Should more networks offer femtocells?

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

How often do you struggle to get a signal on your mobile phone when at home or in the office or out in town for that matter?  Often moving to a specific location just to be able to hear the person at the other end of the line or pick up the 3G instead of the GPRS connection?

It is a common occurrence for many despite most network providers suggesting they have good coverage across the UK.

Things could begin to change for the better if more networks, like Vodafone invest in and offer femtocells to customers.

What is a femtocell? Is basically a signal booster that is designed to be used in homes and offices with assistance from a broadband internet connection.

How does a femtocell work?

Using the connection to the internet the femtocell connects to the mobile network operator and provides an improved connection for up to 4 users.

Suitable for just about anyone, the signal booster is perfect if you live in a signal black spot.

I need this, how do I get one?

Whilst many network providers are trialling this service, Vodafone are the only ones to offer femtocells to their customers.

If you are a Vodafone customer and struggle for signal in your home or office, you can obtain a femtocell for a one off cost of £50 or from £5 per month depending on what contract you are on.

We think they are a great idea and wish that more networks offered them.  Here at Clove, we predominantly use O2 SIM’s and really struggle for signal in our office and would snap up a few of these if O2 offered them.

Sure Signal is the programme/banding that Vodafone give to this service, you can find out more HERE.

They have put together some FAQ’s which I think answer many of the questions you may have.

How does Sure Signal work?

Sure Signal uses your home broadband to connect to the Vodafone network, boosting signal strength throughout your house and giving you a full 3G signal.

How big is the Sure Signal box?

It’s about the size of a wireless router – roughly 19cm tall and 15cm wide.

What devices can you use with Sure Signal?

Any 3G device – from phones, smartphones and BlackBerry phones to USB Modems – will work with Sure Signal. Just make sure it has a Vodafone UK SIM in it.

Will Sure Signal work with phones on other networks?

It’s unique to Vodafone, so it won’t work with any other operator’s SIMs, or outside the UK.

Is Sure Signal easy to set up?

Yes – just follow these simple steps:

  • Log in to My account online (or register for My account if you’ve not already done it).
  • Go to the My Sure Signal page within My account.
  • Tell us all the numbers you want to register for use with Sure Signal.
  • Plug the Sure Signal box into the mains – and into your home broadband connection.
  • Wait about an hour – then see the 3G mobile signal boosted throughout your home.

Please note: If you move house, it’s important to update your details on the My Sure Signal page in My account.

Can you add, change or remove the numbers used with Sure Signal?

Yes – you can add, change or remove numbers at any time on the My Sure Signal page in My account. Changes happen really quickly – a few minutes after adding a number, you’ll see a full 3G signal on that phone.

How many people can use Sure Signal at the same time?

You can register up to 32 numbers for use with Sure Signal – and any four of these can be used at the same time. We let you register a lot of numbers so that all of your family’s and friends’ numbers are stored ready for when they need to use Sure Signal in your home.

Can I use data products and services (like mobile internet) with Sure Signal?

Yes – Sure Signal uses a technology that ensures you get a fast, reliable mobile internet connection throughout your home.

Can you make calls and go online at the same time with Sure Signal?

Sure Signal can handle up to four calls at the same time, or a combination of calls and mobile internet use. So, someone might be browsing the internet on one device while another person checks email on their BlackBerry and two others make calls – all at the same time.

How much does Sure Signal cost?

If your monthly price plan costs £25 or more, you’ll pay a one off cost of just £50.For all other Vodafone customers, it’s a one off cost of £120. You can also can get it for only £5 a month from your local store.

Where can you buy Sure Signal?

You can buy Vodafone Sure Signal online, from one of our high street stores, or by calling 191 from your Vodafone phone.

What are your thoughts?  Do you think more networks should offer these?  Would you use one? Can you see any big drawbacks other than the initial cost?

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Posted by Jon

Manage your home energy usage from your mobile

Monday, March 1, 2010

How energy efficient are you? 

If your a gadget lover, probably not too efficient OR maybe you are as switching off the appliances could save you cash you could use to purchase a new toy?!

I heard about this little range of products from AlertMe and I thought you might like to know about them too (assuming you haven’t already heard).

AlertMe Energy is a kit which retails at £69.00 that essentially monitors the power usage in your home, in real time and helps you save money.

You can monitor how electricity is used in your home, so that you to make simple changes and reduce your energy bill.

A meter reader and transmitter can be self-installed by clipping it to your electricity meter. The transmitter communicates wirelessly with the Hub.

The Nano Hub as it is known, is the brains of the kit which talks securely to the AlertMe service on the internet so you can monitor and control your home’s energy usage anywhere in the world. (Requires a broadband connection)AlertMe Energy

It is with the Nano Hub that you can then, fro any PC or mobile (providing it has an internet connection) view your home energy usage.

View your data in hard cash or kilowatt hours and by day, week, month or year. Make changes or tweaks and watch the figures change.

An added bonus is a partnership with Google PowerMeter.  In an effort to make it even simpler to view and manage your home’s energy AlertMe Energy works perfectly with Google PowerMeter, allowing you to view your home’s energy usage directly your iGoogle homepage.

Powermeter Banner

Now I haven’t actually used this but this is pretty cool as far as geeky technology goes.  Yes £69 isn’t that cheap and the £2.99 per month for the online subscription is a bit cheeky but it could probably pay for itself fairly quickly, with a few small tweaks in the way you used power in your home.

Want to know more? CLICK HERE to view their website, or view their video below:

 

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Posted by Jon

Slate and Tablet PC’s

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

imageSet to be one of the top ten technologies of 2010 the ‘Tablet’ or ‘Slate’ computer is likely to revolutionise the way in which we browse the web, share digital content and interact with the world wide web.

Without doubt, it is the recently announced iPad that is going to begin this wave of change, with many other manufacturers set to follow.

Just like the iPhone has propelled the smartphone forward, the world of tablet/slate computing will be driven by the iPad on the simple basis that it is an intuitive, easy to use, slim and portable device.

There are many arguments over the web of the pro’s and cons of these types of devices and what operating systems they should run, and this article does not intend to argue which is best, merely put into perspective where the tablet sits in relation to our other computing equipment today. 

The majority of us will own a mobile phone/smartphone and then imagehave a desktop pc or a laptop too and probably a TV and audio visual system in the home, that is without our setup for work purposes.  So where does the slate PC sit?  Will it replace the laptop or the desktop pc?  

I can’t see how it will ever replace the desktop for pure computing power, but could these be the devices that mark the end of netbooks?

If you can invest in a device that is half the weight, less bulky and will within time do all the same things, not to mention have a more interactivity to them it is hard to see why not.

We all want things to be simple to use and often do not really wish to know how it works, it does just.  What Apple have done is take existing technology and make it appealing…and they appear to have done a good job.

It is likely that the majority use their personal computing equipment for email, chatting, social networking and browsing the web, so why would you need a big laptop or desktop PC when you can have a tablet?

Ignoring some of the limitations of the operating systems, the tablet offers a versatile approach to everyday computing. 

Just image how the tablet/slate PC could fit into your life…

You get home from work in the evening and you would love to sit down with your family but you want to check your email and do a bit of online shopping but you need to use the PC in the study for that.  The tablet could allow you to do all this whilst still sat with the family in the lounge and not looking or feeling like you are not involved!

Normally have the children using the PC and not sure what they are doing?  Want to educate them from an early age? Well the tablet would allow you to do just this, much more interactive and simpler to use, children can get to grips with it much easier, not to mention, you will be able to watch over them as the use it.

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Got friends coming over and want to show them the latest holiday photos?  Bring out the tablet and share the photos easily.

Got a business meeting with just a few people, need to show images or a few designs….store them on the tablet and conveniently share –no need to be in the office in front of the projector or have to bring out the laptop.

Just a few examples of how it can be used.

I am yet to be won over by the iPad.  Whilst I see many benefits including the ability to have 3G on the device (an absolute must) the device has been limited some what by the need to connect it to a PC to work with iTunes.

I believe that the best devices will be those that have full telephony built in to allow for SMS functions and an be used completely independently of another computer. I think those that run Android will be the most useful as they will offer most flexibility. But whom will manufacture these?  Rumours suggested HTC, but maybe Dell?

image

HTC sort of tried it with the HTC Shift and many manufacturers have produced tablet pc’s before, but none of those really took off…why?  Was it because of size?

These are just a few thoughts, what are yours, we would love to know.

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Posted by Jon

SIM Only Deals

Friday, December 18, 2009

A few months ago we posted an article here about how nowadays, it is so much easier to avoid being tied down into a long-term mobile phone contract and actually getting the device you want SIM free and still save money in the long-term.

Following up on that article we would like to introduce a guest post by SIM Only Contracts a specialist website that compares SIM Only Deals so you can easily find the best offers and get great value for your money.

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For those of you who aren’t familiar with what SIM Only is and how it may benefit you we would like to explain this in more detail.

The concept of SIM Only is what it says on the tin so to speak. It’s just a SIM card but it combines the benefits of a pay monthly contract and pay as you go SIM card minus the mobile phone.

SIM Only cards are free to purchase and offer better value for money than most long-term mobile phone contracts and PAYG SIM cards. Part of the reason that you will get better tariffs for less money with SIM Only is that the mobile phone companies don’t have to subsidize the cost of the mobile phone. This also means that to attract customers the networks must offer better value than their competition instead of using the phone as the selling point.

This then leads to some of the following great benefits of SIM Only Deals

- Easy set up. If you have a phone already or are thinking about getting a SIM-Free mobile then all you need to do is insert your SIM Only chip into your device and away you go.

- Flexibility. Typically SIM Only deals are 30-day rolling contracts. This means that you can cancel the contract at any time after that period and also change to a better SIM Only deal on another network if you want to.

- Value. SIM Only deals have the capacity to offer you great value for money tariffs with unlimited texts, unlimited Internet and loads of free minutes available on many tariffs starting from just £10 per month.

- Cross network minutes. All SIM Only contracts include minutes to other networks so you don’t have to worry about calling friends and family who are using another company to you.

- No top up. There is no need to worry about topping up your SIM card. Having a rolling contract means that if you go over your Free call or text allowance you can still use your phone without the inconvenience of having to add credit.

- Choice. SIM Only deals are available on all the major networks including Vodafone, T-Mobile, 3, O2, Orange and Virgin Mobile. This means there is plenty of competition between them that creates even more minutes, texts and data for even better value for money.

There are now 12 and 18 month contracts available that offer even lower prices if you don’t mind being tied down to a long term contract.

SIM Only deals are great for people looking to save money on their mobile phone costs. Whether you have a phone already or purchase an unlocked, SIM Free phone, a SIM Only contract will give you great value for money, flexibility and cost effectiveness over the long term.

There are currently some awesome deals available including 200 minutes and unlimited texts from Virgin Mobile and 600 minutes, unlimited texts and Internet from T-Mobile. O2 also offer free bolt-ons including free Internet, extra minutes and more so look out for these too.

If you would like to compare SIM Only deals visit SIM Only Contracts and purchase online today.

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Posted by Jon

Windows Mobile Needs a Reboot?

Friday, December 4, 2009

Carmi Levi at BetaNews has written some what of a damming article on Windows Mobile/Phone.  Microsoft take note?

Have a read of the article HERE and see what you think – We would like to hear your thoughts.

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Posted by Clove

New Review on the HTC HD2

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

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We get many reviews on our devices from the various forums and there have already been a number on the HTC HD2.

We were however contacted recently by the T3 magazine (one of my favourites!) as they had recently done a hands on review and video of the HTC HD2 which we thought would be useful to share with you. The review was carried out by Gareth Beavis, who also recently reviewed the Blackberry Bold 9700.

T3’s reviews seem to take a slightly different slant from our other on-line reviews so would be worth a look if you are considering this new flagship device from HTC. T3 recently awarded the HTC Hero their Gadget of the Year, so they already hold the HTC devices in high regard.

The HTC HD2 is proving a very popular Windows Phone with very strong sales. The screen has a real wow effect and the speed is very impressive.

You can see the T3 review here

You can view the full product details here

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Posted by Chris

Blackberry Bold 2 (Blackberry Bold 9700) vs Bold 1 (Blackberry Bold 9000) why upgrade?

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

We are sure many owners of the original Blackberry Bold 9000 will be wondering why they’ll want to upgrade only a year later. We’ll be answering these questions to help you come to your own conclusions.

In this post we’ll be comparing the new Blackberry Bold 9700 or Blackberry Bold 2 with its predecessor the Blackberry Bold 9000 or Blackberry Bold 1. In the world of smartphones a year is a long time and the Blackberry Bold has evolved.

If you are looking for a detailed Blackberry Bold 9700 review you can find one here courtesy of Shaun from PDA247

Blackberry Bold 9000 Blackberry Bold 9700
Blackberry Bold 9000 Blackberry Bold 9700

So what are the main differences that you really want to know about and what do they mean?

The keyboard

If you own the original Bold 9000, you probably love the keyboard. At the time it was the best QWERTY keyboard available on the market. Sure it added to the width of the phone and made it bit chunky, but avid emailers couldn’t live without it.

Well Blackberry has addressed the width and perhaps surpassed themselves with the keyboard. It’ll take a bit of getting used to and we wouldn’t be surprised if your first impressions are that it is not as easy as the original. However, Shaun described it in his detailed review as the best front facing keyboard on the market, light to the touch whilst being extremely accurate for super quick thumb typing.

So if you love your thumb typing, once you are over the initial change there should be no looking back.

Display

The display size is slightly smaller than the original, but this is made up for by the resolution which is larger at 480 x 360 pixels. The quality is exceptional for both pictures and video, so if you upgrade you’ll be getting more pixels for your money and even better quality.

Size

If you found the original Bold a bit chunky, you’ll find that Blackberry have worked wonders on the size of the Bold 9700. It is now a much sleeker device and is a whole 16g lighter. With 6mm less width, 5mm less height and 0.9mm less depth the handset it is a lot less bulky in the pocket, with a great in hand feel.

Again there should be no regrets in upgrading here.

Navigation

Gone is the trackball, being replaced with optical trackpad. It gives a very natural feel to phone. There has been talk of unreliability of the trackballs and the trackpad which was introduced on the Blackberry Curve 8520 is known to be very reliable and great to use.

Moving on from the trackball to trackpad should be a natural transition and with added reliability there should be nothing to worry about.

Connection

The big difference here is the Bold 9700 is a full 3g phone, making email downloads even quicker and really opening up the world of internet browsing.

It is a speedy phone already and the 3g just makes it even better.

Battery

With the Bold 9700 Blackberry have surpassed themselves, and produced a smartphone with phenomenal battery life. They have obviously worked hard to optimise the software to work efficiently with an industry leading 1500mAh battery. So you shouldn’t have to worry about lugging your battery charger with you all the time.

Blackberry stats claim up to 6 hrs talk time and 17 days standby time on the Bold 9700, compared with 4.5 hrs talk time and 13.5 days standby time on the Bold 9000.

So again it is another big improvement on the original.

Performance

The performance is fantastic, the combination of a 624 Mhz processor and an OS widely regarded as one of the most efficient in the business, plus 256MB of memory, performance isn’t an issue. You’ll be listening to music and switching between multiple applications without the Bold 9700 stuttering or stalling.

Camera

The camera has been upgraded from a 2 megapixel camera to a 3.2 mega pixel camera. It is unlikely to impress David Bailey, but with zoom capability and an LED flash, it is great for those quick off the cuff snaps you need to keep Facebook and Twitter up to date. The 2x digital zoom operated by the trackpad is quite handy, especially with its good autofocus function.

Video

The video camera is good, if not amazing. It stands up well to other phones on the market and does the basics you’ll need recording at 30 frames per second and capable of 480 x 352 recording.

There isn’t a full video suite for editing afterward, but it should meet most people needs.

Side by side specifications

Blackberry Bold 9000 Blackberry Bold 9700
Weight 136 grams 122 grams
Height 114mm 109 mm
Width 66mm 60 mm
Depth 15mm 14.1 mm
Screen size 2.44” (diagonal)
Screen resolution 480 x 320 pixelHalf VGA resolution 480×360 pixel
High resolution color display
Talk time 4.5 hrs 6 hrs
Standby time 13.5 days 17 days (UTMS)
Camera 2 Megapixels 3.2 Megapixels
Camera functions Flash, 3x digital zoom Auto focus, image stabilization, Flash, 2x digital zoom
Video Video available, micro SD recommended Normal mode (480 x 352 pixel)
Navigation Trackball Optical trackpad
Maps and GPS
 GPS Blackberry Maps GPS with A-GPSBlackberry Maps
Wifi 802.11a/b/g 802.11 b/g
Wireless networks
  • UMTS: 2100/1900/850 MHz
  • GSM®: 1900/1800/900/850/MHz
  • North America: 850 MHz GSM/GPRS networks
  • North America: 1900MHz GSM®/GPRS networks
  • Europe/Asia Pacific: 1800MHz GSM/GPRS networks
  • Europe/Asia Pacific: 900MHz GSM/GPRS networks
  • EDGE networks
  • HSDPA networks
  • 3G (HSDPA) compatible
  • UMTS: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz (Bands 1,2,5/6), 2100/1700/900 MHz (Bands 1,4,8)
  • GSM: 1900/1800/900/850 MHz
  • Quad-band support: GSM 850; GSM

All in all it is quite a comprehensive upgrade, both from the surface and under the hood. Nothing in itself may be a deal clincher, but added together the features make quite a compelling case for the new Blackberry Bold 9700.

If you are interested in purchasing the Blackberry Bold 9700, Clove sell them both Sim free and on contract. Find out more here…

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Posted by Stephen

Sony Ericsson Satio Free Movies

Friday, November 13, 2009

                                   

The Sony Ericsson Satio is a great smatphone and it is even better with the ability to download up to 60 movies completely free.  This is a great offer for anyone who likes to be entertained with movies on their mobile phone.  If you ever wanted to enjoy a movie on the train, plane or wherever you are, this good be for you.  The mobile versions of the movies can be downloaded from the Sony Ericsson PlayNow Arena through a computer and transferred to the Satio. 

 

 

If this sounds like something for you, then take a look at the Sony Ericsson Satio.   

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Posted by Richard

Protect Your Gadgets – FOR FREE

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

If you have ever been the victim of theft, then no doubt you will have been very upset and annoyed, due to the cost, the hassle and the loss of personal data etc.

You may not even report that you have had the item stolen as you think you will never get it back.

Some items may be insured, but the cost and hassle may mean you do not claim, especially for lower value possessions.

The fact of the matter is that Police do recover stolen items and they try to return them to the rightful owners, however they need you to report the theft, to be able to return them.

It may all be a lot of hassle you are thinking, but hear me out.

Immobilise is an online system that has been set up in conjunction with the Police in the UK, which allows you to log all expensive possessions, such as TV’s, cameras, mobile phones and more.

The system, which is FREE to register with will allow you to log all your items and unique identifiers for them as well as photos, purchase costs and much more.

The idea being, should worst case scenario your items get stolen, you can report this online, from the portal. No need to go to the local police station.

If the Police then recover stolen goods, they use this database to help re-unite items with the owner.

I have been using it for a short while and I admit it takes some time to put the information in, but once it is done then its all logged and you can edit and update it at any time.  Most important thing is to remember to log any new toys!

I haven’t been robbed, so I cant test out how good the recovery system actually is, but I think it is worth the effort, as you just could get back a much loved item, even if you claim to your insurance company.

Another nice feature, which as an individual you may not do, but as a small business owner you may look at…

Actually tagging your items.  By this I mean purchasing tags from Immobilise online shop that you can attach to the most expensive equipment, like camcorders, digital SLRS, laptops and PC’s.

There are various kits and tags available, but certain ones such as the one shown below, may further deter criminal from taking the equipment, or at least stop them selling it.

They are not too expensive and must be a worthwhile investment to protect against potential theft.

If you think this is a good idea and want to read more then take a look at http://www.immobilise.com

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Posted by Jon

HTC HD2 Hands On

Thursday, October 29, 2009

I am not the first to post my thoughts and I am certainly wont be the last.

I have however been fortunate enough to have had for a short period a HTC HD2 in my hands and I thought I would let you know what I think about the unit.

Now this is by no means a full review, more a collection of thoughts.

First and foremost I personally thought the device would be huge and feel clunky in hand.  With the exception of a couple, this is the biggest screen on a smartphone to date. I was completely wrong. 

I would be lying if I said it was small, but it does not feel anywhere near as big in the hand as I thought it would.  I do not have the largest of hands, but it felt comfortable and i soon became used to the overall profile of the unit.

If you do have big hands and have hated the smaller smartphones because of this, the HD2 might just be the first phone that you can truly use with ease.

The screen goes to the edge of the unit, there is no clunky or chunky edges, everything feels smooth.  The case of the unit is robust and feels good to the touch.

There are buttons at the bottom of the screen, physical ones.  Now personally I feel that this is the downside to the device, they feel a little bit of an after thought and cheap.  I would have expected or liked more of a touch sensitive affair.  Having said that nothing beats the physical, tactile feedback of a button or key.  It does detract from the overall style of the device.

I wont talk about call features and quality, other than say it was more than up to scratch and is on par with any other HTC product.

The camera is good and perfectly acceptable to most for a camera shot.  I dint get the opportunity to test the dual flash on the HTC HD2, but it has to improve the image, especially in low light and I am sure many HTC fans will be pleased to see this addition.

Windows Mobile 6.5 is of course installed, not a great deal to say about this. 

There is of course HTC Sense installed to improve the overall experience.  It does not disappoint. I won’t talk about this either as there are more than enough reviews and information on this online.

One thing I did find, and this may be a personal thing is that this is the first device that I can truly use a ‘fat finger’ on.  By this I mean that most devices I have used previously required a mix of the very tip of the finger/nail to work and in places allow you to use your true finger tip ‘fat finger’.  The HD2 however is he first device I have used, other than the iPhone where the fat finger/full finger tip actually works better than using the very tip/nail of a finger.

It goes almost without saying that the device was super fast.  Everything was snappy and responded much quicker than normal.  The device I was using was a pre-production model, which did have the odd software bug but still I was impressed.

Orientation switching from landscape to portrait was very fast.  I actually preferred writing emails and text messages in landscape mode.  You could not view as much actual text on screen, but you gain from a larger keyboard, which is a big plus when typing  message, especially in a rush.

My final thought is around the new microUSB connection that HTC have adopted.  It is a little frustrating as a HTC owner, I will now need to purchase new cables etc but in the long run it should be better as all new devices are switching over to the connection due to a European imitative to cut down the production of chargers and accessories.

You have probably already made a decision as to whether or not the HD2 is or you.

Without any influence from my affiliation with HTC, I have to say that this device has surprised me.  I looked upon it quite cynically as a fan of the Snap and those devices with a physical QWERTY keyboard, I was expecting to be a bit more disappointed.  This could be the device that gets me back into touch screen smartphones.

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Posted by Jon

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