Entries Tagged 'Gadgets' ↓
January 20th, 2010 — Gadgets, My Life
When my iPhone contract ended in April (last year) I was hesitent to jump on the band wagon with one of the smart phones of the time, mainly due to the massive whispers about Android and the leaked shots of some of the new android devices (Samsung Galaxy, Hero, Leo and the now X10) so I moved my contract to o2’s rolling contract (saving myself a fortune) which left me free to change/cancel my contract with a months notice when one of these new blisteringly cool phones came out.
I decided to leave the Hero and Galaxy as the screen size was too small as I really wanted an android based iPhone like experience. The HTC HD2 was a disapointment not due to the hardware or features, but because it was stuck on Windows Mobile 6.5 so I kept my fingers crossed for the X10 or Driod/Milestone to be in the UK for a pre christmas release.
Fed up of the constant delays in releasing a next-gen android phone in the UK I went phone shopping and over the course of a few months built up a big list of the phones I didnt want.
Last weekend I found the T-Mobile Pulse and was instantly smitten. The screen size was perfect it had Android (1.5 not 2.0), a cool form factor and was pretty snappy. So I signed up on a bargain contract and took the phone home happy as larry.
T-Mobile Pulse
Over the course of the next few days I began playing with the phone, optimising the settings ala iPhone to max out the battery life, adding the usual apps like Facebook, TweeDroid and the likes with a view to having a really sweet setup.
I ran into a problems with the phone including battery life, keypad usability and it wigging out every so often so I dialled 150 and decided to give T-Mobile support a call… only the phone doesnt work with ‘press 1 for this, press 2 for that’ call systems it seems… so back to my iPhone I called through and got through (no problems there) and asked them about battery life. Even with some mamoth full charges lasting overnight, my Pulse was only giving me about 1/2 days charge with super light use, no calls or text (im waiting for the number to move across). I checked online and im not the only one experiencing this. I plan on using my phone at Glastonbury so need it to run for at least 5 days with limited use, which the iPhone managed no problem.
It seems t-mobile wont let me swap the phone over the telephone and that any change is at the discretion of the store manager where I purchased it as ‘I have time to look over the phone in the store’ which I hardly think is a long enough period to text a new piece of technology, so I’m going to have to go back to manchester to pick a new phone this weekend.
I might go for the HTC HD2/Leo after all, as theres some great noises about porting android to it using blends of Nexus One etc firmware. Its a shame really becaue the Pulse had a lot going for it. It just needs the buggs working out.
I suppose the moral of this story is that when buying phones, protect yourself by buying online. That way your’re subject to the 30 day cooling off period.
Update: After lots of faffing, the Manager at the branch agreed to swap my Pulse for the HD2 (I relented as it is a good phone but I still want android on it so I hope the developers of haret get it working soon on xda-developers forum. I’ll post my review of the HTC HD2 later.
November 2nd, 2009 — Gadgets, My Life
This post is a work in progress.
I’ve been asked by my GF to buy her some iPod dock / speakers for Christmas and have spent considerable time researching the best iPod dock for under £100. A few days ago she says shes changed her mind and decided to get a phono cable connecting her iPod to her hi-fi instead so I thought I’d document my research, final choice and recommendations below for anyone who’s looking for the best value, highest audio quality iPod dock system this Christmas.
The Market Leaders
Before I start, If you want the best sounding iPod dock and youve got around £500 to spare then there are really only two contenders, both provide amazing sound quality and all of the bells and whistles
you’d associate with a high end audio system. These are:
B&W Zeppelin iPod Speaker Dock
Bose SoundDock iPod Speaker Dock
It’s also worth mentioning that all high end systems suffer the same issue. Should low quality MP3’s be played through them then you can audibly hear the distortion due to compression.
iPod Dock Selection Criteria
My criteria for choice is:
- The iPod dock must cost around £100
- The iPod dock must provide the best sound quality
- The iPod dock must be loud!
- The iPod dock most appeal to the female sense of aesthetic
- The iPod dock must be independently reviewed and recommended i.e. not from shop reviews
iPod Dock Review Sources
I’m an internet research shopper and as such I know how to fathom out the best priced deals on the net, however finding reviews for iPod docks from credible sources was hard as the item is called many things including iPod speakers, Portable iPod speakers (portable? Really?) and a host of other terms. In the end I tried Richer Sounds, CNet, Which, the Gadget Show and a few other review sites on which to base my purchasing decision.
My Recommendations for the top five iPod docks for under (or around) £100
#5. Klipsch iGroove iPod Speaker System
Klipsch iGroove iPod Speaker Dock
Buy from Amazon – only £94.99
#4 Philips DC910/10 iPod Dock
Philips DC910/05 iPod Docking Station
Buy from Amazon – only £99.99
#3 Logic3 iPod Dock
LOGIC3 MIP100K Jivebox Speaker Dock For iPod
Buy from Amazon – only £99.99
#2 Gear4 Bass Station iPod Dock
GEAR4 BassStation
Buy from Amazon – only £72.99
#1 Griffin Amplifi iPod Dock
Griffin Amplifi 1200-ITSPKR 2.1 Sound Speaker System for iPod
Griffin Amplifi 1200-ITSPKR iPod Speaker System
Buy from Amazon – only £95.00
CNet Review – 7.7 / 10
“A truly outstanding speaker setup for its price, and with the build quality we’d expect of a system twice the price. While the lack of features may put off some, iPod owners who simply want an attractive and powerful set of speakers should seriously consider the Griffin Amplifi iPod dock”
Macworld Review – 5 Stars
“The Amplifi is a high-quality music playback system that competes well on music playback with other more expensive systems available. Combine that with the system’s pleasing design and eye-catching looks and Griffin has a winner on its hands. Budget-conscious iPod users who want good music playback twinned with an extremely simple system need look no further.”
Audioholics Review
“for the money I don’t see how you can beat the Amplifi. The Bose SoundDock is twice the price and the Altec Lansing IM7 is also considerably more. I hope that the sound and construction quality of the Amplifi bodes well for the upcoming wireless iPod speakers that Griffin is introducing this fall.”
October 23rd, 2009 — Gadgets, My Life
I can’t wait until my HTC HD2 arrives as im geting more and more fed up with my old 2G iPhones slow internet connection. The phone looks amazing and im looking forwards to the new HTC HD2’s bigger screen, ability to send and recieve MMS, video and camera with flash… these things dont sound like a big deal but when youve been lumped with apples abandoned G1 iPhone enoughs enough and its time to get back to a real phone.
I know the HD2 runs Windows Mobile 6.5 however due to a little app called Android On HTC, I can dual boot(ish) between the HTC HD2’s default winmo installation and a swanky android os!
If like me you’re keen to beat the rush and need to keep your phone separate from your tarrif (saving a mint to boot) then theres a really good deal on at Amazon at the moment where you can buy a sim free HTC Touch HD2 for only £549.99 (works out at £46 pcm on a pseudo 12 month contract or £22 on pseudo 24 month contract) Its pretty pricy but then again the HTC HD2 is gorgous.
Buy the HTC Touch HD2 @ Amazon
Then again you could wait for the Sony Xperia X3 which boasts a similar spec and is Android Based.
July 15th, 2009 — Gadgets, Software
UPDATE:
The original promotional price has expired and now its closer to the time when windows 7 will be available to buy in the shops you can now buy the various packs pretty cheap on Amazon:
Seems like for once the UK is getting a pretty good deal.
Original Post Follows:
Adam has just given me the heads-up on Microsofts latest promotion for Windows 7 Home Premium which at only £49.99 gives you a massive discount off the RRP of £149.99.
The offer is available from participating retailers and is subject to stock.
Having run the Beta version of windows 7 for some time on my netbook im looking forwards to making the transition with my desktop pc which currently runs vista.
I have to say im not a fan of the bells and whistles that windows 7 has, however the additional speed is a welcomed boost to my productivity.
You can buy your copy of windows 7 at the following retailers:
Read the original offer here.
June 17th, 2009 — Gadgets, My Life
ive just updated my 2g iPhone to os3.0 and…
Not Working
- no video
- no mms yet (waiting for settings from o2)
- no shake to shuffle
- no focus on camera
- no voice commands
Working
- White Balance Works
- Cut, Copy & Paste Works
- Landscape Keyboard Works
- Spotlight Search Works (swipe right from the home screen to activate)
- Voice Memos Works
Thought video would work at least, thats really gonna mess with my head 
January 12th, 2009 — Gadgets, My Life, News
Just been given the heads up on an error on the Dell site where theyre selling £1000’s of graphics card, the Nvidia Quatro FX4600 for £4+delivery (£12 in total).
Just go to dell.co.uk and search for item number a1662660.
Whoo! eBay here I come!
Update: BOO! They cancelled my order so no quick cash for me!
October 18th, 2008 — Gadgets, Web Design, Web Development
The last 9 months have brought to light not only the need for website varients catering for mobile browsers such as Safari on the iPhone, but more recently design for the increasingly popular netbooks.
Now in all fairness theres not much in the way of additional consideration needed, the main thing being the catering for the 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, which if you’re as long in the tooth as I am, brings back a time when design for 800 x 600 screens were common.
So what standards should you follow now?
My recomendation is:
- 1000px wide (max – its actually 1004 but whos counting 4 pixels)
- 420px for first fold on IE6 (its a little more for IE7, Firefox and Opera etc)
- 590px second fold for standard 1024 x 768 monitors
October 12th, 2008 — Gadgets, My Life
So I finally made the jump and opted to buy a Dell Inspiron Mini 9 – mainly because I know you can successfully install and run a fully working version of OS X on it compared to the spotty compatibility related to Asus, Samsung and MSI netbooks.
Although its not new news, It’s a first for me.
I plan to use my new shiny Dell as a presentation machine – I know the screen is tiny, however my other choice being a 17″ laptop from Dabs, I opted for something that wouldn’t look ridiculous being man handled out of a satchel during a meeting.
Update: The unit arrived last night so here’s a few things you might want to know from first boot:
- Installation takes AGES
- There’s tones of bloatware on there which kills your machine when you first hook it up to the net as everything tries to update itsself
- Its super light and absolutely silent
- No bag / pouch
- Batteries arrive uncharged but fitted (unlike other netbooks)
- Sound is OK for a laptop
I did some tweaking removing almost all installed software including MSWorks etc and playing around with themes and services to make sure its as fast as I can get it (use Revo to find all those undeleted files and registry values)
Installed:
- MS Office 2007
- Firefox + extensions
- Artweaver (because Photoshop would kill it)
- CCleaner
- 7-zip
- VLC
- Winamp
- XNView
- Sumatra PDF (compact version of Acrobat)
- PDF Creator
- Clamwin
- Filezilla
- Notepad++
- Pidgin
Things ive left on include:
- Dell Support Center
- Dell Video Chat
- Dell Webcam
- Bluetooth
All this done the boot time is well under 30 seconds and the machine is fast and responsive.
Still to do:
- Screen calibration – its way too white
Things I don’t like:
- The 1024 x 600 resolution breaks what id consider to be a standard caveat for web design, that of the fold being at 595px, on the Dell mini its now more like 1000 x 420 (with the fold being at the standard hight for an old style 800 x 600 site)
- Keyboard layout is very cramped with , / @ ? > all being on really thin buttons, also the delete key is in a weird place and no f11 keys for browser maximisation
- I’ve got pretty acidic skin (ewww I know right) which means the plastic front is going to suffer from acid erosion over time.
Reference sites:
Update: True to form, as soon as I buy something (iphone etc) they bring a new one out a couple of days later :/ Theres talk of a new 12 inch machine on Engadget tho at 12 inch its more like a laptop… I think ill stay with my mini;)
October 2nd, 2008 — Gadgets, My Life
I recently purchased a D-Link DIR 301 wireless router starter pack from PC World at around £40 as I wanted to give my neighbour and friend free internet access as hes a bit strapped for cash having 3 kids and 1 dog to look after on his pittance of a wage (Hi John)… also because he wanted to try online dating (i suggest pleantyoffish.com). Anyway, I digress.
The setup of this wireless router was simple enough and I was happily up and running connecting my iphone to the network and surfing from the comfort of my living room, however getting Johns pc to play properly was another story. As part of helping out a friend I updated his PC to Windows XP from 98 and did my usual trick of maxing out the speed by turning off services… the net result was that I just couldn’t get the wireless dongle to work. so a quick email to DLink support later and here’s the fix which I thought id publish to help out others.
Click on start >> run >> services.msc and then click OK
- IN services window scroll down the window to bottom and you will find “Wireless Zero Configuration”
- Double click on it >> click on START (if START is blurred then click on STOP and then again CLICK on START)
- Click on OK at bottom when service is started again
- Close the services window
- Click on Start >> run >> ncpa.cpl and click on OK
- Right click on wireless ICON and click on Properties
- Click on Wireless network TAB
- Remove all ICONS from Preferred networks and mike that box empty
- In Wireless network window make sure that “USE Windows to configure my Wireless Network is Checked In”
- Then click on OK at bottom
- Again Right Click on Wireless Icon and Click on “View Available wireless Networks”
- Find Your wireless network and get connected to it By highlighting your wireless network and click on Connect
UPDATE: For some reason I had Excellent signal strength but the network kept showing “limited or no connectivity” after a bit of digging around I discovered that the “Wireless Zero Configuration” service had stopped even tho’ it was set to start automatically so if you have this issue just right click > properties and select START.
September 4th, 2008 — Gadgets
Ive been eagerly awaiting the launch of the new Dell Inspiron Mini (910) for several months now and have purposefully held odd buying the eeepc or Aspire One notebook as I genuinely believed that Dell was about to come up with an amazing offer.
What a let down…
The Dell Inspiron Mini (910) is way over priced at £299 (thats a full £100 more than its sold for in the USA)
So based on value, capacity and functionality it looks like im going to be forced to buy an Acer Aspire One with its superior hard disk, keyboard and ultimately more affordable cost… or wait for bootleg ones to be sold on ebay
UPDATE
The Dell Mini is now available with Ubuntu for Netbooks which sounds promising and is £50 cheaper tho’ the spec is slightly reduced with less RAM than the Windows XP Version. Also reports from Gizmodo and Engadget say that all netbook prices are due to drop over the next few months which is great news!
I’ve still not bought one as both the Levono s10 and ECG GL10 look like contenders with the GL10 being particularly swanky – just hope they keep the Apple style keyboard!
£64.68