Having been a fashion journalist for twenty odd years myself, I am very familiar with staying en vogue. Yet when I see all these grand couturists, fashion experts, street brand fashionista, or top ten fashion icons ending up advertising for massage chairs, reishi mushroom spores and whatnot, I couldn’t help but laugh. It’s like looking for a lover, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a husband or a wife – it always works better if you pick someone based on compatibility; you’ll get sick of it sooner or later if you have brought home a hunk or a sexy goddess. The same rule applies to fashion and trends: if you force yourself to wear what’s chic, it may end up being out of character for you. If you choose something simpler but elegant that suits you, you can create a style that is all about you. Take William Tang Tat Chi as an example. His perpetual black attire, turtleneck or not, is simply “William’s style”. It’s not Chanel Black, nor Galliano Black, but simply William Tang’s ink black. This tells us that our taste should reflect who we are as a person. Black is just like William’s lover, or that “ambiguous lover” getting in between William Tang and his significant other.
We all have different definitions on what “beauty” is. But even if you like Miss Hong Kong, it doesn’t mean that you have to take a pageant winner as your wife…..unless your surname happens to be Fok, but we all know how that turned out.
Speaking of the search for “the right one”, I came to a profound understanding recently: rather than having the one that mesmerise millions, inner beauty is more important (of course beauty on the outside is important too!) What’s the most important, however, is that this “lover” must be able to satisfy my needs. Now don’t get me wrong, for the “lover” I’m talking about is my mobile phone. Once upon a time, I was a fan of all things Apple, because there simply weren’t enough choices of mobile phones that could satisfy me to the point of becoming my “ambiguous lover”. This lover has to give me a sense of security. And don’t forget, as “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”, I have to always look the best at every angle in my lover’s eyes (and by that I mean the camera of my phone), and those eyes have to follow me around all the time. In this sense, iPhone and its “eyes” did it the best.
With technological advances, however, other “lovers” around me have been playing catch up. Their “eyes”, or camera lenses, are getting better and better at capturing what I want, and I’m so happy to announce that I have finally met my “even better” half. My new “ambiguous lover” is the HTC U11 EYEs. It can be considered the younger brother of HTC’s flagship U11 smartphone, but with functions that are on par with the flagship model. It uses the Snapdragon652, rather than 835, as its CPU. Its screen is the 6” Full HD+ (1080x2160) 18:9 Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and not the 4x HD 5.5” (1440p). With the U11 EYEs, I can do both pre-and post-processing editing, as well as choosing panorama, slow-motion, time-lapse photography or manual-adjustable PRO imaging. What’s the best about this phone is that the front camera has a dual camera setup. This means that it can achieve the bokeh effect in selfie photos, similar to what the iPhone 10 can do. While this phone doesn’t support bokeh effect in videography, its beauty filters, together with shallow depth of field, allows you to post every photo on Facebook or Instagram on the go right away.
1. This photo of me as a stud was taken using the HTC U11 EYEs’ 12.3-megapixel main camera. The sunlight in the background didn’t clash with the lighting at the foreground because the main camera has the HTC Ultrapixel 3 and Ultraspeed auto-focus technology, coupled with Optical Image Stabilisation (O.I.S.) and Electronic Image Stabilisation (E.I.S.) systems. Now not even strong winds can ruin my selfies.
2. Today’s smartphones has to take excellent “food porn”. The HTC U11 EYEs is equipped with the HDR Boost function. The zero-delay shutter speed and white balance presets help cut out much of the visual noise, which means your food will look great whichever way you take pictures, though of course you have to choose a good camera angle in order to get the best photo.
3. This time I tried taking a picture under full sunlight. You can see that the black and grey details on my clothes really pop. Note that what I am holding is the sunny red (looking just like the Ironman) version of the HTC U11 EYEs. The phone also comes in a dazzling blue-silver as well as mirror black. At the time of writing, all 3 colours are already available for purchase. The MSRP is $3,898HKD, but to my knowledge, some phone stores are selling this phone for a little over HK$3000. So guys, this is just a great choice for your girlfriends this Valentine’s Day. Just a reminder though – never go with your gut; always take your girlfriend along so that she can choose the right colour for herself. This way, she has one fewer reason to complain about you in 2018!
4. The front camera will have an additional “AR stickers” function during 2018 Q1. This means that you can add your favorite AR stickers – panda, rabbit or kitten, to name a few – right onto your selfie photos without using additional apps.
Your “Lover’s” Assistant
The resolution of photos and videos taken on our phones is getting higher and higher each day, which means my new “lover” U11 EYEs’ 64gb internal storage be not enough. Luckily, this phone is equipped with a USB Type-C port. It also supports microSDXC external memory cards up to 2TB in storage. I have introduced my “lover” to two excellent partners: the Kingston MobileLite Duo 3C (USB 3.1 + Type-C) microSD card reader (US$24.99), and the Kingston 64gb microSDXC memory card (around HK $309). With great functionality at a reasonable price point, they’re your “lover’s” best assistants.
(To enquire, please contact Viewking Trading at 2865 2070)
HTC Rapid Charger 3.0 with a USB Type-C transfer cable (worth $338)
HTC U11 EYEs transparent double-layered shock-resistant case cover (worth $298)
USB Type-C to 3.5mm audio jack adapter (worth $148)
HTC U11 EYEs tempered screen protector (worth $98)
During the promotional period, the first 1000 customers who buy a HTC U11 series smartphone (including HTC U11, HTC U11+ and HTC U11 EYEs) and successfully register for the HTC VIP membership online will also receive a limited-edition HTC X MAYDAY backpack.
(Editor’s Note: this article was originally published in the 54th printed edition of Passion Times. The subscription link for the printed edition of Passion Times is：http://www.passiontimes.hk/4.0/regform.php）