Geek News: Latest Technology, Product Reviews, Gadgets and Tech Podcast News for Geeks



WD TV Live at The Gadget Show Live

Posted by Andrew at 12:27 AM on April 23, 2012

WD TV LiveWestern Digital’s TV Live series of media players has been around for a couple of years and they’ve gained a sizeable following with over 3.5 million devices sold. The 3rd generation WD TV Live has been released recently and Daniel Mauerhofer was kind enough to give me an interview at The Gadget Show Live.

The new WD TV Live model introduces wi-fi connectivity which was absent on the previous model and it’s now been localised for the UK market with the inclusion of iPlayer and Spotify. Coming in two models, one without an internal hard drive (£99), which is available now, and a second which will have a 1 TB drive and will be available later in the year (approx. £129).

As ever, there’s a complementary remote control app for Android and iOS devices, which looks pretty useful; it’s certainly more than just a button-for-button replacement of the IR remote control.

My personal pet peeve in this area was that media players seemed either play from the local network or stream from the Internet but it was a rare device that could do both. The WD TV Live does both so it’s a thumbs up from me.

Sticker Munch Make Logos Fun at The Gadget Show

Posted by Andrew at 4:01 PM on April 19, 2012

Geek booksNovelty sticker company Sticker Munch launched at last week’s The Gadget Show Live and I was able to grab an interview with MD and founder, Sufian Hassan. Sticker Munch offer a range of novelty stickers that put the fun back into technology by incorporating the logo as part of the design or by trading on the geekiness of it all.

The stickers themselves are high quality vinyl decals and can be stuck to almost anything, from laptops to books, skateboards to vehicles. Some of the decals will be for particular models or devices, e.g. iPad, especially when the logo is integral to the design, but others can be stuck anywhere!

Prices range from an astonishingly low 50p up to £10.

 

iPhone Makeover with mendmyi at the The Gadget Show

Posted by Andrew at 1:33 PM on April 15, 2012

The iPhone might be one of the hottest gadgets out there but it’s really just a Ford – any colour as long as it’s black (or white). But not for much longer…iPhone repair outfit mendmyi now offer a customisation service called Colour Lab which offers over 170,000 colour combinations for the iPhone 4 and 4S.

mendmyi colours

Effectively, you can choose from 11 different colours or finishes for the front glass, front frame, back glass, back frame and home button. The parts call be all the same colour or all different colours; it’s your choice.

Coloured iPhones

The makeover is currently priced at £96 and if you think that’s expensive, you have to remember that these coloured replacement parts, not stickers, skins or covers. I saw the iPhones in the picture above and the quality is fantastic – you’d think they were manufacturer parts.

If you are interested in having the coolest iPhone in the office, check out my interview with Adrian from mendmyi at The Gadget Show.

Sonos Streams at The Gadget Show

Posted by Andrew at 12:06 PM on April 14, 2012

Sonos Play 3 Sonos are well-known for their innovative audio products which integrate together to build highly controllable wireless hi-fi systems. Simplistically, you can start with one or two units and build-up over time until you can play music in any room in the house. The Sonos system can be controlled via smartphones and tablets with apps available for both iOS and Android devices.

I chat to Ian about Sonos’ latest developments including Spotify streaming, their entry-level unity the Play 3, and the larger Play 5.

Targus Stylus for the iPad

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 10:21 AM on April 2, 2012

Stylus I like to draw and doodle, so I recently brought a couple of drawing applications for my iPad including Paper by FiftyThree and Sketchbook MobileX and Draw Some. I quickly discovered that drawing with your finger maybe fun, but it is very imprecise. It is like doing finger-painting. Despite what Steve Jobs said there are times when a stylus is the right tool for the job. Sunday I went down to the local Best Buy to pick up a stylus. They had several styli available priced from below $10.00 to above $30.00 for a Wacom stylus. One of the problems I ran into was there was no way to test the stylus since they were all in packages. I ended up picking up the Stylus for the iPad by Targus for $13.77.

The Targus Stylus for the iPad is smaller and slightly thinner then a regular pen. It is about 4 3/8 inches long. It comes in black, blue and red. It was only available in black at the local Best Buy. Like a regular pen it has a clip. On the end is a small loop, where you could loop a chain on lanyard through. Unfortunately however no chain was provided. It has some weight to it so it feels you are holding a small pen. I did noticed that if I hold it the way I would a regular pen, the clasp sits in the space between my thumb and finger. After holding it for a while I noticed it started to dig in and it felt uncomfortable. Because of this I have to hold the stylus lower than I would a normal pen. The tip which you write or draw with is a small rubber nub. You don’t have to press hard for the stylus to work, but you do have to be consistent. If you are not consistent it does have the tendency to skip occasionally.  Finding a stylus you like is a very personal thing and can be a matter of trial and error. I am not sure the Targus Stylus for the iPad is the one for me because of the clip issue but it does get good reviews online by a lot of people so I do recommend trying it.  Have you found a stylus that you really like and how do you use it.

Frequency A Personal Video Cloud

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 12:42 PM on March 29, 2012

FrequencyThe last couple of days I have been trying a new video aggregator called Frequency, which is similar to Plizy and Showyou if you are familiar with those applications. It is available on the iPad and has a corresponding Web site.

You can sign up either using Facebook or through your email address. If you choose to sign up using Facebook it will automatically add the videos shared by the people you follow on Facebook to your grid. If you choose to sign up with your email address you can easily add your Facebook and Twitter account later.

When you sign in the first time you will see the category and channel grid. It is nicely laid out with the categories on the left , the channels in the middle and Frequency Top 25 on the right. At the top is a bar which lets you easily go from the channel and grid guide, to your personal guide or to your preferences. Once you have filled in your guide the channels will also show up across the top. You can easily go to the channel you want to watch by swiping across that bar and taping on the channel when you get to it. You can easily hide or show that bar by flipping the switch off or on in the icon that is on the right side of the bar. To check what channels are available in a category you simply tap on that category. You can then swipe down through the channels within that category. When you find a channel you want to add you simply tap on the follow button. Once you have added all the channels you are interested in you are ready to go into your guide.

The guide is set up beautifully with the videos from each channels in a column which you can easily swipe through. To watch a video you simply tap on it. You can either watch the video in a window or you have the option to go full screen. You can AirPlay to your Apple TV or through XMBC to your computer. You can favorite a video or save it for later. If you want to share a video to Twitter or Facebook you simply tap on the appropriate  icon which is at the bottom screen. You can also email a video to someone.

If you are like me you may have the tendency to add channels that you later realize you have no interest in. If you want to delete a channel  you simply hold your finger on the icon until the X appears and then clicking on the X.

I do like Frequency I think it has a beautiful UI, however there are somethings I don’t like about it. As a big Google Plus users I miss the ability to share to Google Plus. Also when you share to Twitter and Facebook there is no ability to add a comment. Once a video ends the next video will start, this can be both a good thing and a bad thing, there are times when I just want to watch the one video and then stop. I also wish you could add Web sites that aren’t in the Channel Guide directly on the iPad applications; right now the only way to do that is through the Web site, where you can add an RSS feed from a Web site. It will becoming unresponsive at times forcing me to restart it. The freezing problem got so bad that at one point I ended up deleting it and reinstalling it. The final negative thought I have is I am not sure what makes it stand out from the crowd other than the UI, of course for a lot of people that maybe enough. I have to admit the more I use it the more I like it

If you have an iPad and are looking for a beautifully designed video aggregator that lets you watch the videos your friends and followers are sharing on your social networks along with ones from your favorite Web sites then definitely take a look at Frequency. It is free and available through the iTunes store.

Apps That Will Get You Ready for Diablo III

Posted by JenThorpe at 12:39 AM on March 28, 2012

Diablo III will be released on May 15, 2012. My friends and I simply cannot wait to start playing! If you weren’t lucky enough to get into the beta, then you will want to check out a few D3 related apps. These can help prepare you to start playing Diablo III the instant the servers go live.

Diablo III Lore is an app that is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. It requires iOS 4.2 or later. I’ve heard a lot of people asking about how they can quickly learn more about the lore of the Diablo games so that they will understand who the some of the NPC’s are, and the stories behind some of the quests, in D3. This is the app for that. Scroll through, and read to your heart’s desire.

Diablo III Skill Calculator is an app that I found on Google Play. It is compatible with Android devices. In Diablo II, the way you chose skills, and built your character, was a very big deal. Once selected, you couldn’t change anything. In Diablo III, you are going to have more flexibility about changing your skills than you did in Diablo II. This app will show you the skills that each class can use. You can play around with them right now, and get familiar with how it works before release day.

Diablo 3 Handbook is another app I found on Google Play. It is compatible with Android devices. This app is a game guide for Diablo III. You get information about each class, about active and passive skills, items, followers, and the world itself. It also contains a skill calculator.

Countdown For Diablo is available through the iTunes store. It is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. It requires iOS 3.0 or later. Are you dying to know exactly how many days, hours, minutes, and seconds are left before Diablo III is ready? This is the app for that. You can check it as often as you like. Is it ready yet? No? How about now? Still no? How about now?…

It is worth noting that none of these apps are made by Blizzard Entertainment, the company that makes the Diablo III game.