New Washing Machine

You never know how important something is until you lose it or in our case, it stops working. As you might have guessed from the title, we got ourselves a spanking new washing machine. The 2nd hand Zanussi we had been using for over two years now finally gave up. It was strange because all the lights were on, water was still going in and out and it was making the right noises but the cylinder inside was not spinning.

The clothes started piling up and we even had to wash a few loads at our friends' houses. Thanks Nana, Roby. Did some research on the net and we finally decided on the Hotpoint AQGMD129 Washer Dryer. We decided on this particular model because it has an A energy rating (the most efficient) and a capacity of 8Kg. Another important feature we were looking at was the child lock - absolutely essential because we have a son who loves electronic gadgets with buttons and flashing lights (like father like son, I guess).

We bought the Washer Dryer from TDA - Appliance Bargains. It cost us £397.89 including delivery charges and cost of disposing our old washer dryer. In Argos, the same machine costs £623.59 (with delivery).

They delivered it yesterday. Was a bit annoyed when the delivery guys just wanted to leave it outside. In the end, after some persuasion, they did bring it in to the kitchen. They were surprised when we told them that they were supposed to dispose of our old one as well. Had to call up their office who apparently had made a mistake. They are going to pick it the old washer tomorrow. What a waste of time and fuel.

Fitting everything took me over 2 hours. Mostly due to the fact that the machine was so damn heavy. Removal of the four transit bolts and rubber bush at the rear itself took half an hour. I have no idea why they have to make it so difficult for customers.

Had to put bricks underneath because of the skirting on the wall and somehow push the machine in to the narrow space.

Just take a look at the space I had to fit it in and you will understand why it took us so much time.


Soon had it up and running. The best part is that it is so quiet that I had to check to make sure that the thing was actually working.

We love our new Washer Dryer.

3 Dongle dangled

Take a look at what came via the post yesterday.

I am a satisfied 3 Skypephone user and had been thinking about signing up for their mobile broadband service after reading about it. Just imagine my delight when I was offered the opportunity to try it out for FREE for 3 months with absolutely no data restrictions.

The free gifts that came with the "dongle" was completely unexpected. I don't mind - I love free stuff.

Anyway, the dongle is actually a Huawei E169G USB Modem and looks like a bit like a normal USB flash drive.





Before using it, you have to take out the USIM card holder and insert the USIM card. Stick the dongle into one of your laptop's USB ports.



The modem software installs automatically. Once installed, all I have to do is click "Connect" on the pop-up screen and I am done - mobile broadband Internet access.

Over the next three months, I will be testing out the modem from various locations in the UK. Look out for more reviews and technical details on my tech blog Adamok dot net.

Thanks to Sam and the other guys at 3mobilebuzz for giving me the opportunity to try out the modem and of course, the other freebies.

3 Skypephone competition

I lot of guys have been asking me about the 3 Skypephones. Well I have some great news from you. The guys at 3mobilebuzz.com are running a competition. The winner stand to win not one but three 3 Skypephones, the second place gets two and third place gets one.

Also, two devices will be awarded to the blog that refers the winning entry. So, I may win too if you name me as your referrer.

All you have to do is say why you want a 3 Skypephone – and this is not limited to bloggers. It can be a forum thread, a webpage, a set on Flickr or even a YouTube video. Check out the the clip below:

It depends on your creativity. However, the content should be original.

Finally, one more thing - don't forget to inform Jack (the hallowed keeper of prizes, enforcer of rules and judge of all) about your entry by emailing him at Jack@3mobilebuzz.com

The deadline for submissions is midday on Monday 17th December

Check out the post on the 3mobilebuuz.com site for more details: "3mobilebuzz is running a competition!"

Two 3 Skypephones

Look what arrived through the post yesterday:

Not one ...


but two 3 Skypephones.


One is white while the other one is black. These are among the first 3 Skpyephones to be issued and I will be trying them out for a month.

The phone comes with Skype built in. That means that I can make (and receive) Skype calls to (and from) anyone in the World for free. This 3G phone has a 2 megapixel camera, bluetooth and came with a 256MB micro SD memory card. It was quite easy to use but I haven't tried all the functions as yet.

I will write an in-depth review of the phone later in my SEO Expert blog.




In the dark.

The phone was designed by UK mobile operator 3 and Chinese mobile manufacturer Amoi and built by the later.

You can get the phone for free with a monthly contract (minimum £12/ month plan) or for £59.99 £49.99 on "Pay as you go" (or £59.99 with £10 starter top-up).

Thanks to Matt from 3mobilebuzz.com.

Update: Matt writes that the phone retails at £49.99. Sorry about that.
Actually, I got the info from the 3 Store site. Seems that they have updated the info now.

8GB memory card for mobile phones

It's amazing how the mobile phone has evolved. I still remember the days when businessmen used to carry those early huge brick sized gadgets - they were among the only people who could afford them.

Now, it has become more than just a device for making and receiving calls, it has become a personal lifestyle statement. People now use a mobile to take pictures, listen to music, play games and for surfing the net - the so called "Mobile Lifestyle".

In fact, they have become miniature computers. And with all the music, image and data files that gets accumulated over time, the demand for storage solutions for mobile devices has grown.

Those who require huge amount of storage space for their mobile devices might be happy to learn about the new Sandisk 8GB Microsdhc. Read the press release below for more details.

SanDisk microSDHC™ 8GB
SDSDQR-8192

SanDisk is proud to announce our newest format and capacity to the SD card family: microSD High Capacity (microSDHC) 8GB flash card. Included as bonus is our new MobileMate™ Micro Reader (SDHC compatible) providing users with a complete and versatile solution for transferring music, video, photos and other files between their mobile devices and computers.

Features:

High storage capacity (8GB) for storing essential digital content such as high quality photos, videos, music and more
Optimal speed and performance for microSDHC compatible devices
Speed performance rating: Class 4 (based on SD 2.00 Specification)
High Quality microSDHC card backed by 5 year limited warranty
Built to last, with an operating shock rating of 2,000Gs, equivalent to a ten-foot drop **
SanDisk microSDHC 8GB card ships with Bonus MobileMate™ Micro Reader
High speed USB 2.0 compatible transfer rates
No additional card adapters required
Compatible with Windows Vista and certified for Windows XP and Mac OS X
Not all devices support microSDHC 8GB cards. Please contact your device manufacturer for details. To ensure compatibility, look for the microSDHC logo on the product or packaging of your new phone or PDA.

Search for the best cameraphone photographer

A friend of mine was showing me his latest Sony Ericsson phone that comes with an amazing 3.2-megapixel camera, complete with with auto focus and flash. It has promptly been added to my "object of desire" list.

Taking about Sony Ericsson phones, have you heard about "The Search" site. They are on the look for the cameraphone photographer of the year 2007. This site allows you to upload the cameraphone images to the voting gallery.

You can choose to put your images in any of the three categories, namely Fashion, Adventure and News & Sports. They have amazing prizes for each category. For example, in the 'Adventure' category, the winner stands to win an all expenses paid trip around the world. Isn't that amazing?

Lot of phones going to be homeless after the iPhone comes out

A recent survey report states that one-in-four (26%) potential smart phone purchasers say they’ll opt for the iPhone when it comes out. It's not surprising and I may be one of those guys.

There are loads of funny videos on the iPhone doing the rounds of YouTube now. I thought this one was hilarious.



My old Motorola might be hitting the road too. For iPhone Review and Video visit the site Whatgoodisyouroldphone.com

iPod video converter

If you ask any teenager, what's the coolest gadget around, I am sure that 9 out of 10 are going to name the iPod. It has got to be the most innovative and popular gadget of the decade. Yeah! I am an iPod enthusiast and my fav model has to be the iPod Video. Why? Because not only can I listen to music on the go. I can also play games, view photos and watch movies. Now, some people may argue that the screen is too small, sound quality is not good, blah! blah! Well! many iPod user have a hifi at home too.

Anyway, talking about watching movies on the iPod, have you ever wanted to convert your favourite DVDs and family videos for watching on the iPod. Well, now you can make iPod movies using the iPod Video Converter software from PQDVD.

Use it to convert a dvd or video files into the iPod format. Move the converted file into your iTune library and sync with your iPod. Right now they are offering a free trial of the software. However, you have to pay US$39.95 to unlimited conversions.

Free handphones with T-mobile and Wirefly

Wirefly.com is offering free T-Mobile phones when customers sign up with a new wireless account. Among the popular models of phones are the Moto RAZR and the Motorola PEBL.

Of the two model mentioned above, I would definitely go for the Motorola PEBL. Though not the most high tech of phones available, I love it's curvaceous design and the unique external screen. Trying it out at the local store, I really liked the feel of this phone on my hands and the clamshell open mechanism is really smooth.

However, it's not on the top 10 list of T-mobiles phones listed on the site, given below:
#1: Samsung Stripe
#2: Dragon Tattoo RAZR
#3: BlackBerry Pearl
#4: Plum Samsung T509
#5: Motorola v3i D&G
#6: Samsung T619
#7: Samsung T519 Trace
#8: Samsung T719
#9: Nokia 6133
#10: Samsung T319

If you live in the US, you can check whether you are eligible for the the online offers by entering your zip code.

For your information, Wirefly.com is the online storefront of InPhonic Inc. It has received a number of Internet awards, including Forbes magazine's "Best of the Web" for 2004 and Keynote System's "Best In Overall Customer Experience" in 2005. Wirefly.com is also the Internet's #1 Store for Cell Phones and Plans.

Educational science toys

My daughter is really growing up fast and is really curious about a lot of things. Her favourite word now-a-days seem to be "Why?" An answer to that will most likely result in another "why?". *sigh*

As she grows up, I want to make sure that she doesn't grow up to dislike science. One way to show that science is fun is to buy her fun educational science toys.

Sciencekits.com is an online retailer of educational science kits and toys. I was quite impressed with the wide selection of scientific toys and kits to choose from. In fact I won't mind playing with them myself with my kids.

One product category I was attracted to were the robot kits and one I really liked in particular was the Spider III. Not really suitable for my kids as yet, but it should appeal to a lot of older kids. This weird looking robot avoids obstacles in it's path using an infrared beam. It can even find its way out of a maze.

The Nitty-Gritty Soil Science would be quite useful too. There are a number of cool science experiments for fun activities and games. As I have started gardening, it would be interesting to find out how to perform pH, nitrate, phosphate and potassium soil tests.

Just realised that the toys would be cool for adults too.

Sat nav ready

Check out my new toy!

This seems to be the favourite phrase of bloggers whenever they show off a new gadget they have acquired. I too am guilty of the same and have done so a few times in the past.

Recently bid and won a gadget on e-bay. It's definitely not a toy though I was playing around with it a bit when we received it by mail today. After getting lost in Nottingham, we realised that we really needed one.

I am talking about my new TomTom ONE Sat Nav. It's not actually new but the previous owner really maintained it nicely as I can't see a single scratch on it.

Previously, I was thinking of getting a PDA with sat nav but the ones I wanted were way too costly and out of my budget. In the end I decided to go for the TomTom ONE.

The TomTom One has loads of features. This includes among others:
- Plug and Go: Works straight out of the box.
- High quality touchscreen. The screen is 3.5 inches diagonally, which is quite good enough for me.
- User-friendly menu with high resolution graphics.
- Fast GPS signal fix. Took about a minute when I first tried it out.
- Safety camera information. Very important here in the UK as the fine can be really heavy.
- Car speed linked volume.
- Searchable postcode digits.
- It also has dynamic routing. Say you miss a turning, it will automatically redirect you to a new route.
- Includes points of interest. Great if you are on holiday and looking for banks, rest areas or museums.
- The user interface now includes 22 languages, including Bahasa Malaysia (called Ella). However, I prefer Jane (UK English).

I also like the fact that it is quite lightweight and can fit easily inside my trousers pocket. There have been a spate of sat nav thefts in the West Midlands and I am definitely not going to risk losing it by leaving it in the car for all to see.

Checked various online retailers and the cheapest is in Amazon.com = £155.84. However, you may be able to get it cheaper (like we did) on eBay!


Related posts:
- High Tea at Nottingham
- PDA with sat nav

Tags: Sat Nav TomTom ONE Satellite Navigation

Detecting wireless interference sources

I have a wireless network in place in my house and was really shocked to learn that interferences can arise from various electronic gadgets in the house including microwaves, cordless headsets, cordless phones, bluetooth devices, etc. The items that cause interference are both 802.11 and non 802.11 devices.

More important is the fact that interference can affect your Wifi LAN security. With wifi networking becoming so common, there is a need to understand sources of of wireless interference. I would like to point out that the Farpoint Group, a leading wireless advisory firm, has validated industry research on the effects of interference, pointing out the importance of finding out sources of interference.

In case you are in charge of Wireless Networking in your organisation, take a look at the Cognio products that can detect rogue access points and network jammers. Their spectrum analysis tool classifies and identifies sources of wireless interference.

PDA with sat nav

Initially I had planned to buy a dedicated in-car GPS Satellite Navigation system, with my main choice being the Tom Tom One.

After discussing with a lot of my friends, I later changed my mind. It seems that it might be a better idea to buy a bluetooth enabled PDA + an add on GPS Navigation System.

I don't really need the latest PDA with GPS sat nav built in.

Any suggestions?

Self rewinding hose reels

Slowly but steadily, I am transforming our garden. It is proving to be quite tough as I have to deal with tough grass, lots of pieces of junk buried in the soil and deep roots of the brambles that the landlord cut down a few months earlier.

Right now I am using a watering can to water my plants, which is not very convenient. I thought about buying a water hose but I know of the problems associated with hoses, namely rolling up them up and storage after use. Just imagine the work if they are a 100 ft or more in length.

I was surprised when I read about the NO-CRANK™ range of hose reel. As the name suggest, these hoses are hands-free rewinding garden hoses. Intrigued by it all, I found out that Hydro-Pro™ system is a water piston engine that uses the water pressure to rewind up to 175ft of garden hose. In other words, it is like an engine and powered by water.

The hoses are available in various designs and different price ranges to suit every gardener. I am seriously considering getting one.

AT&T to Cingular and back again

When I first heard about it, it was really confusing case of branding. First of all, AT&T became Cingular. Now Cingular is becoming AT&T again. Unless you are someone from the industry, I guess you are scratching your head in utter confusion.

OK, let me start from the beginning. Cingular Wireless was founded in 2001 as a joint venture of SBC Communications (now AT&T) and BellSouth (which AT&T acquired in 2006). Cingular, later purchased AT&T Wireless Services on October 26, 2004, making Cingular the largest wireless provider in the United States.

Cutting short the story and back to the present - a few later after SBC and AT&T merged, plans to to market Cingular's service under the AT&T brand were released in 2005. Finally, as part of the transition from the Cingular brand to AT&T, a new multi-media campaign was launched early in January this year.

I guess the re-branding may be a smart move on the part of AT&T, as the Cingular name as suffered from some bad publicity in the press in recent years. It should be pointed out that AT&T is the top carrier in the United States, based on customer totals. However, it may take some time before consumers accept that Cingular is the new AT&T.

It is expected that the first cell phone under the new AT&T brand will probably by the Apple iPhone, which many consider as a Cingular exclusive model - "the AT&T iPhone".

Some feel that the company should have waited until they had launched the phone to go for the rebranding.

Take a look at this gadget and you will definitely agree when I say that it more than a gadget but is simply a work of art.

You can check out the other Cingular phones available on the Wirefly.com website. Wirefly.com is an authorized dealer of Cingular phones.

Cisco wifi products popular with businesses

Was talking about wireless or wifi network solutions with my friend who's a network engineer and discovered that their company uses Cisco products.

I was curious because I knbow of a few other guys who also use Cisco networking solutions in their office. This includes voip and video conferencing.

Cisco is one of the World's largest suppliers of secure networking equipment and network management for the Internet. Even though their products are comparatively more expensive most businesses prefer their products. Besides the high quality products, there is another reason for this - their great support.

While going through their site, I came across this video on the architectural approach in the data centre. In this 4 minute video, Dante Malagrino explains how their Network Architecture facilitates the adoption of new IT strategies. Check it out

Tags: Cisco Wifi

Top 10 mobile phones

Leading online leader in one-stop comparison shopping for cell phones and wireless phone plans, Wirefly announces the Top 10 cell phones of 2006

Sponsored

The list of phones:
1. Cingular Wireless RAZR by Motorola (in various colors)

2. T-Mobile RAZR (in various colors)
3. Verizon Wireless RAZR (in various colors)
4. Cingular Sony Ericsson z520a/z525a video phones
5. T-Mobile Motorola v360
6. Verizon Wireless Motorola v276
7. Sprint Nextel Motorola i850
8. Sprint Nextel Motorola i710
9. Cingular Motorola v220
10. T-Mobile Samsung T309

This list was developed based on customer orders. As expected, the #1 on the list is the Motorola RAZR.

This phone is a winner because of it's stylish looks and unique colours, and amazing technical features. The fact that this phone had a name rather than a number may have something to do with it's success, but that's my opinion.

One thing strange about this list that I immediately noticed, is that there is not a single Nokia phone model on the list.

Exciting Motorola phones

If you ask anyone in my age group the question - "What was the brand of the first mobile you ever had?", most often than not, they would reply "Motorola!" This includes my wife, whom I remember carried a bulky flip Motorola phone while we were doing our MBA at University.

I don't know why but they suddenly were not cool anymore and I didn't see anyone with a Motorola except for my friend Nick, who's a die hard loyal Motorola customer. The amazing thing is that even though I have changed my phones a number of times, I have never owned a Motorola phone ever. That is until I traded in my old Nokia for a brand new sleek Motorola L6, just before we moved to the UK. It took me a while to get used to the new phone but after playing with it for a few days, I know everything I need to know about the phone.

Motorola is now making a comeback in a big way, with some amazing new models that are both functional and fashionable.

Two of the hottest Motorola phones in the market right now are the Motorola KRZR K1 and the Motorola Z3.


The Krzr K1 features an extra thin clamshell form. The dimensions (H x W x D) are 42 × 103 × 16 mm. It has a 2 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom. The enhanced music player plays MP3s, AAC, AAC+ and Midi files. It also comes with a microSD card slot, 176 x 220px 260k TFT main screen and stereo Bluetooth. I remember the day when people used to go "Wow!" when you showed them your tri-band phone. Well the Krzr is quad-band (GSM 850/ 900/ 1800/ 1900 plus EDGE).


The Motorizr Z3 is a slider phone and is also quad-band with EDGE. It also has a 2 megapixel camera, QQVGA display, Bluetooth, microSD card slot. It is slightly thinner than then Krzr K1 (45.50 x 105.47 x 15.99 mm). The internal display is the same as the former but with slightly higher resolution (262K colors TFT). I think the later has lot more exciting range of colours.

It's a tough choice.

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Tags: Krzr K1 Motorizr Z3 Motorola Mobile phone

Introduction to Techzoogle

I love reading about electronic gadgets and the latest technology news. I would like to introduce my readers to Techzoogle, a relatively new site (the first post was in December last year), that talks about the latest technology, trends, gadgets, computer and software.

Written in the blog format, the site has five writers, namely David Allen, Craig Childs, Kathryn Vercillo, Michael Paul and Robert Maynard covering a wide range of topics ranging from hi-tech cars to linux computer systems. The editor is Mark Johnson.

Are you a hardcore gaming enthusiast? (I hate to use the word, addict). Click here to find out.

Anyway, I was really interested in one particular tech news - like many other tech crazy guys. I am referring to Apple's new iPhone in the the post here. In case you didn't know, Steve Jobs unveiled the new iPhone last week. However this phone is not about the features but rather about the name. I learnt that Cisco Systems had absorbed the rights to the name in 2000 and now Apple is trying hard to keep the name. I am going to keep myself updated with this ongoing saga and would love to see what happens next.

Go and check the site out.

Sponsored post.

Tags: Blog Techzoogle Gadgets

Free verizon wireless phones

In case you didn't know, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture between Verizon Communications and Vodafone and has it's headquartersin Basking Ridge, N.J. It has received some of the best customer reviews according to studies by J.D. Power and Associates and others.

However this post is not about Verizon Wireless. Rather it is about Wirefly. Owned and operated by InPhonic Inc, Wirefly.com is one of the most popular online retailers of cell phones and wireless service plans in the US.

You might be wondering about the relation between Verizon Wireless and Wirefly. I am coming there.

If you are looking for Verizon cell phone or plan, look no further. Wirefly is the #1 seller of Verizon Wireless cell phones and plans.

Check out the above link for exclusive online deals on new Verizon Wireless phones. With a new Verizon Wireless account, you can get great phones like the Motorola v325i, KRZR, LG Chocolate and others for FREE.

Note that you have to enter your zip code below the phone models for more details.

Besides the above, the websites provide the top 10 Top Ten Verizon Phones. They are as listed below:
1. LG White Chocolate
2. LG VX8300
3. Nokia 6256i
4. Motorola Q
5. LG VX5300
6. Nokia 6215i
7. LG Mint Chocolate
8. LG VX3300
9. Samsung i730
10.Nokia 6305i

Looking at the list also points out that Nokia is no longer No 1 in the mobile phone market and that the South Korean brands are really doing well.

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Tags: Mobile Phone Review Verizon Wirefly