This has happened more than once: I am at my local Lidl store, trying to pay using my smartwatch (a Motorola moto g9 plus) but the process fails. I start sweating, trying to find alternatives (cash or physical cards are not at hand), waiting in line, other customers waiting for my to complete the payment.
I stand aside, switching the NFC toggle on and off, closing and restarting Google Wallet – even rebooting my smartphone just to make sure that it’s not a temporary glitch. But it isn’t. It happens all the time at the specific POS of the specific counter. Once, I was given a temporary receipt, which I used to successfully pay (using the same method that failed a bit earlier) at the 1st counter, which uses a different POS! I use the same smartphone with the same cards in Google Wallet to pay virtually EVERYWHERE else, without having a single problem.
Damn incompatibilities in technology…
Today it happened again. The same counter, the same POS, the same issue. But today I had another weapon in my arsenal; my brand new Mobvoi Ticwatch Pro 3! As soon as the payment failed, I used my smartwatch and… voila – the payment went through smoothly! No sweat, no tears :-).
I had a couple of physical cards with me, along with some cash, but the point is to start ditching them and follow the digital transformation of things, as it should be – or not? (that’s a huge discussion).
It was about time; I wanted to get a Wear OS smartwatch for quite a long time now. I’ve skipped many offers and discounts on interesting models, tried to wait as long as I could before I invested in one but I recently gave up – due to an offer on Amazon.co.uk.
My Huawei Watch GT is now almost 3,5 years old, it has been through quite a lot and still works like a charm. It was serviced once, within the warranty period, to have its top button click restored. Fully waterproof, even for sea swimming, with a lovely screen and a battery that still lasts more than 10 days (depending on the usage). I had no reason to retire it but I felt like I needed to go a bit further and make use of the advanced features of a Wear OS smartwatch, that promises to bring Android to your wrist.
To make a long story short, I purchased a Mobvoi Ticwatch Pro 3 LTE for something less than €115, during an Amazon offer (applying a GBP 130 coupon). Ticwatches have been in my radar for the past year and more, as they promised an improved battery life compared to other Wear OS smartwatches, plus an impressive set of features. My experience with my son’s Ticwatch GTH were mixed (the battery failed after a couple of charges but we promptly received a GTH Pro from Mobvoi as a replacement). On top of that, many reviews raised flags about the Pro 3 series on aspects like the lack of water proofness, battery and charging issues (especially with fast chargers) and the lack of support in the form of updates.
The specific model was launched back in 2020 or 2021 with Wear OS 2; however, thanks to its innovative and capable chipset, an upgrade to Wear OS 3 was promised by the company. This has not happened yet.
First impressions and setup
I knew that I couldn’t use the watche’s LTE functionality in Greece, as it is limited to a few countries only, but hey – I could not miss an offer like this anyway. There seem to be some workarounds that might work, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
It looks very similar to my Huawei Watch GT, which it aims to replace; two side buttons, full black color, digits on the crown, but the Ticwatch’s silicon band with its orange stiches looks more premium. It is light and fits perfectly on my rather thick wrist.
The package included the watch, its proprietary charging cable, a brief quick guide and a leaflet about the product’s registration.
My smartwatch came fully discharged so it took some time to start charging (using a laptop’s USB port, as suggested by Mobvoi). It must have taken a couple of hours to show the fully charged battery icon.
Setup was easy, as I had already downloaded the Wear OS app on my Android smartphone (Motorola g9 plus). It paired promptly and I started getting to learn its functionalities to the extend possible. I installed a few apps, updated the system (there were two major updates I think) and the installed apps.
One of the things I like is the second, monochrome LCD screen that is always on and provides basic information like time and date, number of steps and battery level (not percentage though) without having to switch on the power-hungry main display.
I am still exploring my watch so there’s not much more to say but it seems like a good investment 🙂
A stable and fast internet connection is crucial for me now that I am working from home. Let alone when sharing it with my two kids that have online Zoom courses from early morning to early afternoon. Low speeds and frequent disconnections are simply put a disaster.
The other day I was having a Skype call with colleagues and they complained about sound quality issues from my side – frequent pauses and distorted sound. I was surprised because I was using a brand new laptop and it was a long time since I had internet connection issues (knock wood!). I am on a 24 Mbps ADSL2+ line, with my router usually locking at about 15 Mbps, after numerous calls with my ISP and changes in settings both from my side and their side. In the end we had it sorted out and kudos to them for working on it.
Then I noticed that web pages took forever to open. I went through my router’s Web interface and realized that it was locking at 5 Mbps…
My two kids were already on their daily Zoom calls (remote learning you see) already using enough of the bandwidth with their cameras. And then the internet dropped. For all of us.
I decided to reset the router; connection to the internet was restored but it didn’t make any change in terms of speed. I was looking for the contact details of my ISP in order to report the issue and have it fixed (hopefully) ASAP. Then the kids came to the living room, meaning they had a break. I decided to take advantage of these 10 precious minutes in order to do a hard reset of the router and keep it off for 5 mins. And it worked!
Connection was restored, with the router locking at 15 Mbps again. I realized it’s been quite a long since my router was reset and this simple action brought things back to normal.
I need to develop a habit (or a script) to reset or even power off the router every now and then. It will save both me and my ISP precious time from working on an issue that could have easily been addressed.
We all want to make the most out of our internet connection, with multiple devices connecting to our usually low cost ADSL modem/routers now that we are working from home and kids are having online classes. But before we start arguing with our ISPs, we need to make sure that everything is ok from our side.
I have been using my Huawei Watch GT since May 2020 and the more I use it, the more useful I find it.
The background
I was in search of a practical and budget smartwatch for quite some time now. I am used in wearing analogue watches and in the past I had the opportunity to wear some pretty good ones, like a couple of chronographs from Timex.
Having started working out a bit, I found the idea of a smartwatch that would count my steps and heart rate – along with sleep tracking – appealing. Unfortunately, my experience with a Lenovo Watch 9 was way too far from satisfying, so I was cautious for next move.
Why the Watch GT?
After realizing that I had to increase my budget for a decent smartwatch, I came up with several options such as
Mi Band 4 (too small for my wrist and its screen looked tiny for my eyes),
Amazfit Bit (great value for money, looking a bit like the Apple Watch but with low screen resolution),
Amazfit Verge (at the top limit of my budget, with great screen & features but its grey plastic body would look too sporty at work or during a business meeting).
In the end I found myself between the Huawei Watch GT and Honor Watch Magic (essentially the same watch with different tag and size). They both had most of the features I needed, and on top of that, they looked pretty formal compared to the rest. I just had to wait for the price to drop, and after the announcement of the Watch GT 2, it was only a matter of weeks before their price went below the €100 threshold.
So I went for the Watch GT, due to its largest screen size and lower price (surprisingly, the Honor Watch Magic was constantly more expensive in the Greek market).
Is the Watch GT really a smartwatch?
It depends. If you define smartwatches as watches that you can add apps and feature a fully-featured OS like Wear OS then the answer is no.
On the other side, compared to typical digital watches, the Watch GT is definitely smart; not only it performs pretty well as a basic activity tracker (with functions like the Mi band series) but it also has advanced features like Altimeter/Barometer, digital compass and even a flashlight.
I could describe it as an activity tracker on steroids, with its with its larger screen and ability to clearly read notifications and activity stats.
The good:
Battery: Amazing battery life. It can hold up to 2 full weeks with the proper settings. I could stand another gadget that needs charging every day, so this is quite important. You can just leave its charger at home when going on short trips, saving precious space in your packed bag.
Charging: Quick charging with its magnetic charger. It is compact and comes with a USB-C cable.
Construction: Sturdy construction, haven’t seen a single scratch during these months. Nothing loose, nothing to worry about.
Looks: The Watch GT looks really beautiful on the wrist, even with formal outfit, as it is not sporty. Ok, the black/grey silicon strap it comes with is not the most formal-looking around, but you can easily swap it with a better-looking strap just by uncliping it.
Size: Despite its large screen size, it is quite light and comfortable; you will hardly notice wearing it.
Screen: Screen is pretty good, clear and responsive. One of its biggest selling points, IMHO.
GPS: Position locking is blazing fast; it takes a few seconds to lock your position, thanks to the combination of GPS & Galileo (US and EU satellite systems respectively).
Fitness tracking: There are numerous fitness tracking options – more than a typical user will ever use.
Accuracy: Its measurements are quite precise, compared to other activity trackers and smartphones (e.g. my Samsung Galaxy A3 and its Health app)
Features: It has some pretty useful features like a flashlight (it just turns the screen bright white but does the work!), a compass etc.
Looking good even with formal outfit
The bad:
Sync: It takes ages to sync sleep data, even when the watch is right next to the smartphone (Samsung Galaxy A3 2016). In some cases I even have to force sync twice (I get a message like “No sleep data“. My son’s Mi Band 4 syncs all data (including sleep) in less than 1 minute.
App: The Huawei health App serves its purposes to sync data, but it seems too many options and not well-organized. I ended up sticking with some of them and I keep looking the less frequently used ones when I need them.
Weather 1: You can’t see the weather forecast for the next period (days, or even hours); the watch only shows the current status. As such data have insignificant size, requiring only a few KBs, I believe that a firmware upgrade could resolve this issue.
Weather 2: For the weather data to be updated, you need to enable the smartphone’s GPS., so if you have it off you won’t see updated weather info on your watch. I would prefer to be able to set the location through the Health app (static one) or have the watch to use its own GPS / Galileo positioning feature to sync. I also find this easy to be addressed.
Watch faces: There are only a few available through the app and you can only install custom ones through a workaround (which looks like a pain in the ass). Due to the limited storage of the Watch GT you can only install 2-3 custom watch faces. You cannot delete the pre-installed ones, some of which are pretty awful and out of context (e.g. showing VO2 Max that the Watch GT doesn’t support!) or are aimed at the Chinese market.
Button: You cannot set the lower button to perform specific tasks, so it has only limited functionality (taking you to the Workout options). A firmware upgrade could definitely fix that.
Notifications: The notifications received on the watch are limited in terms of functionality. I would love to be able to delete some of them and even respond with a simple Yes/No/Will get back to you soon. Not a major issue for me though.
Strap: During the first days, the strap caused irritation to my wrist, despite the fact that I kept it clean by wiping sweat and dirt frequently. At first I started taking it off when I didn’t need any measurements and later I just switched it to my right hand when sleeping. It may be normal to see irritation if you wear a silicon strap all the time I guess.
Conclusions
When I went for the Watch GT, I knew what to expect (at least more or less): A decent fitness tracker with nice looks. If I wanted to have the option to respond to calls, listening to music etc., I would have shelled out about €100 more to get the Watch GT2.
However, I personally would never pay more than €100 for a smartwatch. If I wanted to have the option of a full Android experience on my smartwatch (i.e. Wear OS) I would have spent even more – but I didn’t want either.
After using the Watch GT for more than 5 months now, I am really pleased with my selection. However, I still feel that the current firmware and options (not the OS itself) do not do justice to the watch. With some minor revisions / additions it could have been much more useful and functional. I would personally love to see the following revisions in a future firmware upgrade:
1. Removal of all pre-installed watch faces (except for 1-2 ones), to free up space for more custom ones and extended weather data.
2. Extended weather forecast, so that I can quickly check the weather for the next 2-3 days without using my smartphone, and fixing the annoying way that the app uses GPS for defining the location.
I still miss the NFC functionality, which would allow me to make contactless payments with my watch. I think that this wouldn’t be expensive to implement in the specific watch, despite its low price. It is the only feature that I miss (and even the GT2 lacks this simple functionality outside China).
In any case, at its current sub-€100 price tag, the Huawei Watch GT is a very decent option and I would definitely go for the same watch again in the future, based on the current status of competition.
To make a long story short, and to save you some of your precious money: Don’t waste your bucks on this piece of #$%^UI.
After recovering the watch from a serious issue which rendered it useless (obviously due to a problematic firmware version 0.4.0), I thought that I had a properly working smartwatch on my wrist. But I was mistaken.
Since then, the watch started “freezing” at random times, especially when trying to sync data with the app – an issue faced by numerous users. Syncing usually started working properly but then the watch froze. It would not switch off, it would not switch on. The only solution was to remove the back cover and press the reset button. But this meant that all non-synced data would be lost. And they surely were.
After repeating the process numerous times over the past days, I was fed up. I was upset by losing my data because I was not able to have a full time series. My records now are sporadically spread over the days where the watch operated normally.
I am deeply disappointed by the total lack of support by Lenovo. Even if the watch was only targeted to Chinese market, it should work properly for Chinese users. So if a firmware caused issues, I would expect a company by Lenovo to take immediate action. It is a shame for them that the only workaround for bringing the phone back to life was from users/hackers and not by Lenovo.
The Lenovo Support forum is full of complaints about issues with any Lenovo smartwatch ever published. Lousy battery life and charging issues, Bluetooth issues, functions that failed to work from start, inaccurate / missing data, watch buttons coming off etc. All tips for help and workarounds come from users themselves and not by Lenovo – and in the end, most of them prove to be inefficient.
I wonder how Lenovo has the nerve to still sell “smartwatches” without taking notice of all the bugs that plague them and without providing any support at all. I’d definitely avoid them at any cost in the future.
Yes, my Lenovo Watch 9 become almost useless after upgrading its firmware to the official v0.4.0. What happened was that everyone with this firmware version received a “Low Battery” message on their new smartwatches, so Bluetooth could not be enabled and thus connection with the smartphone could not be established – so the smartwatch turned into a traditional wristwatch.
The strange thing is that I tested the watch’s battery and it was full. No matter how many times I reset the damn watch (by removing its back panel and pressing the tiny reset button), it would still show the “Low Battery” message. There was also no way of reverting back to a functioning firmware (i.e. downgrading).
I was disappointed by the total lack of support by Lenovo: Several users reported the issue on the official Lenovo Community Forums but there was no response. The same went for efforts contacting Lenovo support through Twitter and Facebook. Total lack of support.
The solution was tricky but it worked for me: There was a Lenovo Forum member who had seen a post on a Russian forum about a customized version of the Lenovo Watch app. This version would trick the Watch 9 into “upgrading” to firmware v.0.2.0 (in fact downgrading). I only had to do the following:
remove the latest version of the Lenovo Watch app from my Android smartphone,
install the modified version of the Lenovo Watch app from the Russian forum
change the battery of my Watch 9 with a fresh one so that it Bluetooth will be functional again
connect the Watch 9 with the app via Bluetooth
Install firmware version v.0.2.0 as prompted by the app (make sure your phone has internet access)
Remove the modified app version and install the latest one from Google Play
For the last couple of weeks the Watch 9 worked like almost flawlessly after this process, almost three months after being crippled by the latest firmware version. I’ve only witnessed a couple of accidental stops of the watch (mostly when it vibrates, e.g. when reaching the target number of steps or when turning on and off the Bluetooth). This requires when another reset (when I notice it) and leads to loss of the data so far (e.g. the number of steps for the day). It sucks.
Another issue I faced was that the latest version of the app prompted my to upgrade the watch to firmware version 0.4.0 (the bad one!). The workaround I found myself was to pair the Watch with the app only with WiFi turned off. Then, after data syncing is complete, I disconnect the Watch and turn WiFi back on.
In fact, the only issue I faced was that the latest version of the app prompted my to upgrade the watch to firmware version 0.4.0 (the bad one!). The workaround I found myself was to pair the Watch with the app only with WiFi turned off. Then, after data syncing is complete, I disconnect the Watch and turn WiFi back on.
In fact, the only issue I faced was that the latest version of the app prompted my to upgrade the watch to firmware version 0.4.0 (the bad one!). The workaround I found myself was to pair the Watch with the app only with WiFi turned off. Then, after data syncing is complete, I disconnect the Watch and turn WiFi back on.
Video on how to access the back pane’s reset button; a knife will also work
It was that simple but still the solution was not provided by the official Lenovo support but from some experienced users. I was informed that the Watches are not manufactured by Lenovo but by another supplier and then are branded as Lenovo. I could not care less about that; a Lenovo-branded product should have a Lenovo-quality support.
On top of that, another forum member stated that the Watch 9 may be targeted to Chinese market only, and this is why e.g. instructions are only available in English, ads in app are in Chinese, the watch is not available through Lenovo sites other than the Chinese one etc. Even if this is the case, what about the Chinese owners of Lenovo’s Watch 9 with firmware 0.4.0? Don’t they have the same issue as we do? Don’t they expect a solution to this issue?
A nice review of the Watch 9
In any case, Lenovo or their partner put the Lenovo Watch 9 users into trouble, almost crippling their smartwatches. Lenovo did not take ownership of the issue and have not provided any help after many months; they should at least push their vendor to fix the issue.
As a result, my trust in Lenovo as a customer has been disrupted and given the hard competition, it will be hard to restore. Would I upgrade to the more fancy Lenovo Watch X or even X Plus, shelling out even more money for another unsupported device by Lenovo? No way!
I have a Lumia 720 Windows Phone, in an almost perfect condition, sitting in a drawer since I got my Lumia 735 as an upgrade. The 720 is now mostly used by my sons as a portable gaming console (though the selection of games has always been restricted in the WP ecosystem).
I woke up early today, and since I had some time to play around, I decided to see how the 720 was doing. Turned on the WiFi and looked for OS updates but, as expected, none was available; it’s Windows 10 OS version has been long stuck at 10.0.10586.682.
Next stop: The Store. The only updates available were the MS Mobile Office ones (Word, Excel and PowerPoint), and they were indeed successfully installed. I am not sure about what they fix, as MS has always been cryptic about the updates of its WP apps.
Last stop: The Maps. It seems that there was a 50+ MB update of the Maps, which I also downloaded successfully.
Then it was time for surfing the Web. I tried to use the Twitter app, but I didn’t manage to connect to the server – then I recalled that Twitter abandoned support for older versions of Windows Mobile so I would have to use the Web version (or to push my luck finding an alternative working app).
The Facebook app also gave me a “You’re not connected to the Internet” message so I could not use it (and had to use the Web version instead) – I guess it was a verification issue due to changed/abandoned protocols. The same error came from a couple of pre-installed Lumia apps like Lumia Highlights but I really didn’t mind.
The good thing is that favorite 3rd party apps like 6tag, 4th & the Mayor still work flawlessly and the same goes for core MS apps I would need, such as Outlook, Maps, Edge, OneDrive etc. The phones responsiveness is pretty slow but after all, the same goes for my Samsung A3 (2016) after upgrading to Android Nougat.
All in all, I realized that going back to the 720 in case my 735 bites the dust would hardly be an option. I would have to cope up with limited app availability, crippled functionality and performance issues.
I think I’ll pass and just keep it in the drawer, for my kids to use it as their tablet’s alternative 🙂
I was never especially attracted to fitness trackers; after all, I was not into fitness. But I am into collecting data related to my activities. And I recently started going to the gym.
I found the Lenovo Watch 9 on a sale for something about 20 euros (after applying a discount coupon), including shipping from China, and it was a deal I could not resist: A nice looking traditional watch with smart features.
When I first got it in my hands, I admit I got a bit disappointed…the app, without which the watch is not smart at all, looked crippled and incomplete. Lousy translations from Chinese, mixed bag of data etc. On top of that, coming from a Timex chronograph, which was my daily companion for the last years, the Lenovo watch looked pretty small, with a really hard to read scale and a lousy manual that left a lot to be imagined.
Since then, I have been using it daily and I admit I tend to like it more and more every day.
What I like
The unique combination of a traditional watch with several smart capabilities – at this price level.
It is pretty discreet: Its all-black color, with the brushed black body looks serious and I like the contrast with the white hands and bars.
It is light and feels comfortable even when wearing it all day – a significant difference compared to my larger Timex Expedition Chronograph.
It actually has a lot of features: I mostly use its pedometer and I realized that I can have an indication of the step count by pressing the crown button once (so without connecting to the app). In addition, when I reach my daily goal, the phone starts vibrating! It supports reminders, alarms, remote shutter (but all through the app)
I started using it for monitoring my sleep (and it does a surprisingly good work with that!), I play around with the heart rate functionality of the app (which I find rather inaccurate) and I have set a couple of reminders which make my watch vibrate.
The hands are (supposed to be) illuminous so they look rather bright at night.
I would like it to be a bit larger. It’s not a deal breaker, but I am used to larger wrist watches.
The pretty thin strap; I believe it could be a bit wider, to look more masculine.
The lack of light, so to be able to check the time in the dark; the Indiglo feature of my Timex is a really handy feature and a simple led would do the work anyway..
The lack of date indicator; I tend to look at my watch for keeping up with the current date. It is a feature I look for in all my watches and I miss this one.
I cannot share my progress through social media, as I do with the similar Samsung Health app.
The app is lousy, with bad translations from Chinese to English and weird organization of options. On top of that, the weather forecast never worked for me in Greece. I admit that a received a couple of updates over the past few days, which slightly improved various aspects of the app.
There is no Windows app, which could aggregate data from the watch, allow export in a standard file format and provide various visualization options.
Data about sleep monitoring seem to take ages to sync;
There is no clear info on how long / how much data can the watch hold before it syncs with the app.
The battery is not rechargeable; while it lasts longer (about 1 year, based on some reviews), it would be nice to have the option to recharge it via USB.
From one hand, it is a nice hybrid watch bout on the other hand, it is hard for anyone to imagine how a high-tech and acknowledged company like Lenovo produced something so incomplete (see the app and the Chinese-only manual).
In this context, while I was attracted to Lenovo’s Watch X and Watch X Plus (especially the latter, I am reluctant to pay for something that looks buggy and under development while on the market. I plan to keep the Watch 9 for as long as it lasts and then I will look around for alternatives, even at higher prices.
For the time being, I am happy with my selection and strongly believe that the Watch 9 is a great value for money – as long as one is happy with what it offers.
My main smartphone is (still!) a Windows Phone: A Nokia Lumia 735 that has been through a lot but despite its promising (back then) route, it sees instead a declining future mostly due to the lack of support from Microsoft (as a part of the Windows Phones). I am used to it, so I cannot take the (hard) decision to just drop it.
I also have a backup smartphone, an Android-powered Samsung A3 (2016), which was mostly used in car, paired with my car’s Mirrorlink-enabled head unit – it was the cheapest Mirrorlink-enabled smartphone I could find some time ago. Apart from that, I also use it for Web browsing, social media etc. Both smartphones are pretty entry-level but have been exploited to the extent possible.
During my summer holidays, I found myself at Moutsouna, Naxos island. As soon as I got there, I had to make an urgent call; alas, I did not have signal – at all! I tried walking out of the house, walked even at the pier (facing the Aegean sea), moved to a higher, open spot of the village hoping for cellular connection but with no luck.
I friend of mine approached me and asked me about my carrier – he was sure I was on a specific one, whose signal was so bad in the area that all locals had switched to other carriers (and this was my case). He then advised my to switch to 2G (!!) if I wanted to make a call. I went through my Lumia’s menu, only to find that 2G-only was not supported. I tried with 3G-only but still no signal. And then I made the choice…
Got my A3 out of the backpack, quickly swapped SIM cards and went through its menu; I could switch my A3 to 2G only and I actually managed to make the call I had to! I never swapped the SIM back during my 7-day stay at the island, and made use not only of the updated apps available in Android (stuck versions behind in Windows Phone) but also its better camera.
Damn you Windows Phones, you keep disappointing me…and the same goes for my carrier!
I have been in search for a photo printer for quite a long time, as I wanted to make prints out of selected photos – mostly for sharing with my parents and parents-in-law who appreciate prints more than digital versions. Printing at a dedicated photo store was usually expensive, time consuming and required preparation of photos, copies to digital media etc.
At first, I was looking for a Fujifilm Instax Mini camera(which supports Polaroid-like instant printing) but I was put-off by the lack of LCD screen, the small size of the printing paper and large size of the camera (making it hard to carry around with me).
Then I was attracted by the Canon Selphy CP1200, a compact photo printer with good reviews and relatively low cost of prints (about €0,30/print). Maximum print size is approximately 10x15cm and its consumables come in packs (photo paper and cartridge) which are supposed to last for the same amount of prints (so no wasted paper or ink – in fact there’s no ink as it is dye sublimation technology). After several months of price-watching, I found the printer at a discount, bundled with a pack of consumables for 108 prints; it was an offer that I could not resist. I considered it as a belated Christmas gift to myself (and family, who kept asking for prints for quite a long time!)
Connection
Printing from an Android phone was easy; I just had to download the dedicated Canon PRINT Inkjet/SELPHY app, connect the printer to the home wireless network and connect the smartphone to the same network. Then, it was only up to adjusting some basic settings and prints were on their way.
Then I tried connecting it to my Windows 10 laptop wirelessly; this was not possible as the laptop could not initialize connection with the printer. I had to manually download the drivers from Canon’s website, connect the printer through USB cable first and this also allowed the installation of the wireless drivers. Then I was able to print wirelessly from my laptop.
Printing takes about 1 min, which is totally fine with me, and I didn’t notice major differences between wireless and wired printing.
Photo input
Apart from WiFi and USB printing, Selphy CP1200 also supports printing from USB sticks and SD cards. Navigation is made easy through the printer’s tilt-up 2.7-inch LCD screen. The printer does not support printing via Bluetooth.
Print quality
I am not an expert and surely not a detail-freak. To me, the prints are equally nice to the one I got from the photo store. In most cases, I believe that the quality bottleneck is the image quality (e.g. dirty lens of the camera, low light conditions) and not the print itself. There are various options for glossy or semi-glossy finish of the photos.
I had some issues with cropping (tops cropped) when printing directly from the smartphone, an issue I didn’t notice when printing from the laptop.
Tips
I was quickly informed that each time the printer is switched on or off, the cartridge is slightly “consumed”. If this cycle was completed a number of times, then the number of prints was reduced, as papers lasted longer than the dye so users ended up with piles of unused photo papers (note: you cannot purchase photo papers or cartridges individually; they are only available as a pack). The trick is to insert the cartridge after switching the printer on and remove it before you switched it off. I have done so, just in case.
I was looking for a cable to connect the printer to my laptop – the cable was not included in the pack. After some unsuccessful online attempts for getting more info on the cable type, I realized that it is a standard mini-USB one (like the one available in the first version of smartphones). I just used one from a USB charger and it worked like a charm!
Conclusions
So far I have printed about 50 photos (still on my 1st cartridge) and I am pretty pleased with my selection. I have the opportunity to print the photos I want, when I want them and share them on the fly (e.g. during gatherings with family and friends). The cost is relatively low and the quality is more than decent. I have the flexibility to use my smartphone (Android only), laptop or tablet as a source for the printer and make the necessary adjustments to bring the prints closer to my taste.
In the meantime, I bought a couple of 108-photo packs as an offer (2nd one 50% off), so print cost is down to about €0,27/print. I just hope that the printer will prove to be reliable and last longer than its consumables!
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