Travel Safety Tips to Stay Safe When You Traveling Solo

There are plenty of perks to traveling alone. You can do what you like, see what you want, and go anywhere that interests you without having to worry about the whims of your travel companion.

Traveling is usually safe, but it’s always important to be alert and aware of your surroundings. You want to be able to have a great time on your trip and enjoy every minute while avoiding any pitfalls. Here are travel safety tips to take on your next solo trip.

Tips for Staying Safe while Traveling Alone here
1. Try Not to Look Like a Tourist.
To keep yourself more secure, try blending in with the locals as much as possible. Leave your jewelry at home and don’t wear clothes that scream tourist. Check your travel apps or guidebooks before you head out for the day’s adventures so you don’t look lost and confused out on the street. Know exactly where you’re going and how to get there, instead of checking your smartphone constantly as if you’re playing Pokémon Go.

2. Pocket Some Extra Cash
Running out of money (or having it stolen) with no way of getting more right away can be risky when traveling alone. Asking strangers for a free ride or a place to stay can make you vulnerable. Instead of being stuck, hide a large bill or credit card somewhere safe just in case you need it. You could place it in a hidden pocket in your jacket, in the sole of a shoe, or some other secure place you believe is best for safe-keeping during your travels. If you ever need it, you’ll be so glad you did.

3. Keep Your ID & Cards Safe
Bring backup IDs with you, and carry it in more than one place. Your Passport should be on you and in a secret pocket or a safe wallet. Make photocopies of all your identification and keep it somewhere safe. Make sure someone at home has a copy of your travel plans and identification as well.

4. Don’t be Taken for a Ride
Have a destination in mind? Find out the distance and costs ahead of time, such as how far it is from the airport to your accommodations or what it costs to go downtown. Ask cab drivers for the estimated fare before you start moving. If it seems unreasonable, take another cab. In some cases, the hotel or resort may have their own shuttle bus and you can ask for the schedule.

5. Meet New People But Avoid Old Scams
It can be pretty easy to meet new people when you travel alone, but be careful who you trust. Scam artists are often very charming. It’s okay to hang out and make new friends, but keep your wits about you so you don’t get taken advantage of. Be selective with what information you share with others, it may not be wise to share your travel route or hotel room number. Always be aware of potential dangers.

6. Have a Backup Plan
It’s a good idea when you’re traveling alone to have a backup plan just in case anything goes wrong on your trip. It helps to have someone who knows your whereabouts and what you’re up to next. Give a copy of your travel plans or itinerary with a family member or friend before you leave. Stay in touch with them regularly by email, text, social media or phone so they can lend a hand if needed.

7. Check Out the Latest Travel Advisories
The Government of all countries has a website with current travel advisories for each country regarding situations that may affect the safety and well-being of traveling abroad. Find out whether the country is safe to visit or if things like civil unrest or health risks pose a danger.

8. Know where to find your Embassies and Consulates
The Government of your country has emergency consular assistance with a directory of embassies and consulates abroad. Consular services can help in many ways, such as replacing a lost or stolen passport, providing contact info for local doctors and hospitals, and help contact friends and relatives in emergency situations to request assistance in sending money or airline tickets.

Luxury Hotel of 2018

Vista Palazzo Lago di Como, Italy

Family-owned Italian hotel brand Lario Hotels is readying their latest project in the center of Lake Como, Italy. Vista Palazzo Lago di Como, set to open this coming June 2018, will be the fourth luxury property for the group in and around the lakeside celebrity hotspot and the only five-star to be open all year round. The new project, born our of a restored centuries’ old Palazzo, will boast 18 individually designed luxury suites, including a unique 60+ sq m Corner Suite complete with a private Turkish bath. As the name implies, Vista will offer guests unparalleled views of the lake, especially from the rooftop restaurant, bar and lounge. Guests don’t just have to admire the view from a distance. The hotel offers guests transport to Bellaggio by either seaplane or by Riva speedboat.

For the unique design, Lario Hotels has called upon Italian designer Maurizio Maggi who places special attention on celebrating Italian excellence in design and decor. As such, Maggi has chosen to incorporate Dedar fabrics, prized marble and woods, and insists on only Italian craftsmanship throughout Situated in the heart of “downtown” Como, Vista is just a stone’s throw from the lakefront and Como’s top attractions.

Lanai Tower, JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort, Marco Island, Florida, USA

The JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort, a luxurious Florida resort located along the sparkling Gulf of Mexico on three miles of private, pristine white sand beach, underwent a three-phase, $320 million renovation project to enhance and refine every aspect of the property. The first and second phases are complete and the third phase is poised to be completed when the Balinese-inspired resort opens the doors of its lavish 94-room adult-exclusive Lanai Tower. Designed by a Florida-based design and architecture firm, Edge of Architecture, Inc., the new Lanai Tower is the pinnacle of luxury on Marco Island, boasting gorgeous and unparalleled views of the Gulf of Mexico and establishing a harmonious relationship between the building and its tropical environment – an experiential symbiosis of interior and exterior spaces. The tower features an exclusive rooftop pool, a deluxe gourmet rooftop restaurant, and a 12,000 square foot indoor entertainment center. With the addition of this upscale Lanai Tower, the JW Marriott Marco Island resort now offers its guests 100,000 square feet of innovative and flexible event space – fully equipped with cutting edge technology – and 810 magnificently appointed rooms and suites.

Beyond the new adult-exclusive Lanai Tower, the property boasts a range of signature culinary offerings as well as one of only three SPA by JW concept spas in the United States. Located on the northern end of the resort, SPA by JW gives guests a relaxing and personal spa experience with a range of renewing, calming, invigorating and indulgent treatments designed by world-renowned experts. The Balinese-style spa, with its elegant yet laid back setting, features a mineral tub overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, state-of-the-art fitness facilities, salon services and a Spa Shop. The resort also provides premium outdoor activities, including a guided Wave Runner Tour through the Ten Thousand Islands, a Sailing and Shelling Tour to uninhabited islands, world-class golf at the Rookery and Hammock Bay championship courses, and more. After partaking of exciting outdoor activities and sumptuous spa treatments, resort guests are invited to lounge on the sand in a private chickee hut or unwind in one of the secluded poolside cabanas. In the evenings, enjoy stunning views of Floridian sunsets during the nightly fire-dancer sunset celebrations at Quinn’s on the Beach before strolling over to the trendy Kane Tiki Bar & Grill for a cocktail — Kane has one of Marco Island’s most extensive collections of rums. Those seeking an elegant dining experience should reserve a table at ARIO, the property’s signature restaurant, and try the in-house dry aged steaks and chops or the exquisite local seafood – all beautifully prepared by Gerald Sombright, Chef de Cuisine and Season 14 Top Chef contestant. ARIO even boasts its very own dry-aging room and invites guests to the back of the house for viewings, giving them the opportunity to learn about the dry-aging process and make their dining experience both delectable and immersive.

Mallorca

The Spanish island of Mallorca is to have its first Hyatt-branded luxury resort hotel, due to open in 2015. The Park Hyatt Mallorca will be located in the scenic northeast and offer 142 guest rooms, two restaurants, lounge bar, poolside bar, separate beach club, 1,200 square metres of meetings and events space, and a spa and fitness centre covering 1,290 square metres. The Park Hyatt Mallorca will be built in the style of a traditional Mallorcan hilltop village, overlooking the Canyamel valley and with views of the Mediterranean and hilltop town of Artà. Within walking distance of the coastal Artà caves, the hotel will have added appeal for golfers, as it’s adjacent to Canyamel Golf – a par 73, 18-hole course with very fast undulating greens and fairways and a spectacular 18th hole. is to have its first Hyatt-branded luxury resort hotel, due to open in 2015. The Park Hyatt Mallorca will be located in the scenic northeast and offer 142 guest rooms, two restaurants, lounge bar, poolside bar, separate beach club, 1,200 square metres of meetings and events space, and a spa and fitness centre covering 1,290 square metres. The Park Hyatt Mallorca will be built in the style of a traditional Mallorcan hilltop village, overlooking the Canyamel valley and with views of the Mediterranean and hilltop town of Artà. Within walking distance of the coastal Artà caves, the hotel will have added appeal for golfers, as it’s adjacent to Canyamel Golf – a par 73, 18-hole course with very fast undulating greens and fairways and a spectacular 18th hole.

In April 2012 the Jumeirah Group opened what was then its first European hotel and spa outside London, on Mallorca’s spectacular northwest coast. The Jumeirah Port Sóller Hotel & Spa comprises 11 low-rise white-painted buildings, located on a headland, with breathtaking views down over the horseshoe-shaped harbour and resort, and out to the open sea. All 120 spacious rooms and suites have large balconies or terraces, with room amenities including Nespresso machine, Bose docking station, and Bulgari toiletries. The best of the suites – The Observatory –has its own terraces and is perfect for those who crave privacy and dream views. Luxury at the Jumeirah Port Sóller Hotel & Spa also means family-friendly, with a pirate-themed kids’ club – giving parents free time to relax in the Talise Spa, gym or one of the swimming pools.

The Northern lights of Lapland Finland

the Northern Lights in Lapland has been, to this day, the most remarkable experience in my life. The true beauty of this magnificent light show is that you will probably never see the Aurora Borealis the same way twice. So if you see it more than once the light show will most likely be completely different. In Finland the Northern Lights are called Revontuletâ, which means Fox Fire. They believe that the Aurora is produced by a fox’s tail sweeping in the snow creating sparks that fly off into the sky. If you focus and listen closely you can sometimes hear a clapping sound coming from the sky that resembles a sweeping sound! This is definitely one of the best places to visit in Europe.

The Best Places in Europe

To Study Abroad

Choosing a study abroad program can be an overwhelming decision. There are so many options! Of course, you’ll want to pick a program that fits with your major or areas of interest. It’s also important to ask yourself, “Do I want a program in a major city or something off the beaten path?” Are you selecting a program entirely on your own (and are you comfortable traveling alone), or do you want to travel abroad with friends or other students from your college or university?

If you speak a foreign language, you might want to consider a location that speaks that language. If not, don’t worry. There are a multitude of English-speaking destinations abroad, and in many other countries, you can get by without speaking the language since English is so widely spoken.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most popular places to study abroad.

Italy

Italy is a wonderful location to study abroad, especially if you love food, history, fashion, art, architecture, or religion. It’s not necessary to speak Italian, but if you do, you may get more out of your study abroad experience. Without knowledge of Italian, you may want to choose programs in larger cities like Rome, Venice, and Florence where mostly everyone speaks English.

Spain

Because many students in the United States learn Spanish, Spain is a popular choice for study abroad. Barcelona is a perfect for students interested in art and architecture, but all of Spain is rich in culture and history, making it a wonderful study abroad destination. Plus, it is generally more affordable than Italy.

England

If you’re looking for a study abroad location where English is the official language, England is a very popular destination. London is a wonderful choice for students whose interests lie in business and economics. For students who want to travel beyond just their study abroad country, London is an excellent starting point for traveling to other parts of Europe as well as Asia and Africa. However, some students may find that the culture in England is not different enough from the culture of the United States, and it’s also important to keep in mind that London is a very expensive city.

France

Art and art history (ok — and wine and food) are an important part of French culture that attract study abroad students. You can still study abroad in a major city like Paris even if you don’t speak French. Paris is also a great place for students with an interest in the hospitality industry or fashion. However, one of the best ways to experience French culture is to leave the big cities and check out smaller towns. Plus, it is very easy to take the train (or fly) to other European cities – London is only 2.5 hours away by train and the prices of European budget airlines are unparalleled with – you can fly around Europe for as little as $10!

My Belgium

Belgium’s rich history has left impressive churches, town halls, castles and art dating back to the early Middle Ages. The towns of Antwerp and Bruges feature much of this medieval architecture. In Brussels, take a walk around the Grand Place, Europe’s finest market square, rimmed with magnificent gold-gilded buildings. It’s at the core of the historic district brimming with cafés, restaurants, and museums. Don’t miss the cheeky Mannekin Pis – this statuette of a little boy creating his own water feature has become the emblem of the city’s rebellious spirit.

Continue reading “My Belgium”

Best Virtual Assistants

AI assistants have become a large part of the smartphone and PC experience over the last couple of years, and the ever increasing competition in this space has led to a lot of improvements across the board as well. In this showdown, we pit five of the most popular AI assistants – Google Assistant, Siri, Bixby, Amazon Alexa, and Cortana – against each other to find out which one is the best!

All five of these assistants have a lot in common to start with and feature a lot of the some functionality and capabilities. You can usually access them with a press of a button, most of them are built into their various operating systems, they can all perform and access web searches, and they all have base apps or dedicated home screen pages to show additional information like the weather, news, reminders, and more. The basic experience is undoubtedly very similar when comparing the five assistants.

That said, there are a few things that are worth mentioning. Unsurprisingly, each assistant works best within their own ecosystem. Google Assistant works best with Google apps, Chromecast, Google Home, and other Google devices, Alexa gives its best performance with Amazon Fire tablets, Fire Sticks, and the Echo devices, and that’s how it goes for Siri, Bixby, and Cortana as well. Choosing an AI assistant generally means that you are also picking the apps and device it supports, and vice versa.

FINALLY

#1 The Google Assistant is exceptional at context, which is one of the drawbacks of most other personal assistant apps. With other assistants, you have to get the command just right in order to get the task completed, but the Google Assistant is very good at figuring out what you need even if you ask it to do the same thing in entirely different ways.

However, it is incredibly disappointing to see that all the fun features are exclusively saved for Google Home, like hailing an Uber, casting video, ordering a pizza, and more. While these features will no doubt come to phones eventually, for now Home is where it’s at. The Google Assistant is definitely the best all-around pick, though, even if we have to wait for the extra features to make their way to other Google devices.

#2 Amazon Alexa is probably the most customizable assistant of the lot. It is quite basic out of the box, but you can install additional “skills” that dramatically increase its functionality. I had to install numerous skills over the course of making the video, and most of them work really well. It’s up to you how much skills-adding you want to do to get the assistant you want.

Additionally, Alexa excels at gathering information over conversation in order to complete a task, as you saw while I was ordering a pizza. As far as pure functionality is concerned, Alexa can do more than all of the other AI Assistants, and Alexa-enabled devices work incredibly well with one another. The only disappointment here is that there aren’t a lot of devices out there that run Alexa.

#3 Siri also performed surprisingly well during every round of this text. Apple has been doing a great job of keeping Siri competitive with everybody else, and Siri definitely feels like a solid option. Of course, Siri is the natural choice for anyone in Apple’s ecosystem, and few folks would switch from Android simply for Siri. The most impressive part however is its backwards compatibility.

As long as your device can run one of the newer versions of iOS that feature Siri support, you are good to go. This test was performed on a first gen. iPad Air, and I know that the experience was no different than it would have been on the latest iPhone. Apple deserves a lot of credit for providing a consistent feel and feature set across both older and newer devices. Siri may not be the best choice, but it is a safe choice, especially if you are stuck on an older Apple device that can still receive OS updates.

#4 Cortana’s biggest strength lies in the fact that it is available everywhere, including iOS, Android, Windows 10, and even the Xbox One. It is available on more devices than every other personal assistant and it’s not even a close competition in this regard. However, it is quickly falling behind when it comes to third-party integration and more advanced tasks. Cortana is definitely not lacking in potential, but Microsoft really needs to step up their game a lot in order to be a driving force in this space.

#5 Bixby did a surprisingly good job during some of our testing, and where it excels the most is in feeling like an actual personal assistant. When it does something, Bixby has the ability to emulate screen taps like an actual person, allowing it to interact with on-screen elements better than any other assistant.

Bixby is unrivaled when it comes to boring, mundane tasks like rotating images in your gallery, downloading apps, erasing your browser history, and a lot more. It’s really too bad that Bixby will be available with only a handful of devices and that its home automation features are stuck behind a $50 Samsung hub. It still needs a lot of work though, especially with its tertiary features like Bixby Vision. Overall, it is definitely better than Cortana, and at least as good as Siri.

Britain’s Blenheim Palace Visit

The Palace

Blenheim Palace was a gift from Queen Anne to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, after his victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Fought against the French during the Spanish War of Succession, the Duke may have suspected that a grateful nation might bestow some sort of largesse upon him.The only non-royal or episcopal palace in the land, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Blenheim Palace blends its striking functions – family home, mausoleum and national monument – with ease. Located in Woodstock in Oxfordshire, its gilded State Rooms are packed to their stuccoed ceilings with priceless collections. Among its treasures are portraits, sculptures, tapestries and other artifacts, including the Long Library, which contains more than 10,000 books, and the “Victoria Series” of tapestries, hung across the State Rooms and the Green Drawing Room. Walking around such an impressive backdrop, it should come as no surprise that the palace has starred in a long list of films, from James Bond’s Spectre to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
The beauty of the palace is multiplied by its 2,000 acres of landscaped parkland. Designed by Lancelot “Capability” Brown (England’s most famous landscape artist) over a 10-year tenure, his vision contrived to make the grounds both beautiful and natural. Folded within its contours lies Rosamund’s Well, the site of a house built by King Henry II for his mistress, as well as a lake, spanned by Vanbrugh’s Grand Bridge. Most popular of all, however, is the Column of Victory (a 41-meter monument to honor the first Duke of Marlborough), where people gather for picnics in the summer months, as well as the Grand Cascade, where the western edge of the lake plunges into a picturesque waterfall.The work of several designers, including Henry Wise and Achille Duchene, Blenheim’s gardens don’t settle on one style but feature dozens of different fashions. If you see giant hedgerows, you’re probably near the maze. Covering 1.8 acres with 3,000 hedges (as well as cannonballs, trumpets and flags), the key is to try and find the wooden bridges, which offer great vantage points for working out a plan. For those who’d rather take a leisurely stroll, there’s the Water Terraces, the Italian Garden, the tranquil Secret Garden, a Rose Garden, a Memorial Garden, a Butterfly House, a Lavender Garden and the Temple of Diana to relax in. Designed by Sir William Chambers, Sir Winston Churchill proposed to his future wife, Clementine Hozier, at this gorgeous spot – once intended to be a summer house.

EU roaming is now free

Beginning today, June 15, the EU’s directive says mobile carriers cannot charge any extra to use your phone in Europe than they would for you to use it in your ‘home’ country. As the name “Roam Like Home” suggests, this ensures you won’t suffer from bill shock – unexpected and significantly larger-than-normal mobile phone bills when traveling.

Sounds great, right? It sure does! But now that this concept has made its way into reality, what exactly do you need to know about this new law? How does it impact roaming outside of Europe?

What’s this all about?

For years, the European Commission has been trying to abolish roaming charges and has met plenty of opposition from carriers in the process. Yet, tackling the fundamental problem of the high fees between carriers applies a level playing field and allows this directive to be implemented.

The law applies to all new and existing contracts. As I found out with one of the carriers in the UK (more on that below), chances are you don’t need to do anything to be eligible for it. Putting the onus on the carrier to get everyone activated with no input from customers means the Commission can ensure there are no more surprises.

The law essentially means you can roam from your home European country to all the other European countries listed by your carrier and not pay any charges for making and receiving calls, texts, or using data. Instead of being charged an inflated fee for usage while roaming in another country, your carrier instead has to deduct the usage from your regular monthly allowance.

If you have Unlimited minutes or texts, these remain unlimited and can be used to call the country you’re roaming in, your home country, and any other European country. Calls to non-geographic, premium rate, and other non-standard numbers aren’t included and have an additional charge. Crucially, you can’t use this for free calls to a European country when in your home country; this is only for roaming.

For data usage, it would come out of your regular allowance, so if you have 5 GB of data at home, you’ll be able to use the same 5 GB when roaming. Of course, that 5 GB is collective for use at home and abroad (not individually) so if you use 4 GB while roaming and 2 GB at home, there may be additional charges due.

Now, for users who have a package with a large data allowance, the calculation is a little more interesting. First, your carrier can only apply a data cap when the amount you pay per gigabyte (after dividing your monthly rental by the inclusive gigabyte data allowance) is less than €3.85/GB. This will drop to less than €3/GB in 2018 and even further to less than €2.25/GB in 2019.

If your carrier doesn’t tell you about any cap when roaming, you get to use your full allowance. I think it’s safe to say that almost all carriers will impose these limits where they can so how do they calculate it? You divide the price of your mobile phone bundle (excluding VAT) by €7.70 (the max a carrier has to pay for 1 GB of roaming data in 2017) and the cap must be double that calculation.

Here are two examples from the EU:

Example 1: At home you have a mobile bundle including unlimited calls, SMS and 3 GB of data for €30 (€25 excluding 20% VAT). In this case, €25/3GB = €8.3/GB. When travelling in the EU, you get roam like at home with unlimited calls and SMS, and 3 GB of data, exactly like at home.

Example 2: At home you have a mobile bundle including unlimited calls, SMS and 10 GB of data for €30 (€25 excluding 20% VAT). The calculation is €25 /10GB=€2.5/GB. When travelling in the EU, you get RLAH with unlimited calls and SMS, and at least 6.5 GB of data (2*(25/7.7) =6.5). If the operator wishes to apply such a data limit while roaming, they must clearly inform you of the volume available and whenever you have consumed that volume while abroad.

Keeping up with us? No? I don’t blame you really – this is rather complicated. But stick with us… we’re almost there.

May 2017-Best Android phones

All in all, the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are two of the most promising smartphones launching in 2017.This time around, Samsung included a curved screen on both the S8 and S8 Plus, as well as a unique 18.5:9 aspect ratio that allows for a much more comfortable in-hand feel. The company even ditched its famous physical home button and included on-screen navigation keys (finally). Under the hood, these devices come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor (or Exynos 8895, depending on the region), 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of on-board storage, and one of the latest versions of Android, 7.0 Noug

Specs

Samsung Galaxy S8

5.8-inch Super AMOLED display with 2960 x 1440 resolution, 570 ppi
Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or Octa-core Samsung Exynos 8895 processor (depending on region)
4 GB of RAM
64 GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 256 GB
12 MP rear camera, 8 MP front camera
Non-removable 3,000 mAh battery
Android 7.0 Nougat
148.9 x 68.1 x 8 mm, 155 g

Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus

6.2-inch Super AMOLED display with 2960 x 1440 resolution, 529 ppi
Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or Octa-core Samsung Exynos 8895 processor (depending on region)
4 GB of RAM
64 GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 256 GB
12 MP rear camera, 8 MP front camera
Non-removable 3,000 mAh battery
Android 7.0 Nougat
159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm, 173 g

LG G6

Certainly the most standout feature on the G6 is its 5.7-inch Quad HD LCD display, with its interesting aspect ratio of 18:9 and rounded corners. It also comes with a Snapdragon 821 processor, 4 GB of RAM, plenty of on-board storage, an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance and dual 13 MP rear cameras. It’s worth noting that not all LG G6s are created equal. For example, the G6 that’s coming to the U.S. is the only variant that supports wireless charging, while the Hi-Fi Quad DAC is exclusive to South Korea and certain markets in Asia. What’s more, the G6 with 64 GB of storage is only available in a handful of markets.

Specs

5.7-inch IPS LCD display with 2880 x 1440 resolution, 564 ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor
4 GB of RAM
32/64 GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 256 GB
Dual 13 MP rear cameras, 5 MP front camera
Non-removable 3,300 mAh battery
Android 7.0 Nougat
148.9 x 71.9 x 7.9 mm, 163 g

Google Pixel and Pixel XL

Not only are they the first phones to ship with the Google Assistant on board, they also come with plenty of exclusive software features and some of the best smartphone cameras in existence.

Under the hood, they sport some killer specs, too. Both devices have an AMOLED display, a Snapdragon 821 processor, 4 GB of RAM, plenty of on-board storage and long-lasting batteries. The overall design of these phones may not be the most unique, but they do feel like premium phones through and through.

There are a few things about these phones that will turn some people away, though. For starters, they only sport an IP53 rating for dust and water resistance, meaning they’re not nearly as waterproof as the Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge. There are ways around that, but none that will make the devices truly waterproof. Plus, if you buy the Verizon model, you’ll have to deal with a small amount of bloatware (though you will be able to uninstall it), you won’t be able to unlock the bootloader, and Verizon will be handling all Pixel and Pixel XL software updates (though the company swears it won’t delay them).

Specs

Google Pixel

5.0-inch AMOLED display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, 441 ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor
4 GB of RAM
32/128 GB of on-board storage, no microSD expansion
12.3 MP rear camera, 8 MP front camera
Non-removable 2,770 mAh battery
Android 7.1 Nougat
143.8 x 69.5 x 8.6 mm, 143 g
Google Pixel XL

5.5-inch AMOLED display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 534 ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor
4 GB of RAM
32/128 GB of on-board storage, no microSD expansion
12.3 MP rear camera, 8 MP front camera
Non-removable 3,450 mAh battery
Android 7.1 Nougat
154.7 x 75.7 x 8.6 mm, 168 g

HTC U11 Edge Sense

In order to start using the pressure sensitive sides of the U11, you’ll first need to set it up in the Settings menu. Alternatively, you can choose to go through the setup process when you’re setting up the phone for the first time. To start, you will have to set the intensity of the squeeze, or as HTC calls it, the “squeeze force level”. This is basically how hard or soft you’ll have to squeeze the phone for the functions to trigger. You set this by squeezing the phone as hard as you want, and that will be the force you will need each time.

Edge Sense is set to launch the camera by default. A single squeeze launches the camera app, while another squeeze will let you snap a photo. You can keep it this way if you’d like, or you can change it to open a specific app. Edge Sense can be programmed to launch Facebook, Instagram, Google Maps, or basically any other application, and it can also perform actions like taking a screenshot, turning on the flashlight, starting a voice recording, or launching the HTC Sense companion.

To get more out of Edge Sense, there’s also an advanced mode that will let you perform two different functions based on short and long squeezes. For example, you can set the short squeeze to launch the camera, and a squeeze and hold can be used to open Google Assistant. That is just an example of course, and you have the ability to set the short and long squeeze to launch any app or perform any function of your choice.

If you do use the advanced mode to control the camera and the Google Assistant, you will also gain some additional functionality within those apps. Once the camera app is launched, a short squeeze will let you take a photo as before, but a long squeeze can be used to switch between the front and rear cameras. With Google Assistant, if you are typing a message in an email, text message, or any input field that would require the keyboard, you can finish the text using your voice by activating voice-to-text with a short or long squeeze.

One of the biggest benefits of Edge Sense is that it allows you interact with the phone when it’s wet or submerged in water, when touch input on the display isn’t the most reliable. If you want to take a photo, open an application, or turn on the camera flash, you can do so easily by squeezing the phone. All of this is possible thanks to the HTC U11’s IP67 rating for dust and water resistance.

Final thoughts

Edge Sense is certainly one of the most interesting ways we’ve been able to interact with phones in a long time. Squeezing your phone may sound like a weird thing to do at first, but I’ll admit that it feels quite intuitive. I thoroughly enjoy using it as a shortcut to Google Assistant.

Life

Posts