Podcast Release: Faster Broadband, iPad and weatherstations

Show 48 of FrequencyCast is out now

FrequencyCast is the UK's TV and Tech podcast, and in this show, we look at faster broadband from BT, the Apple iPad awe get hands on with a new micro-PC and media streamer.

All of our shows are free, and you can download today's at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html.

If you have an iPod or iPhone, get shows faster by signing up via iTunes.

Comments on the show, subject suggestions, and your questions, are always welcomed!

Share and Enjoy,


The FrequencyCast team
www.frequencycast.co.uk

Apple iPad announcement

Apple has just wrapped up their announcement of the long-expected iPad. It's essentially a large iPhone. Here's a summary:

• Screen: 9.7inch multitouch


• Battery: 10 hours


• Price: $499 for the 16GB version (appox £310).


• Availability: 60 days for wi-fi version in the US - longer for 3G. "International" expected June/July 2010


• Dataplans: 250Meg a month on AT&T or $29.99 for unlimited data (AT&T)


• Extras: iBooks eBook reader and store, iWorks (presentations, Word and Excel), plus a keyboard docking station for your desk

Navigation same as iPod Touch / iPhone

Sadly, no announcement of iPhone 4.0 OS.

Who should be worried: Netbook manufacturers, Sony (eBook Reader) and Amazon (Kindle).

It'll be several months before this hits the UK. If UK iPad were to be priced as per US AT&T offering, the basic Apple iPad would be £310 on a £9.30 a month contract. No chance of us here in the UK getting such a good deal for this, of course.

BT rolls out up to 40 Meg broadband

BT has today launched their new "BT Infinity" product (cue Buzz Lightyear jokes...)

BT Infinity is BT's fibre optic broadband service and offers customers speeds of up to 40 Meg (for downloads) and 10 Meg for uploads.

Prices: £19.99 (20 Gig a month download) or £24.99 (unlimited download)

Installation: Free installation. An engineer will need to call to hook you up to the fibre optic network. You'll be provided with a BT Infinity Home Hub and a vDSL modem fibre optic modem

By the end of this year 4 million homes and businesses will be able to access the service

BT customers have been trialling the service in Muswell Hill, Whitchurch and Glasgow Halfway, but from today the service is being rolled out across the UK as the network is upgraded. BT estimates that up to 4 million homes and businesses will be able to benefit by December 2010.

To check if you're able to get speeds of up to 40 Mbps, put your phone number and postcode into the BT Infinity Availability checker.

Is this the answer to poor mobile phone coverage?

If you're not able to get a strong Vodafone signal where you live, you may be pleased to know that Vodafone offer a solution. Known as a Femtocell, this is a box that plugs into your fixed broadband connection and uses the Internet to provide you with your own mobile phone base station.

Vodafone launched this last year, and are the only UK network to offer such a solution. This month, Vodafone has relaunched the product with a new name, Sure Signal, and a new pricing structure - A one-off £50 to those spending over £25 a month with Voda.

Guy Laurence, the Vodafone UK Chief Exec had this to say: "No other network in the UK can ensure a great mobile phone signal in the home, because the Sure Signal is unique to Vodafone. Customers tell us it is life changing. If they live or work in a basement for example, the only way they may be able to get consistent mobile coverage could be with a Vodafone Sure Signal."

For a quick overview on how these work, see the following videoclip from Vodafone:

More details on our Mobile Phone Signal Boosters page or at vodafone.co.uk/suresignal.

imax mini UK review online

Trapped indoors by at least 2 inches of show has focussed our PC reviewer to crack on with a review of the Packard Bell imax mini.

This is a small but impressive micro (a.k.a. nettop) PC that sits quietly on a desk or in a lounge behaving just like a larger PC - top selling points are the size, ergonomics, quietness and low price point.

If you're considering getting a second PC - perhaps to run auxiliary tasks in your home office, or as a lounge-based PC media centre, then this could be for you. With 6 USB sockets, an HDMI port for connection to a high definition TV, and a version of Microsoft's new Windows 7 Home Premium, this is a tasty bit of kit that we've enjoyed reviewing.

The Packard Bell imax mini is available now from PC World - and you can see our review with pictures now at www.filesaveas.com/imaxmini.html

Tiscali Broadband - Time to switch?

On the 7th of January 2010, existing Tiscali Broadband, Phone and TV customers will find themselves switched over to TalkTalk.

This follows last year's acquision of Tiscali by the Carphone Warehouse.

Current Tiscali customers that only use Broadband will find that their monthly bill will rise from £14.99 a month to £19.99 a month, unless they start using TalkTalk's home phone service too. TalkTalk are also keen to lock you into an 18 month contract.

If you're with Tiscali, you might want to start considering some of the cheaper alternatives to get a better deal.

Plusnet is offering three months free broadband to Tiscali customers who switch between now and the 31st of January 2010. To take advantage of this offer, go to Plusnet Tiscali Switch and use the special promotion code tiscalisave on the payment details screen.

Alternatively, there's BE Broadband's basic service for £7.50 a month. Details: Be Broadband

Free Electricity Monitor

Do your bit, for free! Energy provider npower is offering new customers a free energy meter, for a limited time.

If you're not familiar with energy meters, they connect (safely) to your electricity meter, and provide you with real-time information, in pounds and pence, on how much energy you're consuming. A great way to educate you on how to save power, keep your bills down, and do your bit for the planet. More on power meters.

This is an exclusive online deal only, and will only run for a limited time. Details can be found at the npower Energy Monitor Offer page.

December Podcast released

We've just released our December 2009 podcast, FrequencyCast.

In this new show, we look at wireless hotspots, a new desktop companion and a magic wand. We also run down the latest digital TV and technology headlines and answer your emails, texts and podline calls.

If you've not tried FrequencyCast yet, please give us a try. Our shows are free, and we rely of feedback from our listeners

You can listen online or download the latest show direct to your MP3 player at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html

Got iTunes? Add FrequencyCast to iTunes.

We hope you enjoy our latest show.

RedLaser barcode scanning iPhone app ruined

Use the RedLaser barcode scanning application on your iPhone? Be warned - don't upgrade to the new version that was unleashed today.

RedLaser is an iPhone app that scans a product's barcode, performs a lookup online, and gives you a price comparison. It quickly climbed to the top of the iPhone paid app charts and was an incredibly useful app. Our tech podcast team even rated this as one of the top must-have iPhone apps (see the transcript)

Occipital, producers of the top-rated RedLaser barcode scanning software have replaced the Amazon and Google search engines with the find.com product search engine. It's not clear whether they've done this for legal or financial reasons, but the practical upshot, at least for us in the UK, is that this formerly excellent app has been killed by the switch to find.com in the v2.5 release of RedLaser.

Here's a 'before' and 'after' screenshot:

RedLaser - Before

RedLaser - After

From 24 matches, to just one.

We're also now seeing prices popping up in dollars instead of pounds:



The advice is - don't upgrade! If you have upgraded, you may be able to roll back to v2.2, but only if you installed the upgrade direct onto your iPhone and not via iTunes. To roll back, uninstall RedLaser from your iPhone, then perform a sync with iTunes. While conected to iTunes, go to Devices, select your iPhone, go into Applications, tick RedLaser and Sync your applications. The backed-up application will then be restored to you iPhone - You'' then have to remember not to install the update until the developers release a working application.

Affected? Disappointed? Add a comment below, review RedLaser on iTunes or contact Occipital

Here's hoping Occipital bow to pressure and the negative iTunes reviews they're getting, and restore this app to its former glory.

Sky to end Mobile TV Nokia application

It seems that Sky is about to turn off their 'Sky Anytime' mobile TV service.

Two of our team have received the following text message today from Sky:

"We regret to say our Sky App will no longer work from 29 Nov. If you have Mob TV you can still watch via VF Live. For our latest Mob services visit sky.com"

The Sky mobile application was available for a number of handsets, most commonly the Nokia Series 60 range, and allowed users to view news and sports content, watch some of Sky's shows from their mobile and 'remote record' programmes on their Sky+ recorders on the move.

From what we've seen on the Sky website, it looks like Sky TV applications for the Apple iPhone, available from the App Store, continue to be offered.

Update: From reading online discussions, it seems there's some confusion due to the way Sky's message has been worded. Will the entire app be terminated, or is it just the live TV component of the application that will end. Some are wondering if the Remote Record facility will be removed altogether, which seems unlikely.

We'll update this post if we get any news.

World's Biggest Secret Santa!

Gadget site Firebox.com are trying to set a record - the World's Biggest Secret Santa... and why not?

The premise is simple - pick a gadget, add a personalised message, pay a few quid, and someone, somewhere in the world will get your gift. In return, you'll get a gift and a message back.

No, it's not some dodgy pyramid scheme - it's a genuine world record attempt, and you'll get a mystery gadget. Interested? FileSaveAs.com is taking part... why don't you?

For full details, and to send your Secret Santa, slide over to the Firebox Secret Santa site.

TomTom iPhone app updated

TomTom has released an updated version of the TomTom iPhone application for the UK and Europe. The update to v1.2 is available via iTunes now, and offers:

• Updated maps (v8.3 to v8.5), POI, cameras and IQ Routes


• Text-to-speech road name announcements


• Added Advanced Lane Guidance


• Customisable audio warnings for cameras / speed limits

We've seen reports that come users are seeing crashes after upgrading to this version - the official advice for those hit by this are to delete the application from your iPhone, then re-install from iTunes.

We have a review of the TomTom iPhone app, plus our 'best buy', the CoPilot app, on our iPhone SatNav Review page.

Nintendo Wii gets iPlayer

From today, the BBC iPlayer is available as a dedicated channel for the Nintendo Wii.

To add the channel, go to the Shopping channel on your Wii, and look for the BBC iPlayer channel. It's free, and lets you access BBC TV and radio shows from the last seven days, streamed over your Broadband connection.


BBC iPlayer on the Wii

Joggler price slashed

o2 has today slashed £50 off the price of their home communication device, the o2 Joggler.

Previously on sale for £149.99, it's now just below the £100 mark, and at that price, it's well worth a look. If you're not that familiar with a Joggler, it's a wi-fi enabled device that is a cross between a digital photo frame, media player, family diary, digital radio and a news/sport/weather/travel update service.

Dropping below the £100 price bracket for this device is a smart move from o2, especially in the run-up to Christmas. Seems it's only at this price until 31st December 2009.

Details on the o2 Joggler site, or on our Joggler Reviewed section.

Nintendo Wii to get BBC iPlayer channel

The popular BBC iPlayer on-demand TV service is coming to the Nintendo Wii on the 18th of November.

You'll be able to download BBC iPlayer as a dedicated channel, available from the Nintendo shop. The channel will be free.

It's been possible to watch the on-demand content via the Opera web browser, but the quality wasn't great. The new dedicated iPlayer channel should offer a higher-quality viewing experience, and adds to the ways that you can watch BBC's on demand content. More on BBC iPlayer

50% off o2 Mobile Broadband

For the next few days, you can pick up one of o2's Mobile Broadband dongles for half-price - Just £14.67.

The o2 USB dongle is a contract-free way of adding mobile Internet to your laptop. Full details of how to use the dongle on our o2 Mobile Broadband page.

The o2 Mobile Broadband USB dongle - only £14.67 if you order online before 24th November 2009 at broadband.o2.co.uk/mobile

o2 Joggler Internet Radio

o2 is in the process of rolling out a new version of firmware to add Internet radio to their o2 Joggler device.

Our office Joggler automatically downloaded a new version of firmware yesterday, but all didn't go well, rendering our Joggler dead.

We've now managed to revive the Joggler, but when we check for a new version of firmware, we're told that we have the latest, version 6853.

At least one other Joggler user's had the update, but according to his post in the o2 Forum, it's slowed down his Joggler.

Anyone else out there with an o2 Joggler? Any luck in getting the latest version of firmware?

Windows 7 Launches

Windows 7, Microsoft's attempt to recover face after the generally unpopular Vista, launched today, the 22nd October 2009.

The new operating system offers a number of user interface changes, including the ability to interact with thumbnail previews, improved app maximising and tiling, aero shake to clear your desktop, faster access to common files with Jump List plus easier home network setup. Improved touchscreen support has been added, and there's also a Windows XP mode for those running older software apps.

Shoudl you want to upgrade to 7, you can upgrade to Home Premium from £65. At the top end, Windows 7 Ultimate normally retails for £230, but is on Amazon for £158. Windows 7 on Amazon.

iPhone OS 3.1.2 released

Apple's just released an upgrade for iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS users.

iPhone OS 3.1.2 fixes an issue where iPhone doesn't wake from sleep, an issue that may interupt network connectivity and occasional crashed during video streaming.

Update (a whopping 242 Meg!) is now available via iTunes.

Portable Wi-fi Base Stations now available

At last, you can now get a wi-fi base station in your pocket.

If you're out-and-about and need mobile Internet, there have been three options open to you: Use a mobile phone, get a USB mode for you laptop, or hope you're in range of a wi-fi hotspot.

Now, there's a fourth option - a portable wi-fi access point. UK Network Operator 3 has now launched "MiFi", a mobile Wi-fi service. The modem, a Huawei E5830 pictured to the right, is a 3G modem that gets a mobile broadband connection from the 3 network, then turns it into a wi-fi signal that any wi-fi device can find and use for Internet connection.

The modem costs a one-off £70, and £15 a month will get you 5Gigs of download allowance. There's no long-term contract - it's a rolling monthly contract.

More details on our new Mobile Wi-fi page, or at 3's MiFi website