Huawei Nova: A pleasant surprise in a 5-inch phone An Android smartie with just one funny story Hands-on Last year, Huawei built a phone for Google called the Nexus 6P, and everyone who had one loved it. Huawei's "nova" (officially lowercase) resembles a slimline version of the Nexus 6P. But while it retains the quite beautiful design, the Nova is not a Nexus 6P at all. The five-inch Nova is the latest in a rapidly proliferating range of Huawei models. (I follow Huawei pretty closely, and it's hard to keep up. There's already a "nova Plus" with a 5.5‑inch display.) The Nova doesn't do anything badly, and it looks terrific, and feels really good to hold. The 2.5D curved glass meets the curved back very nicely. But that doesn't matter. The Nova is a comedian with one joke, albeit a good one. And the joke, or the USP, is this: the Nova is almost exactly the same size as a 4.7‑inch iPhone. The Nova therefore hits a sweet spot in the market: the "compact." With phone makers abandoning producing anything with a display diagonal of under five inches, the Nova has the iPhone-sized 'Droid market almost entirely to itself.

It manages to pack in a five‑inch display, thanks to smart use of space – the bezels are very narrow, much narrower than the iPhone. The Nova therefore is a phone that's going to succeed or fail depending on how much people want a stylish, cheaper iPhone-sized 'Droid. That's all that matters here. There are no hidden depths or subtle surprises. The Nova is priced exactly where you would expect a midrange phone from a top brand to be priced. Huawei is now confident enough, we guess, in the familiarity of its brand, to forego the familiar "trust us" discount. Huawei is not a stranger on these shores any more. Carphone Warehouse is selling the Nova SIM-free, where it comes in £20 more expensive than a OnePlus 3. But it's nowhere near the amazing value of the 3, with its gargantuan helping of RAM, expensive camera, and flagship processor. But maybe that doesn't matter, if the punter wants something the size of an iPhone. In itself it's a respectable midrange performer, with 3GB of RAM helping to keep the frugal Snapdragon 625 chugging along.

As we found with the Blu, if you stuff in enough RAM, even a modest chip can deliver a good experience. But you won't care about that. It's the same size as an iPhone. In all honesty, it's a surprise in itself to find a Huawei that doesn't have a surprise somewhere. We knew Huawei made good quality phones with an eccentric, sometimes intrusive shell, called EMUI. We knew it's good at radio engineering, and has set about making the bezel disappear for years. It's dual SIM: no surprise again. But that's the Nova. And did we mention it's about the same size as an iPhone? Now on to the camera and a bit more about performance – with a sprinkling of screenshots along the way (click to enlarge the images below). Customer Identity and Access Management The camera and other goodiesAirlines are already taking action on oversize cabin baggage as an industry group moves to impose strict guidelines over luggage. The International Air Transport Association has come up with the ideal carry on size after consultation with airlines and plane makers.

A size of 55 x 35 x 20 cm would mean that "theoretically" everyone should have a chance to store their carry-on bags on board aircraft of 120 seats or larger, the association said at its annual meeting in Miami. With many passengers electing to avoid charges for bags in the cargo hold, carry-on luggage has been creeping up in size leading to frustration among passengers when there is no room left in overhead bins. In the United States, Delta is experimenting with pre-loading carry-on bags on a limited number of flights during the next few months. stihl br550 backpack blower partsThe "Early Valet" service is being trialled on around two dozen flights out of Delta's busiest airports - Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Seattle. gomigomi backpack

Bags are taken on board by airline staff ahead of passengers. A Qantas spokesman said from Miami that problems with carry-on were not a big issue for his airline but it had introduced its own system on domestic flights where the baggage destined for the overhead locker is tagged and a second piece carrying personal items were allowed under the seat in front of them. "We've experimented domestically with one up one down and people are welcome to have two pieces - we tag one of them and one has to go under the seat. gobstopper backpackThat seems to be working very well." swissgear computer laptop backpack with integrated tablet pocketAir New Zealand allows bigger bags than the IATA guidelines at present but over the past two years has cracked down on the weight of carry-on by imposing a strict 7kg limit for domestic passengers at the departure gate. used backpack gold dredge for sale

Passengers are allowed to take on a handbag or slimline laptop bags as well. Read more:• Air deal opens up possibility of new NZ-US flights• Air NZ signs codeshare with Air India An Air NZ representative said "in general we find our customers to be respectful of the rules around carry-on baggage, however we are happy to participate in a discussion with IATA around this initiative." Air New Zealand's rules around carry-on baggage can be found here. Tom Windmuller, IATA's senior vice president for airport, passenger, cargo and security, said many airlines have different size requirements for carry-ons, which led to confusing. bap backpack ebayIATA consulted with Boeing and Airbus to come up with the optimum size and had begun talking with baggage manufacturers to urge them to start making bags that fit the parameters. He said he expected the bags to be widely available by the end of the year, and that costs would range according to the quality and materials chosen by individual luggage makers.

Those that fit the IATA size specifications would be marked with a tag, or a label, that says "IATA Cabin OK." However, this label will only be available on new bags, and not for travellers that may already have an ideally sized bag in their collection, AFP reports. Airlines are not required to sign up for the programme, but Windmuller said the response from airline executives has been favourable so far. Travel agents are backing the move, saying it was "ludicrous" that many airlines had different baggage allowances. Auckland-based travel agent Gail Sanders said it would be fantastic if all airlines took on board the standard size. Travellers would be able to purchase luggage straight from a travel baggage shop and know "exactly where they stand", she said. "It just seems to make sense, doesn't it. "Many people when they're travelling are actually travelling on a number of different airlines on a trip and it's just ludicrous to think, the same with checked baggage, that the airlines have different regulations."

Hannagan & Greive Travel Associates agent Alex Carr said the only problem with exact measurements was if travellers had luggage that was the right total size, but had different dimensions. Many airlines had cracked down on carry-on luggage since they started offering seat-only ticket options, she said. Ms Carr said a weight standardisation would be a bigger issue for travellers. "If they're going to get that strict on it, that's a problem because you can have one that's horizontally the same measurements but they might have it lengthways. "It's kind of already partially standardised anyway because most [airlines] have a measurement that if it doesn't fit within, they won't let you on board with it. World Travellers Warkworth owner Lynette Giles said most airlines adhere to similar guidelines already. The company gives travellers a guideline of 118cm for the total length, width and height of carry-on baggage, she said. The new size would bring that down to 110cm. "We don't have any problems from clients with carry-on luggage.

It is what it is, and they accept it for whatever airline they travel with," Giles said. "If all the airlines went for the same size it would be so much easier for us. And weight system, even for checked-in luggage as well. You can well travelling on multiple airlines but have different luggage allowances on your one itinerary." Herald readers have also come out in support of the proposed new rules. Many people wrote of their frustrations with fellow passengers who carried multiple bags or went over the weight limit. "I'm sure I'm not alone in being fed up with people who ignore the current rules and stagger on board with several bags and a rucksack and then proceed to use every overhead locker within 5 rows of where they are seated to stow it all," said Kevin Steele. "It annoys me intensely when people bring huge bags into the cabin and stuff them in the overhead locker, pushing and squashing everyone else's bags, potentially wrecking something inside it," said Lynda Crofskey. Others said that airlines needed to monitor carry-on baggage more closely.

"It is not just a matter of bag size; it is the weight that really causes issues," said Dennis Mowbray. "As a very frequent flyer, I see people who not only have a bag with wheels, which to me indicates it is too heavy to start with." "It is about time the airlines enforced the rules regarding carry on cabin baggage," wrote another reader. "Having just flown to London and back, I am amazed about the amount and size of cabin baggage some people take on and are allowed to do so." However, a few others found the proposed size too small. "I travel with a camera backpack that is 60 x 40 x 30," said one reader. "There is no way I would put this through as normal luggage. The camera and lenses would get damaged by the luggage handlers." "It stinks, from what I can see over the years whole purpose of the airlines is to make your customers even more uncomfortable," Steve Eliopoulos said. Oversize carry-on luggage has caused frustrations on flights around the world and can even be dangerous. New Zealand timpanist and conductor Gary Brain was injured during a flight to the United States, when a suitcase fell from an overhead locker and crushed his wrist.