for Customs.

            Funny thing phonetics, it changed what letters needed to be used to convey an idea. Language EVOLVES, it does NOT stay permanent. If you throw out what is considered useless and still are able to understand what one is saying, it only proves how useless the extra letters are.

            1. Jamie Jones Silver badge

              Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

              Firstly, moron, I apologise, as the content of your post clearly shows that you are somewhat lacking in the neurons department (which may explain your anger issues), so I shouldn't really respond to your rant (which rather ironically, shows clear language comprehension issues).

              With that out of the way, and leaving aside why you would get hostile at a light-hearted reply you basically baited with your original post, I'll start with reminding you what you originally said:

              "What's with adding the "U" in color? Why do you misplace the second "E" in center?"

              I suggest you read up on history. American Noah Webster deliberately *removed* the "U" and misplaced the E" - the arrogance suggesting they were our deviations and not yours.... The language is called "English" not American"

              And why are you wittering about Canadians - Canadians spell the same way as us, so the point you make about them mainly being of Sottish or English decent, is at best irrelevant.

              Here's something about the influence Spanish had on American spelling deviations: http://html.rincondelvago.com/american-english_general-historical-background.html

              In future, I suggest doing some research before posting, as you've just shown yourself to be the very dip-shit you accused me of being.

              HAVE A NICE DAY

              HOPE TO HAVE HELPED

              XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

    5. croc

      Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

      Lessee... 'Merkans 300 million. Chinese, over 1 billion. Hmm... My focus group says that 'Merkans better start learning mandarin before their new overlords make it mandatory.

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Absolutely irrelevant

      Hyundai, Porsche, Hermes, Haagen Dazs, Stella Artois, Saucony, Guerlain, Givenchy, Miele, Boglioli all beg to differ.

      In fact, as many of them are quite high end brands, it may be to Huawei's advantage to be hard to pronounce. I think the biggest factor against them is the negative publicity they got in the US a while back over the Chinese hacking concerns. Now that the NSA has been outed as working with US companies, people may feel more safe using Huawei networking equipment than Cisco...

    7. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

      IIRC Hyundai had what amounted to a "name pronunciation awareness advertising" campaign in Australia at one point to address this issue.

      1. Tom 38

        Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

        IIRC Hyundai had what amounted to a "name pronunciation awareness advertising" campaign in Australia at one point to address this issue

        Hyundai actually use different pronunciation in different countries - in the US it is "hoon day", in the UK it is "hi-yun-die' - the former is how Koreans pronounce it, the latter is how everyone in the UK says it.

    8. Fihart

      Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud @el Don Jefe

      Previous visit to Vodafone a young staffer pronounced it Hawaii, which kinda worked.

      "Hello Tosh, gotta Toshiba" was a jokey ad strapline based on the Alexei Sale single "Hello John, Gotta New Motor ?" combined with the cockney greeting "hello tosh".

      Sony hasn't suffered too badly from being widely mispronounced (should be "sunny" not sewny or sawney/sonnnny ?). Ditto Volkswagen (pro. folksvargen in Germany) Nor Matsushita properly pronounced National Panasonic.

    9. D@v3
      Coat

      Re: pronunciation

      I've always assumed it is pronounced 'Who are we'

    10. Wanderingone56ish

      Re: Truisms Spoken Aloud

      Difficulty in pronouncing Huawei?

      Geordies have been saying it for centuries - as in 'Huawei the lads!'

  4. Sir Sham Cad

    Dual SIM

    I had a conversation the other day with someone as to why Dual SIM phones don't exist. I explained that they did, just not in the UK where phones are generally subsidised by a Network who don't want you sticking a rival's SIM in that handset.

    I'd love to have one but I don't see us getting that version of the P7 on the high street, unless you know something we don't, Mr O, in which case I'd love to read about it in a later article.

    Looking forward to the review. And the inevitable panoramic selfie when some politician manages to squeeze in the entire delegation of the G7 into one gratuitous publicity stunt.

    1. Chris G

      Re: Dual SIM

      Got a Huawei G700 dual sim plus a 64Gb micro card, 2Gb RAM , 16Gb ROM €175 plus about €30 in duty into Spain. It came from a Brit supplier on ebay but Etotalk do them as well, I got a very nice Lenovo for the other half for €130, both phones less than half what they go for in Spain and come fully rooted etc, you just have to get rid of one or two Chines apps and good to go.

      My mate has a Note 2 and with the right selection of apps I can do anything the note does. for a great deal less money.

      I also get better reception most places here than even iphones and some Sammies which is a big deal as many users can be seen running around holding their phones up in the air, standing on one leg with a finger in their ear and so on trying to get a reasonable signal.

      All in all a good phone, value for money means more to me than caché as I never had much style anyway.

    2. Badvok

      Re: Dual SIM

      "just not in the UK where phones are generally subsidised by a Network"

      Eh? Don't you mean US? Phones haven't been subsidised by the networks for a long time here in the UK.

  5. Nate Amsden

    still embarrassed

    Won't use Huawei anymore than I'd use Lenovo.

    1. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

      Re: still embarrassed

      So to evaluate this statement we need to know whether you'd use Lenovo.

  6. Big_Ted
    Facepalm

    Dam you Huawei

    Here I am having looked at lots of different phone and all set to buy an LG G2 and now along comes this for about the same price....

    Looks like I have to wait to hold one of these now as well....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Dam you Huawei

      I wish I could buy shares in this company, they'll be the biggest in the world soon.

  7. mike white 1

    Dual SIM phones are cool. Mine, a HTC 1 M7, has my work and personal SIMs in otherwise I would be forced to use a crackberry!

  8. Tel

    Gotta say it looks a bit like an iPhone 4 (with mismatched black and white panels) that's been under a steamroller...

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    They're listening...

    ...won't the Chinese secret service be listening to all my calls if I use a Huawei phone?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: They're listening...

      The problem for NSA and GCHQ may be that they aren't. Frankly, I'm not too worried about the Chinese Secret Service listening to my calls, whereas if I was, say, an attractive young woman or a civil rights campaigner I might be very worried about GCHQ listening in. It's a case of means and opportunity.

    2. garden-snail
      FAIL

      Re: They're listening...

      ...won't the Chinese secret service be listening to all my calls if I use a Huawei phone?

      No. Your calls are boring.

  10. Frank Bough

    simultaneous invention

    amazing that they came up with a design that looks so much like an iPhone without ever seeing an iPhone.

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