Retro Tech Addicts Pickups 28-08-13
Gareth returns this week with a few odds and ends he has picked up, including some hidden posters and booklets he wasn’t expecting.
Retro Pickups 28/08/2013
Posted by: Gareth
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Retro Tech Pickups
Gareth takes you on a tour of his recent acquisitions of old technology in a new series of weekly videos showing off all that is old and nearly forgotten.
This week sees the series start with a bang as Gareth adds a Holy Grail game for a particular console to his collection and unpacking new computer holds a nasty surprise.
Retro Pickup Video
Posted by: Gareth
Sonivo Easy Speaker and Bluetooth Headset unboxing video
We’ve looked at a number of wireless speakers and Bluetooth Headsets in the past but here we have a couple of products that are a little bit different.
Starting with the Sonivo Easy Speaker, there’s no cables, no WiFi, no Bluetooth and no NFC connection. Yet this is no passive speaker set, has a rechargeable battery and built in amplifier.
So how does it work then? I’m tempted to say magic but in reality you place any mobile or MP3 player with built-in loudspeaker, on top of the Easy Speaker and the sound is amplified. Inside the unit a set of transducers pick up the induction signals from the loudspeaker. In practice this works well, there is a BUT though. If you have an HTC One, the placement of the speakers mean that only the left OR right channel will be amplified. You can use the supplied 3.5mm cable to get around this though.
The SBH-150 Bluetooth Stereo Headset from Sonivo is a good looking bit of kit. It uses Bluetooth 3.0 and can be used as both stereo bluetooth headphone or as a wireless headset for use with your mobile. Add to that the passive noise cancelling, media controls and folding design and you’ve got something a bit different.
Check out the unboxing and demo video below to see them both in more detail.
Sonivo Easy Speaker and Bluetooth Headphones
Posted by: Matt
Innergie PocketCell unboxing video
There are numerous charging and external battery solutions available for mobile devices, from cases and backpacks with built in batteries to large external battery packs that you connect with a cable, each has it’s own merits.
I spend a lot of time away form the home and office where I don’t have access to mains power to charge a phone so I’ve had a large rechargeable external battery pack for quite some time. The only ‘problem’ with the one I have is that it’s not something you can put in your jacket pocket, it’s too big for that.
So, enter the Innergie PocketCell. The PocketCell is an extremely neat solution to the issue of running out of power. In simple terms it’s just a 3000MAh rechargeable battery that you can then use to recharge or boost the power of your mobile device, whether that be an iPhone, BlackBerry or other phone or an iPad or other tablet.
The PocketCell can supply 2.1A of charging power which is important for charging tablets as they draw far more power. With this battery pack you can extend the usage time of your iPhone by around 25 hours, iPad 4.5+ Hrs (Using time) and HTC/BlackBerry 15+ Hrs (Talk time). This is achieved in a neat little package weighing just 72g and measuring 90.9 x 29.8 x 21.1mm.
The other thing I like about the Innergie product is that it comes with a ‘Magic Cable Trio’. This is a cable around 8 inches long with a USB plug on one end and MiniUSB, MicroUSB and 30pin apple connector on the other. This combined cable can also be used to recharge the battery pack from a PC or Mac so you only need to carry one cable and the PocketCell itself.
The Innergie PocketCell is ideal for anyone not wishing to lug heavy external batteries or spoil the look of their phone with large jackets or covers. It’s small and light enough to go in your pocket or, ladies, in your handbag.
Check out the unboxing below for more.
The next big thing in Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi has become a cornerstone of our digital lives. It has filled the voids in mobile networks, which have historically never been as fast or as reliable as we would like. Hotels, restaurants, coffee shops; wherever we go, we can safely assume that there will be Wi-Fi waiting for us.
However, it has not been without its flaws. Speed is one of them but it usually still beats the one bar of 3G that plagues much of the country. The biggest drawback to Wi-Fi hotspots for most is the need to constantly log on. Every time you enter a new hotspot, you need to logon; every time you let your device go to sleep, you need to logon and sometimes you just need to logon again for no good reason at all. Well, the days of ‘logging on’ are numbered as Hotspot 2.0 is on the way.
You may have heard the term batted about once or twice; for example, at the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S4 or the new iOS7; but what is it and what does it mean for you?
Hotspot 2.0
Hotspot 2.0 is a specification pioneered by the Wi-Fi Alliance, the Wireless Broadband Alliance and other partners, which will automate the connection to hotspots without any input from the user. Passpoint devices (such as the Galaxy S4 and iOS 7 devices) will be able to connect to certified hotspots using the SIM card to authenticate.
This means that devices will be able to pass between Wi-Fi hotspots and even the cellular data network without any input from the user. The implications of this new technology are massive.
As mobile service providers and hotspot providers forge new roaming partnerships, the Holy Grail of ‘always connected’ will finally be realised with devices always finding the best available connection.
People’s mobile data usage will fall dramatically as devices automatically hook up to local hotspots. This will not only mean that people use less of their data allowance; but the overcrowded cellular networks will get a break too. The truth is that even with rollout of 4G, the mobile spectrum is becoming increasingly overcrowded and Hotspot 2.0 will provide some much needed relief. Less traffic on the cellular data network means that when people do need to access the internet on the move, the experience will be a much better one.
With Wi-Fi being much more battery efficient than mobile broadband, devices will need to be recharged much less. When it comes to roaming abroad, Hotspot 2.0 could be a huge money saver. Mobile roaming is incredibly expensive business and Wi-Fi roaming is likely to give frequent travellers a break in data costs.
Great, when can I get it?
The great news is that the technology is already in place. The Galaxy S4 and new Apple devices are Passpoint compliant and a number of access point vendors are already shipping HS2.0 enabled devices. This is how to make hotspot faster either on Android or iPhone.
Expect more devices to follow this year and for the technology to really begin taking off in 2014. It is finally time to wave goodbye to those annoying ‘Please login’ screens.
Written by The Cloud (www.thecloud.net). We are a BSkyB company and one of Europe’s biggest public access WiFi providers.
Acer Liquid E2 now available on Three
The new Acer Liquid E2 is a powerful yet affordable smartphone that is now available on Three. The 3G network is offering the Acer Liquid E2 in white and with no upfront cost if you choose one of the 24 month contract plans. You can choose from the following plans:
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£17 a month on the Ultimate Internet 100 plan or £20 a month on the Ultimate Internet 500.
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The One Plan which gives you all-you-can-eat-data, 2000 minutes of talk time and 500 Three to Three minutes, plus 2000 texts, for just £23 a month.
All the above plans are available with all-you-can-eat data.
The device is also available on Three’s new market leading Pay As You Go rates of 3p a minute, 2p a text and 1p a MB of data for £149.99. For even better value, all-you-can-eat data add-ons are also available. ‘All in One 15’ costs £15 and gives 30-day access to all-you-can-eat data along with 300 any-network minutes and 3,000 texts. Or ‘All in One 25’ costs £25 and offers 500 minutes, 3000 texts and all-you-can-eat data for a 30-day period.
Sylvia Chind, head of devices at Three, said: “The Liquid E2 is the first smartphone from Acer that we are offering to our customers. This device provides a rich, Android experience and a quad core processor that will give you the performance you need to enjoy the reliability and speed of our network.”
The Acer Liquid E2 also features an instant shutter so you never miss the perfect picture and dual stereo speakers with DTS sound, which turns it into a great little portable stereo. Its large 4.5″ screen is ideal for eBay window shopping or even playing the latest games, such as Minion Rush, following this summer’s blockbuster film. When it’s not in use you can use the phone’s Daydream function to turn the screen into a digital photo frame.
Acer Liquid E2 Key features:
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Fast 8 megapixel camera with instant shutter and HD video
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Dual stereo speakers with DTS sound
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Large 4.5-inch display
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Daydream function that turns the screen into a digital photo frame
You can find this device and access to all of the above plans here: http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Devices/Acer/Liquid_E2
To give you a quick glimpse at this new device here is Brendan Arndt from three with a short video:
Acer Liquid E2
Post by: Chris
Huawei Ascend P6 unboxing video
We’ve reviewed a variety of Huawei smartphones in the past and I’m pleased to see that the build quality and design of the phones is improving nicely. In fact, the latest Ascent P6 is a fine example of what Huawei can achieve when they want to, with clean lines and minimalist design perhaps the most striking thing about the P6 is that it measures just 6.18mm thick!
Huawei have managed to achieve this thin design without compromising the the specification. In fact you’ll find a quad-core 1.5HGz CPU, 2GB RAM and 8 megapixel camera all stuffed in there.
In the video below you’ll get to see the Huawei Ascend P6 unboxed as well as a demo of some of the features followed by a benchmark. Our review will follow soon.
Blackberry Q10 Review
BlackBerry are trying a new tactic in the smartphone wars with their new operating system, BlackBerry 10, we will talk a lot more in the review.
The first BlackBerry 10 device is the Z10 which is BlackBerry’s flagship device and the Q10 is the more ‘BlackBerry’ BlackBerry with a more conventional look. What I mean is that when you hear someone say ‘I’ve just got a new blackberry’ you expect to see a phone with a smaller screen and a full QWERTY keyboard.
So with that in mind how will this device cope with competing with the full touch devices? And not to mention the Z10 too!
To find out those answers and answers to any other questions then please read on. Not before you’ve watched the BlackBerry Q10 unboxing video from Matt of course.
Big Things Ahead with HTC
HTC are fond of teasing us but this time they seem to be taking it to the n’th degree by releasing a video just 16 seconds long promising of ‘Big Things Ahead’.
The video, released along with the hashtag #HTChange, seems to feature one Robert Downey Jr., whom we know HTC have signed a deal with, and the briefest glimpse of an HTC phone which we believe is likely to be the HTC One Max, fitting in nicely with the ‘Big Thing’ promised.
There’s sure to be more of this video released over the coming days so keep your eyes peeled!
HTChange, Big Things Coming
Posted by: Matt
HTC One and HTC One Mini compared (video)
I’ve had the HTC One for quite some time and it has definitely become my favourite phone, relegating all others to the ‘also used’ status.
When rumours of the smaller HTC One Mini surfaced a few months ago I was pretty sceptical. Certainly many other phone manufacturers have come up with mini versions of their most popular handsets but it’s very unusual for HTC to do the same and left us wondering HTC were just following everyone else and rushing out another handset hot in the heals of the HTC One simply to keep up with the Jones’s.
However, having had my hand on the One Mini for the past week I’ve come to appreciate it a whole lot more. I’m liking the design and despite some obvious specification differences it really is just a smaller HTC One. Maybe that sounds obvious but mini versions of things can be very different, experience tells us.
So I thought it would be useful to record a quick video to highlight the similarities and differences between these two phones and you can see for yourself the comparison below.
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