Category: General

AVG on your mobile – it does a lot more than you’d think

Let’s be honest. If you’re buying an Android phone then, if you’re careful and don’t install much, you’re probably not going to be bothered by viruses or other nasties. However, looking at my son’s phone, he’s definitely not careful, and when I’m rushing to find an app to …

Hermes testing robot deliveries

So, I’ll let you into a secret here. Getting hold of your eye balls and selling you something is a tricky job. So press teams up and down the land are always dreaming up ways of getting their client on pages like this. Here it’s delivery firm Hermes, …

Solitaire – Get a more polished version

You may remember my trip down memory lane when Microsoft launched their classic Solitaire app for both iPhone and Android devices. It was true to the original Windows desktop version, and Microsoft took great pride in promoting the “classic” feel of it, with the same graphics and te …

Vodafone ditches roaming charges for 40 destinations

Voda have announced a number of things this morning, but the one that will have caught your eye is the roaming charges change. The network is to remove all additional charges in 40 foreign destinations. A lot of these are European countries and these charges were due to …

Wileyfox chews out a Nougat upgrade

Well, this is a nice surprise to see from the London-based company: they’re on track with the big guns to update their existing handsets to Nougat. Not only that, but they’re going to be the first company outside of Google to update to Android 7.1.1. Even though my …

Why should local businesses rely on just Google and Facebook?

It’s 2017. The internet has been around for quite a long time and, I’ll freely admit, so have I. I’ve seen web pages go from simple blocky creations to Flash-heavy monstrosities. I’ve seen us go from huge CRT monitors and PC’s to tablets and mobiles. Here’s how our …

Tesco Mobile offering Double Data on iPhones and SIM-only

We’re only days away from the Easter break now so, before you spend all your cash on chocolate eggs, don’t forget to save some cash and get something a bit less fattening. Right now, and until Sunday 23rd April, Tesco Mobile (operating on the O2 network) have a …

Huawei P10 Plus now available on Vodafone

So, you’ve had a look at our Huawei P10 First Impressions article. You like the phone, but you want a slightly bigger screen? Well, your luck is in. The P10 has a 5.1″ panel, but the P10 Plus has a 5.5″, and Vodafone have just made it live …

Trouble at LeEco?

The Chinese brand, LeEco, are reported to be suffering some issues according to Bloomberg. They have tried to hit the US market hard with smartphones, TVs and even autonomous car development with Faraday Future. Check out the video below if you don’t know who Faraday Future are, the video …

Internet use now higher on Android than Windows

We are used to hearing news that more people are accessing the web on a mobile device rather than a desktop. However, a new and somewhat significant milestone has been passed, this being that Android’s internet use has overtaken Windows PC’s. According to StatCounter the Android platform represented 37.93% …

Pacman on Google Maps

What is this? I recently read that our Ian posted an article about a Google Maps update now including the ability to share your location, so of course I went to try it. It’s something I’ve used in WhatsApp before, and in Google Latitude back when that was …

Dodge those RPI contract increases with Tesco Mobile

A lot of you may have received a text message from your network recently. I know I have. On my Vodafone plan I’ve received this text which pushes my bill up by 3.2%. This, if you check your payslip, will probably be way higher than your most recent …

Where to get your Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

The Samsung Galaxy S8 has been leaking all over the internet in the last few weeks but, finally, we now know all about it. There’s two handsets – the £689 S8 with a 5.8″ screen and the £779 S8+ with a 6.2″ display. Both of them have the …

A few hours to wait for the Galaxy S8

Well, today is the day. It happens at some point every year. Not that day, the other one – the announcement of the next Samsung Galaxy S, probably named as the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. Notice that all indications are that the Edge moniker has been dropped? …

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to return as a refurbished device.

According to a statement released by Samsung Mobile, some of the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 devices will be sold as refurbished devices. Samsung also has plans to salvage each other components such as cameras and semiconductors. In addition, they intend on extracting the metal parts from the remaining …

BatON app review- view battery level of attached bluetooth headset

Have you ever picked up your Bluetooth headphones, then pocketed a pair of wired headphones in case they run out of juice when you’re out? Do you carry a spare pair of backup earphones as you’ve no real idea of the battery level of your Bluetooth earphones? BatON …

Yes, more Galaxy S8 leaks

If the rumor mill is to be believed, and take it from me it’s in full swing, the reveal of the latest Samsung flagship the Galaxy S8 is less than a week away. And to be honest, it’s pretty hard not to have seen a leak of the …

SMS integration to be removed from Google Hangouts.

According to an email being sent out by Google, Hangouts SMS integration will stop working after May 22, 2017. The company will presumably roll out an update on the day that will disable the SMS integration functionality on the app. Google will start showing an in-app notification to …

Google Maps to add two new interesting features.

Right back in 2008 I got my hands on my first Android device, the fantastic T-Mobile G1. One application stood out above all the rest – Google Maps. Back then it was just a very simple mapping tool giving users a fairly simple view of the world. Google …

Elretron wants you take you back in time

Pah, modern technology. Who needs that eh? The guys at Elretron want you to take a journey back to the age of typewriters, when we had mechanical keyboards that went “Clack, Clack, Clack”. They’re just about to put their idea on Kickstarter and pricing is said to be …

Making the switch to Virgin Media. A geeky broadband story.

The internet, in our modern world, has become essential. It’s no longer a “nice to have” thing so that you can look things up. Now we’re watching live IPTV, downloading movies, conducting video calls and working from home. And, also, if you are a student you have a …

Vodafone Huawei P10 pre-orders now live too

OK, you know the deal by now. It looks like Huawei has hit the ground running with the P10 as it’s also available to pre-order with Vodafone. Again, we can’t see any of those funky lush colours mentioned at the launch event but, if you head to Vodafone …

EE offering pre-orders on the Huawei P10 lite and P10

As we mentioned during the launch, EE are to carry the new Huawei P10 and the P10 lite. If you’ve drooled over the photos and you’re itching to get yourself one, EE now have a pre-order page available on ee.co.uk/p10. WiFi Calling and 4G Calling will be offered …

Venturer PrimePro 12 TS 2-in-1 notebook – Review

A short time ago I carried out a review of the EliteWin S 11KT mini 2-in-1 notebook. It was also created by Venturer, and you can view the full review here. Now the company have sent me through the their latest device, the PrimePro 12TS Good Points:  Good …

Headphones explode on user mid-flight

Using a battery powered device on a flight? It’s not just phones you need to be concerned with. In Australia authorities are now issuing warnings for powered headphones​. It comes after a passenger on a Beijing to Melbourne flight suffered burns and blisters as her headphones exploded mid-flight. …

The future is Perspex

Two devices have recently launched aimed at the sizeable retro, or nostalgia markets. One is the Nokia 3310, a kind of glossed-up redesign of a classic dumb phone, snakes and all, which was so popular and ubiquitous back in its day that even people who didn’t own one …

A stonking EE SIM only deal. 20GB data, dirt cheap!

Interested in getting unlimited calls, texts and a massive 20GB of 4G data each month, but only paying £11.66 for it? If you’ve already got a phone or want to buy one separately, this rather amazing deal will see you paying a lot less than normal thanks to …

Rich Communication Services: why we should care about RCS.

Most phone users have used the Short Message Service at one time or another. Nowadays, we just call it texting people. Then came the promise of MMS (Multi Media Messaging), or picture messaging. That never really took off in the same way as texting people, since the costs …

My phone is now held together with sticky tape

I like to think that I’m quite careful with my phone. I have an LG G5 at the moment and, although it’s perhaps not as nice to look at as some smartphones, I still prefer it to be case-free. Until yesterday I was quite proud of the fact …

Want to charge your phone? Just look in the mirror

Usual introduction to this. You know the story. Smartphone batteries aren’t great. We don’t want fat batteries, but at the same time we don’t want to be running back to a power point to juice the thing up every few minutes. So what are you going to do? …

BT and Openreach go their separate ways

Whilst it will still be owned by BT and it remains to be seen how things will change, Openreach is finally to become a legally separate entity. Telecoms regulator Ofcom has announced they will no longer have to take legal action to split the two companies, and BT …

Shining a light on Blackberry Aurora

The Blackberry Aurora Effect Hot off the heels of the Blackberry KEYone finally being announced this year at MWC 17, news of another Blackberry handset has broken: the Blackberry Aurora. As with most things to do with the once-great smartphone giant, the handset is interesting. Or, rather, the …

MWC – Remember when we used to hunt for WiFi?

After returning from the Barcelona madness, I’ve finally got chance to reflect a little on the experience. It’s somewhere I don’t get to see a great deal, and instead it’s the inside of taxis or the rather excellent Metro system which runs through the city that I see …

A remote controller actuator. What could be greater?

So, I’m pretty geeky guy with the home automation gadgets. I started off with a Nest thermostat, which a lot of even my non-geeky friends are getting into. It’s a simple and clever way to save cash on your heating bills. Put simply, it knows when you’re not …

MWC – A chat with Marc Allera as EE increase coverage.

My first ever mobile phone was connected to Orange. I stayed as a customer all through the transitional phase as T-Mobile and Orange joined forces to eventually become EE. The new brand seems to have woven its way into our subconsciousness rather quickly, and they have pushed hard …

More Galaxy S8 info leaked – specs galore.

We’re approaching the rumoured Samsung Galaxy S8 flagship announcement, so here we go with some more Galaxy S8 info for the faithful and eager. This is currently believed to be March 29th with a date for pre-orders on the 10th of April. As usual, the internet is now …

Vodafone are helping calves to be born safely

Weird headline, granted, but these tail-mounted sensors are connected to the Vodafone network and will help to bring a healthy calf into the world. No, the cow isn’t going to be making any strange phone calls, this is a sensor and it is triggered by labour contractions. When …

MWC – Hands-on with the Arlo Go 4G mobile camera

This one is still on pre-order but you can get it first in the US for $449.99, then you’ll need to put a SIM card in. It’s a camera that will monitor movement and, if you want, live stream from anywhere with a 3G or 4G signal. Created …