Consumer Tech for June

By Richard M Sherwin

Politics Enter Consumer Products

Is it spying, pricing, or just plain sales envy?

During my recent lecture series in Florida, several attendees asked me about my previous support of Huawei, the politically troubled Chinese maker of Smart Phones, Tablets, and Computers. It was alleged that Huawei might be spying on the U.S. through its products, specifically its telecommunications equipment. In 2012, a House Intelligence Committee report detailed concerns that both Huawei and ZTE, a fellow Chinese vendor, pose a threat to national security. US companies were then banned from buying Huawei mobile equipment. However, in Europe and Asia, Huawei continues to flourish.

A few years ago, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai proposed new rules that would bar broadband companies from using a government subsidy program to buy telecom equipment from companies that pose a national security threat. So, while brick and mortar retailers and Amazon continued to sell Huawei and other Chinese made telecommunications products, the big carriers like AT&T and Verizon stopped selling Huawei and other Chinese make mobile phones in their stores. One of the companies, ZTE was taken off

the banned list, allegedly after supporting republican candidates.

A few years ago, I had praised Huawei’s Smart Phones, Laptops and Tablets for surpassing Apple, Lenovo, Samsung and LG with superior performance and value.

Some audience members, not defending Huawei, complained that Apple doesn’t serve its homeland, the USA, any better. Apple parks billions and billions of dollars overseas and does very little manufacturing in the U.S.

Attendees at my Florida lectures complained that Apple won’t reveal any details of its customers, even when it might involve crimes committed by those customers. Detractors allege that Apple maintains secret information on its customer base. Other audience members, old enough to remember the early 1950s, sited political complaints lodged against Japanese manufacturers like Panasonic, Sony, Mitsubishi when they entered the U.S. market back then, knocking out RCA, Zenith, Magnavox, Sylvania and other famous brands with low ball prices. Many people also complained about alleged involvement of these same companies in World War II. A few decades after the Korean War the same incriminations were made when the Koreans, led by Samsung and LG, knocked Japanese makers from the leadership position.

This spring Huawei, the beleaguered technology maker, moved into the clear Number 2 spot worldwide in Smart Phones. Forbes reported, “Huawei as the only smartphone vendor at the top of the market that saw volumes grow during first quarter 2019.” International product trackers said that despite threats by the U.S. and other nations, the company had year to year gains of 50.3% in first quarter 2019 with sales of 59.1 million units and a 19.0% market share. Huawei is now within striking distance of Samsung at the top of the global market.”

However Google, reacting to the possibility that Huawei’s much anticipated 5G technology and its rumored involvement with the Chinese government, said it would delist Huawei from its Android technology, making the Chinese company create its own library of Apps since it won’t be able to use Play Store.

Zhao Ming, president of one of Huawei’s brands told reporters at a Chinese launch event for the company’s new Smart Phones, Tablets and other devices, that his company does not spy on customers anywhere nor move, trade and sell its consumer data to the Chinese or any government.”

How this very politically charged issue is going to end no one knows.

Mobile phone, Tablet , PC or Mac users should know that its relatively easy to thwart any manufacturer’s (hardware or software) from gaining personal info by checking or unchecking those requests from the devices you purchased. After purchasing any computer device and to maintain digital safety, make sure your browsers cannot share browsing, upload or download data.

Here are reviews of Huawei’s newest health tracking and Tablet products.

MediaPad M5 lite

DFA found that Huawei’s new” MediaPad M5 lite 32GB might be the best music and movie playing device. The 10.1 inch Tablet has a Harman Kardon-tuned quad-speaker system and a 10.1″ 1920 x 1200 Full HD ClariVu display which actually exceeds both Samsung and Apple’s best Tablets. Spec-tech: it’s powered by a Kirin 659 eight-core processor, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of built-in storage. It seems to be the fastest email and browsing device we’ve seen in years. If you need more space, you can expand its capacity via a micro SD slot with up to 256 gigs. The rest of the features for, the Mediapad M5 lite are 8 MP front- and rear-cameras. The device charges in record breaking time but also holds it charge longer than the much-praised new iPad. The MediaPad is built with a 7500 mAh battery and can recharge fully in as quickly as 2.9 hours. The MediaPad M5 lite is built on Android 8.0 Oreo and runs EMUI 8.0.

Huawei Band 3 Pro

DFA also tested Huawei’s latest fitness tracker the Huawei Band 3 Pro against industry leader Fitbit and the Samsung band. The new Huawei Band 3 is much better than its predecessor and has an above average built-in GPS and an amazingly long-lasting battery, exceeding the Apple and Samsung best band. The Band 3 has a sharper AMOLED color touchscreen display. It’s a little unwieldly in the initial fit on your wrist but once setup, this device can be worn day comfortably day and night. At $65 or so it’s cheaper than its competition and though its directions maybe slightly more difficult to understand, the Huawei band is a superb activity tracker.

As far as Huawei’s mobile phones go, they are still listed as best buys on Amazon and feature for feature exceed Apple’s or Samsung’s comparable models.

Bytes and Pieces

Readers and listeners have been dialing in with how much the ‘Bidding” site Tophatter.com has improved. Last year it sometimes took 8 to 10 weeks to get the product you won the bid for; now it takes as little as 6 days for your prized win to arrive. Also, while your returns are almost instantly credited to your credit card without having to return the item to China when the purchase is below $10, the young site is now putting up for bids product like computers, tablets and other devices obviously more than $10, so now if you bought, say, a $50 cellphone or $75 dress or small appliance, and you have to return the item, you can download a free UPS or post office mailer. Send it and get your money back in a few days.

While majority of consumer electronics are from China or Asia, there are 100s of name brand items available, too. And you don’t have to be afraid of counterfeit items, a common problem on new untested auction sites.

“Sale of counterfeit items is prohibited, and sellers are required to provide accurate descriptions of items. Tophatter is a Marketplace connecting buyers with sellers, and we rely on sellers to provide accurate information about every item;

however, if you discover a listing has been misrepresented in any way, we offer excellent Buyer Protection, “ say the operators of Tophatter. If you are concerned about the authenticity of an item purchased on the platform, please be sure to follow these steps to request a return, and ensure appropriate action is taken:

1. Visit My Orders

2. Click the item

3. Click Return this item

4. Select “Doesn’t seem authentic” from the reasons shown

And remember, if you are bidding and don’t win, there’s almost certainly another chance in a few minutes although there are some products listed at a set price.