Our lads have just completed their hands-on review of the Novatel Wireless MiFi 2352.

See our review here: Novatel MiFi 2352 UK Review

Could this be the purrfect phone?

It makes such a change for us to read through the spec sheet for a new phone, and raise a smile – this new phone, from the sports folk at Puma, promises to be a little different.

Aimed at us healthy folk, the PUMAPHONE is a keep-fit phone with an analogue stopwatch, GPS running tracker, a GPS bike speedometer, a walking pedometer and a yachting compass (of course).

Next we found one of those “why didn’t I think of that” features – the back of the phone has an integral solar cell, to allow charging from the sun.

There are also some fun apps too – including on-demand digital cat (no, we were confused too) as well as a sarcastic calculator – expect to be told off if you try “1+2=”. There’s also a scratching DJ turntable to allow you to play with your music collection.

A stylish-looking red user interface and a large dollop of quirkiness could just make this phone a hit.

The PUMAPHONE, made by Sagem, should be available in the UK from April 2010. No news on price, but Puma, if you’re reading… please let us review this for you!

When it comes to Mobile Internet, o2’s fastest for music downloads in the UK, and fastest work web pages in London, at least according to a recent survey by network measurement specialists Siroda (and verified by the British Approvals Board for Telecommunications)

Tests were completed in 150 locations in the UK at peak periods over 60 days. Cities covered included London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield.

Bottom of the heap for download speeds was Orange and worst performer for web pages was 3. As well as o2, Vodafone showed itself to be a solid Mobile Internet provider in these tests.

See the report in full, or find out more about Mobile Broadband in the UK

Fancy two free SIM cards with unlimited Skype-to-Skype?

3 are offering each household two free SIM cards with free Skype-to-Skype calls and free Windows Live messenger chats. You don’t even need to top up the SIM to get these benefits.

If you do top up your SIM, you also get free text messages, free Internet access, free calls to other 3 mobile phones and free voicemail.

Want your free SIM cards? Get them today while this offer lasts: 3 SIM card offer

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 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 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.

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.

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

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