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By March 15, 2014 Read More →

Google Drive slashes prices

google-drop-priceMany have discussed what might happen the day your 100gb of free online storage runs out after purchasing a shiny Chromebook. Thankfully there is a nice answer. It looked like the end user was going to have to clear everything out and say “bye bye” and manage with 15gb or shell out some green to keep it, learn here how to do the file migration to Google Drive.

Today Google announced some great news, lower the prices on all its paid subscriptions for Google Drive storage.

100GB of space now costs $1.99/m (down from $4.99/m); a gargantuan 1TB will now cost $9.99/m (down from $49/m) and if you’re really in need of cloud storage you can rent out 10TB+ for a monthly for starting from $99.99. The new pricing plans come into effect today. More details can be found at google.com/settings/storage. And if you already have a subscription Google say not to worry; anyone already signed up to a monthly plan will be automatically switched to the cheaper option, no input needed.

This seems like a positive outcome for Google and supporters of Google Glass, like me. However, Commissioner John Blair did state, following the ruling, that the he felt that there is sufficient scope in the code that bans the use of TV and Video to include Google Glass.

Whilst this ruling may not in itself set a legal precedent relating to the legality of Google Glass and usage while driving and this is likely to rumble on for some time to come until there is a definitive ruling and laws passed.

Posted in: Desktop Computing, News, Storage Devices
By March 14, 2014 Read More →

Mobile Tech Addicts Podcast 222: Louder than before

Podcast-Logo_thumb.jpgGareth and Dan are here with another UK update on the mobile front. Dan gives his thoughts on Mobile World Congress 2014.

This week Dan tells us what it was like to be on the ground at MWC, the most leaked phone of the decade, the HTC One (M8) and several of the new devices from Archos get discussed.

Featuring Gareth, Dan and Phil

 

Direct Download 

iTunes

Download the iPhone App

Download the Android App

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Posted in: News, Podcast
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By March 13, 2014 Read More →

Vodafone Ranked as Worst UK Mobile Network

resultsIn a report published by RootMetrics, Vodafone comes out at the worst of the UK Mobile Networks with EE taking an almost cleansweep at the top of virtually all of the metrics measured in the report. 

The report claims to be “the most comprehensive study of UK mobile network performance,” aiming to highlight the best carrier in the country.

Broadly speaking these results are pretty consistent with our experience here at tracyandmatt. We on the team all have SIM cards and contracts with the top 4 UK carriers and we all rate EE the highest in terms of coverage, speed and reliablility while there’s no argument from us that Vodafone’s position at the bottom is well deserved. We’re not on the fence!

Vodafone have just hit out at the report from RootMetrics and s Vodafone spokesman has gone so far as to say:

“We cannot take the results of this report seriously and neither should our customers,”

Vodafone said the network tests were not fully impartial, nor did they follow standard industry practices. In addition, some of the data included could be more than six months old, it suggested.

“The evidence we have seen of how Root Metrics conducted some of its tests leads us to believe that they were carried out in an inconsistent manner,” the spokesperson added, advising interested parties to use more established, independent researchers, “such as Ookla”.

 

 

Posted in: News, Phones
By March 12, 2014 Read More →

Google Nexus 8 rumours

Nexus7-9530We have a Google Nexus 8 Android tablet rumour to today. Apparently a new report sheds additional light on some of the hardware details of this potential device. Whilst there isn’t too much information there is enough to start dreaming and getting excited. Here are the proposed specs:

Google Nexus 8 Tablet Specification:

  • 8-Inch Display
  • Intel Atom “Moorefield” 64-bit 2.3GHz quad-core processor with enhanced performance memory
  • PowerVR G6430 GPU
  • Android 4.5

Supposedly, Google will announce the tablet later this year and it will be one of the first devices running their next iteration of Android, which will supposedly be 4.5. Using Intel hardware would be a substantial departure from the norm for Google, but we wouldn’t put it past them. The Nexus 10 is due a refresh first and with any luck we might just see version 4.5 on that and a version 5 arriving with a Nexus 8. One can only hope.

Posted in: News, Rumours, Tablets
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By March 11, 2014 Read More →

Asus Chromebox knock the ball out of the park, Stateside

61Q4AURMIvL._SL1500_It would seem the Asus Chromebox is a hit. Currently sitting at No. 1 on Amazon.com’s best seller list the Asus Chromebox makes a desktop companion of the ChromeOS similar to what the Chromebook has been doing for notebooks and laptops.  The Chromebox comes in three different flavours, the first featuring a 1.4 GHz Intel Celeron 2955U Processor with 2GB of Ram for $179, a Intel Core i3-4010U with 4GB of Ram for $409 and an Intel Core i7-4600U with 4GB of Ram for $590. Each unit also features a 16 GB SSD HDD, Intel HD graphics, Gigabit ethernet, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, 2x USB 3.0 ports, 1x 3.5mm headphone / microphone port, 2-in-1 SD/MMC port and the ever evolving Google Chrome OS.

  • Amazon — $179 with free shipping, ships March 14th
  • Newegg — $179, ships March 14th
  • Tiger Direct — $179 with free shipping

The i3 and i5 variants do not appear to be as easy to track down however the reports are these ship on the same dates. At this price is it impossible not to at least be tempted by the box for $179, even just to plug into a TV or unused screen. No news of when this is to appear on the UK shores, right now Amazon.co.uk offer the Samsung Series 3 Chromebox running Intel 1.9GHz, 4GB RAM, 16GB SSD for £279. A nice alternative however likely to be superseded in the near future.

 

Posted in: Desktop Computing, News
By March 10, 2014 Read More →

HP 8 at a price to make you think twice

hp-8-leadHP is back in the Android tablet game with a new budget tablet. They have announced the HP 8, shockingly featuring an 8″ display size on the device. What’s really surprising is the affordable price of the HP 8. At only $170, this is easily the least expensive 8-inch tablet on the market. Of course, with that price you don’t expect that the specs will be anything spectacular to write home about and you would be right. We hope to get this in for a test as soon as possible.

 

Here are the HP 8 Specs:

  • 7.85-Inch (1,024 x 768) display
  • Android 4.2.2
  • A quad-core ARM chip made by the Chinese company Allwinner
  • 1GB of RAM
  • 16GB of expandable storage
  • Stereo speakers
  • 3,800mAh battery

hp-8-lead

Posted in: News, Tablets
By March 10, 2014 Read More →

The All New HTC One leaked again

m8_001The All New HTC One has had another leak, this time coming from China. Several picture of the device appeared on the local social network Weibo. The All New HTC One (Anho) will be officially revealed this month, on March 25 and has been referred to by many names over the last few month like the HTC Two, HTC One 2. Keeping the device a secret has proved difficult for HTC, or possibly all of these leaks are staged to remind folks dazzled by the Samsung Galaxy S5 to hang on in there as there is an alternative round the corner.

The photos of the Anho don’t really show anything we haven’t seen before, or reveal any new information only the size of the unit compared to the HTC One Max.

 

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Posted in: News, Phones
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By March 9, 2014 Read More →

eBay launches new Collections feature

eBay CollectionseBay announced that it would introduce a new ‘Collections’ feature last year and since then we at tracyandmatt.co.uk have been working with eBay to create our own curated Collections via our eBay account.

The Collections feature, which can be likened to Pintrest for eBay items, is now live on the UK eBay site and members can now start their own collections by going to ‘My Collections’ in their user account or by clicking the ‘Add To Collection’ link when looking at specific eBay items.

The great thing about the new eBay Collections feature is that you can create as many Collections as you want, they can have any number of items in them and not only can the Collection itself be annotated but individual items can be too.

Another cool feature of Collections is that you can promote all of your collections, just one collection or a single item with the sharing feature. Other eBay members can then choose to follow all, some or just one of your collections and can also re-share what you have there.

This new feature could be a real boon for eBay members with popular shops or for those that want to show others what new and hot…

In our Collections right now you can find our selection of the best phones from each mainstream manufacturer, top tablet choices, and all the items we use in MBED, Arduino and Raspberry Pi development. Check out our Collections on eBay.co.uk and follow to see what else we do with them going forward.

 

Posted in: Editorial, News
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By March 6, 2014 Read More →

How much would you pay for Firefox?

dell_uk_firefoxIf, purchasing a Dell machine here in the UK, you decide you wish to have Firefox included out of the box then you will have to pay an extra £16.25. Mozilla are investigating the charge Dell are enforcing for the option that is entirely voluntary when selecting machine specification. When questioned about the charge Dell responded with:

“Dell Configuration Services, including the application loading service, ensure customers have a complete, ready to use product when it arrives,” a Dell spokesperson told TNW. “In this particular situation, the customer would not be charged for the Mozilla Firefox software download, rather the fee would cover the time and labour involved for factory personnel to load a different image than is provided on the system’s standard configuration.”

Dell’s website in the US, and Canada do not include the option and it really seems like Dell is pushing the boundaries. Mozilla have kinda covered this under their Software Distributions policy, the document states:

If you are using the Mozilla Mark(s) for the unaltered binaries you are distributing, you may not charge for that product. By not charging, we mean the Mozilla product must be without cost and its distribution (whether by download or other media) may not be subject to a fee, or tied to subscribing to or purchasing a service, or the collection of personal information. If you want to sell the product, you may do so, but you must call that product by another name—one unrelated to Mozilla or any of the Mozilla Marks. Remember that we do not want the public to be confused.

Money well spent you think? 

 

Posted in: Desktop Computing, Laptops, News
By March 6, 2014 Read More →

The Asus Chromebox is shipping

801x600xasuschromeboxtop-1.jpg,q826d5f.pagespeed.ic.HAZJ0WMBKPOnline US tech retailer sabrepc.com is listing them in stock and ready for ordering. Shipping is 1-2 weeks in the US however they offer International shipping so YOU can have one, in a few weeks.

The Asus Chromebox specifications are listed as:

  • Model: CHROMEBOX-M004U
  • Type: ChromeBox
  • CPU: Intel Celeron 2955U
  • SSD: 16GB
  • RAM: 2GB DDR3-1600
  • Graphics: Integrated Intel HD 4400 Graphics
  • Connectivity: HDMI, DisplayPort, RJ45 LAN
  • Kensington Lock
  • 4x USB 3.0
  • 2-in-1 Card Reader
  • Wireless Dual Band 802.11 a/b/g/n with Bluetooth V4.0
  • Dimensions 4.9” x 4.9” x 1.67”
  • Form Factor: Small Form Factor
  • Operating System: Chrome OS

They are hardly likely to set the world alight however a little box like this with a small price tag might just be what some are looking for to plug into their TV or as a secondary desktop. If you have $179.99 handy, you can buy one now! The Intel i3 is listed by SabrePC at $369.99, that’s $30 less than the RRP.

Posted in: Desktop Computing, News
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