Pulse reporter's diary

Chinese electronics giant Huawei announced the presence of its smart devices in Nigeria in 2011. For the first time, the technology company has invited West African journalists to visit its headquarters in China.

Having packed her bags and brushed up on her Mandarin, Pulse Nigeria’s Princess Abumere is on the mainland to bring you technology, travel and lifestyle stories from the press trip.

Follow her adventures here, on the website’s Instagram page and her Instagram page.

Monday, 13 June 2016

I decided to learn Mandarin in 2014 while living in the United Kingdom. I didn’t think I would use it for anything but here I am today, June 13 at the Huawei campus in Shenzhen China.

I arrived in the metropolis in the early hours of the day with other journalists from Nigeria. Jet-lagged and sleep deprived, our adventure began with the first stop at the Huawei product exhibition hall where the firms strategy and products for business and consumers including mobile phones, wearable fashion devices and tablets are showcased.

After visiting the product exhibition hall and manufacturing centre, its clear Huawei is passionate about building a brand that is globally acceptable by its consumers. Hawa Hyath who is Huawei's Marketing director for Sub Sahara Africa describes it as “Connecting people to people, people to things and things to things.”

Having been ranked by several technology websites as having one of the best smartphones in the world alongside the likes of Apple and Samsung. Now the company seeks to position itself as the front-runner of smartphone photography.

Most recently in April 2016 the firm launched its new flagship device into the market - the Huawei P9 that comes with not just one but two lenses collaborating with German camera manufacturer Leica.

Vice President, Global Product Marketing, Huawei, Clement Wong revealed at the company’s headquarters in Shenzhen, China that the Huawei P9 and P9 Plus launched with the objectives of looking great as a mobile phone and being able to capture beautiful things.

If you’ve ever had you phone drop from a height or from your pocket, you’ll be happy to know that the technology labs actually exist to put your phone through real life situations. In the environment lab of Huawei, phones were tested in in high and low humidity. There was also the height test in which the phone was dropped from a height of one metre and a rhythm tester in which the phone was rotated in machine with a 0.5metre drop. The most exciting part of the day was finding out a phone could be made in two hours!