I was happy to see this morning that I had a visitor on my desk. His name is Android (Andy for short), and he’s got a pretty sweet gig as the mascot for Google’s mobile OS.
A Great Little Sound Box
The little guy isn’t just for show either; you can connect with him over Bluetooth using your phone or PC, and then he’ll happily belt out whatever tune you play. If you’d like to change tracks, you can just twist his head. If you want him to play or pause, just push down on his head. It’s a bit cruel, so you might want to recharge him over USB when you’re done, just to put things right.
The speaker is of great quality for its size, and at 2W loud enough for my co-workers to glare at me a bit. You can even give him a platform for his considerable aural talents with the included desk stand, which is useful for bringing the microphone a bit closer and enhancing the sound quality.
You’re Not Just Talking To Yourself
His talents aren’t limited to music, either. You can also use him to relay your calls, with his built-in microphone. The sound quality is surprisingly good, with calls coming through loud and clear. You can also use the speaker to perform voice dialling and voice commands. Altogether, it’s a cute and convenient way to handle your calls hands-free.
Want one of your own?
If you’d like a little more Android in your life, you should order an Android mascot sound box of your very own, exclusively from Mobile Fun. You can even take a look at a video below, which shows off its features in a little more detail.
Social Media Giveaway
We’re giving away five of these Android buddy speaker robots to our social media followers.
That’s right, it’s Mothers Day this Sunday! I’m sure you hadn’t forgotten, but just in case, here are some gift ideas that you can use to spoil that very special lady in your life…
My top pick this year is this Kindle Cover with Light, which both protects and illuminates the Reader at the same time. It’s a great gift for bookworm mums, and is perfect for reading in dim light or whilst in bed without disturbing the other person.
M-Edge Executive Ladger with E-Luminator Light for Amazon Kindle
For something a little less costly, how about the USB Aroma Fragrance Oil Burner? Candles for Mother’s Day feels a bit cliché and overdone, but this gives the idea a modern spin – just put in some fragrance oil, plug the lead into the USB port and there’ll soon be relaxing and revitalising fragrances wafting their way through the home, office or car.
USB Aroma Fragrance Oil Burner
I also think this Hi-Rez Digital Photo Frame Key Chain is a nice little trinket, allowing favourite photos and memories to be transported and shared with ease. It can be filled with holiday snaps, photos of the family or anything else your mum fancies (yes, including pictures of Johnny Depp!)
Hi-Rez Digital Photo Frame Key Chain
If your mum’s the tech-savvy tablet type, there are some absolutely gorgeous iPad and iPad 2 covers available on the market – and there’s just no need to stick with a boring old black case when there’s so much variety to be found!
I really like this Tuff Luv Multi-View Case for iPad in Marrakesh Red, which draws the eye immediately with its sumptuously exotic design. It’s hand-crafted from high-grade textiles and artificial leather, and doubles as an iPad stand for viewing movies or pictures.
Tuff Luv Multi View Case for iPad - Marrakesh Red
Another nice one – the Jivo Executive Buckle Case for iPad, which also works just as well as an iPad 2 cover. I’ve always had a thing for satchels, and this one has a nicely rustic feel – as though you’ve just stepped out of Cider with Rosie, albeit with an expensive slab of tech at your side! It’s hand-crafted from top layer Brazilian buffalo hide and has a neat chunky buckle to keep the tablet tucked away safely.
Jivo Executive Buckle Case for iPad & iPad 2
Last of all, here are a few likely-looking iPhone 4 covers: the Foofpod Sleeve for iPhone/iPod, iLuv Nature Soft Case for iPhone 4 and Casemate iPhone 4 Ivy Case
iTunes is one of the easiest ways to download and organise your music if you use an iPod or iPhone – but what if you use iTunes to organise and play your music and don’t have an iPod or iPhone?
I’m sure that most of us don’t know that you can sync pretty much any phone with iTunes. Generally speaking, you’ll get a software disc in with your phone that will have a program on for copying your music to your phone, but this can sometimes be clumsy, lead to duplicate songs on your computer, or require your songs to be changed to a different format, but there are ways around this.
I recently came across 2 free programs, (one for Windows, one for Mac OS X) that will let you sync just about any phone with iTunes.
This is a simple and easy program to use. It doesn’t matter what phone you have, as long as your PC can recognise it as a storage device once you’ve plugged it into a USB port.
Once you’ve downloaded and installed the program, you just need to tell it:
How to organise the music on your phone:
iTunes saves it in the format: Artist / Album Name / Song.mp3
Artist Folder saves in the format: Artist-Album / Song.mp3
Flat saves in the format: Artist – Song.mp3
Where the music should be saved to on your phone
Which playlists you want to synchronise with your phone
That’s about all there is to it. It really couldn’t be easier. Further instructions on how to use it can be found on the iTunes Agent support website.
Again, a very simple and easy to use application, that will install scripts that will automatically sync your music when your phone is connected, without the need to launch a separate application.
Once installed, you’ll need to change some of the preferences to tell it where to save the music to on your phone, whether to autosync or not and what type of files you want to synchronise. (Movies, Podcasts, MP3 etc..)
You can use a combination of playlists and smart playlists, and iTuneMyWalkman will transfer over as much music as your phone will hold, or up to a threshold that you choose.
As with the Windows version, this really couldn’t be any easier, and this will work with all phones that can be connected via USB.
If you have a Nokia N-Series device, you may also want to check out Nokia Multimedia Transfer for Mac. This software is currently in Beta, but will also allow you to sync your photo’s with iPhoto, as well as sync your music and playlists over Bluetooth and USB.
One thing to bear in mind with both of these applications, is that they will delete any music off your phone the first time that they sync. So if you have purchased or downloaded an music files on your phone that you don’t have on your PC, you’ll need to back these up or send them to your PC before you start.
Since Apple launched their original iPod back in October 2001, the range has grown and evolved. Although iPod’s look fairly similar, each one is individual, and has its own range of accessories. Here you can determine which iPod you have, and find out what accessories are available for it.
What does the “G” mean? When Apple launched the early iPod’s, they weren’t given names like they are today. The original iPod was replaced by a newer model also called iPod. As the newer model had several advanced features over its predecessor, it was dubbed the new generation of iPod, this over time change to 2nd Generation, which in turn got shortened to 2G.
The number preceding the “G” just determines where that particular model sits in the range of iPods. Even now with the Nano iPod, we are seeing 2nd and 3rd Generation models. The original style of iPod is now called the iPod Classic, and no doubt as time goes on, more generations will follow. The only exception to this is the iPhone 3G, where the 3G refers to the technology within the phone, and not the generation of iPhone.
Parrot have just announced a fantastic new range of in-car handsfree kits. The MKi range is a unique Bluetooth hands-free car kit that can be fitted to most vehicles. It combines the latest communication technologies with a full set of services dedicated to music and are fully compatible with all iPod’s. There are three versions of the MKi Kit, all based on the same setup. The Parrot MKi kits connect to your car audio system and deliver hi-quality conversations whatever the conditions are. All versions of the MKi offer self-learning voice recognition, contact search and text-to speech and come with a multi-functional remote that you can use to answer calls, adjust the volume and control your music. Parrot are also due to launch a new, optional MultiCAN accessory that will allow you to use steering-mounted controls to handle calls where applicable.
The Parrot MKi9000 features an external double microphone and new software which eliminates environmental and in-car noises with full-duplex and zero-echo crystal clear conversations. It includes an independent RF remote control which enables you to take complete control at the touch of a button. The MKi system is supplied with a music cable which enables you to connect your music player via USB or using a 3.5mm cable. The MKi9000 also supports streaming music over Bluetooth from any A2DP enabled device. Order the Parrot MKi9000.
The Parrot MKi9100 has the same specifications as the MKi9000, but with the addition of a blue OLED display screen that lets you see the callers name and number when receiving a call. When you connect your music player to the MKi9100 using USB or Bluetooth and the MKi9100 will display the track title and artist on the screen. The Display screen can be removed easily for added security. Order the Parrot MKi9100.
The Parrot MKi9200 supports all the features on the MKi9000, with the addition of a 2.4 inch colour screen. With the colour screen you can assign photos to contacts, set a background wallpaper, see playlists and album covers. The display screen also has a built in SDHC Memory Card reader, supporting memory cards upto 32GB – completely eliminating the need for a seperate music player. Simply store all the music you want on your memory card, and play it directly from the MKi9200. Order the Parrot MKi9200.
If you’re looking at getting a car kit, don’t forget to check out our guide on Car Kit accessories.
I was happy to see this morning that I had a visitor on my desk. His name is Android (Andy for short), and he’s got a pretty sweet gig as the mascot for Google’s mobile OS.
Want one of your own?
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