Category: General

Did you relax on holiday? Many are still glued to their phones

Here in England we’re starting to see the onset of Autumn, with leaves only clinging on and the weather turning a bit cooler.  Our suitcases are still cluttering up the house though, because many of us will only just be returning from our summer holidays. But, is it …

Vodafone to sponsor Porsche Formula E Team

Recently Vodafone took on Lewis Hamilton as UK 5G ambassador, so it’s no surprise to see Vodafone becoming the “Official Communication Partner” of the Porsche Team during the 2019/2020 FIA Formula E Championship. What is Formula E? Well, it’s where all the cleverness of your upcoming electric car …

Save the planet, get yourself a case made from water bottles

Got yourself a Samsung Galaxy Note10 and want to help the environment a bit? Well, you could try on of these Oxford Eco cases. Each screen cover is made from two recycled plastic water bottles, effectively removing tonnes of plastic from potential land fill (if you put it …

4 Things you didn’t know drones could do

Drones have come a long way since when they were first invented. You can use them for a whole number of purposes and they come in a range of styles and sizes. You can even get a drone that fits in your pocket! Keep reading to discover more …

EE responds with unlimited 5G too

When EE launched their 5G plans we noticed that the example 5G plans were £10 more expensive than the same 4G ones. After a bit of digging, there were bigger disparities, so we had to question – why? It’s something that Three couldn’t understand either, and they announced …

Proper news coverage is dead.

I’ve written previously about the state of our news. It’s become twisted, unsubstantiated, click-bait nonsense which – for the most part – is only ever put online or in print to annoy, generate clicks and increase ad revenues. Thanks to the advice of Presidents, global leaders, Facebook and …

Bigger, taller, faster. 5G mast plans.

Not got much signal? Well, here in the UK your signal could be hampered by a couple of problems. First is the actual geography and second is the planning obstacles. If there’s a “not spot” there’s also considerations on power, backhaul connectivity and the cost of renting the …

Mobile phone delivery scams on the increase.

So you’re sitting at home and there’s a knock on the door. A brand new top-of-the-range phone has been delivered to your house. The package has your name on it, but you don’t remember ordering it. Then there is another knock at the door and a courier asks …

Honor 20 Pro – First Impressions

Now, normally this is where I would be talking about the unboxing of a new phone and would introduce you to video where I do just that. However, in the case of this phone, I’ll be doing something more. The reason is quite simple. It has been done …

Spotify added to EE Music Data Pass

When we detailed the new EE plans you may have noticed that one streaming service wasn’t included in the “data free” list, and that was Spotify. Well, my friends, this morning I can tell you that EE have added Spotify to their Music Data Pass, so if you …

ByteDance getting into the smartphone business

Given the difficulties currently being experienced by Huawei when it comes to the American and European markets, it’s likely that we’ll soon be one major smartphone developer down. Huawei will be able to continue trading within their home country of China, but without access to Android’s operating software …

Virgin Mobile launches Family Plan

OK, so you’re at home and you’ve got Virgin Media for your internet. You can browse safe in the knowledge that your devices are protected and your internet connection is safe and filtered. However, what happens when you go out? When your son or daughter uses their phone …

Three 5G goes live in London today

It’s a brave new world for UK network, Three. They’ve gone from having the smallest amount of spectrum to the most thanks to their plentiful 5G allowance. It means that they can deliver “true 5G” thanks to 100MHz of contiguous spectrum. This will, according to the network, support …

Fingerprint unlock finally coming to WhatsApp.

Back In February this year, WhatsApp had rolled out the authentication feature for iOS beta users, making it possible to use Touch ID to unlock the app. Now finally after more than six months, the feature has finally been made available for Android beta users today. The Fingerprint …

EE named as best mobile provider 2019

Rootmetrics, a US based company founded back in 2008, has one sole purpose – to provide mobile network performance information. Today they have published the results for 2019 testing of the UK networks. By using a batch of store-purchased Samsung Galaxy S9  smartphones, the testing itself was conducted …

Huawei provides words of reassurance for device users

Even if you aren’t a follower of all things interesting, technological and mobile, there’ll little chance that you aren’t noticing the ongoing spat between China and the U.S, with Huawei phones using Android being a casualty. Huawei has been going from strength to strength over the past few …

5 of the most popular app categories

Unbelievably there’s now 4 billion people connected to the internet. That, though, isn’t the most amazing number. There’s now a larger number of mobile phone users, now amounting to 5 billion. Mobile phones and the internet are both integral parts of life now, with many people shuddering at …

Parental Control apps to monitor usage

The internet can be a dark place. As we have now transitioned into our digital world, we’ve also had to wrestle with its complexities. The number of children using the internet grows each day, and the younger children are, the more likely they are to use the internet. …

Honor juggle their marketing messages

There has always been a perceived notion amongst the older generation that young people use their phones too much. On the flip-side, the younger generation seem to think that the older generation don’t use them enough due to lack of understanding. This, as with most perceived notions, is …

Virgin Mobile now delivers Fortnite PS4 bundle and big data boost

Fancy a brand new PS4 with exclusive Fortnite content? Well, if you get yourself a Sony Xperia 10 with 100GB of data on Virgin Mobile then you get a Fortnite Neo Versa PS4 bundle, worth £249.99. This gets you a Jet Black PS4 console (500GB), two matching DUALSHOCK …

Mobile payments are up, but the pace of growth continues to slow

While the total number of payments made by customers through mobile apps continues to rise, it’s at a rate that’s considerably lower than in past years. US consumers are continuing to spend billions through mobile wallet apps, but the amount of growth is beginning to level off as …

A PROPER real-world 5G test

Whenever I look for 5G speed test, there’s usually YouTube videos showing blistering speeds. That’s expected, right? Well, yes. But I wanted to do some proper tests. How to do that? Well, first of all I’m not going to sit right next to a 5G mast. I’m also …

Anker PowerPort + Atom III 2 and PowerPort III Mini – Review.

I love things that make life easier and allow you to travel lighter. The USB Type-C standard is definitely one of those things. It is a great connection – compact, multipurpose and intelligent. I’ve got a laptop which only has USB Type-C as a means of connecting peripherals. …

VRJAM to launch a Virtual Reality Revolution

From what I can see, this looks to be bringing the world of “Ready Player One” to the masses. Whack your VR headset on and jump into a live, streamed virtual experience. Called VRJAM, it a real-time augmented reality streamed performance, with you being able to take part …

giffgaff hit by £1.4 million fine for overcharging customers

Getting hit by a fine from Ofcom is never good, but overcharging your customers and having to refund them? That’s a double whammy. O2-owned giffgaff have already had to refund £2.1 million, with around 2.6 million customers overcharged. It happened when customers bought a goodybag, which despite being …

Introducting: RevoNext dual-driver NEX202

RevoNext has launched the dual-driver NEX202, which are available from Amazon UK and Amazon US for just £55.99/$49.99 in black and gunmetal grey. RevoNext have used their patented design with an aviation aluminium alloy in order to look good and give a good quality sound to the listener. …

I’m on my bike. Watch live!

Each year, in order to stop my belly hanging over my trousers and to help a very worthy cause, I get on my bike for a lengthy and very exhausting ride. It’s all to help a charity called Edwards Trust. They provide bereavement support to parents and children …

OPPO Reno 5G arrives on EE

As expected, the rather cool OPPO Reno 5G has now made it’s way to the EE website in both ocean green and jet black. You get 256GB of on-board RAM, a healthy 4065mAh battery to keep things ticking along and, of course, that 5G capability. Other specs include …

Three to deliver 5G to all with no extra cost

Three is the latest network to unveil its plans for 5G services and there’s a lot for consumers to get excited about. The big headline is the fact that you’ll be able to enjoy the upcoming 5G network (provided you’ve got a compatible phone) for no additional cost. …

Vodafone 5G Roaming goes live, and it’s the same price as 4G

There’s 55 cities and towns across Europe where you can now get Vodafone 5G roaming. That’s more than any other network. So, if you’re off on your holiday and you have a Samsung Galaxy S10 5G or the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3, you can roam for no extra …

Winston – A Kickstarter gadget to protect your online life

Right. I’ve tried. Believe me, I’ve tried, but every time I mention a “VPN” people just lose interest. Getting a VPN is great. It protects you, it can also anonymize you, preventing tracking and spying etc. Trouble is, it can be a bit of a faff, even if …

Gaming – When a touchscreen isn’t enough

If you’re a into gaming but still haven’t taken the jump to mobile gaming, there’s usually one very good reason. Touchscreen controls. Let’s face it, the traditional PS4 or Xbox controller sits in the hand beautifully and feels both familiar and “right”. Your thumbs fall onto the analogue …

O2 and Vodafone complete 5G network agreement

Here’s something we don’t normally get. A press release from two networks at the same time in a joint operation. Vodafone and O2 are teaming up to speed up the 5G roll-out by sharing sites across the UK. It means that they will be sharing 5G equipment such …

O2 announce 5G launch plans

The network that runs giffgaff, Sky Mobile and Tesco Mobile is to start rolling out 5G in October. As with the other 5G UK networks, they’ll be concentrating on areas that need the speed boost the most, with key areas of Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Slough and Leeds …

Fancy a colourful laptop for a change ?

Let’s be honest, most laptops are either Aluminium or Black. If you want to stray from this then it normally means putting a skin on your device. I try this but have to buy two as I always manage to bugger the first one up. Well, we have …

Don’t just renew your contract. Go SIM only.

You’ll see me writing about SIM only deals quite a bit here. My journey with SIM only started a few years ago, when I reached the end of my contract. I was, like many, fairly comfortable with renewing my contract after 24 months and getting a new phone. …

Vodafone 5G network – growing already.

I spent 16 long years of my life working in Stoke-on-Trent. It was definitely an experience. They love their tea and say things like, “I’m goin’ shop Duck” or “You wanna brew Duck?” Then there’s oatcakes.. oh my days, I could tell you about the oatcakes. You have …

Google Pixel 3a goes unlimited with Vodafone

Fancy getting yourself the Google Pixel, but don’t want to spend quite so much cash? Get yourself the Pixel 3a. We covered it here and it’s now available on Vodafone UK for £36 per month with no upfront cost. Powered by Android 9, it’s got a Qualcomm Snapdragon …

DOOGEE upgrades its rugged S90 to Pro Edition

DOOGEE Hengtong Technology Co. Ltd has been around for a while developing smartphones for those how need their phones to take hard knocks. DOOGEE is taking pre-orders for the upgrade to their S90, which offers the new Android 9.0 Pie which means that the phone uses AI (Artificial …