Category: General
Way back in the day we used to upload voices to our hacked versions of TomTom to Pocket PC devices. Remember someone having Yoda speaking out the directions? Now we’ve got Waze which, if you didn’t know already, is a rather clever community-driven traffic and navigation app. If …
Microsoft has revealed that a beta version of Cortana, their digital assistant (none of which I can get to work right), will be available for Android users sometime in July – as a Beta. This means that the Cortana version for Android won’t have all of the features of …
Our garden was OK until we realised that the previous owner had decided to fill in an old pond pretty badly. Over the years it’s developed into the Himalayas and I’ll probably need to get someone to roll over it with something. I’m no gardening expert, but I …
The dual-sided YotaPhone series made a big splash at MWC, but it wasn’t picked up by the major networks over in Blighty. However, we quite liked it all in all, so when news of the YotaPhone 3 leaked, colour us excited. The e-ink screen is a great idea …
In typical Samsung “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks approach” to mobile devices, two more units have been leaked, these being the Samsung Galaxy J7 and J5. From the images that have appeared we can see that the devices are made from the good old …
Not long ago EE announced two new devices – the Harrier and Harrier mini. Now the network has added a new tablet to their range called the Harrier Tab and it costs £199 on PAYG, or £18 a month on contract giving 10GB a month. Specifications include an …
Getting streaming TV on your phone or tablet is great. You get to watch TV anywhere. However, if you’re out of the house and you don’t have a clever DVR or set-top box that’ll squirt the TV picture from your aerial to your device over your WiFi, you’re …
Following their announcement earlier in the month, two devices from the French manufacturer Archos will be available in the UK soon enough. These will be the 50 Helium Plus and 55 Helium Plus. Both the devices are classed as “budget” handsets and both have almost identical internals. Archos have posted …
I used to review phones. Then I guess people saw those reviews and thought “hey, let’s send him some other stuff to review”. Now I’ve got a pen with a secret camera in it. Why you’d want one of these is a question for you. Perhaps you want …
We’ve seen something like this before. China tried it but, from what I remember, it was abandoned because mobile phone users didn’t see the signs or the phone-only walkway. Now something similar is rolling out in Antwerp, with “text lanes” trying to separate “phone zombies” from other pavement …
Anyone who follows me on social media (I’m @mobilemandan on Twitter) will know that I love my phone photography. I am by no means a pro at it, and I’m still learning the different settings from ISO to shutter speed. However, with smartphone camera technology getting better all …
Perhaps the biggest falling down (literally) about those rather cool drones you’ll see in stores is their inability to detect obstacles. We’ve already had a look around Lily, which can follow you but might hit a tree on the way, and the Hexo+ copter which will get collision-control …
Getting online these days is more important than it ever was before, in some cases being able to get online for email and browsing is more important than a phone call or text message. There are a few ways to get online if you have a tablet or …
I’ll admit. If you’ve got to this stage then you might have a bit of a problem. Yes, you could convince yourself that your need to charge 6 things at once because they’re essential. You’ve got your iPad in there, your smartphone, perhaps a sports camera, extended battery …
Welcome to Monday my friends. This is the day you dreamed of. That horrible weekend is over and now you’re back to school, work or college. It’s fun times baby. If you, like me, like to waffle on about phones, accessories, networks, data plans, tablets, apps, services and …
Vodafone SIM only deals are becoming more flexible. I don’t mean the SIM card will bend more (please don’t try that at home), rather Vodafone are relaxing the upgrade rules. Previously if you were on a 12 month SIM only plan then you could only upgrade to a …
Apple announced that Apple Pay will be coming to the UK next month, and so all the banks seem to be tripping over themselves to announce they will be supporting the service. We have had press releases from Visa, Mastercard and Santander saying they will be supporting the …
OnePlus have announced that the latest version of Cyanogen OS, Cyanogen OS 12.1 (based on Android 5.1), which is currently undergoing testing and Google certification. On the other side of things OxygenOS, which is OnePlus’s own operating system update based on Android 5.1, is in the works. Sadly …
Vodafone today became the latest network to join the home broadband market, with their Connect offer. Vodafone Connect is a fibre service offering speeds of up to 76 Mbps with unlimited downloads. https://youtu.be/Ysjo5PsSb3I Rather than charging for different usage amounts, Vodafone have different tiers based on speeds, up …
Huawei has just announced that its new flagship smartphone, the P8. Our very own James reviewed here and it’s now available for pre-order exclusively on iD, the new network from Carphone Warehouse. It costs £21.50 on a almost unheard of 12 month contract, which gives you 300 mins, 5000 …
Not content with mobile phones, home broadband, mobile broadband and in-car WiFi devices, EE is now branching out into action cameras with the 4GEE action camera. The EE connected strategy focuses on 4 main areas: home; you; car and business. The new action camera is part of the …
Last week Google I/O happened and Google announced Android M to the world. This week I have been testing Android M on the Nexus 5 and I am actually using it as my daily driver (brave/stupid time will tell). Here is a brief overview of the big changes …
Currently confined to the US Apple Pay, (the tap to buy service that uses the NFC to beam your relevant card details to the vendors terminal, similar to “contactless payment we already have fitted to some UK credit/debit cards.) might not be US only for much longer. …
Back in May, Google started rolling out the Android Wear 5.1.1 update for Android Wear smartwatches. All the current Android Wear smartwatches have received their update including my first gen Samsung Gear Live. But the hugely popular Motorola Moto 360 is still stuck on an older version of the …
Rumoured for a July release, California-based company Microdia announced plans to launch The Microdia Xtra Elite microSD card. It’s the biggest yet at a whopping 512GB, and was announced at the Computex 2015 show (but strangely no working versions were displayed. In that case, keep ’em peeled for the …
Three have today launched their latest advertising campaign featuring purple character ‘Jackson’ and will air tonight at 9:30pm in the UK. The new motto for the brand and advert is #makeitright where Three want to take on the challenges of the mobile industry….and if something sucks….they want to …
Today we were lucky enough to get hands on with Sony’s new flagship the Xepria Z3+. This is a really nice evolution of the Z3 and one that would make a nice upgrade from anyone who is using a Xperia Z or Xperia Z2. It is also a …
Yesterday we detailed the move by Three to tweak their terms and conditions and allow mid-contract price hikes. Now Tesco Mobile, an MVNO running on O2, have given us their take on all this. Other networks have “amended” their terms and conditions to allow increases in line with …
Last summer I camped for the first time in years. It was fun but it got me thinking about going back to basics. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t comprehend leaving my phone aside for anything more than a few hours. Of course we are now …
This is just plain cool and for that reason and no other (well I kinda want to play with one) I am going to post something about it. Anyway moving on. WowWee have just announced that they are going to be making and selling some “next robotic innovations”. …
I always like to put my phones in a case if only to protect them from scratches and keep their re-sale price high. When I first got the iPhone 6 I was amazed at how thin and slippery it was. To my mind it is all but impossible …
It’s been just a couple of weeks since we told you about the cheap and cheerful PIXI 3. This is the PIXI 3 (4) version, which basically means you’re getting a 4″ 480×800 pixel screen at 233 PPI. The phone is also available with a slightly smaller 3.5″ …
In January last year Three were quick to jump on EE mid-contract price hikes that had just happened. We covered the news following the EE fall-out and Ofcom decided to put in new rules to stop it reoccurring. Three were quick to congratulate and stated that… No nasty …
Contract customers can get the latest phones for a low monthly cost, but if you choose a SIM-only or Pay As You Go plan you can get a better deal. New Big Value Bundle deals from Vodafone all include unlimited texts, 4G access and substantial data allowances. Plus, …
Today the smartphone market has 3 main player’s, iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Of course we also have BlackBerry sitting on the edge looking in but they are loosing relevance to be fair. In the last year or so we have started to see the emergence of some …
A short while ago you may remember just how impressed we were about the Lily drone. It’s basically a very intelligent camera attached to a drone that knows where you are. You chuck it up in the air and it follows your adventures from on high. However, there …
OK, OK, following our post mentioning the Vodafone pre-orders, you guys got in touch to point out that it’s on the Three website too. Prices start at £37 per month with the phone free and 4G is available for no extra cost. Three also has an exclusive on …
If you read about our afternoon with the LG G4 and you’re looking to get it on Vodafone, here’s some good news. The network will be carrying the new handset and will have a network exclusive on the red leather version pictured above. To be honest, I’ve had …
There for me was one feature of Android M that stood out above and beyond the rest – Now on Tap. Why is it so amazing? Well, let’s have a look. We all know that Android can support Google Now which is all well and good, but is …
First, a bit of detail about how all this came about. Phones. I get a lot of them to review. I borrow them then send them back, but with different sizes of SIM cards and some handsets offering dual-SIM functionality, it can result in me using Pay As …
