Crunch Time for Internet Browsing

April 24, 2009 | Comment

Browsing the web from my iPod Touch this morning I remembered the CrunchPad, Michael Arrington’s prototype connected device for web browsing. This is a flat, tablet like device, with only an on-screen keyboard and optimised for browsing the web.

Having checked my mail, gone through the rss feeds that had come in over night, checked Facebook and Twitter and browsed a few websites I was left asking the question “who needs a CrunchPad and what does it offer that that iPod Touch/iPhone don’t deliver already?”

Ok, so the Touch/iPhone have screens that require you to also have good … Read the rest

Gadget Show Live

April 21, 2009 | 1 comment

Gadget Show Live came to the NEC in Birmingham this last weekend and I went along with my youngest son for a look around. We are both fans of the show and of gadgets in general so we were looking forward to finding out what was on offer. What it turned out to be was, perhaps, more a collection of hi-tech retailers gathered together rather than a showing of gadgets. it seemed particularly heavy on gaming, an area I have no interest in, and light on up-and-coming gadgets.

It did offer Mat the opportunity to play on a number of … Read the rest

Travellers Kit

April 15, 2009 | Comment

Being away from home there is some kit that has proved to be essential while travelling, which you can see on the left here. What is also interesting is the software that I have come to rely on over the last couple of weeks while away.

The most useful item by far has been my Netbook which has performed admirably allowing me to stay in touch with those at home (via Skype, Messenger and blogging via Windows Live Writer), provided entertainment (Spotify and Hulu) and also dealing with all the picture and videos that we have … Read the rest

One Billion Errors

April 10, 2009 | 4 comments

So Apple are running a competition at the moment to celebrate them (almost) reaching a billion downloads from the App Store. All you need do is download an application to be entered into a prize draw that would see you winning a $10,000 iTunes cards amongst other things.

For those that don’t have a compatible device (and for legal reasons I suspect) Apple have provided a page on their website where you can enter for free without downloading an app.

Being too lazy to go and get my Touch from the other room this is the route I chose to … Read the rest

Laice itsaKey USB

March 19, 2009 | Comment

Here’s a neat idea and one that I am amazed that no-one has thought of before. It’s a USB flash drive in the shape of a key. For years flash drive manufacturers have been making USB devices that are made of cheap plastic that breaks off when you try and attach it to a key ring or has no loop at all meaning it just gets tossed in the bottom of a bag to be lost or forgotten.

Priced at a reasonable £16 for the 4gb version and £26 for the 8gb I think they are great. My only question … Read the rest

Apple iPhone 3.0

March 18, 2009 | Comment

So yesterday Apple announced v3 of their iPhone OS in a ‘Jobs-free’ presentation. There was much excitement and speculation on the net before the announcement about what this revision would contain. The smart money was on cut & paste finally making an appearance and it did. This is one of those features that I rarely use on a mobile device but really miss it when it is not there. The video below from the BBC shows this in action – not quite the simplicity of select ctrl+c, followed by ctrl+v but not too bad.

Other things making an appearance … Read the rest

BlackBerry Storm

October 9, 2008 | Comment

Visiting Vodafone’s UK HQ today I had the opportunity to try out the new BlackBerry Storm – the first with a touchscreen and touted iPhone killer. As ever it was a well put together device with a bright screen and felt good to hold in the hand.

The real surprise though came when using the touch screen. Having got used to my iPhone for the last couple of months I was expecting something similar but pressing down on the screen of the Storm you get what feels like the screen depressing as it is clicked. It feels mighty strange and … Read the rest

Network Hard Drives

October 2, 2008 | Comment

A while ago I bought this hard drive enclosure from Maplin. What I wanted was some storage that I could access across the network rather than locally via a USB cable and this seemed to fit the bill at £35. I slotted in a spare 80gb hard drive and plugged it into the router. Within a couple of minutes I had connected to it from across the network and was able to transfer files back and forwards.

The management software for the device is pretty simplistic allowing you to setup folders and privileges and not much else. However, it does … Read the rest

Perfect travel speakers – the x-mini

August 13, 2008 | 1 comment

I was introduced to these speakers by a friend who, like me, has a keen interest in all things gadgety. I have tried a number of portable speakers in my time but most are either too big or the sound is too weak. The x-mini gets round both of these problems in a neat way.

The unit itself is tiny – certainly small enough to fit neatly in the palm of your hand and therefore in anyone’s travelling kit bag. The real neat bit though is how it gets more bass. By twisting the unit it opens out to reveal … Read the rest

Asus EEE PC and Mobile Broadband

May 30, 2008 | Comment

Got one of these? Then get one of these (but only one of these, a Huawei E220, as this is, apparently, the only one that works out of the box with the EEE).

Currently UK mobile operator 3 are doing an offer for existing subscribers where you can get a mobile broadband dongle for free and a contract for 1gb of data for only £5 per month. What a bargain! And, even better, it is wonderfully simple to setup on the EEE and even easier than on Windows. See below for instructions:

1. Insert the dongle and open the … Read the rest