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AViiQ For Gadgets On The Go

Posted by Andrew at 10:25 PM on February 14, 2012

AViiQ is a product innovation company that specializes is in cool travel gadgets. Andy and Courtney see the latest toys with Alan Yeung of AViiQ.

First on show is a portable laptop stand that unfolds from a flat strip that’s about 13″ long, 2.75″ wide and only 0.25″ thick. Made from a material called Hylite, it’s a composite of aluminum and polypropylene weighing just 5.5 oz. Prices start at $59.99.

Next up is the Portable Charging Station, a folio USB charging kit that comes with an AC adapter that powers a four port charging hub. Not only does it reduce the number of power adapters needed but by keeping all the cables together, it reduces the chance that one will be left behind. Available for $79.99.

For smartphone and iPod / iPhone syncing, a AViiQ offers short stiff connectors rather than twisty cables, with a USB connector at one end and Apple / mini-USB / micro-USB at the other. The interconnects also have a pen clip so that they don’t always fall to the bottom of the laptop bag. $12.99 and $34.99.

Finally, folding travel plugs and power adapters make traveling easy, with both a folding US-UK plug and an expanding power strip that offers surge protection and USB power. Both $34.99.

Great gadgets for the frequently traveler.

Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of SDR News and RV News Net.

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Posted in Accessory, Android, Apple, blackberry, ces, Gadgets, Gear, google, Interview, iOS, IPAD, iPhone, ipod, mobile, RIM, Special Media, travel accessories, USB

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Music in the Morning with the iShower

Posted by Andrew at 1:01 AM on February 8, 2012

iShower Bluetooth SpeakerAt last year’s CES, iDevices showed off the iGrill, a Bluetooth-enabled cooking thermometer. This year, they’re back with iShower, a waterproof speaker. Andy and Don tune in with Jonathan Conelias from iDevices.

As with the iGrill, the iShower is Bluetooth-enabled, playing audio from iOS, Android and Blackberry phones. In fact, any device that can stream music via Bluetooth will work with the iShower and up to five devices can be paired. Naturally the iShower is waterproof, making it suitable for the shower, swimming pool and beach. Buttons on the iShower can control the music, skipping backwards and forwards through the playlist.

The iShower’s rich sound speaker cuts through the noise of the shower and in good taste, there’s no microphone. If you were thinking of taking a phone call in the shower, think again. A mounting bracket is supplied and complementary accessories such as a mirror make this a complete shower solution.

The iShower will be available from March both online and in good retail stores with an MSRP of $99.99.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDR News and RV News Net, and Don Baine, the Gadget Professor.

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Posted in Android, Apple, blackberry, ces, google, Interview, iOS, IPAD, iPhone, MP3, Music, RIM, Special Media, Streaming

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PrivacyStar Blocks Unwanted Smartphone Calls

Posted by Andrew at 1:08 AM on February 6, 2012

PrivacyStar LogoAs on-line marketers transfer their cold-calling attention away from land-lines to cell and mobile phones, their calls are becoming increasingly an annoyance when you are out-and-about. PrivacyStar offers a multilayered solution for Android and Blackberry to cut unwanted calls. Andy finds out more.

PrivacyStar is a smartphone app to block unwanted calls and SMS texts. At its simplest, user-specified phone numbers can be blocked to prevent calls or texts coming through and bothering you. The app also features SmartBlocking which blocks the top 25 numbers blocked by other users in the past week, so if there’s a major calling campaign on, those numbers pretty quickly get blocked.

Other features include CallerID lookup, where if the phone doesn’t know who is calling, the app consults with an on-line directory and displays the caller. For really persistent callers, complaints can be filed directly with the FTC.

The app is currently only available for Android and Blackberry, an iPhone version will be released before the summer. The app is free for a week and then $2.99 per month after that.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDR News and RV News Net.

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Posted in Android, Apple, application, blackberry, ces, google, Interview, iPhone, RIM, smartphone, Special Media

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LiftMaster’s MyQ – Smartphone Control of Your Garage Door

Posted by Andrew at 12:28 AM on January 18, 2012

LiftMaster LogoLiftMaster is known for its range of garage door openers and this year, they’re introducing their new MyQ technology that will let home owners monitor and control their garage door from a smartphone or tablet anywhere in the world, including iPhones, iPads, Blackberries and Android devices.

Intended to be professionally installed, the cost is $350-$400 for a new door opener that incorporates MyQ technology and it’s available now.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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Posted in Android, Apple, application, automotive, blackberry, ces, google, iOS, IPAD, iPhone, RIM, smartphone, Special Media, tablet

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I Feel Stupid

Posted by Andrew at 7:25 AM on December 28, 2011

Windows Phone 7Over the break, there’s been a bit of discussion by some of the big names regarding the reasons why Windows Phone 7 handsets haven’t been flying off the shelves this holiday season. Charlie Kindel started the debate with “Windows Phone is Superior; Why Hasn’t It Taken Off?” and largely faults the relationship between the OEMs, Microsoft and the carriers.

MG Siegler responded with a fairly weak response largely citing the mantra of “too late and not enough apps” but as can be seen from today’s news of 50,000 apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace, the latter argument really isn’t that valid.

As usual, Robert Scoble hits the nail on the head. People buy Android or iOS because it’s a safe bet and they don’t want to look stupid or uncool by buying something else. Microsoft Windows Phone 7 and RIM’s Blackberries simply don’t have the gold-plated appeal of a sure-thing.

And he’s right. I was a big Palm fan and look how that turned out. I do feel stupid. After spending years waiting for Palm to move from PalmOS to WebOS and then HP promising to do big things. I bought in with a succession of Pre phones and pre-ordered a TouchPad. Maybe I shouldn’t be so shallow and have a less of an ego, because WebOS is a great operating system and even with the smaller app selection, it does 99% of what I need a phone to do. But when everyone else is, “Have you got this app and that app” on their Galaxy S IIs and iPhone 4Ss, you do feel a bit of a chump.

So thanks, HP. I feel stupid.

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Posted in Android, Apple, application, blackberry, Geek Culture, google, HP, HTC, iOS, IPAD, iPhone, Microsoft, mobile, Operating Systems, Palm, smartphone, tablet, Windows Phone 7

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O2 Offers 12 Month Smartphone Lease

Posted by Andrew at 6:25 PM on December 12, 2011

O2 LogoIn a change to the mobile phone contract status quo, UK mobile telco O2 has announced a 12 month smartphone leasing service. For £55 per month, you get a 16 GB smartphone, 750 minutes, unlimited text, a paltry 500 MB of data and insurance. Allegedly unique in the UK market, both consumers and business will be able to take advantage of O2 Lease.

If you are wondering what the difference is between a 12 month lease and 12 month contract, it’s simply that the smartphone doesn’t belong to you and must be returned in reasonable condition at the end of the lease. That’s why insurance is included in the cost of the lease so that the smartphone can be replaced in the event of damage or loss.

O2 extols the benefits of a 12 month lease, tying it into the upgrade cycles of the smartphone models and giving you the latest model without a long contract. The choice of smartphone models isn’t mentioned but O2 offers all the premium smartphones – Apple iPhone 4S, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Nokia Lumia 800 and Blackberry Torch. 32GB models cost an extra £10 per month. Update – O2 Lease is specifically mentioned against the iPhone 4S here.

If you really want the latest phone and you’re a big talker or texter, this scheme might be worth considering but the tiny data allowance really makes it all a bit of a farce. My monthly data usage is between 600-800 MB and I don’t think that I’m a particularly heavy user. Yes, I might download the odd podcast but it’s mostly email, web browsing, Twitter and RSS feeds.

Personally, I tend to buy my smartphones SIM-free as there are far better tariffs out there and you can easily sell the smartphone after 12 months to part-fund your next purchase. Do the maths for yourself and see what works for you.

The full press release is here.

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Posted in Android, Apple, blackberry, iOS, iPhone, smartphone

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Android Handsets More Unreliable

Posted by Andrew at 2:15 PM on November 3, 2011

Android LogoWireless expert WDS is reporting that high failure rates in Android handsets are costing mobile network operators as much as $2 billion per year in dealing with repairs and returns. Reviewing the four leading mobile operating systems, its study found that Android-based devices seemed more prone to failure as 14% of technical support calls on Android were for hardware, versus 11% for Windows Phone, 7% for iOS and just 6% for BlackBerry OS.

Simplistically, Android handsets were twice as likely to suffer a hardware fault that an Apple or RIM device. The study suggests that cheaper hardware, software customisations and OS updates all contribute to the failure rate and in turn, the increased impact on the network operators to provide technical support and customer service. WDS analysed over 600,000 technical support calls from July 2010 to August 2011.

“One thing we must be absolutely clear on,” says Tim Deluca-Smith, Vice President of Marketing at WDS, “is that our analysis does not find any inherent fault with the Android platform. Its openness has enabled the ecosystem to grow to a phenomenal size, at a phenomenal rate, and it’s this success that is proving challenging.”

He added, “The Android customer experience differs enormously between devices and this means that the way in which Android devices are retailed and supported must consider factors such as the hardware build and quality of components.”

If you are thinking about buying or upgrading your smartphone, you might want to bear this research in mind before you purchase.

The full WDS whitepaper can be downloaded from this page.

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Posted in Android, Apple, blackberry, Microsoft, RIM, smartphone, Windows Phone 7

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Android Leads UK Smartphone Race

Posted by Andrew at 1:40 PM on November 1, 2011

Android LogoIn the UK, Android is beginning to dominate the smartphone space, with 50% of handsets sold in the last quarter running Android. RIM (Blackberry) and Apple are almost level pegging on 22% and 18% and with half of UK adults now owning a smartphone, Android has an impressive lead.

Breaking the Android figures down, HTC is the top dog, with nearly 45% of Android handsets sold. Samsung is picking up the pace at 38% but Sony Ericsson is the big loser, falling to 8.5% of the Android market.

Surprisingly, this means that HTC, Samsung, RIM and Apple are each taking about a quarter of the market. Compared with mindshare that Apple generally has and the dominance in the tablet market, it’s clear that the iPhone is under performing.

Personally, I would agree with the figures. Looking round the office, Android phones are definitely in the majority followed by iPhones and Blackberries. I think Blackberries are popular with younger people as both my nephews have that brand of phone. The breakdown of the Android shares also rings true. This time last year, it would have been exclusively HTC smartphones but now there are quite a few people sporting Samsung devices.

The research was carried out by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech over the past 12 weeks. To be fair, this probably means that iPhone sales were down as people waited for new model but there’s no doubt that Android is the no.1 smartphone OS in the UK.

 

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Posted in Android, Apple, blackberry, HTC, iOS, IPAD, iPhone, Operating Systems, RIM, smartphone, Sony

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Blackberry Offers Free Apps in Apology. Will You Forgive RIM?

Posted by Jeffrey Powers at 12:34 PM on October 17, 2011
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In result to last week’s Blackberry outtage, RIM profusely apologized for the issues they came up with. In return, they are offering $100 in free applications to their users. Will that be enough for Blackberry users to continue with the phone?

Last week, Blackberry had a nation-wide email and Internet services outtage that lasted 3 days. A “network failure” was to blame for this outage. ZDNet is reporting that RIM has lost $350 million for that outtage.

Today, RIM put out a press release. CEO Mike Lazaridis made a public apology and then announced they will be giving customers $100 in applications as compensation.

“Our global network supports the communications needs of more than 70 million customers,” said RIM Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis. “We truly appreciate and value our relationship with our customers.  We’ve worked hard to earn their trust over the past 12 years, and we’re committed to providing the high standard of reliability they expect, today and in the future.”

The list of applications are:

  • SIMS 3 – Electronic Arts
  • Bejeweled – Electronic Arts
  • N.O.V.A. – Gameloft
  • Texas Hold’em Poker 2 – Gameloft
  • Bubble Bash 2 – Gameloft
  • Photo Editor Ultimate – Ice Cold Apps
  • DriveSafe.ly Pro – iSpeech.org
  • iSpeech Translator Pro – iSpeech.org
  • Drive Safe.ly Enterprise – iSpeech.org
  • Nobex Radio™ Premium – Nobex
  • Shazam Encore – Shazam
  • Vlingo Plus: Virtual Assistant – Vlingo
Are Free applications enough to customers? What if I already bought all of these applications already? Will I get a refund?

These Applications are only $35

Apparently, these 12 applications are $8.33 each? Well, no – Each application is probably on average $2.99 each. I even thought a couple of those applications were free already.
You have 4 weeks to download all of these titles between October 19th and November 16h (4 weeks). But 12 applications at $2.99 each is only $35.
RIM states other applications will become available as they go, but this is not compensation. What is compensation? Maybe a FREE MONTH of service?
Whether or not it will keep customers remains to be seen. But it is important to call your carrier and complain. This is not the first time a phone had a major outage (Remember in October 10, 2009, Microsoft Sidekick had a outage that deleted user data). But it’s all about how customers can be reimbursed for the issue.

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Posted in blackberry, Information

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Adobe Rolling Out Connect Mobile 1.7

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 4:57 PM on August 23, 2011

Yesterday, Adobe announced the release of Connect Mobile version 1.7.  The Android version is now available, and the Blackberry and iPhone versions are coming soon.

If you aren’t familiar with Connect Mobile, then here is a brief introduction.  Adobe Connect is a web conferencing tool, geared mainly towards business users.  In other words, it’s mostly an enterprise tool.  It allows businesses to hold training classes and meetings online, thereby saving the cost of paying travel expenses for those involved. It’s based on Adobe Flash (like most Adobe products) which allows it to be used for richer content.

For enterprise level deployment they offer several tiers of hosted plans that I won’t bore you with the details of here.  If, however, you are interested in it individually, then you have two options.  The first is a $45 per month subscription, which gets you 9 hosts and allows each host to control webinars with up to 25 in attendees.  The second is a pay-per-use plan, which will cost you $0.32 per user per minute.  You can check enterprise and individual plans here.

You can download version 1.7 for Android from the Android Market.  Keep and eye on the Blackberry App World and iTunes App Store for those versions to show up in the very near future.

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Posted in Adobe, Android, blackberry, iOS

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