Now I’m sure that all those of you reading have succumb to the pain of smartphone battery impotence, I know I have. If you’re a regular user social media along with a cocktail of location sucking data and interspersions of Draw Something then you’ll probably be suffering power meter droop before the end of the day. So what’s the solution? An extra battery right? Well, right. But I’ve tried a few in my time. The last being one from Kingston for my 3GS but it was cumbersome and ugly and when I upgraded to my 4S it wasn’t compatible so an alternative had to be found.

Last month I was lucky enough to visit the Gadget Show Live and extended batteries were in my sights (as well as the sight of Suzi Perry in hot pants). All I found were replications of everything that had come before. Cumbersome, ineffective travesties that really didn’t suit my needs. What I needed was something with and edge, and then I found it, the  Mi Suny iPower 4.

So what is it? Well obviously it’s a battery but its edge is that it fits over your iPhone like a glove. Fair enough it adds a fair bit of bulk to your super slim unit but the advantages are endless (although I did find it really comfortable in the hand and you can still even use the camera while charging). First of it will provide you with and extra 5.3 hours of talk time and over 45 hours of cheesy tunes.

But it’s edge is the solar panel on the back of the unit. Yes all you tree huggers, clean energy for your iPhone. On the back of the iPower 4 is the key to free charging. All you do is leave it in the sun all day and then before you go to hit the sack slip in your iPhone and hey presto you can begin feeling good about yourself for making that little change.

It’s been an amazing addition and has made long trips less of a stress because I no longer have to worry about getting cut off. It works with iPhone 4 and 4S and there is even a version for the 3GS.

Now when I said that this review took a little while in coming was due to the fact the on one of the units that I purchased there was an issue with the solar panel but the chaps at Mi Suny have been awesome and have sent out a replacement so as well as an excellent product, excellent customer service and really friendly bunch of chaps  too.

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Measuring in at only 190mm x 135mm this unit may just be the compact Media Centre solution you’ve been looking for. At work we’ve actually been using them as print servers but finally I’ve got my hands on one to set up with an HD display and now that I’ve looked into its ultimate capabilities I’m really, really impressed with what it can do.

Sporting a dual core AMD processor it’s pretty snappy. It’s not going to set the world on fire but as a Media Centre server it’s perfectly adequate especially with 4GB of RAM as standard. You can also enjoy full 1080p video with AMD Radeon HD 6310 Graphics to match.

Other vital stats include a 500GB hard drive to store all of those movies and music on, 6 USB ports (2 of which being USB3), SD Card reader, DVI/VGA input and of course the vital HDMI. It also comes with wired and wireless networking so it can go anywhere. Saying that the best thing about it is that the stand that accompanies the unit can screw to the back of a TV or monitor which is a real plus, also it looks pretty stylish if you don’t want to hide it.

Out of the box it doesn’t actually come with an OS but I ran it up with Windows 7 64 bit today and it worked like a dream but I do have it on good authority that it doesn’t run XP too well down to driver issues. Although if you don’t want to fork out for expensive Microsoft licenses then there are so many free Linux Media Centre solutions out there.

Now at £289.99 this is a pretty sweet deal. Apart from being a great media centre it would still just be a great desktop PC for general web browsing, email and productivity so there is something here for anyone.

A real little treat.

Related posts:

1. Build a media centre for peanuts

Dropbox

The original and in most people’s eyes the best. Dropbox was the original thumb drive in the sky. Somewhere where you could access you files from anywhere. It was a golden age and there was a real buzz about it. The theory behind Dropbox was sound, download the software, set up an account and a folder would be created on your PC or Mac of which anything you placed inside it would be synced to the cloud and could be accessed from any computer with the client and your credentials. You could even access your files via the Dropbox web site for ultimate convenience. It also boasts iOS and Android apps as a bonus and is an all round good egg.

There was a little controversy last year when they accidently removed the need for a password on everyone’s account and a change in the end user license agreement that said that they now owned and could you use your data stored on their servers. Personally I don’t really use Dropbox to store any vital or personal information and I don’t believe that it is an ideal solution for a permanent cloud backup solution, it’s just good as a place to access all those handy files and information that you may need on a day to day basis or a means to move large files from one machine to another.

Dropbox comes with 2GB as standard with a means to claim additional free space as well a series of payment options for higher space quotas.

SkyDrive

Now I got turned on to Microsoft’s cloud offering SkyDrive a number of years ago simply as the free storage they offered topped 25GB. In those days it was only accessible via your web browser and really wasn’t that much use. However as time went on a number of people came up with ways to map it as a network drive but with the arrival and ease of use of Dropbox it became apparent that I wasn’t willing to hack my way to my cloud storage so SkyDrive quickly faded from my memory. But now it’s back and it’s all fancy. This time it comes with an app for Windows, iOS and Mac which works pretty much in the same way as Dropbox. Since installing it on my PC I’ve found it a joy to use and because of the extra generous allowance of storage I may think about moving to it permanently.

Please do note though that the 25GB of store is only available to those which previous Microsoft/Hotmail accounts although those who sign up now will still be treated to 7GB which is still ahead of any of its competitors.

Google Drive

Now this is the newest contender to the ring although has been something that has been in development for some time now. Google Drive pretty much does the same as Dropbox and SkyDrive in that it offers cloud storage and it has an app for Windows, Macs and Android but presently not iOS although this is promised to be ready very soon. The difference though is that it syncs your Google docs which is handy for me as I have a few of those, in fact this is meant to replace what Google Docs has been doing for years. So if you want to create or edit documents on the move and you don’t have access to an office suite this is very handy indeed.

The initial free space they throw your way is 5GB which isn’t bad and the price tiers for additional storage are very reasonable indeed. It will be good to see how this service develops over the next few months to keep up with the competition.

Whatever your preference the fact that all three services can be tried for free gives you the freedom to see what works best for you. What have you got to lose?

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1. Amazon Cloud Player launches
2. Moving to the cloud
3. The Twins Have Arrived

Basically all it does is to install some remote software on your PC that will allow you to log at any time (as long as the PC is turned on) and it couldn’t be simpler.

Firstly head on over to the LogMeIn web site and set up an account. There is a Pro version which you have to pay for if you’re some sort of hardcore or enterprise remote user (for which there is a trial version) but for now we’ll concentrate on the free version. So once you have your account you need to install the LogMeIn client which is available for both Mac and PC. Once installed you verify your account details for LogMeIn and set up a security code for that computer for that extra level of security and you’re done.

Now this is where the beauty of LogMeIn makes everything magic. So if you want to access your computer from another Mac or PC desktop or laptop you install the same piece of software and verify it and you then have access to all the computers you have set up to share. Even better there’s apps for iOS and Android so you can connect via your phone or tablet. But probably the best feature of all is the fact that you can actually access your computers via your web browser without installing any software whatsoever. Just log in to the LogMeIn web site and Bob’s your uncle you can do everything through there.

I’ve been using it for a few days now and there’s nothing more liberating that logging in to my home media server and setting up my movie and video downloads so that I can enjoy them when I get home.

Honestly even a rabid monkey could set this up without any issue and I suggest that everyone gives it a go!!!

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Taskbar Eliminator

I don’t know if you’ve experienced similar issues when using full screen programs but recently I’ve been getting very annoyed with the Windows taskbar. I use a Home Theater PC (HTPC) connected to my TV as my primary source for entertainment. Running Windows Media Center takes care of most of my needs: TV, Movies, Picture viewing, Music etc… However there are always other programs I want to run or videos I watch online; it goes without saying that videos in particular are best viewed full screen.

Over the last few months I’ve noticed that when using the full screen feature of web-players or Media Player the taskbar’s always been on top, obscuring the video, which after a while get’s really annoying! I know what you’re thinking, why don’t I use the Auto-Hide feature of the taskbar? Well, because it doesn’t really hide the taksbar, it effectively compresses it into a thin bar, just a few pixels high, but it still sits on top!

Searching for a solution on the Microsoft forums yielded little results, although one post did lead me on to this nifty little app: Taskbar Eliminator.

This freeware program does what should be built-in to Windows, with a quick key press [Alt-T] you can completely remove the taskbar! Another [Alt-T] key press restores it – awesome!

If you, like me are annoyed with the Windows taskbar, install this program and enjoy fullscreen apps and video as they’re supposed to be:

http://www.aviassin.com/taskbareliminator

Jim
HTPC & WMC Enthusiast

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Now this was my first trip to GSL and it didn’t disappoint. Fair enough the 5am alarm wasn’t welcomed, neither was the long haul coach drive but once we arrived it was a gadget porn experience that no family filter could ever withstand.

After the initial rush of getting into the show we were immediately herded into the Super Theatre for the Gadget Show Live experience with the Jason, Suzi, Polly, Ortis and John. We were treated to a gadge-fest of 3D projection, the world’s biggest Kinect, robot birds, a laser man, video remixers, helicopter carnage and a race around the Super Theatre that had me laughing my arse off.

It did seem strange with the recent announcement that Ortis Deeley, Suzi Perry and Jon Bently would not be joining the Gadget Show in 2012 in favour of the new Gadget Show World Tour starring Jason Bradbury and Polyanna Woodward so I felt as though I was witnessing the end of an era then I was glad to be a part of it. I have to say that if the live show was the only reason that you traded in cold hard cash for the event then it was well worth it.

Out on the show floor it was pretty much what you’d expect. The great and the good of the tech world were there to wow you with their shininess and to ply you with freebies, well, how many rubber wristbands can a human being possibly ever need? I was most impressed with the Samsung and Nvidia stands and yes that was due to the quality of the bags of crap they were giving out. Although you did have to sell your soul in that you had publicly like their stuff on Facebook and once you’d proven that you’d sold your soul they gave up the booty. Apologies to my friends for the bombardment of unnecessary corporate sellout messages.

If you ever get the chance to go I wouldn’t hesitate but I do recommend that you leave your credit cards at home.

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If you’ve been living under a rock since the development of the very first microchip then you cannot have missed my passion and previous ramblings of the Bagel Tech Network. But like Jif to Cif, Opal Fruits to Starburst and Marathon to Snickers all great brands go through a rebirth and this is no exception. The Bagel Tech Network is now The British Tech Network which is totally appropriate as this network celebrates all that is great in tech with a British tech perspective as well as a few other shows that will turn your head. So if you haven’t be converted already what the fook are you waiting for. You will seriously love this!

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2.Challenge me on Draw Something for iOS and Android. My username is paulums.

3. If you’re using VLC Player check for updates as there’s a newer cooler version out there.

4. Backup all the settings on your Android device using Backup Master.

5. Map Microsoft’s SkyDrive as a local drive and get 25GB of cloud storage accessible from all your PC’s.

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Now to be fair my observations of Apple’s new tablet did take place in my local Apple Store with the help of my daughter so the opinions in this post are not just those of myself but by an innocent bystander with a more neutral view of the world of tech.

Now the first thing that you notice and something that cannot be ignored is the new retina display. And like everyone in the media has expressed as well as new iPad owners is that the the screen really is something to behold. It is truly beautiful. I don’t think that there is anything on this earth that could prepare you for how crisp and amazing it looks. It’s literally like a glowing sheet of paper and the closest that an LCD screen has ever come to replicating the feel of E ink. Performance wise I can’t really tell much difference compared to the iPad 2 but I’m sure that you’d notice the power of the new A5X chip if you fire up the latest graphically intensive app release.

Now I was almost sold until I picked it up. All the reviews that I’ve read had hinted that the iPad was slightly thicker and heavier than its predecessor which is mainly due to the enhanced battery required to run the new graphics processor and awesome screen but when I did turn it over I got the feeling it is was just that little bit too fat. The reason that I upgraded from the iPad 1 to the iPad 2 was mostly due to the weight of the device. I found the original iPad a little bulky to use at length but the iPad 2 made it a joy to use on a regular basis so foregoing the droolingly lovely screen I cannot see any reason to pay out this year for the latest, greatest release. If you’re an iPad 1 owner and you want to go up a level then go for it. If you’re an iPad 2 user then there is very little performance wise to sway you and hey the screen on the last gen unit really aint that bad.

I think that the next iPad will be the one to get as I’m sure Apple will be able to pack the screen and performance of the current model into something a little sleeker. But hey that’s just my opinion. If you haven’t seen the new iPad then I suggest you at least give it a whirl.

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No time frame have been announced for when it’s going to be released but with built in modem and real time server rendering of the maps this is certainly going to be an impressive undertaking. Gotcha!

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