Mobile Fun Blog » Mobile Technology

Not a fan of your Nokia Lumia 800? Get your money back!

LHogan — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:42:09 +0000

The Sim Free Nokia Lumia 800 is arriving back in stock tomorrow. It’s a monster Nokia handset and is the first to feature Windows Mobile 7.5, but it’s proving to be a bit like marmite… some of you love it, but other people aren’t too impressed.

Looking stylish and being packed with People Hub, GPS, Windows 7.5 and 16GB of internal memory just to name a few features; the Lumia 800 has got great specs but if you’ve bought the handset and you’re not a fan we’ve got great news for you!

If you buy your Lumia 800 Sim Free from us and register it on Lovemekeepme within 10 days of purchasing, you’re entitled to claim your money back for your Lumia 800 if you decide within 40 days that you don’t like it! So why not give the Lumia 800 a try!

Love Me Keep Me

To be able to do this all you have to do is buy a Lumia 800 before the 29th February, luckily for you we’ll have them back in stock tomorrow!

All the terms as conditions can be found here, but remember that to be able to claim your money back you must register your Lumia 800 within 10 days of purchasing it.

Our Krusell SEalABox was featured on The Gadget Show

LHogan — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:14:05 +0000

We recently supplied The Gadget Show with some Krusell SEalABox cases to use for their Surprise Special which aired yesterday.

We had no idea what the team would do with these cases (my guess was putting them in a swimming pool) but it’s fair to say they were put through their paces.

The Krusell SEalABox cases are designed to provide waterproof protection to most modern mobile phones. The cases have a IPX7 standard which means that they have been approved at 1 metres depth for 30 minutes, giving you complete usability underwater.

However what’s great about the SEalABox is that it also provides unbeatable protection too, as was seen on the show last night.

The Krusell sailed through the constant spraying of dirt and water from the motorbikes; survived a spin in a washing machine tied to a brick (better than the machine itself) but sadly it couldn’t quite cope with being blown up!

Click on the image below to see the SEalABox being put through some serious testing:

Krusell SEalABox in action

If you missed the full episode it’ll be uploaded to The Gadget Show’s Youtubesoon.

MHL-Enabled TVs are coming!

William Judd — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:01:47 +0000

Some smartphones these days are finally reaching levels of performance that they can play back full HD videos in crisp 1080p. What good is that if you have to watch it on a 4″ screen though? Enter the MHL adapter, a powerful A/V standard interface for connecting smartphones to HDTVs and other high resolution displays. The MHL connection allows for the transmission of uncompressed 1080p HD video, uncompressed 7.1 channel sound, and charging capabilities all through a single, slim cable.

If you’ve got one of the following smartphones or tablets, you’ve already got built-in MHL abilities:

Samsung Galaxy S2 smartphone
HTC Sensation smartphone
HTC Evo 3D smartphone
HTC Flyer tablet

So all you need now is a television. The MHL consortium have just announced the first MHL-enabled TV, the Toshiba WL800A, but you don’t have to wait to use that one. The MHL cabling technology can also be used on older TVs by connecting the video and audio over HDMI, and charging over USB. While it’s not the single-cable solution that MHL will soon be, it’s still a perfect way to keep your phone charged and use your HDTV as a display.

Let’s have a look at the various options available.

MHL Adapters

The BizLink MHL to HDMI TV-Out Adapter is a universal connection, capable of supporting any MHL-enabled smartphone from the list above. The connector is essentially a micro USB to a joint USB and HDMI connection. This allows you to keep your smartphone charged while you’re watching HD content on your HDTV, or even just enjoying the increased screen size.

BizLink MHL to HDMI TV-Out Adapter - Black

If you’ve got the Samsung Galaxy S2, you can depend on this Genuine Samsung Galaxy S2 MHL TV-Out Adaptor. As it’s made by Samsung, you can be sure that it’s one hundred percent compatible. Like the Bizlink adapter, this MHL adapter uses an HDMI and USB connection to function, although the internal connection is all MHL.

Genuine Samsung Galaxy S2 i9100 MHL TV-Out Adaptor

If you’re an HTC fan and bought the Sensation, then this MHL adaptor is for you: The HTC Sensation MHL – HDMI TV-Out Cable. The form factor looks a lot nicer than the Samsung or Bizlink adapters, but the connection is ExtMicroUSB, which means the cable will only work on HTC products (like the HTC Sensation, HTC Flyer or HTC Evo 3D).

HTC Sensation MHL - HDMI TV-Out Cable

Finally, the Flyer can be connected with a specialised HTC Flyer AC M500 MHL HDMI TV-Out Cable. Like the HTC Sensation-specific connection, it comes with a long cable and HTC-specific ExtMicroUSB connection. If you’ve got the HTC Flyer, then this is the cable you want.

HTC Flyer AC M500 MHL HDMI TV-Out Cable

Conclusion

I hope you found this post useful! If you’ve any questions about MHL technology or mobile phone accessories, I’d be happy to answer them. You can get a hold of me via Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus at the links below. Of course, you can always leave a comment here on the blog too!

Top 6 Apps That’ll Get You Mugged

William Judd — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:11:22 +0000

Introduction

Smartphones are wonderful things, attracting our care and attention day in and day out, from reading your morning emails to ordering a pizza when you get off work.

As good as they are however, they can attract unwanted attention. In that vein, I present the top six apps that’ll get you mugged.

6. Alarm Free

A good (read: terrible) app to use once you’re actually being mugged is Alarm Free for iPhone. As you can see in the diagram provided below, you’re supposed to scare away muggers by holding up your smartphone and pressing the screen. This will make an alarm sound, and flash a light menacingly.

This’ll do precisely nothing to deter your attackers, but it does mean that they’ll definitely notice your expensive smartphone.

Note the incapacitating effect as the app hits the attacker at full force.

5. Flashlight

If you’re walking through a dark neighborhood at night, you might think that providing more light will make you safer. Unfortunately, pulling out your smartphone and then making it produce as much light as possible doesn’t provide protection so much as advertise your presence (and your phone) to any passers-by.

Some apps go further and provide a ‘police light’ setting. Unless you’re being beset by the bumbling thieves of Home Alone, I’m guessing this won’t be much help.

: Imagine these appearing in sequence really fast. Scared?

4. Google Navigation

Another great way to get robbed is to let everyone know you’re from out of town. Although dressing oddly, mispronouncing local landmarks and asking for directions are all good starts, perhaps the best way is to walk through town listening to your smartphone mispronounce local landmarks and guide you effortlessly through crime-ridden areas to save you a few minutes.

"Turn LEFT into SHADY NEIGHBORHOOD. You are THREE HUNDRED MILES from home."

3. I Am Rich

The famous I Am Rich app, which cost curious buyers new to the iPhone market $1000 for an app that just showed a JPG of a computer-generated jewel and had no actual features, takes number three in our list. Although the app has long since been removed from the market, it remains a popular app for jail-breaking pirates.

An app to show people that I've got bags of cash *and* I'm an idiot... perfect!

Another expensive app is the only ‘app for millionaires’, iVIP Black. The $1000 app requires a manual check after purchased that you’re a well heeled individual, and afterwards offers a variety of extremely expensive services — race horse ownership, helicopter hire, penthouses, that kind of thing. I doubt you’d be walking if you owned this app, but consider yourself forewarned nonetheless.

If you've got this app, you probably aren't walking.

2. Google Sky Map

What’s more likely to get you mugged than walking through a bad neighborhood looking at your smartphone? How about walking through a bad neighbourhood staring at your smartphone as you hold it up to the sky?

Google Sky Map identifies constellations that you point it at, using your camera’s gyro to figure out where you’re looking. It also takes the prize for being the app that’ll make it most obvious that you’re not paying attention to your surroundings.

Allowing you to identify Saturn and get your wallet nicked all in one app!

1. Slasher

While you can get mugged by looking too rich, too out of place or too oblivious, sometimes it’s just a random thing. In this case, you might think it might be a good idea to be prepared. Enter the Slasher app, which ‘displays a common kitchen knife on the screen and plays a “horror” sound when you make a stabbing motion.’

I can’t think of a better way to keep yourself safe than a virtual knife, complete with inappropriate sound effect. Heck, with this thing you could go mugging yourself!

Picture above: A mugger's worst nightmare

Bonus: How Not To Get Mugged

Sometimes, the best way to not get mugged is the simplest:

Legendary.

If you’ve enjoyed this, check out the links below to check out more content or leave us a message.

Top 7 Tips To Keep Your Smartphone Juiced Up

William Judd — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:42:52 +0000

So you went ahead and bought a smartphone. Why? because it has so many functions that it’s like the Swiss Army Knife of the digital age. But what if these functions themselves are the reason why your handset can’t stand a full day on a single charge? Common answers around the web direct you to disable your GPS, change the network to 2G or GSM from 3G, stop listening to music on the loudspeaker, and avoid chatrooms and constant emailing. If that’s right then why would I buy a smartphone when there are plain vanilla phones available at half the price?

This led me to start a quest for workarounds that would let me enjoy a beautiful smartphone experience without any painful ‘Battery Empty’ notifications. Here are the fruits of that quest – wisdom to keep your smartphone juiced up.

1. Keep your cool phone cool

Never leave your phone is direct sunlight or near a heat source. Heat is the number one culprit when it comes to dying batteries.

2. Firmware Updates

Though the tip is universal it holds particularly for Symbian devices. Symbian firmware updates usually have battery performance as it’s number one priority – probably because there’s nothing much to work with that OS.

3. Love GPS modules

Get yourself a bluetooth GPS module like the Motorola MotoNav SIRF 3 gps module. Bluetooth only sips through battery power and when you use an external Bluetooth GPS module for lengthy navigation you actually shift a lot of processing strain from the phone to the module, thus making huge savings on battery life.

4. Get an alternative power source charger

You could go for a mobile phone car charger if you’re someone who carpools or have your own car. Otherwise you could go for a Nexus Battery Pack or a Solar charger depending on your lifestyle. The Nexus battery pack comes with a whopping 2 Amperes of storage cased in a slick black case. I recommend it.

5. Go hands-free

Again there may be nay-sayers who target the Bluetooth wasting power. But I have personally achieved much better uptime for my phone using a Bluetooth headset than without. Moreover, since you’re already using the technology for your GPS module you might as well make the most of it. Make sure to shop for good BT headsets as some are more power efficient than others. My personal favorite is the Sony Ericsson MW600 – it features the ability to pair with 3 devices at a time giving you a lot of flexibility if you’re a gadget freak like me.

6. Power User?

If you’re a power user who makes the most of everything that your phone offers, or if you’re a Nokia N900 user, then I’d suggest installing a battery monitor that tracks your power usage to specific apps so that you can use only the more efficient ones.

7. Transfer data through the USB

Most modern smartphones support charging through USB cables. If you need to transfer files to your computer use the the USB instead of WiFi or Bluetooth. Not only will the transfer be faster but you’ll gain charge instead of losing it.

Don’t just be a smartphone user, be a smart user.

Thanks to Dilin Anand of Shaasthra.com for this guest blog post.

Stream HD to your TV with the HDMI-to-MHL adaptor for the SGS2

Natalie — Fri, 27 May 2011 11:49:46 +0000

Otherwise known as, ‘just how many acronyms can you get into one blog title’?

A popular but little known feature of the Samsung Galaxy S was its ability to do video out from its 3.5mm jack, as long as you had the appropriate cable to go into the standard AV ports on the televion.

So it may come as a disappointment to some that Samsung have removed this feature in the phone’s successor, the otherwise extremely handsome Galaxy S2. Instead, the Galaxy S2 is the first to combine USB and HDMI capabilities in one with their MHL port, meaning that you can charge, sync data and stream audio and video through the same port.

Many modern smartphones are too slim for a built-in HDMI port, and MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) ports allow you to incorporate multiple functions in one port – as long as you have the right adapter. So for Galaxy S2 TV output, you’ll need to acquire HDMI-to-MHL adaptor, and unfortunately these aren’t always cheap – not to mention that the release of the official Samsung Galaxy S2 MHL adapter is still quite a way off on the horizon.

A more cost-effective option is the BizLink MHL to HDMI adapter, which will be available over on the main site within the next fortnight – much earlier than the official cable. The adapter lets you transform your phone’s MHL output into a Galaxy S2 HDMI out, allowing you to connect to your HDMI-ready TV with ease and stream media directly to it from your phone.

The BizLink also has a Micro USB port on the side of the adapter which lets you charge your phone at the same time – good news, since streaming media can be a bit of drain on your Galaxy S II battery power!

BizLink MHL to HDMI Adapter

Hold the phone – the official Galaxy S2 car holder just hit my desk!

Natalie — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:54:16 +0000

There are a variety of Galaxy S II car holders floating around, including the very lovely Gripwise, which I blogged on earlier in the week. But for some people, only the real McCoy will do – and here it is, on my desk today, the Genuine Samsung Galaxy S II Vehicle Dock.

Unboxing

I’ve been taking a look at it and it really does seem immensely sturdy, unlike some unofficial car holders, which just goes to show that you really do get what you pay for with something like this. It’s also pretty stylish and good-looking, and you can attach it to either your dashboard or your windscreen, which means it shouldn’t block your view too much (safety first!)

It also has an in-built Galaxy S II charger, which personally I think is a must for car holders if you’re thinking of using your smartphone instead of a SatNav. The sad fact is that smartphone batteries simply aren’t up to much – even the comparatively powerful Galaxy S II battery – and GPS will drain them like nobody’s business. With a car charger included then you at least know you’re not suddenly going to run out of power half way through a long journey, leaving you stranded in the middle of Ashby-de-la-Zouche or similar.

Other Galaxy S II docks of the non-vehicular variety are also available over on the main site.

She shall have music wherever she goes – the Galaxy S2 Sound System dock

Natalie — Wed, 18 May 2011 14:08:13 +0000

With one of the best smartphone screens available (800 x 480 screen resolution and exclusive Super AMOLED Plus technology), 1GB RAM to store media and 1.2Ghz dual-core processor for the fastest and most powerful performance ever, the Galaxy S II gives you a multimedia experience that’s as good as they come. On the other hand, though, smartphone speakers just aren’t up to it if you want proper, room-filling sound – it doesn’t matter how good the phone is, playing music from it without headphones is always going to have that tinny edge.

Turn up the volume with the Galaxy S II Sound System!

That’s why the Samsung Galaxy S2 Sound Station is such a great idea – and such a simple one that we aren’t sure why there aren’t a dozen similar models floating around on the market. It’s basically just a Galaxy S II dock that sits quietly and inconspicuously on your desk – until you plug the Galaxy S2 into it, whereupon it transforms into a positively rowdy Sound Station with high-quality Seine acoustic amplifier and stereo speaker.

It doesn’t need any external power source – it’s powered completely by the Galaxy S2 battery alone. That makes it great for use outdoors, meaning you won’t need to trail extension leads out of the door and across the garden to enjoy some summery sounds along with your picnic or barbecue. Perfect stuff for the sunshiney season!

The Sound System is available for preorder over the main website and will be in stock soon, along with a variety of other Galaxy S II accessories and Galaxy S II cases.

Turn your friends green with envy with the new ecoskin iPhone 4 covers

Natalie — Fri, 06 May 2011 14:51:14 +0000

We love the new Ecoskins by Anokimobi that we’ve just ordered in, which are a range of top quality smartphone covers made of eco-friendly recycled plastic and infused with special bacteria-resistant silver ions to keep your phone cleaner and safer.

The Ecoskin is available as an iPhone 4 skin, Nokia N8 skin or HTC Desire HD cover, protects your phone from scratches and bumps and comes in a great range of colours.

Here are three reasons why we’re excited about them:

They’re antibacterial
protecting you from all those bugs and germs that can make you ill. Mobile phones are a breeding ground for bacteria – just think about everything you handle over the course of the day getting passed on to your phone. Not only that, but phones often get handed around between people – to share a photo, for example, or to point out something interesting you’ve found on the internet. So it’s not just the things you’ve touched that are getting all over your phone – it’s the things everyone else who touches your phone has touched, too!

According to a study by Which Magazine taken from a sample of phones, 14.7 million of the 63 million mobiles in the UK today could be potentially harmful to health due to bacterium levels on them. Not to mention that… well, it’s just kind of gross!

So to protect against germs, Anokimob have added Biomaster to the material of the ecoskin. Biomaster is a silver-based additive which is used for many medical devices, and is proven to decrease levels of bacteria by up to 99.9% – making it the perfect ingredient to help you keep your phone germ-free.

They’re eco-friendly
and made from 100% recycled, 100% recyclable high grade plastic. Not only that, but the cardboard packaging is 95% recycled and the plastic tray frontage is 80% recycled. Every effort has been made to make both the case and the packaging as environmentally friendly as possible – so that’s something to feel good about!

They’re made in the UK
by the same people who make components for Aston Martin, which means the fit of the case is superb, clinging to your phone’s every curve. And because we don’t need to import them from a far off land, as with most mobile phone accessories, your carbon footprint is reduced.

Though Ecoskins cover most of your phone, there are cutouts to allow it to be charged whilst still in the case, and to allow access to all buttons and functions. As Ecoskins do not protect the screen, you may wish to pair it with an antibacterial iPhone 4, Nokia N8 or HTC Desire HD screen protector to ensure full protection.

SIM free Samsung Galaxy S2 in stock from today

Natalie — Thu, 05 May 2011 14:40:55 +0000

The very gorgeous SIM free Samsung Galaxy S2 – or the Samsung i9100 Galaxy S II, if you prefer to give it its slightly lengthier title, though I’m not sure why you would – flew onto our shelves yesterday, and has almost as rapidly started flying straight off them again.

The Galaxy S2 is one of the first smartphones to feature a powerful dual-core processor (others current and upcoming include the LG Optimus 2X and the Motorola Atrix), something which looks set to become the standard for modern smartphones. It also boasts next-gen Bluetooth 3.0, Android 2.3 Gingerbread and NFC technology for contactless payments. On the visual side, the Galaxy S2 has an 8MP camera with 1080p HD video recording capabilities, a separate 1.3MP front-facing camera for video-calling and a massive 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen to show your photos and media off on.

SIM free Samsung Galaxy S2 i91000

We also have a selection of snazzy Samsung i9100 accessories over on the main site, so click through to see Samsung Galaxy S2 cases from all your favourite brands – including Casemate’s popular Barely There series and official Samsung leather cases.

Dual-core devices:

SIM free Samsung i9100 | SIM free Motorola Atrix | SIM free LG Optimus 2X | SIM free HTC Sensation