Author Archive: Matt

More than 20 years in the IT industry. Blogging with a passion and thirst for new technology since 2005.

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By November 13, 2013 Read More →

Motorola Moto G – Quad-core power, budget price

motogMotorola’s newest Android handset, the Moto G is officially announced today and Motorola are hoping to shake things up a bit with this new model.

The Moto G will pack in a 1.2GHx quad-core CPU, 1GB RAM, 8 or 16Gb of storage, 5MP camera and 4.5 inch 720×1280 pixel display. Furthermore, the Moto G will ship with Android 4.3 with a promised update to 4.4 KitKat coming soon too.

Whilst these may not be the pinnacle of smartphone specs the price may surprise you. O2 have already come out to announce that the Moto G will be available on their network for just £129.99 on Pay & Go, which seems excellent value.

We’ll be looking to get our hands on one soon and will report back when we do.

Posted in: News, Phones
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By November 13, 2013 Read More →

Lap it up: Laptops That Won’t Break the Bank

computer-laptopIt wasn’t long ago that most people’s homes had a huge computer, comprising, vast monitor and tower, taking over one of their rooms. But over the last half-decade, technology has developed and the computer has become smaller, easier to use and cheaper. Laptops are convenient because they can be taken everywhere with you and with Wi-Fi now available in cafes, shops and even on trains, you can use the web while on the move, too. As technology has improved, prices have also come down, so the days when buying a laptop would leave you totally out of pocket are gone. Here are our cheap options for the best laptop deals.

Best for low budget: The Co-operative Electrical currently has a laptop sale offering high-quality computers at a reduced price, meaning you can get more for your money. At £299 the Toshiba Satellite C855-1W4 offers 4GB of memory and a 640GB hard drive, with Windows 8 installed ready to be used. The screen is 15.6 inches, which is ideal for watching films.

Best for memory: If you are going to be using your laptop for work, or storing large files such as photos, videos and songs, you may be better off getting something with a larger hard drive (not memory) so that you don’t have to be worrying about deleting things to make room for others. Although a higher memory can mean paying a bit more, this will be cheaper than having to replace your laptop in a few years’ time because it has run out of hard drive space (not memory). Look for a laptop with 500GB+ on it.

Best for speed: It’s no use getting a cheap laptop if it is going to be slow, so look for a laptop with an Intel core i5 or Intel Core i7 processor, as they are good for fast performance and longer-lasting power.

Lightweight: Although all laptops are portable, some can get heavy if you’re carrying them around all day, so you need to invest in something that is lightweight. At £399, the Acer Aspire V5-122P is compact and its 11.6” screen means that it is small and easy to transport to and from work.

Spend a bit more: The Toshiba Satellite L955-10P laptop is a little more expensive at £429, but has 8GB memory and a powerful Core i5 processor to ensure speedy computing and efficient performance. This laptop also features an ultra-premium chassis and ultra slim design to combine style with functionality.

All prices were correct at time of publication.

Posted in: Editorial, Laptops
By November 13, 2013 Read More →

Nexus 7 gets KitKat

Nexus 7 gets KitKatWith the obvious success of the Nexus 5, Google is managing to get Android 4.4 KitKat in to the hands of more users.

That’s left many existing Android users wondering when their devices will have a KitKat update available. Several manufacturers have already made announcements and we know, for example, that HTC are going to have updates out later this month.

If you have a Nexus 7 though, you are definitely in luck! The Nexus 7 (both the 2012 and 2013 versions) and Nexus 10 will be getting the update imminently, although it’ll be exclusive to the Wi-Fi only models for now.

I’m checking for updates on my Nexus 7 ever 5 minutes!

Google have also announced that the Nexus 4 will get the update to KitKat soon too.

 

By November 13, 2013 Read More →

ZTE Blade V unboxing and hands-on

ZTE Blade VZTE have had a lot of success with their Blade range of devices and they generally offer good value for money, particularly for the PAYG market.

With the launch of the ZTE Blade V, ZTE are hoping to continue that trend and our review unit, which comes from Virgin Mobile, can be snapped up on PAYG for just £99.99 or if you are a Virgin Media customer, £81.99. That’s great value for a phone with Quad-core 1.2GHz CPU and 4″ 480×800 pixel display.

We’ve always been impressed with ZTE’s build quality and value so can the Blade V impress us again?

In the unboxing video below you can see the ZTE Blade V in more detail. I’ll run though the setup and run a quick benchmark too.

By November 12, 2013 Read More →

Three announces iPad mini with Retina pricing

three-ipadEarlier today, Apple made the new Retina iPad mini available to buy on their online store. UK mobile operator, Three, have just given us their contract pricing for the new iPad Mini will be available to order starting Friday morning.

Stock is likely to be limited so move quickly if you want one!

iPad mini with Retina Pricing announced

 

16GB:

£129 and £25 a month, 15GB data 24 months

£79 and £29 a month, 15GB data 24 months

£419 on a one-month rolling contract

 

32GB:

£199 and £25 a month, 15GB data 24 months

£149 and £29 a month, 15GB data 24 months

£499 on a one-month rolling contract

 

64GB:

£269 and £25 a month, 15GB data 24 months

£219 and £29 a month, 15GB data 24 months

£579 on a one-month rolling contract

 

One month contracts are available with either 1GB data for £7.50 a month or 10GB data for £15 a month.

Posted in: News, Tablets
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By November 12, 2013 Read More →

Retina iPad mini goes on sale

Retina iPad miniJust three weeks after Apple’s big iPad event, the Retina iPad mini has at last gone on sale on Apple’s website.

During the event we were introduced to the Retina iPad mini, an updated version of the existing mini but with, obviously the Retina 7.9″ 2048×1536 display, the new A7 and M7 chips and MiMo technology.

At the time of the event Apple said that the new mini would be on sale ‘later in November’. Many naysayers believed that Apple’s supply of Retina screens was in such constraint that the actual on-sale date would get pushed back. Seemingly Apple have silenced those critics today.

Head over to Apple for more on the new Retina iPad mini

Posted in: News, Tablets
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By November 12, 2013 Read More →

Google Chromecast demo video

chromecastSeveral weeks ago, Gareth was one of the lucky few to be able to order a Chromecast from Amazon.com and have it delivered to the UK.

We then brought you a video of the install and setup of the Chromecast but Gareth encountered a series of problems when trying to use the Chromecast with both his tablet and his phone and was unable to get it fully working.

So this time we’re bringing you an updated video of the Chromecast in action now that we’ve been able to iron out the issues and in the video below you’ll see Gareth demo some of the features and run through a demo.

By November 11, 2013 Read More →

Apple bringing two All-new iPhone’s next year

iphone-6According to Bloomberg, Apple will be releasing two brand new iPhone designs next year. One to have a 4.7 and the other to have a 5.5 inch display.

In the report posted by Bloomberg yesterday, the new devices will not only have larger displays but they will also have curved glass.

Certainly it would make sense for Apple to release larger phones as many of their competitors have already released phones in sizes up to and over 6 inches. With these larger screen sizes I would also hope that we’ll at last see a 1080×1920 full HD display from apple, where again many competitors are already there and playing keep-up is not a game Apple likes to play.

The report also suggests that Apple are working on pressure sensitive screens that will allow greater control and varied line thickness when drawing for example. If you’re looking for a great phone repair shop for your phone, check out iPhone Battery Replacement Gold Coast.

 

 

Posted in: News, Phones
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By November 10, 2013 Read More →

Reprap 3D print at 30x speed

Reprap_Prusa_MendelI’ve had my Reprap for ages but haven’t really used it much lately, but today I thought I’d dust of off and have a play with it.

So, just for fun, here is a time-lapse video my Reprap Prusa Mendel printing a Christmas tree. This is playing back at proximately 30x real time, the actual print time was just under 2 hours.

Now I just need to paint and light the tree!

 

By November 10, 2013 Read More →

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 unboxing and setup video

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10The quality and pixel count of cameras built in to smartphones is improving all the time but there are always compromises to be made when you’re cramming a sensor and optics in to a package small enough to fit in to a smartphone where anything over about 10mm is considered too ‘fat’.

There have been obvious leaps forward particularly with the Nokia Lumia 1020 and the Ultrapixel sensor on the HTC One but even though these cameras are good there’s still no beating the optics and sensors in ‘proper’ digital cameras.

So enter the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10, a lens camera system from Sony. Sony have taken the G Lens and ExmorR CMOS sensor from one of their digital cameras and put them in to a package that’s the same size as the lens itself. The result is a camera with 10x zoom and 18.2MP sensor in a package that looks like it’s just a small-ish lens.

The idea here is that you can use this “lens camera” with your existing Android or iOS smartphone to give you a really good camera experience, far better than you could expect from the built-on camera and with a 10x zoom and optical image stabiliser to boot.

You connect your phone to the QX10 via WiFi direct and then use Playmemories Mobile app as the interface and viewfinder for the camera.

I decided to get a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 because the camera on the Nexus 5 isn’t great… However, word of warning, the Playmemories App, which is essential to using the QX10, doesn’t work on the Nexus 5, presumably doesn’t support Android OS 4.4 yet!

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