I’m Doing it Huawei.

As a little girl, my mother repeated the musing of my very first teacher from time to time … “Michelle does as she wants and not as she’s told”… as I stand ready to face forty, she wasn’t wrong. Makes me think of my late maternal grandfather, Arnold, who always mused that “My Way” by Frank Sinatra was the song he wanted played at his funeral, as it was a true testament to how he lived his life. Another accurate anecdote. I digress. Point is, before October 2016, I was an Apple girl and I’m not just talking about the pink lady variety. I’m talking smartphones.

While living in London, I purchased my first Apple handset in 2010, the iPhone 3 to be exact, and immediately asked how I had lived prior to that moment. And I never looked back. My love of photography grew with the release of model after model (leading me to purchase a Canon D-SLR), and each iPhone model that was released perfected not only the art and science of connectivity, multi-tasking and an overall experience but also that of a smartphone capturing images the way a professional camera can. Or so I thought.

Cut to late 2016 and the dreaded happened. My iPhone 6 Plus died. It didn’t fall nor drown. It died of the ill-fated Touch Disease. Basically in short, I was phoneless and seeing that a smartphone was more important to my day than a glass of water, I started looking around. My last iPhone was sponsored so obviously I looked for similar opportunities but who was going to give TTChatterbox an iPhone7 free in this green guava season? No one. So I cut my losses, or so I thought and eventually landed on the brand, Huawei. Funny thing is, this is a brand that was not new to me at all.

When I lived in London, I worked in the conference industry across many industries such as healthcare, energy, finance, tourism, wealth and finally, telecoms, where I settled for my last few years there. I was lucky to work in Europe, Middle east and Africa and in those regions, the name Huawei, was no stranger. I worked specially on a conference series entitled, the Com World Series, where I worked very closely with Huawei to ensure that they met their objectives as a main sponsor of the series. It was my responsibility to ensure that the C-Level operator delegates that Huawei targeted at each event (the series at that time held 12 events each year) not only attended but visit that Huawei pavilion at each event and trust me, Huawei knew how to deck an event!

Me and the bump at EurasiaCom in Istanbul in 2008 – Huawei, as always, was one of the major sponsors of the event.

You see Huawei has been a major player in the information and communications technology space with ICT solutions, products, and services that are used in more than 170 countries, serving over one-third of the world’s population and powered by the passion of more than 170,000 employees. The brand says it best, describing itself as being “committed to enabling the future information society, and building a Better Connected World”.

So let’s get to the fun stuff – my Huawei P9 Lite and why I would recommend this brand to anyone looking for easy of use, multi-tasking, superb photography and solutions for the small business on the go. I could really go on and one and try to compete with the technology bloggers out there using mobile jargon but that would just make me look smarter, when I am really trying to get you to switch to Huawei.

I really feel that my hands were tied with my previous brand choice in smartphones and now Huawei has … cliche I know … set me free!

So here’s my top three reasons, why I’m doing it … Huawei.

1. Camera, Photography and Google Photos

For those of you who know my brand (if this is our first date, let me get you a drink!), social media and photography is at the centre of my purpose. The Huawei P9Lite does not disappoint. My photos are more vivid than they have ever been and as I snap the beauty around me here in Trinidad and Tobago, this phone just grabs onto to the detail of every flower, every local product and more that I showcase daily on my social media platforms. The pro-features of the camera are certainly reminiscent of my D-SLR days making it easy for me to achieve tricks such as depth of field and the elusive bokeh effect. With Huawei being powered by Android, I was also introduced to the beauty of Google and more specifically, Google Photos. All of my photos are automatically backed up, rotations automatically suggested and animations and movies of similar shots, collated and ready to share on social media.

Snapped one of the characters painted on the new mural at Brooklyn Bar in Woodbrook, Port of Spain.

2. Customisation, Multi-tasking and Operability

I love the ability to be to customise my screens according to my needs and I am not just talking icon size and folder organisation here. I can place my NotePad app on the first screen so that my Grocery lists don’t evade my ever-present ADHD and tete a l’air life. I can place photos such as my logo anywhere on my screen, in addition to my desired desktop pattern. There are two pull-down menus from the top of the screen – Notifications and Shortcuts – and this allows me to access pretty much any feature on my phone with a simple swipe, regardless of what I am doing at the time. Calls also aren’t as intrusive with my Huawei as with other handsets. A simple bar comes up to the top of screen when a call comes in, say when I am writing an Instagram caption, and I have the option to answer or decline, or simply ignore.

The Fingerprint ID option, while not new to the Smartphone world has certainly been reinvented by Huawei. Placed to the back of the handset, it is positioned perfectly for my index finger on my right hand, even though I am left-handed. The sensor (when customised) also allows me to answer calls, take a photo and even swipe through my photo gallery with ease, to name a few.

Had to capture a Macaroni pie I made just this weekend. Huawei, as you can see, is the best sidekick!

3. Charging and Battery Life

My life is usually spent charging my phone and surgically attending to my charging cables due to a two-minute lifespan and yes I know, I am exaggerating. Thing is, with Huawei, there is no stress. If I begin my day with a full battery, I can comfortably leave my charging cable at home as a full charge will certainly get me through the day. Cables also last longer and I am pleased to announce that I am still using the original charging cable that came in the box three months ago.

In conclusion, I know I certainly don’t have to prove my chatterbox capabilities and go on and on about why I chose Huawei. What I will emphasise is that when I take time to come to blog to write, it certainly means that a brand or brand experience is worth exploring. After just over three months and additional 10,000 photos to my arsenal, I have a Frank Sinatra pep in my step … so sing it with me … I’m doing it … Huuuuuaweeeeeeei!