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 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.

Posted in: TV & Home Cinema, Videos/Unboxings
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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!

 

Posted in: Gadgets, Printers, Videos/Unboxings
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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!

Posted in: Cameras, Phones, Videos/Unboxings
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By November 9, 2013 Read More →

iPad Air Explodes in Australian Vodafone Shop

iPad Air ExplodesNot a good headline for Apple. In a Vodafone store in the city of Canberra, Australia, one of Apple’s new flagship iPad Air’s explodes during shopping hours leading to a full scale evacuation of the store and requiring the fire brigade to be be called to extinguish the fire.

According to several reports the store filled with smoke and sparks flew as the iPad literally exploded while on charge.

No official word from Apple as yet but it is believed that a faulty charging circuit was the culprit as the lithium polymer batteries used in the iPad, and common in a variety of other electronic products, are predisposed to exploded when over charged.

Worrying perhaps but considering the 100’s of thousand iPad devices sold each year having just one recorded explosion isn’t a huge cause for concern just yet as this is the first such recorded incident.

Posted in: News, Tablets
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By November 9, 2013 Read More →

Nexus 5 WiFi bug

Nexus 5 wifi bugI’ve had my Google Nexus 5 for just over a week and one of the questions I’ve been frequently asked via twitter and Google+ 1 was whether or not I had experienced any issued with the WiFi in the Nexus 5.

Up until yesterday the answer I gave was no. Despite using a large number of WiFi networks almost daily, from the few WiFi access points I have at home to the WiFi on the train I commute on to the WiFi at work and in coffee shops in London, none had given me any WiFi issues with my Nexus 5.

That’s until yesterday. Suddenly my Nexus 5 dropped off one if my home WiFi points, it connected to the other but then despite showing as connected would not transfer any data. Initially I thought this was a problem with my internet connection but soon realised that my Mac and iPhone were still working fine over the same WiFi.

I switched to a different access point but the problem persisted. I rebooted the phone… the problem remained. I’ve tried removing the WiFi networks and re-adding them but that also had no effect.

WiFi access points I have tried using are a D-Link DSL-3680, TP-Link, Airport Extreme, Airport Express and a Vodafone Mifi. All have the same issue: The WiFi shows as connected but there’s no internet connectivity. Furthermore, the WiFi disconnects and reconnects frequently.

Reading other posts on the internet it would see that many other Nexus 5 owners also have the same issues and this seems to be related to an existing Nexus 7 problem too.

Possible Nexus 5 WiFi bug solution

After literally hours of playing around with settings on the Nexus 5, a hard reset, and pulling out old WiFi access points to try I have managed to get my Nexus 5 working again and this is the solution that works for me…

Connect to the WiFi network and then go and ‘Modify Network’. Under the IP Settings I’ve switched to static and have specified an IP address and DNS server addresses. In both instances I’m using the same addresses that were being assigned through DHCP anyway.

Having done that my WiFi comes back to life. The only drawback so far is that I’ve had to do this with each WiFi network that I use. Switching back to DHCP breaks the connection again.

Give it a try and let me know if it solves your problem!

Posted in: Editorial, News, Phones
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By November 9, 2013 Read More →

Panasonic PRX-120 unboxing

Panasonic PRX-120Android has long been used on smartphones and tablets but what about home, fixed-line phones? Here we have the Panasonic PRX-120, a home phone system where the handset is running Android 4.1.

It’s perhaps a little surprising that there aren’t more phone systems that run on Android. With the PRX-120 we have a base unit that plugs in to your phone line and a Android handset that looks like a standard smartphone from about 2 years ago.

One of the benefits of this phone, other than being able to run standard android apps, is that you can receive your fixed-line phone calls as well as being able to use Skype over WiFi from the same phone.

In almost every other way the PRX120 is just like a regular smartphone and while it may not have cutting edge specs relative to an equivalent smartphone, it can perform most functions, although I’m not sure how useful the GPS will be unless you have a REALLY big house!

Here’s a quick unboxing of the Panasonic PRX-120 so that you can see what it’s all about.

Posted in: Phones, Videos/Unboxings
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By November 8, 2013 Read More →

Samsung 46″ F7000 Series 7 review (UE46F7000ST)

Samsung 46" F7000 Series 7This month I started my Samsung 46″ F7000 Series 7 review. It has been a while since we last had a TV here to review in the office and a lot has changed since then. Prices have plummeted while screen sizes have increased and the thickness of display panels has dramatically reduced.

Much of this is thanks to LED back lighting technology and no one seems to be using this technology quite as much as Samsung and their range of LED HD TV’s is huge.

The Samsung F8000 is the top end of the Samsung range and has a price tag to match. However, many of the top-end features from the F8000 range can now be found on the 2013 F7000 models. Features such as build-in camera, voice and motion control, micro dimming and a touchpad controller are all added to the F7000 range yet it’s still able to come in at several hundred pounds cheaper than the F8000’s

We are looking at the 46″ version but the range offers sizes from 40 to 60 inches and, at the moment, the 46″ can be found on Amazon for just under £1100.

You do get a lot of hardware for your money there too. This smart TV comes with built in WiFi, integrated webcam, motion and voice control features, 2 bundled 3D glasses and two remote control units.

Posted in: Reviews, TV & Home Cinema
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