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
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
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
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
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
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
I received one of these devices about a month ago as part of AppSwing’s membership of the BlackBerry Alliance program. This allowed us to check that our software was going to be compatible with the new device (it is) and to develop new services for it. Unfortunately as we are under a NDA I haven’t been able to talk about it until today when the device was officially launched.
The unit itself has been known as a number of different things before launch including the 9000 and Meteor (which I much prefer to Bold) and is physically larger than … Read the rest
Here’s a simple yet effective solution to working in the dark. I am currently sat outside with no lighting and without this USB powered LED light I wouldn’t be able to see the keyboard and would have to retreat inside. The light is a bit uneven but perfectly useable.
You can get one from here for only £4.… Read the rest