Archive for the ‘Product Reviews’ Category
Monday, December 13th, 2010
One of the perks of writing a Blog is that I get to review quite a few really cool products before they’re available to the general public. Yesterday morning was one of those times as I got to play with the
Top Type iPhone 4 Case.
The idea behind it is great. It’s a protective case, but with space to store a Mini Bluetooth Keyboard (included). Similar cases for the iPad have been around for a while, but it’s taken a long time for them to make an appearance for the iPhone.
Your iPhone is held in place by a secure plastic holder and the keyboard is gripped by some leather covered clips that won’t scratch or mark the glass on the front of your phone. Cut outs on the back of the case allow you to still use the camera and a small built in kick stand will hold your phone at just the right angle for typing while you’re sat at your desk.
There are times when the on screen keyboard is a little irritating. Writing long emails or completing forms can be a nightmare as the on screen keyboard tends to obscure most of the screen, covering up text boxes and making it difficult to enter your data.
It’s that reason that made me purchase a full sized Apple Bluetooth keyboard to use with my phone, typing emails or chatting to friends on MSN is now much quicker, but the keyboard wasn’t cheap and isn’t particularly portable.
The Mini Bluetooth keyboard solves both of these problems as you can keep it in a bag or pocket and carry it around with you. Once it’s connected to your phone, the on screen keyboard remains out of view, leaving your email or webpage to fill the screen. The keys are well spaced out, easy to press and even has buttons to increase volume and play/pause/skip your music.
Using the case while you’re out and about will take a bit of getting used to as using it in your hands isn’t as easy as using it on a flat surface, but after a few day’s you’ll soon have it sussed and will be flying through your emails.
The case is a great add on to the phone and will no doubt become even more useful when Apple finally release their much rumoured iWork apps for iPhone.
The TopType Keyboard Case is available to order now and comes in 3 variations,
QWERTY for UK,
QWERTZ and
AZERTY for European users.
Friday, December 3rd, 2010
Some will call it late, but I choose to call it considered. Either way, the long-awaited Mobile Fun review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab is finally here. The first question that probably comes to mind is, was it worth the wait? But then, that was my starting point with the Tab, so I guess there’s some sort of poetic irony in there. The short answer is it depends. If you were holding off on buying an iPad because you wanted to see what Samsung had to offer, then I’d have to say it’s definitely worth a look. If you never had any intention of buying a tablet-style device, the Tab might not be the device to turn your head.
Testing the Samsung Galaxy Tab was my first experience of using an Android device, having had an iPhone for the past 18 months. It immediately became clear that where I found iOS limiting, Android had the answers. In a device of this size, the flexibility of Android becomes more apparent.
I'm an iPhone user and I like the Tab a lot!
The real point is whether as a device on its own merits, or as an iPad competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is worthy of your attention. The hardware is all glass and shiny plastic, which attracts fingerprints but is easy enough to clean. It’s fairly weighty, which gives it a solid feel without the same sense that holding it for too long will make your arm fall off that the iPad imparts. The screen is bright and sharp, but in natural and artificial light. As with most LCD displays, in bright sunlight legibility can be an issue, but generally speaking the display does its job very well. Watching movies and reading e-books is a constant pleasure, and that’s all you can ask really. You might read about viewing angles in other reviews, but at any position I would reasonably expect someone to use the device, colours were correct and contrast was sharp.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab has a major trick up its sleeve in the presence of dual cameras, a rear-facing 3MP with LED flash snapper for out-and-about, and a front-facing 1.3MP camera for video calling. The quality of the pictures produced by the rear camera aren’t anything to shout about, but for capturing moments you wouldn’t otherwise be able to, the Tab does a good job. Video calling is clear, and unlike with Apple’s FaceTime you’re not restricted to only calling other Tab users or only using the camera over WiFi. There are a number of IM apps on Android already that can make good use of video calling, which really adds utility to the Tab.
Something else that’s a glaring whole in the iPad line-up is the presence of user-expandable memory. The Tab can take SD cards up to 32GB, giving you as much as 64GB of storage to carry round your movies, music and pictures on. With the file management capabilities of Android, having the ability to transfer files to and from your computer without a cable or any software at all with an SD card is bordering on revolutionary in comparison to the iPad.
Browsing on the Tab is quick and web pages display well in both landscape and portrait orientations. As the Tab has Android v2.2 it supports Flash playback out of the box, but it’s currently not really optimised and is more of a novelty than a genuinely useful addition. This will undoubtedly change as Android matures as a platform though. All in all, as an internet portal the Tab more than holds its own, and is much easier and quicker to use than a netbook if all you want to do is check a few things online.
The only thing left to mention is the app-scape. The iPad currently holds the advantage in terms of numbers, and also dedicated apps. Samsung have pre-installed a few useful apps of their own, including an e-reader with online bookstore support, and both newspaper and magazine readers with the ability for subscription payments. Reading the newspaper on a tablet in the morning instead of having to go to the shop to pick it up is a novel experience, and one I could get used to. It remains to be seen whether the Android market will splinter like the Apple App Store to provide for apps designed to run only on tablet devices, but it’s an interesting point that unlike with iOS apps that have to be effectively stretched if they’re not iPad native, any apps made following the Android developer guidelines will be naturally rendered full size, so look sharp and clear regardless of screen size and resolution.
So having spent a week with the Samsung Galaxy Tab, I feel confident in saying that if you want a handheld device to surf the web, watch movies and play a few games on, you really can’t go wrong with the Samsung Galaxy Tab. It’s quick, it’s portable, and it looks good. The software is flexible and accessible, with more updates coming every few months. There are already a wide range of accessories available with more coming all the time, from media docks to camera kits. The Samsung Galaxy Tab is the first serious competitor to the iPad, and if Apple wants to keep their share of the market they’re going to have to do something special to move ahead again.
Samsung Galaxy Tab accessories, such as Samsung Galaxy Tab covers, Samsung Galaxy Tab chargers and Samsung Galaxy Tab screen protectors are available from MobileFun.
Saturday, November 27th, 2010
When it comes to portable car kits, there are two big names, Parrot and Jabra. Both of these companies have recently released new models, the Parrot MiniKit Smart and the Jabra Cruiser 2. I’m a big fan of both brands, but for different reasons. Parrot excel in compatibility, ease of use and voice control, where as Jabra tend to have a slightly wider feature set.
For this post though, I thought I’d take a look at the range of Jabra Bluetooth Car Kits. There are currently 4 available. The entry level Jabra SP200, the mid-range Jabra SP700 and the range-topping Jabra Cruiser and Jabra Cruiser 2. Each one has its strengths and is aimed at a different market, but which one is right for you?
Features at a glance:
Everyone looks for something different in a car kit and it’s not always easy to find the information that you need. The chart below shows all the key features on the car kits as well as battery life and charger info.
Chosing your kit
If you just want a simple, no frills kit then the SP200 is a great option. It’s easily got the best battery life of the kits and has multipoint support. This allows you to connect two phones to the kit at the same time and no matter which phone rings, the call will be routed through the SP200. Ideal if you carry a work and personal mobile.
Jabra SP200 Bluetooth Speakerphone
If you’re looking for a bit more from your car kit, or want to be able to listen to your music through it, then any of the other three kits will do the job, but there are a few subtle differences between them.
Each of the kits has a built in FM transmitter that streams audio from the car kit to the stereo in your car. The FM transmitter works with both music and calls and can be turned off, audio will then be routed through an internal speaker instead.
Music Streaming with Jabra Car Kits
If you’re new to the concept of music streaming, the way that it works is that you connect the car kit to your phone using Bluetooth. When you start playing music on your phone, it will be transmitted to the car kit automatically. If the FM transmitter is turned off, your music will play using the built in loud speaker. The speaker is only mono though, so it won’t sound as great as it could.
If you turn on the FM transmitter, the kit will announce a frequency that you will then need to tune your car stereo into. As soon as it’s tuned in you’ll be able to hear your music in full stereo through your existing car speakers.
The Cruiser has something that the SP700 and Cruiser 2 don’t – Music controls. This means that if you are listening to music from your phone, you can play/pause/track skip without having to touch your phone. This is especially handy if you’ve left your phone in your bag or pocket.
Jabra Cruiser2 Bluetooth Speakerphone
The Cruiser 2 is the latest kit, but oddly lacks the music controls found on the original Cruiser, instead it has more advanced noise cancelling microphones and software. If music isn’t important to you, but audio clarity during calls is, then the Cruiser 2 will be your best bet. The SP700 is very similar to the Cruiser 2, but lacks the dual microphones and advanced noise cancellation, but at just over half the price it’s a great buy.
A couple of things to remember when using FM transmitters though. Firstly, FM isn’t secure. If you’re making a private phone call I’d recommend switching the FM transmitter off and using the internal speaker in the car kit. If you don’t other motorists might be able to hear the person you’re talking to if they’re tuned into the same frequency. It’s highly unlikely to happen, but it might.
The other thing to remember is that you may need to retune the kit as you drive around. You may find that a clear frequency at home is in use by a local radio station when you get to work – if it is, the sound quality will deteriorate and you won’t be able to hear either one clearly. It’s not a problem, just hit the FM button on the side of the kit and select a new frequency.
Best Jabra Car Kit:
My favourite of the bunch, and the one that I’d recommend every time is the original Jabra Cruiser. It’s the only kit to have music controls built in to it. The noise cancellation and dual mics work brilliantly and it’s incredibly easy to set up and use. With the Cruiser 2 now available, it may not be around for much longer – which would be a real shame as there is no other car kit at the moment that can do what this does.
Jabra Cruiser Bluetooth Speakerphone
Tags: best bluetooth car kit, best bluetooth handsfree, best car kit, best handsfree kit, best jabra car kit, jabra car kit, jabra cruiser, jabra cruiser 2, jabra hands free, jabra sp200, jabra sp700,
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Thursday, November 4th, 2010
Whilst Mobile Fun has a great range of alternative car holders, if you have shelled out for such a high tech handset, as is the case with a HTC Desire HD, then why not go the whole hog and buy an official HTC Desire HD car holder specifically designed to look after your phone?
Looking ahead to the new accessories that we are due to have in stock very soon, we like the look of the HTC Desire HD Car Upgrade Kit or CU S440 to give it it’s official name, which I guess is only right considering it’s an official HTC product!
HTC Desire HD Official Car Holder - The CU S440
This holder attaches to the windscreen or the dash board and comes with an genuine HTC charger too.
Thursday, November 4th, 2010
I like to use my phone for all my worldly needs, i.e. texting, surfing, listening to my music and social networking. After all that’s why there are so many built in functions to handsets these days and my Nokia 5230 is no different. The functionality is there to let me access all these things whilst I am on the go, but this is giving me a problem – I can’t protect my phone when I’m constantly rushing around, here, there and everywhere and do the things with it I want to do.
Whatever your lifestyle, and for however you use your phone you’ll find a massive range of Nokia 5230 cases over on the main Mobile Fun site, from plush all rounders like the Krusell Orbit Flex to the simple yet effective Nokia Silicone Covers.
This is the case I prefer as it incorporates the Krusell Muliadapt system that allows me to change the clip on the back allowing me to change the way I keep the phone secure. So most of the time I use the belt clip, but occassionaly when I go cycling I can clip into the Krusell Bike Holder.
Nokia 5230 Krusell Case with belt clip
Protects the touch screen perfectly
If a case is not what you are after, there is a huge range of other Nokia 5230 accessories available too including Nokia 5230 charger for when you need that back up power pack, Nokia 5230 screen protector, useful if you just wish to protect the screen of your phone without adding to the bulk of the handset and or course the all essential Nokia 5230 car holder, keeping you from breaking the law without breaking the bank or your body!!
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