For more than a decade, I’ve prided myself on being a work-from-home veteran. I’m not one of those newcomers thrust into the world of remote work by a global pandemic, awkwardly balancing a laptop on the ironing board or converting the spare room into a sterile office.

No, I’ve been working from home long enough to see trends come and go, to witness the rise and fall of the “work from the couch” movement and the inevitable return of some people to physical offices, weary of the isolation. Through it all, I stayed resolute in my setup—a sturdy desk, a good chair, and, let’s be honest, far too many snacks within arm’s reach.

But the winds of change are relentless, and it seems not even I could resist them forever. So here I am, after all these years, writing to you from a standing desk, perched elegantly like a modern-day work martyr, my feet gliding along on a walking treadmill beneath me. The very idea of it a few years ago would have had me rolling my eyes. Standing desks and walking treadmills? What are we, lab rats? But after working from home for so long, there came a point when even the most seasoned remote worker had to admit: things needed to change.

I suppose it all began with the nagging aches that started creeping into my body, the ones I had long chosen to ignore. I’m no stranger to stubbornness—who is after working from home for as long as I have? There’s a certain pride, or perhaps delusion, that comes with having your home office locked down just the way you like it.

But while I had embraced the freedom, my body had quietly declared a rebellion. The endless sitting—sometimes for hours at a stretch—had done me no favours. Let’s not mince words: years of sitting glued to a screen in the same chair can do unspeakable things to your posture, your back, and your waistline. And as the days turned into years, those small aches turned into a low hum that followed me around, until one day I realised, well I do turn fifty next year, I wasn’t a sprightly young thing anymore but rather someone who now grimaced every time they got up from their desk.

Enter the standing desk

The one that caught my eye was the FlexiSpot E7 Pro, a rather sleek piece of machinery that promised to solve all my woes and I have not looked back. Adjustable at the push of a button, sturdy as a tank, and with enough room to hold my array of notebooks, coffee cups, podcasting microphone, GoPro camera and all the other accompanying tech to deliver the weekly Everything EV podcast for EV Powered for our 100,00 plus listeners. I liked the idea of being able to change my position throughout the day—up when I needed to focus, down when I needed to relax (or, you know, read the news and pretend it’s research).

Standing, I have to admit, felt revolutionary. After years of slumping in my chair, albeit a posh Herman Miller Aeron from the days when we had our physical office at Canary Wharf that I trudged to every day. Here I was, upright, alert, feeling as though I had unlocked some kind of productivity superpower. I found myself moving more naturally, shifting my weight, stretching, and even feeling a little more engaged with what was happening on the screen in front of me. My legs stopped feeling so restless, and, dare I say, my back even started feeling better. It’s a simple change, really, but one that has made a remarkable difference to how I approach my workday. No longer do I feel as though I’m stuck in one spot for hours on end, slowly fusing to the chair like some kind of office furniture chimera.

Of course, standing alone wasn’t enough to completely shake up my routine. If I was going to go full wellness guru, I figured I might as well go all the way and invest in a walking treadmill. Yes, that’s right, I became one of those people—the ones who type away while walking at a slow, steady pace like a hamster on a wheel. At first, it seemed ridiculous, the sort of thing I’d have mocked over a cheeky g’n’t with friends pre-pandemic. But as my treadmill hums quietly beneath me, I have to admit that the novelty of it faded quickly, replaced by a real sense of purpose.

There’s something almost meditative about it, the gentle rhythm of the belt beneath your feet as you go about your day. No longer do I feel like my body is being held hostage by my desk. Instead, I’m in motion, constantly, even if it’s only at a modest pace – around 6mph is my average. It’s not about breaking a sweat (although that could come in handy during a particularly stressful deadline). It’s about moving, keeping the blood flowing, and not succumbing to the aches and lethargy that can so easily take hold during those long, stationary days.

It hasn’t transformed my life into a montage of fitness magazine perfection, but it’s a subtle shift that has made me feel better, more energised, and frankly, a bit smug about my setup. After years of believing I had everything just right, I’m realising that perhaps it’s not about locking into one way of working forever. Change is good, even for us old remote work dogs. And who knows, maybe in a few years I’ll be writing another piece extolling the virtues of some new gadget that I swore I’d never adopt.

For now, though, I’ll just be here—standing tall and taking it all in stride. Literally.

Read more:
The standing desk revolution: Why I finally gave in

When you’re launching a company because you’ve seen the physical benefits that another country has seen from it, it’s the kind of inspiration to keep you focused. Yet changing customer perspectives is no mean feat.

When Gavin Bradley lost everything in the Lehman Brother’s collapse, like many others he spent two years saying to himself: what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. He went on to begin other concepts which didn’t gain sustainable traction until he realised the three elements of business that he needed to be successful and grow. He applied that formula and launched sit-stand.com with a vision for the UK to become like Denmark where 90% of office workers have an electric desk.

Stand up desks are such a niche market, what first attracted you to them?

I’d seen them for the first time in 2013 but it was only when I was watching a show called ‘Trust me I’m a doctor’ where they showed how your blood sugar levels are affected by movement and the importance of building sitting and standing into your day that I really thought about them seriously. I was getting no traction in my work in 2014 and was in a dark place mentally when I started looking into scientific funding which all focused on moderate exercise, there was nothing on fixing sedentary states. Researching more I found that in Denmark, if your job requires you to sit, more than two hours a day, your employer is legally bound to provide you with a sit-stand desk. I have a vision that within the next 20 years we’re going to become like Denmark where 90% of office workers have a sit-stand desk.

You went through many different challenges and tests before focusing on this as a business. What were the core elements you were determined to bring together to start your new and existing business?

I said to myself that first of all, whatever I do has to be something I’m passionate about. If you said to me, ‘ok Gavin you’re selling office furniture’ – I’d have initially thought, ‘no way that’s not for me’. However, I realised that for me it was essential to be disruptive, to go against the grain of an industry which I by-and-large despise in terms of the ethics. Then I asked myself, is what I’m doing recession proof? I didn’t want to invest in something that was a fad or a fashion, I wanted to build on something that had sustainability to give myself some security. But essentially I wanted to do this for the right reasons. With the right people. And in the right way I know we sell wellness to our customers.

So to anyone looking to start again choose something you’re passionate about, make sure it’s recession proof and sustainable. Also ensure you can give an online service?

Covid has developed those three aspects for sit/stand because the ‘nesting’ markets – anything to do with planning a nice home, good value products and health have all emerged as priorities right now and even when we come out of lockdown I don’t think that those will go away. I think people have been pushed to think where they stand on matters over the last year more than ever and there’s an air of zero tolerance towards issues.

How do you feel about the planet friendly aspects of wellness?

Appreciating that wellness has to be embraced as a company wide policy across is the only way businesses can evolve and make it work. So internally we began by eradicating all the polystyrene plastic materials out of our packaging, emailing not printing, etc. Then to our customers we continually encourage recycling existing desktops so that we can just change your frame. There are many areas which we can cover with this but in terms of being planet friendly, it all starts with the one decision to aim to be sustainable. When you’ve made that decision you then start to look at options for solutions in a new light. We’ve got a vision over three years to do this properly.

Yes. So how are you looking to keep innovating within this marketplace now and guard your market segment against competitors?

Fortunately we’ve been in the industry long enough to have a well established bank of trusted customers and reviews and in terms of products, we’re always analysing what our customers want. At the start it was important that we carried ranges that covered every price point to help make the concept accessible. Now that the word is out there and people are working form home it’s become increasingly important to launch customisation options. You can literally choose each aspect of your desk to make it just perfect for you and your space. Staying on top of these types of trends and not just doing a ‘one size fits all’ is essential. As is the service surrounding your products. Being helpful, doing things as quickly as possible. All of these things matter. Systems have to be in place …

Has lockdown had a big effect on the uptake of this?

Yes we’ve definitely seen a rise both in need for desks and a real interest in work posture and health. As many people are working from home potentially for the first time, they’re taking a real interest in researching and finding the right desk for them. We do everything from electric desks to cycle at your desk desks so I think lockdown has really made people assess what’s important to them. Fortunately health and wellbeing seems to be very high on their lists.

One of our other interviewees, mentioned that their teams had initially been working on ironing boards when the first lockdown began…

Yes we found that! Our team were going and delivering the electric desks and so many people admitting that that’s all they had. Hopefully the nation has got a lot more prepared over the course of the past year.

How were sit-stand desks perceived in the UK when you started?

It was initially a hard market to crack as they were seen as only needed to combat disabilities and not for general wellbeing. Naturally we highlighted the wellness feature of them and the benefits to posture. The rise in the wellness movement is making our job a lot easier, but we’ve got a long way to go – we’ve taken the UK from 1% saturation to 5% in just six years which is really positive.

What keeps you motivated?

I really see the effects it has on our customers and when you really read into all of the benefits I don’t think you’d ever go back. People genuinely love the concept of having the choice to break the monotony of their day up – it’s a positive investment in themselves and the companies who are providing their staff with them are receiving really good feedback from their teams. It always feels good to effect positive change and that’s what we’re doing.

You’re only actually asking people to change half of what they do because of the sit/stand/sit element and they already sit anyway. I’ve been road testing one which I’ll do a full review of in another article but what I’m finding is that I actually look forward to the moments when I move it to stand for Zoom’s then back down to do the physical writing, then back up for researching if I fancy it.

Yes, it’s not about doing one or the other all the time. Sitting down for too long can be just as bad as standing all day, it’s about the interrelationship and mixing between the two. It’s so interesting getting the feedback, especially during lockdown, of people finding that they sit down to produce their in-depth documents and stand up for their online meetings. Standing during the meeting actually has made them feel more engaged.

You mentioned the ethics of the industry earlier, what do you mean about that specifically?

People are being encouraged to buy products that are incorrect, expensive and completely damaging for them. The perception of setting up a work station is completely backwards! We find that people are more concerned about buying the right chair first whereas actually everything they’re going to be working from is on the desk. Sort out the desk first and then match it with the perfect chair. Do it that way round, ensure your station is set up so your posture is right and your screen is at eye level.

Let’s hope more companies wise up to this and your mission is heard. Has it been heartening to see the uptake particularly from companies?

Yes absolutely. Because our mission goes beyond just the purchase of a new desk, for a company to go ahead and invest in them for their team, it’s an act of kindness and saying that they care for their staff’s welfare.

Sit-Stand have very kindly offered Business Matters readers a discount code. Use: BM50 to receive £50 off on a minimum spend of £300. This expires on 31st December 2021.

Read more:
Gavin Bradley from Sit-Stand discusses the three elements of business to be successful and disrupt the status quo

The latest version of the iPhone and iPad software has been with us for a few days now. Here we look at the best features:

Raise to wake

Hate pressing that home button to see your notifications? Apple’s got you covered. In iOS 10, the phone’s accelerometer will respond to you picking it up by lighting up the lock screen, showing your latest notifications.

To be fair, this might be one of those features that you don’t know you need until you’ve tried it. Especially since Touch ID is now so fast that it’s hard to press the home button without unlocking your phone.

Widgets

Apps will get a lot more useful without you having to actually open the app itself in iOS 10, as Apple introduces widgets – extra information from an app – on the lock screen and when using 3D Touch on an app.

Widgets will let you see calendar appointments, weather info and so on when swiping left from the lock screen, or check a sports score by using 3D Touch on a sports app such as ESPN.

Delete default apps

Some of you out there might count Compass as your most important app, but for many of us it is simply taking up real estate on the homescreen.

Although not mentioned in Apple’s keynote, developers who have downloaded a beta release of iOS 10 say they are finally able to delete many of the apps that come with the iPhone, such as Stocks and Mail.

Emoji tap

It’s 2016 and you’re still communicating with words? Shame on you. Luckily, iOS 10 has a fix. Type out a sentence and, when you select the emoji keyboard, the Messages app will highlight certain words you can replace with an emoji. So type “basketball” and it will suggest a… you get the idea.

This might seem trivial but it can take a long time to find an emoji if you don’t know where you’re looking, so a lot of the time it might just be quicker to type the word out and get the phone to do the work.

Voicemail transcriptions

Never have to listen to your voicemails again: iOS 10 will include a feature that automatically transcribes an answer phone message left by a caller.

The feature builds on Apple’s visual voicemail feature introduced a few years ago that let you listen to voicemails within the Phone app rather than having to ring a number.

Apps in iMessage

Compared to the likes of Facebook Messenger, iMessage has seemed a bit unloved in recent years, with precious little changes. But not for much longer: the Message app has several big changes in iOS 10, one of which is its own App Store.

This means services for ordering food, shopping, travel and so on will be integrated within iMessage. And one of the best features: You’ll be able to send money back and forth.

A new Apple Music

Apple Music appears to have been a success since it launched last year, with more than 20 million paying subscribers on the streaming service, but it did have its critics.

For iOS 10, the software has been rebuilt from the ground up showing a cleaner design. Or in Apple’s words: “It uses a new design language that allows the music to become the hero and a new structure that makes it easy to navigate and discover new music.”

Siri for developers

Siri is getting on for five years old now, and has started to show its age compared to some younger models such as Amazon’s Alexa. Which is why Apple has given it a new lease of life by opening the personal assistant up to third party developers.

This means you’ll be able to ask Siri to send a WhatsApp, order an Uber and so on.

Better Maps

Yes, Apple Maps was a bit of a joke when it first launched, but in recent years it has improved significantly, and added features such as public transport.

In iOS 10, Maps will get a huge redesign with larger buttons, making it much simpler to use. And it will be open to Extensions, allowing you to book an Uber to a destination or reserve a table with OpenTable.

Maps will also remember where you parked your car automatically guiding you back to it using GPS after that long shopping trip when you can’t remember which floor you parked on.

Photo Memories

Apps like Timehop have become a popular way to relive past memories, but they don’t have access to your whole photo library like Apple does. In iOS 10, Apple will debut a new “Memories” feature that automatically stitches together a video of a time and place, such as holidays or weddings.

The feature uses computer vision software that is able to group together pictures of places and people to create personalised collections of images.

Read more:
The 10 best new features on Apples new iOS10

With the popularity of podcasting back in full swing I’ve been taking a look at some of the equipment available to podcasters on a budget.

Rather than a big scary monster to be found in mountainous regions, this microphone is not scary, or hairy for that matter and has a sleek vintage charm that you may not associate with the great sound it produces.

The Blue Yeti has two key features, that as a beginner, you will found really useful. The first is the gain dial. By increasing or decreasing the level you are able to counteract the quietest or indeed the loudest of interviewees. The second feature that we could now no longer live without is the triple-capsule microphone. This allows you to switch between bi-directional and omni-directional modes depending on what you are trying to record.

We tested the mic out in a busy hotel. Whilst I was lucky enough to have a private little area there was of course background noise. If it had been the Philips I had with me, it would have meant a lot longer editing the files after, but with the blue yeti it didn’t pick up the unwanted noise in the same way!

The only downside to the yeti is its size, a large microphone it’s cumbersome and hard to pack. However it’s a small price to pay and the quality of the recording far outweighs the need to plan your interviews a little better.

On amazon you can snap this microphone up for around the £100 mark. Whilst there are plenty of cheaper and or free options we’d highly recommend getting your hands on one of the little beasts and seeing what you can do.

Read more:
Review: Blue Yeti USB Microphone

The dawn of affordable 3D printing is set to completely upturn the way we do business.

The ability to use additive layer manufacturing to create new, more efficient and more affordable items no longer requires an investment of tens of thousands of pounds for a single 3D printer.

Now, the revolutionary technology is well within the means of small businesses across the country.

3D printing – or ‘additive layer manufacturing’ – builds items in layers, fractions of millimetres at a time, to form high resolution 3D objects. Traditionally 3D printing has been used to create plastic and metal items, but the range of possible materials, and the 3D printing processes to create them, is broadening.

Within the next three or so years, we should see the 3D printing of fabrics. This has the potential to completely revolutionise textile, fashion and home interiors businesses, to name but a few. Perhaps you notice a jacket you like the look of, but the material’s not for you, or the colour isn’t what you’re after. With brands embracing the rise of domestic 3D printers, you could have your perfect cut, colour and fabric building itself in your living room in a matter of minutes. Fashion brands could also offer bespoke tailoring as the norm, individually printing clothing to fit each customer perfectly. We’re already seeing 3D printed shoes companies making strides in personalised printed apparel.

With 3D printing offering ever-increasing opportunities for small businesses, here are five key ways in which all kinds of SMEs can get in on the revolution:

Prototyping

With 3D printing being vastly more affordable for creating singular objects than employing a third party manufacturer, 3D printing is breaking down the barriers to entry for entrepreneurs by enabling prototypes to be created swiftly and cheaply. Speeding up the design process can be invaluable to young companies, and now even the smallest of businesses can afford to own their own 3D printer to do so. By designing and printing a prototype in a matter of hours, rather than waiting days or weeks for a design to come to life, entrepreneurs can significantly cut down the time they spend working up a viable product.

Re-designing and Personalisation

For small businesses producing branded or personalised merchandise, minimum orders from manufacturers may require the purchasing of hundreds or even thousands of one design. As 3D printing doesn’t demand the re-tooling of machinery – instead simply requiring the uploading of a tweaked design – customised products can be created singularly. By vastly cutting down the overproduction of items, small companies can offer products and enter markets otherwise unaffordable.

Always in stock

Similarly, the ability to produce products or spare parts locally and individually is another way small businesses can capitalise on the recent availability of desktop 3D printers. For example, reducing shipping costs and offshore production costs means that businesses such as garages can afford to print individual spare parts as needed, vastly reducing the waste and repair time and providing a much more streamlined service. Soon, even office equipment could be more affordable if printed on-site.

New horizons

For sectors as diverse as manufacturing companies and healthcare professionals, the most exciting quality of 3D printers is their ability to create shapes otherwise impossible to produce. Moulding, drilling and binding materials and other manufacturing processes simply cannot make certain shapes which additive manufacturing masters. We’ve now seen surgeons using an MRI scan to 3D print a copy of a toddler’s heart, to help them understand how to operate effectively. Shapes available through 3D printing may be also lighter, more effective or more efficient than those created by traditional processes.

Domestic printers offering instant sales

All of these are ways small businesses can capitalise on the affordability of 3D printers for use in-house. However, the fact that 3D printers are now available for as little as a regular 2D desktop printer means that it is not only SMEs that can afford to have them. Domestic 3D printers are now on the rise, and businesses can also make the most of this move into British homes.

In our world of ‘next day delivery’, consumers are expecting goods to be in their hands within shorter and shorter periods. Amazon have already patented plans for delivery trucks containing 3D printers, enabling the creation of purchases en route to a consumer. However, the more exciting opportunity – and most interesting revolution on the horizon for small businesses – is for brands to offer their products as downloadable 3D designs. SMEs can embrace the rise of domestic 3D printers and offer their customers access to products within hours, without them even having to leave their home. Importantly, such designs can also be personalised, with colours chosen, branding and images modified and add-ons readily available.

Such a move will change the world of consumer goods manufacturing as we know it, and hugely impact on retail and delivery industries. We can imagine Amazon shifting towards a marketplace for people to print a whole range of purchases at home, which would completely upturn its existing system of warehouses and delivery services.

These are just five ways in which businesses can capitalise on the rise of affordable 3D printing. The breadth of possibility for creating novel objects quickly, cheaply and efficiently means innovative SMEs can find countless uses for the technology. Once the reserve of sci-fi fantasies, 3D printing is already making waves in a whole range of businesses – the time to get in on the revolution is now.

Read more:
How SMEs can get in on the 3D printing revolution

But even Kickstarter and reality combined cannot keep a good idea down: the laser is already back — on Indiegogo, reports Wired.

The Skarp Laser Razor raised more than $4 million (£2.6m) in its initial Kickstarter funding drive, easily surpassing its initial goal of just $160,000, on the promise of providing a laser capable of “an irritation free, incredibly close shave”.

The prototype of the laser — as presented on the Kickstarter page — looked just like a cheap disposable razor, but with a shining red edge instead of a steel blade. The laser would cut the hairs instead of the steel razor edge, reducing irritation — in theory, at least. “The Skarp razor is powered by a small laser which cuts through hair for an incredibly close shave,” the project promised. “Without irritating or damaging the skin.”

For just $89 the project offered backers the chance to “join the shaving revolution” and own their own laser-powered hair removal device, with an estimated shipping date of March 2016. And the world’s press was duly stunned, receiving coverage from Business Insider, Mental Floss and Buzzfeed.

Unfortunately, Kickstarter wasn’t impressed, for the simple reason that there is no public evidence that the laser-based razor actually exists in the form described — or anticipated — in its marketing materials.

One video of the laser system at work does exist (above), but shows a red light just barely managing to cut a few hairs at a time — hardly enough to function as a usable razor.

And given that Kickstarter requires projects to have working prototypes in order to accept funding, that wasn’t enough for the campaign to be successfully completed on the platform. The site declared the project was “in violation of our rule requiring working prototypes of physical products that are offered as rewards” and promptly cancelled the page.

Of course, this is the internet — and Skarp is adamant that their product is workable. So within hours of the Kickstarter campaign being cancelled, it had already launched a new page on Indiegogo, raising more than $20,000 in the first hour of its new 13-day funding push. “[Indiegogo] have been incredibly helpful & they believe in the Skarp Razor as much as we do,” Skarp said on its Facebook page.

Read more:
‘Non-existent’ laser razor hits Indiegogo after Kickstarter boot

Employees will find this very frustrating, even if telephone work is a large part of the job, because they are unable to move freely about the office, interacting with other employees in the environment, and utilising the equipment, such as printers, fax machines and photocopiers.

Implementing a good quality headset into an employee’s work equipment can provide a business many benefits, including improving productivity and increasing the overall efficiency of the employee using the headset.

Productivity
Every business is focussed on maximising productivity, because as we all know productivity is directly related to profit, and this is the main goal of course for every business. Increasing the productivity in an office means that employees are able to accomplish more in a typical working day, which in turn allows revenues to increase, while man hours and cost expenditures remain the same.

Providing employees with a quality headset for anyone who spends 10% of their time or more on the telephone is an easy and cost effective means in which to help such employee improve their productivity by as much as 25 per cent.

Efficiency
The use of a headset encourages and promotes efficiency from employees as it enables mobility, so employees are able to move around the office completing various tasks, provides the ability to multitask as hands are free to use the computer, rifle through files or do administrative work throughout the duration of the phone call.

The health and physical benefits that come from using a headset also contribute to making employees more efficient in their jobs, because when people are feeling their best they are able to work at their full potential.

Benefits To The User
Employees who spend much of their day on the telephone, will, over extended periods of time, start to experience many minor physical issues and experience great discomfort from the repetitive behaviours of using a telephone receiver constantly.

When a lot of time is spent on the phones without using a headset employees are more likely to suffer from pain and discomfort due to their posture being compromised, neck issues from always being bent to the side, and shoulder concerns because employees will often prop the phone’s receiver on their shoulder so they can have their hands available to work on the computer or write.

Using a headset will spare employees the negative effects mentioned above, allowing them to work freely with both hands, multitasking while actively participating in the telephone conversation, and allowing the employee to maximise their productivity.

Improved Communications
Businesses, employees and clients will all benefit from headsets being implemented into the phone systems because communications are greatly improved with the superior quality of headsets. Headsets reduce the noise of the environment, essentially eliminating background noise, and making the voices at both ends of the conversation clearer.

Headsets also offer employees convenience and comfort, thanks to the wide range of styles available at companies such as Midshire, including over the head, over the ear, multiple speakers and customisable configurations that make them easily adjusted to suit anybody, allowing users to perform better all day long.

Bluetooth technology allows headset wearers to move freely about the office, so they are able to leave their desk while on a call or able to receive incoming calls while in other parts of the building.

When Headsets are Most Beneficial
There are many business settings that will benefit considerably from using headsets, including a busy environment where many people use phones and the noise cancelling characteristics are essential, when the employee needs to spend a large percentage of their work day on the phone, when multitasking is required such as note taking or using a computer or when the employee needs to have mobility.

Image: Headset by Shutterstock

Read more:
How headsets can make your business more efficient

On any busy day, you can find yourself writing up a report on your Mac, having to reply to a text on your phone and drafting an email on your iPad. The constant switching between devices can be frustrating, but when you can flick to your phone or computer at the push of a button, it makes your day a hell of a lot easier.

Connect all your devices to this one, universal keyboard and manage all your tasks from there. The three Bluetooth buttons at the top of the keyboard allow you to switch between your Mac, iPhone and iPad at the touch of a button.

The keyboard also has a few handy features which a regular Mac keyboard does not. The Kanex multi-sync keyboard has an iOS device home button for when you’re using your phone or iPad, as well as a search button. As the first full sized wireless keyboard for Macs, it also features a full numeric keypad which allows you to easily enter numbers, which is a pleasant throwback to old PC keyboards.

The keyboard is also accompanied by an iPhone/iPad stand, so you can view your collection of devices at a glance.

The keyboard does take some getting used to, however. From my personal experience, the keyboard is difficult to type with, as the keys are often sticky and touch typing is near on impossible. Whilst using a traditional Mac keyboard, the gentlest of presses was required to type, but on the Kanex keyboard you need to properly press the buttons in, again similar to the old, PC keyboards.

Only a small matter, but on a couple of occasions I had to revisit sentences I had written to fill in the gaps where I hadn’t actually pressed the keys on the keyboard.

The idea behind this keyboard is clever, but I’m not convinced there is a great need for it. After using the keyboard for a short while (to write the first part of this review) I decided to switch back to my beloved Mac keyboard, and put up with the hassle of having to physically pick my phone up to reply to a text.

Read more:
Review: Kanex multi-sync keyboard

With conference calling becoming increasingly popular in the workplace, it was surprising to find that there was no real leader in the market for conference calling technology.

However, Logitech’s ConferenceCam Connect saw that gap in the market and have now set the standards for conference calling products sky high.

As a portable all-in-one videoconferencing solution for small group collaboration, the ConferenceCam provides mobile connectivity for screen-mirror projection through Miracast technology.

The ConferenceCam comes with 3 modes. A videoconferencing mode that allows you to start a call from your PC or Mac which supports HD 1080p, giving you a high definition, enterprise quality video experience. The CC Connect also comes with a wireless screen mirror mode, which allows you to show spreadsheets, videos or internet content from a computer to a TV screen. A Bluetooth mode connects wirelessly to your phone and allows you to make audio calls from your device.

Grainy pictures that are synonymous with videoconferencing are no longer a problem, as the ConferenceCam offers a crisp, high resolution image with the ability to clear see objects and everyone in the room with a full 90 degree field of view.

It’s not just the video aspect which has been improved, either. So many users of Skype and FaceTime report problems of echoey sounds, often making their friends and families voices unrecognisable. But with Logitech’s 360-degree sound, users can hear and be heard with a 12-foot diameter range, whilst full duplex sound, acoustic echo and noise cancelling technology delivers conversational realism.

Portability is a priority for Logitech and their ConferenceCam. Running off either AC or battery, on a full charge, the ConferenceCam can be used for videoconferencing for 3 hours, or 15 hours if you’re only using the speakerphone.

Although the facts and figures behind the ConferenceCam are good to know, what’s most impressive is how it looks. A slim design allows the camera to blend in with any office workspace. Even the tiniest features have been considered. The battery life indicator is in the form of a subtle blue LED light across the bottom of the camera, and the remote control fits seamlessly into the main body of the camera. The remote allows you to operate the camera pan, tilt, zoom and audio functions at the touch of a button.

The ConferenceCam Connect seems steep at £449, however, when using this for your business, the true value of the camera will show, with professional audio and video quality, as well as the ability to take it anywhere and everywhere. Although the CC Connect does take a while to set up and get your head around it, the benefits that this camera will give to your business are endless.

Read more:
Review: Logitech’s ConferenceCam Connect

For years now, any smartphone user has been snap happy with the use of the camera feature on their phone. Any special or funny moment, any selfie or any picturesque meal can be snapped and put on Instagram with a hashtag of your choice.

With millions of people taking photos on their iPhone everyday, Olloclip made a product that aims to bring every single photo to life.

Subtle yet stylish, each lens fits over the camera on your phone, and allows you to take pictures of a professional quality. The weight and size of each lens is perfect, making it easy to carry around and capture any scenic moment given the opportunity.

These easy to use products make it possible for any iPhone user to become an amateur photographer. Once you see the quality of your photos, using and experimenting with the different lenses becomes addictive.

The 4-in-1 lens is the most practical of Olloclips collection. Aimed towards the more inexperienced photographers, the 4 lenses to choose from are the fisheye, wide angle, 15X macro and the 10X macro lens. Most of the lenses offer something different, as the fisheye lens rounds your photos and gives them a more creative effect, whereas the macro lens’ focus on the most minute details to give clear, crisp details in the smallest objects. The wide angle lens didn’t seem to make much of a difference. Used both portrait and landscape, comparing photos with the wide angle lens to ones taken without lens showed no real difference. Disappointing, but the other 3 lenses more than compensate.

Having saved the best till last, the Telephoto and Polarising lenses were a real treat. Whilst using them around my favourite dog walking spot, Sywell Reservoir, the quality of these lenses really showed. The telephoto was ideal for capturing images in forested areas, and the polarising  reduced the amount of glare and reflection from the reservoir itself. These particular lenses were the most enjoyable to use, as they showed most difference between original photos.

Annoyingly, the lenses are extremely fidgety. You spend more time trying to position the lens over the camera correctly and swapping the lenses than you do actually taking pictures. On the packaging, it claims that the lenses slip on and off in seconds, which isn’t the case. You have to be quite forceful when putting them on, as they don’t just slide on. I understand that they need to be a snug fit so that they stay in position when taking photos, but as they are mad out of aircraft grade aluminium, I was left with a number of small scratches on the surface of my phone.

The Olloclip lenses are a great bit of kit if you are a keen photographer or if you have a specific need for different lenses. But with the cheapest lens for an iPhone 5 cost £40, there isn’t that much of a difference in the quality of photos to warrant purchasing an Olloclip lens if you just take the occasional photo.

Charlie Atkinson

Read more:
See the world differently with Olloclip

The HP Elitebook Folio is the benchmark for HP’s laptop range, and costing a cool £1703, there is a great expectation for it to deliver. With Apple showing no signs of slowing down in their quest for total domination of the tech world, HP have really ramped up their efforts to narrow the gap between competitors.

The smaller size is due to the EliteBook Folio 1020’s 12.5-inch display, which boasts 2,560-by-1,440 resolution, a big step up from the 1,440-by-900 resolution of the Apple MacBook Air 13, but not as high as the Dell XPS 13 Touch, with its 3,200-by-1,800 3K (QHD+) screen. The display offers pretty good viewing angles as well, with minimal colour shifting even at steep angles. The screen is covered with edge-to-edge glass, which is a bit reflective—enough so that working near a window or under fluorescent lighting might cause some serious glare.

The keyboard uses HP’s usual tile design, with square keys and half-size keys for the arrows and function buttons, but it offers decent feedback and key travel. Backlighting on the keys makes it easier to type in a dark or dim room, while a spill-resistant design means you can eat lunch at your desk or take the laptop to Starbucks without living in fear of spills.

More intriguing is the touchpad, which uses HP’s ForcePad, a glass-surfaced touch sensor that registers the pressure of every touch and swipe to give you all of the usual point-and-click and multitouch gesture support you expect, but without any moving parts. The right and left buttons don’t actually click, but are merely touch zones along the bottom of the sensor. The lack of physical and audio feedback is noticeably different from the usual touchpad, but it takes almost no time to get used to it. Above the keyboard are two built-in speakers, with DTS Studio Sound enhancement. The speakers offer solid sound quality, with minimal distortion at high volumes.

The aluminum-and-magnesium-alloy construction isn’t just for looks. The EliteBook Folio 1020 is built to MIL-STD 810G standards, which include a range of semi-rugged capabilities, like surviving four-foot drops, functioning in spite of shock and vibration, and withstanding pretty significant temperature fluctuations. It’s not the laptop to carry into a warzone, but you can travel with without worry.

All in all, the Elitebook Folio 1020 G1 is a great laptop for someone on the move and is a great alternative in an Apple dominated world.

Read more:
Review: The HP Elitebook Folio 1020 G1

Priding themselves on this being their toughest phone yet, the BT Elements 1k is the ideal phone for studio and workshop use, with waterproofing that is submersible in up to 1 meter of water, and fully dustproof in order to cope with even the smallest of particles.

This phone also comes with an attachable long range antenna which gives the phone a range of 1 kilometre. Therefore, this means that this product is ideal for use around an office space or when you’re on the move, highlighted by the fact that the phone comes equipped with a belt clip.

BT have also combatted the annoying modern day problem of unwanted calls by introducing a system which blocks any nuisance calls. A feature which will be greeted with open arms by any homeowner who is sick to death of nonsense PPI calls.

The only problem that this phone faces is that it is not an outstanding beauty. Clumpy and rigid, the BT Elements 1k would look out of place in most homes, although, the target audience seems to be for those of a more practical nature.

All in all, the BT Elements 1k is perfect for the working man, capable of coping with tough conditions. However, for the money you’re going to spend on this phone (roughly around £65) there are other, more stylish options available for your home.

Read more:
Review: BT Elements 1K

Android smartphone users with a 2015 Sonata sedan can now ask car dealers to download the system for free if they have a vehicle with navigation, reports The BBC.

It connects to the driver’s smartphone and allows them to access apps like Google Maps by voice, steering wheel controls or a touchscreen on the dashboard.

The plan was first announced in 2014.

In January last year, Google said it was working with automakers including Hyundai, Audi and Honda to integrate the system in to their dashboards.

The tech giant said the system would be offered in 28 different brands by the 2016 model year.
Apple, its main rival, had also signed similar deals with BMW, GM and Honda.

Hyundai, which is the world’s fifth largest auto group with affiliate Kia Motors, said it planned to offer the android system in other models, along with Apple’s version of the system called CarPlay soon as well.

It added that the “high technology experience” also improves the driver’s safety.

“The smartphone’s screen becomes locked, so drivers are not tempted to look down and interact with their phones directly while Android Auto is in use,” the carmaker said in a statement.

Wee Teck Loo, head of consumer electronics at market research firm Euromonitor International, said for fast growing auto markets like India, where android phones accounted for 85 per cent of all smartphone sales in 2015, Google would have the advantage.

“Hyundai’s Sonata is a mid-range sedan and its target consumer demographics would not be the 5% of the smartphone users who uses iPhones,” he told the BBC.

He expects more car makers to “jump on the Android OS bandwagon”.

“Car manufacturers that offer entry level car models can push the boundary and offer one sub-model that does not have any in-dash media player pre-installed,” he said.

“The sub-model will just have a micro-USB port and a nice dock (or holder) for the owners to connect their smartphones. The removal of in-dash media player will help the manufacturer save costs.”

Read more:
Hyundai offers Google Android Auto system in cars

Other hardware features include a USB 3.0 port, built-in 3000mAh battery, 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN port, SD card support and OLED display.

QGenie shares Internet access wirelessly through wired connection which is the devices biggest failing. The ability to slot a SIM in and have this as a true dongle would make this a real asset for the mobile traveller.

QGenie runs QNAP’s QGenie OS that supports SMB/CIFS file sharing, WebDAV and both UPnP and Bonjour discovery. Files can be accessed via the built-in myQNAPcloud service and Qfile mobile iOS and Android apps.

The built-in 3000mAh battery provides up to 10 hours of operation and charges devices with fast USB charging from your smartphone to your laptop.

The QGenie also can be used as a USB-connected portable SSD when connected to a Windows or MacOS system via its USB 3.0 port.

The device also supports file copies to and from its SD slot and is a very good device for just the battery recharging and portable storage options, but could have been great with a SIM slot.

The QNAP QGenie Pocket NAS is available at EBuyer.com

Read more:
Review: QNAP QGenie Pocket NAS

Whilst clearly the watch will sell like hot cakes and many businesses and apps will be developed to embrace the additional wearable tech that this will bring with it, but 18hours based on: 90 time checks, 90 notifications, 45 minutes of app use, and a 30-minute workout with music playback from Apple Watch via Bluetooth is being universally questioned as being an effective options.

For specific usage, the life varies. Apple states that the Watch’s battery can last up to seven hours during a workout when heart rate sensor is turned on. When playing back music, the battery will last up to 6.5 hours and up to 3 hours when the Watch is used for phone calls. However, if the Watch is used as a watch, the battery can last up to 48 hours.

When the Apple Watch’s battery drops to a determined level, it automatically switches into Power Reserve mode, allowing the device to tell the time for up to an additional 72 hours.

Apple also states that it takes 2.5 hours for a full charge.

According to Apple, these stats were gathered during a March 2015 test using a preproduction Apple watch paired to an iPhone using preproduction software. Apple warns that actual results may vary due to use and configuration.

Battery life appears to clearly be the Achilles heel for the Apple Watch. It’s unquestionably a beautiful and capable device, but if the battery life falls short even a touch from these advertised claims, it will leave many users wishing that their had stuck to a 1980’s Casio watch as they will be wearing a device that can just tell the time and not call an Uber.

Speaking about the announcement, Nick Barnett, CEO of Appsme.com, said: “For retailers, there is excitement about Apple Pay, which is already in use in the US with an iPhone, and is potentially made even easier with the Watch. Just a wave of the hand can pay for your morning coffee, as opposed to a wave of your iPhone or your wallet with a contactless card inside.

“But perhaps more interesting is the potential for integration of iBeacon technology in the Apple Watch. From a marketing perspective perhaps the Apple Watch will, at last, make real time, location-based marketing a reality.

I remember years ago when I worked on mobile data strategy at O2, we often talked about the idea of getting a ‘local ad’ on your phone, for example a discounted coffee as you walked past a coffee shop. While this is technically possible today with geo-marketing cell-site technology and/or iBeacons, the uptake hasn’t happened as there are simply too many barriers and too much complexity in place. Could the idea of pushing these notifications straight to your Apple Watch make it real? Quite possibly, and app-builder solutions are looking at making it easy for SMEs to build apps for their customers that do exactly this.

“So what does this actually mean for someone running an independent business on the high street? It means that they can now get more customers through their door, more often. That means more sales, and more profits. Simple, and made easy using a business app that their customers can have on their phone – and, in time, their Apple Watch.”

Read more:
Apple’s Watch launch date will reduce day from 24 to 18hrs with woeful battery

Its finally here, Apple has announced its latest addition to the iPhone family at a special event held in Cupertino, California, and it doesn’t disappoint.

As suspected with the many rumours the new iPhone has ditched the square cut and thinned down to become one of the slimmest handsets on the market whilst super sizing its screen to 4.7-inches for the new iPhone 6 and 5.5-inches for the iPhone 6 plus.

Though the new design may be a step away from its big brothers don’t panic, this new sleeker look is similar to its iPad counterparts, especially with the larger screen.

The great news is that this is all backed up with a huge amount of pixels. The iPhone 6 has a 1334×750 display, the 6 Plus 1920×1080 display. In real terms that means that your going to be looking at over 1 million pixels on the iPhone 6 and over 2 million for the 6 plus, Apple are calling it Retina HD, and claim that the battery life won’t be compromised and will match that of the last generation.

There’s no surprise in operating systems, earlier in the year it was announced that the new generation would be running on iOS8. For those sticking with the older generation of phone, you’ll also be able to update to the new operating system. around the same time as these go live.

The new iPhone 6 and 6 plus will have the same 8-megapixel camera however this time round we have some fancy sensors that promise to improve the auto focus and stabilisation of both photos and videos. Slo-mo have been improved too, I’m guessing because everyone loves slo-mo!

Finally just as you thought you’d gotten your Apple fix…. there’s the watch.

I’m a huge fan of wearable technology so it comes as no surprise that I love the Apple Watch. Coming in at around £217 this is wearable tech on steroids. As you would expect you need an iPhone for this to work, but maybe slightly unexpectedly it will work on the iPhone 5 and above.

The Apple Watch features all your normal favourites and even has Siri built in. The back of the watch contains the LED’s that allow it to track your heart rate, a magnetic charging point, and vibration function to allow for notifications.

There are also several watch faces to choose from. You get sporty, chrono-style faces, retro digital readouts and anything a developer can imagine it seems.

With wearable tech and fitness trackers becoming more and more popular there are, of course some health-tracking features to help you make your fitness goals for steps, calories burned, and so on. The watch also works with Apple Pay, the company’s new mobile payments system.

“We’ve been working on Apple watch for a long time,” Cook says. “It covered every discipline at Apple.”

That being said, a huge emphasis is being placed on the apple developers to the point of success or failure. From creating fantastic displays and notifications to opening hotel rooms doors, driving your car from your watch and ultimately taking over the world it seems there is little that Apple Watch can’t do.

So what do you think? Will you be upgrading you phone and putting away your watch for the latest Apple technology? Let us know in the comments below or tweet me @r_mjones.

Read more:
Apple launches new iPhone’s, a watch & new methods to pay for things…

Touchscreen styluses aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, I know – they’re commonly suited for those who have slightly larger fingers than others.

And if you’re that type of person, then the new HexStyli, which is exclusive to MobileFun, could be something of interest.

Built to last and feel good, the stylus has an omnidirectional tip which you are able to use in any direction, allowing acurate on-screen movements and drawings.

This impressive stylus also sports a built-in ballpoint pen, a 7cm and 3inch ruler, a mini spirit level, along with a Phillips and flat head dual tipped screwdriver – perfect for those who have need to tighten up glasses or undo the battery flap on your keyboard.

Read more:
Reviewed: HexStyli

The Continuity 24×7 app enables directors and managers to download their contingency plans for crises including floods, fires, pandemics and cyber-attacks on the move and wherever they are in the world.

The new app was the brainchild of Stuart Barker, CEO of AIS, who says: “Key decision makers need to access vital business continuity plans quickly in an emergency but it isn’t practical to carry paper plans around at all times. As most executives take smartphones with them even on holiday we developed this simple app which means that their disaster recovery plans are accessible at the touch of a screen or button.”

Gary Hibberd, managing director of AIS, explains that the Continuity 24×7 app allows companies to develop their contingency plans using standard office software tools and then download them to mobile devices ready to be used in an emergency. The app includes features for training in business continuity, incident notification and roll calls to ensure that all staff are safe and accounted for in a crisis.

“There are many software tools on the market that help with contingency planning and these are either too complex or just too simple for business continuity needs. Our app ensures that crisis plans are available when they are needed and by the people who need them. It’s easy to use and needs no special training”

A version of the app for SMEs is available on iStore for £2.99 with a more complex version for corporates available on request from AIS.

Read more:
Business continuity specialists launch mobile app for disaster recovery plans

Last official Facebook numbers show that today 16 million local businesses opened a Facebook page. This represents an increase of 100 per cent since last year. However, although small businesses are able to create profiles and pages on a wide variety of web services (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare…etc) it can sometimes be hard to see how these pages and social media strategies translate to sales and day-to-day activity.

Fliike, a physical counter for ‘Likes’ that can hang on a wall or be placed on a counter, helps small businesses track their Facebook Likes in real time.

Gauthier Nadaud said: “I came up with the idea 16 months ago. I wondered why there were a lot of ephemeral Facebook campaigns to gain fans that had little to do with the companies’ offices or physical sales points nationally and internationally. Wouldn’t the best time to convince someone to become a member of a digital community be when that person is actually in your store and happy to be there?”

Fliike measures 16.5 inches wide by 4.72 inches tall and resembles a flipboard alarm clock from the 80s. A limited number of devices can be preordered at £260 and will ship in November. The rectangular white and wood-panelled box designed by Smiirl, a French start-up, can be placed on a counter or on the wall, it connects to your Facebook page over Wi-Fi and transmits your Likes as they tally.

Read more:
Fliike: new device that lets retailers show and track their fans live

The BlackBerry Z10 is a thoroughly modern smartphone with an excellent modern mobile OS. It feels sturdy and it has an strong focus on messaging. It offers better video support than Windows Phone 8, better messaging than Android, and more elegant graphics than Apple’s iOS.

Z10’s physical design is so understated that it tends to fade into the background, and while the OS has plenty of interesting ideas, it can’t overcome how far behind it is in terms of third-party app support.

I have personally been a BlackBerry user for most of my working life and struggle with virtual touchscreen keyboards so it was with some in trepidation that I took this Z10 to test as would have preferred to be reviewing the Q10, out in a few months which does retain a physical QWERTY keyboard. However I seem to be in the minority as there are no flagship smartphones with full QWERTY keyboards any more, despite the fact that physical keys are still much easier to type on than virtual ones.

As with most slab-style phones, the front is dominated by the 4.2-inch 1,280-by-768 LCD. At 356 pixels per inch, the display is higher density than both the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S III, although it isn’t the tightest screen around. There’s a Power button on the top, volume rockers with a hardware Mute button on one side, and micro USB and micro HDMI ports on the other. Turn on the Z10 on and you’ll see a sharp LCD with rich blacks.

Behind the NFC-enabled back panel to find a long, narrow 1800mAh battery and a microSD card slot that supports up to 64GB cards without a problem. The 8-megapixel camera lens sits on the back left corner.

BlackBerry is very proud of its software keyboard, calling it the best in the business. The innovation here is to space the four rows of keys further apart vertically than typical for more accurate typing, along with a very aggressive autocorrect system that learns from your common word sequences. Possible autocorrects and shortcuts float above individual keys as you type.

The keyboard takes up less screen space than Windows Phone and some Android keyboards, and the keys are nice and wide. As I have said virtual keyboards and I don’t usually see eye-to-eye, however I found this more accurate than the iOS and Windows Phone keyboards over long-term use. However make no mistake, it’s still a software keyboard, and longtime BlackBerry fans will miss their clicky, tactile buttons.

OS & Performance

The Z10 runs the brand-new BlackBerry OS 10, which bears no resemblance to the BB operating system of old; it’s much more like the OS on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. The company says 100,000 BlackBerry 10 apps are available when the phone launches, (including -pardon the plug- our own Business Matters one) so while the device is incompatible with apps for older phones, BlackBerry has done a solid job of building up a launch library for the new platform.

The key idea in BlackBerry OS 10 is “flow.” There’s no system-wide Back button; you’re always moving forward. The BB10 experience pivots around a page of your eight most recently used, minimized apps, called the Active Frame. Swipe left to go to the BlackBerry Hub, or the universal inbox; swipe right to view a very iPhone-like set of app icon pages. If you’re doing something and you want to do something else, you swipe up, minimizing your app, to return to the central screen where it’s easy to jump into another app.

Swipe, flip, swipe: Just like with the good old Palm WebOS, you work up a real rhythm here. BlackBerry OS 10 isn’t customizable like Android or Windows Phone, but to some extent it customizes itself: Those eight most recently used apps can update their pages as new information comes in, potentially making them a little like Android’s widgets or Windows Phone’s Live Tiles. You can’t move them around, though: They’re just the most recent ones you’ve used.

You’d expect a BlackBerry to excel in the voice department, and in this case you’d be right. In my tests, the Z10’s earpiece delivered round, warm voice tones at moderate to high volume. The speakerphone was downright excellent—unusually clear and loud enough for most any situation. Transmissions from a noisy street scene blanked out the background noise very well. A call from the speakerphone let through a little bit of background noise, but the voice was fully forward and very well rounded.

I used the Z10 on EE’s network and got very fast 4G internet access and it really did open up mobile usage.

The phone also supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n on the 2.4 and 5GHz bands, along with GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, and NFC. You can send files to another BlackBerry via NFC, as well as read NFC tags.

As I re-box the phone for its return and return to my current BlackBerry Bold 9900 my mind turns to think, given just how good the Z10’s virtual keyboard is, is the trade off with physical keys worth a reduced screen size for?

No matter what device you have on the BlackBerry 10 platform, it is the OS that really is way head of its rivals and if only RIM had opened up their app market sooner they may well have not only retained but grown their business market.

Richard Alvin
Managing Editor
@ralvin

Read more:
Reviewed: BlackBerry Z10

To Go
One of the best features of the mini iPad is how easy it is to take with you as you go. Whether you are embarking on a train ride or just sitting outside in your backyard, you can enjoy all of the luxury that this little device has to provide almost anywhere. The screen is actually smaller than eight inches, so you can tote it all over the place with you. However, since it is larger than a phone, you are still able to get those crisp images you expect from an iPad.

The Weight
If you’re looking to size down, you’re likely interested in the weight of the product. After all, you need to know if it’s going to bog you down amidst a load of heavy books for school or supplies for work. Fortunately, this little baby is really perfect for those in need of something light. The mini iPad actually weighs just .68 pounds! That’s an incredibly low number for a device that contains so many applications and so much fun.

The Applications
You probably want to know more about the apps. Well, a lot of them are going to be similar to some of the apps you already have on your other devices. As you are hanging out in the backyard one day, you could use FaceTime to connect with family members who live all of the way across the country. Of course, you will be able to surf the web, check out your email and send messages to people on Facebook and all of your other favorite social media sites. The best thing about it though is the iPad-specific apps that aren’t available for iPhones or iPods. Also – don’t forget that so many apps work better on this device than others. If you’re a fan of DrawSomething, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to draw masterpieces compared to the screen of your handheld devices.

The Lifetime
Another question that quite a number of people have is about how long the mini iPad lasts before needing a charge. After all, people want to be able to spend hours in their backyard or take the iPad to the library without worrying that it is going to run out of battery. You’ll probably be quite surprised at how long this piece of technology is able to go. The battery life is an astounding 10 hours. Therefore, no matter where you have to go or how far away from home you are straying, you’ll always be able to use it for your needs. Clearly, the mini iPad is useful for people who are away from their houses for extended periods of time on a daily basis.

Clearly, just looking at the mini iPad will make you realize some of its benefits, because it is so sleek and chic. However, you really need to take a closer look to understand the many positive ways that this gadget can positively impact your life and enhance your understanding of technology.

Read more:
A Closer Look at The Mini iPad

Protects your iPad Mini
This classic iPad case from Belkin has been designed to fit the iPad Mini perfectly and offers good protection against scratches, bumps and dinks.

Strap Closure
The cover can easily be secured using the built in strap closure system. Ensuring the front cover only comes open when you want it too.

Adds hardly any bulk
The lightweight and compact design of this case adds very little bulk to the slim iPad Mini. Even though the case is very slimline it still offers protection in all the right places.

Soft-Touch Finish
The leather look finish adds a touch of elegance to your iPad Mini, the soft touch finish add grips which makes you less likely to drop it in the first place.

Read more:
Reviewed: Belkin Classic Strap Cover for iPad Mini

It offers a surprisingly quick, robust and responsive Android powered multi-touch screen tablet experience, where operating is an instinctive breeze, photo’s instinctively pinch zoomable, twist rotatable and websites swipe scrollable, a piece of cake to use.

This tablet steps up to the mark technically with a large 9.7″ ultra sharp capacitive touch screen manufactured with IPS panel technology to provide wide viewing angles and bright colorful sharp images. Movies and videos can also be enjoyed in crisp immersive High Definition by connecting to a HDTV or monitor and as a connected media player it is where this devices strengths may lie. For movies and gaming it is a bargain.

Powered by an ARM based 1.5Ghz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM and a Mali 400 graphics processor for gamin, the tablet has 16GB of standard built in storage, however this can be boosted by microSD card to 32GB and this option is strongly recommended for use as a sassy on-the-fly media smart storage device.

The operating system, Google Android 4, Ice Cream Sandwich works well and has over 360,000 apps and games to choose from including all the top social media offerings so this device lacks nothing that the competition can offer. The installed stock web-browser works well, however it is recommended that the user upgrades to the latest version of Chrome as its a slicker experience.

Connectivity the joypad 9.7 features a selection of options, fast WiFi for wireless, USB for PC connectivity and TV via the HDMI port. The bluetooth keyboard is cleverly designed to clip behind the tablet when not in use, or as a cover for the tablet, but when needed the keyboard provides a flip up support rest to fit together with the tablet, its just like having a mini laptop in your hands which is great for travel. The only thing missing is GPS.

The build quality is good for a bargain basement Android tablet, it makes a good impression and its a well made and attractive device, its slim and portable and feels good with a weight of 627g. For the money it represents a bargain, and is a great entry level full screen tablet.

Read more:
Reviewed: Gemini Joytab 9.7″ tablet

A driver simply selects whether a journey is for business, private or commuting purposes, validating journey information on his mobile device.

The app works in combination with the in-vehicle TomTom’s LINK tracking device which reports the trip information. Company trip records are simultaneously updated in TomTom’s WEBFLEET fleet management system.

The WEBFLEET Logbook app enables additional information to be added by the driver, including the specific purpose of the journey and customer contact details. The intelligent app also learns from previous driver journeys, automatically suggesting trip information for faster and easier logbook handling.

In addition, employees can register themselves as the drivers of specific vehicles allowing fleet managers to identify exactly who is driving, where and at what time, if proof is needed.

Read more:
New app launched to simplify mileage registration

The first product from his new consumer electronics and app venture i.am+ is an accessory that clips onto an iPhone and transforms the 8 megapixel smartphone camera into a 14 megapixel camera, which it is claimed dramatically enhances the clarity and definition of your photographs.

Talking about the device, to the Daily Telegraph, Will.i.am  said: ‘We have our own sensor and a better flash. You dock you phone into our device and it turns you smartphone into a genius-phone. We take over the camera.’

The camera will be the first of a series of digital products that bear his name – to support them, he has invested in what he calls ‘digital real estate’ online.

The first i.am+ camera makes an appearance in the music video for Scream and Shout, a collaborative single for Will.i.am and Britney Spears that is included on the former’s solo album release #willpower.

Apple has granted i.am+ a development licence to produce and sell the camera accessory and camera app for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5, but Will.i.am says that a larger range of tech hardware will follow.

The debut series of i.am+ camera accessories will be officially launched in London on Wednesday 28 November. Selfridges will sell the products exclusively from early December.

Read more:
Will.i.am’s iPhone accessories to ‘turn smartphones into genius phones’

Telefonica, the Spanish parent company of Britain’s O2 cell network, has launched its first iPhone and android app as a direct competitor to programs like Skype. The new app, TuMe (free), combines free text chat, voice calls and picture and location sharing between users of the TuMe app, all in one program rather than having to switch between the Phone and iMessage applications.

The biggest selling point besides the convenience of having several modes of communication in a single app, is that the program stores all interaction history (messages and actions) in a cloud-based timeline, giving users the ability to research messages and events (such as call records) over time, even on different devices. The program also offers all services on a single screen, with no switching back and forth. It also works with both Wi-Fi and 3G or LTE data.

In addition to storing records of a user’s activity, messages and call logs (accessible only to that user, however), the company also asks for permission to upload phone numbers (but no personally-identifying material such as names and addresses) to its server. It does this so that it can match numbers and let users know which of their contacts are also on TuMe. Users must grant permission for this to happen, however.

Read more:
Reviewed: TuMe

Like all of Geneva Sound’s audio gear, it offers a delightful design without neglecting sound quality. At £179, it’s not cheap for such a dinky speaker, but sports a whopping three drivers and allows wireless streaming too.

Geneva Sound’s Model XS is a neat little “handbag” speaker solution. Just 16cm long, it folds up into a neat little leather-bound carry case and weighs around 500g. A 2700mAh built-in battery supplies a claimed five hours of playback, boosting its portable cred into the big leagues.

Functionality-wise, it’s not a bog-standard portable speaker, though. There’s an integrated FM tuner, the obligatory 3.5mm input and Bluetooth streaming, allowing you to connect wirelessly with smartphones, tablets and many more devices besides. Bluetooth is a much better choice than Airplay here. Not only is it more portable, needing no Wi-Fi network, it’s more flexible too – happy to work with Android devices.

Stylish, petite and flexible, the Geneva Sound Model XS fits perfectly with the much larger models in the range. It’ll connect with just about anything too, thanks to its 3.5mm input and Bluetooth support.

Read more:
Reviewed: Geneva Sound Model XS

For some people, it doesn’t matter how much buzz Apple’s devices get; they’re still die-hard BlackBerry users, thank you very much.

Despite Research in Motion’s eroding market share, bad press, and plummeting stock price, the company still makes a phone that many say is simple to use and better for business tasks like typing emails.

Only last week whilst judging the National Business Awards, our managing director Richard Alvin advises us that all four judges, and the NBA staff running the process, were all BlackBerry users.

Here are why we think that small businesses are sticking with the BlackBerry–no matter what:

Speed of Email Access
BlackBerry users swear by their email access and speed. James Clark, owner of Westland Fisheries, says he uses a BlackBerry because of the push email. He says there is no extra setup involved to make this work–email just arrives on the phone automatically. In a side-by-side comparison, some users say they even get email a few minutes before it arrives on an iPhone or Android device.

Simplicity
Call it a dumbphone if you want, but one clear advantage to the BlackBerry–like a budget car or that one-size-fits-all shirt–is that the phones are not too complicated. Jeff Lewis, a spokesperson for Group M, a marketing company, says he plans to stick with the BlackBerry. He can quickly find the Web browser, email apps, and text-messaging tools. Fewer high-end functions–like one-click access to voice recognition or augmented reality apps–make the BlackBerry phone easier to use.

Better Security
Many BlackBerry phones force you to use a complex password–this is a feature that your IT department probably created to make sure your company is safe from hacking. More consumer-oriented phones like the Samsung Galaxy S III also offer authentication, but some of the features can be easily bypassed. (For example, the facial-recognition security will work if someone has a head that’s a similar size and shape to your own tries to tap into your phone.) Amy Zhang, a managing member of Affinity Fund Services, says her company uses BlackBerry because of the need for better security.

Fast Typing
I have not experienced this problem myself, but some BlackBerry users say the touchscreen keyboards on phones like the iPhone 4S and the Nokia Lumia series do not respond well to finger presses. This is partly based on the size of your fingers and whether you need tactile feedback, although many phones use haptic technology to send a slight buzz when you touch the virtual keys. Richard Alvin, the Group Managing Director of our parent company Capital Business Media, swears by his BlackBerry keyboard: It’s faster than any touch phone.

BlackBerry Messenger
Some users have stayed with the BlackBerry Messenger client, which came to the attention of the wider UK population when it was cited as being used to organise last years riots, Wemett says many of her colleagues and vendors also use this platform, which is like SMS text messaging from the mobile operator but works through the BlackBerry’s Net connection. Familiarity is a common explanation: We trust what we know.

More Privacy
Some BlackBerry users are not big fans of the Google privacy policies. Deb McAlister-Holland, who manages a marketing consulting company, says she won’t use any Google products and has decided to stick with the BlackBerry platform instead. She also says those who prefer iPhone and Android phones may view this as a generational issue–she has no need for the extra apps and services.

Do you swear by your BlackBerry? Do you

Read more:
The reasons small businesses still love their BlackBerrys

Apple has unveiled the iPhone 5, describing it as the thinnest, lightest and fastest handset yet as the brand behind today’s personal computing revolution sets out to prove that it still has the creative edge to dazzle consumers without Steve Jobs at its helm.

Promising a camera that makes “the ocean look bluer” and “kids look happier”, Apple showed off a gadget with a taller 4-inch screen and thinner body, capable of running on 4G mobile networks, including in the UK.

In what has now become an international event, the online audience following this year’s showcase was the largest since the first groundbreaking Apple handset arrived in 2007, but commentators have already described it as the last great iPhone launch.

British shoppers will be able to buy the new handset from 21 September, with the unsubsidised price starting from £529 and depending on memory size.

Apple unveiled a new version of its iTunes music, film and TV series store. The updated software, available from October, uses cloud computing so that viewing paused on one device can be resumed at the same point on another. The UK’s largest mobile network, EE, will have an effective monopoly on sales, given that it will be the only network with 4G service before Christmas and rivals could take up to a year before they are ready to launch one.

With a feature set widely leaked before the launch – and described by one tech blogger as “evolutionary rather than revolutionary” – sales of the latest version of Apple’s “Jesus Phone” will be watched closely by those who wonder whether the world’s largest company has what it takes under new chief executive Tim Cook to retain its creative momentum.

From the launch event in San Francisco, Cook said: “Only Apple could create such amazing hardware, software and services and bring them together. Apple has never been stronger.”

Apple is expected to shift significantly more phones in the runup to Christmas than the 37m it sold last year, with research firm IDC predicting sales of 51m units. Nonetheless, it now has a fierce competitor in Samsung, which has already shipped 20m of its best selling Galaxy SIII handsets and is expected to slash its price over the coming weeks.

“The company has changed,” said IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo. “It is a lot more focused on profits and management rather than product. Hopefully that won’t bring Apple back to where it was in the past.”

In 1996, when Jobs rejoined the company after a period in the wilderness, it was on the verge of bankruptcy. All that changed with successive hits including the brightly coloured iMac computers, the iPod, which changed the music industry, and the world’s most popular phones and tablets.

With the release of the first iPhone in 2007, Apple triggered a personal computing revolution which has shifted our online lives away from PCs and laptops and on to smartphones and tablets.

It is a revolution that has turned Apple into the world’s most valuable company, with $620bn market capitalisation and a near $100bn pile of unspent cash, largely held in foreign bank accounts to avoid the tax bill repatriation would incur.

A successful iPhone5 could boost GDP in the US, with ripples around the world for the more than 150 companies in Apple’s supply chain, and the mobile networks hoping to fatten their revenues from an increasingly smartphone dependent subscriber base. But a new edition that lacks the wow factor needed to persuade shoppers to part with hundreds of pounds to replace their existing smartphones could have wider implications.

“There is an economic impact if they don’t come up with something more exciting than they did last time,” says telecoms strategist Bengt Nordström. “The impact will be slower growth in the industry, and this is one of the few industries that have been growing.”

Cook was never the ideas man, but is credited with making the Jobs vision a commercial success by reorganising Apple into a slick money-making outfit, closing its factories and outsourcing manufacturing to an array of largely Asian suppliers.

The challenge now is whether Apple can hold on to its creative edge without Jobs. To make this happen, Cook is relying on those who report to him such as British-born Sir Jonathan Ive whose minimalist designs and attention to detail can be seen in Apple’s hardware, and head of software Scott Forstall.

The fact that so many of the iPhone5‘s features, from photographs of its inner workings to its screen size and 4G capability, were leaked before the launch added to the feeling that Apple’s marketing events have lost some of their magic.

Jobs was a master showman, obsessively keeping details under wraps until the last moment, and often saving the most interesting news until the end of his presentations, pretending to walk off the stage before announcing, finger in the air, that he did have “one more thing”.

But as Ricky Gervais pointed out, there are legions of diehard Apple fans prepared to buy its latest hardware no matter how incremental the changes. The comedian tweeted: “Can’t wait for the new iPhone 5. I’ve had this mint condition, perfectly good, antique iPhone 4 for over a year now. Embarrassing.”

Read more:
iPhone 5: Apple unveils its faster, thinner 4G handset

This well-designed case provides the ultimate in versatility with a removable Bluetooth keyboard, a detachable iPad case, and stylus. The stylus, and the integrated elasticated loop on the case to keep it safe when not in use, is a great asset for anyone using any of the note-taking or paper apps available on the market as it means that the iPad really can replace your note pad in meetings.

The case is made out of a nice black leather which stands up to daily use very well as does the magnetic bond between the removable bluetooth keyboard and case ensuring that the keyboard doesn’t go flying off every time you open the case.

The keyboard itself is nice to use and very responsive and feels very solid. It also has a very good battery life with it only needing to be charged at periodic intervals.

With the keyboard attached the case is a little bulky, so if you were using the device for leisure and not needing to use the additional functionality it brings you can easily leave it behind, plus if you really wanted to travel light you could detach the flap as just use the case as a sleeve to protect the back and sides.

We have tested integrated case and keyboards before and whilst good are a little too bulky for everyday use, especially when also having to take a notepad to meetings, but this NUU case really does provide the best of both worlds and is a worthy addition to your working kit bag.

Cost: £79.99

BM Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: gonuu.com

Read more:
Reviewed: NUU iPad KeyCase

There are not that many dedicated camera cases on the market, but the range from Crumper is definitely one of the best.

This slr camera bag kept my Canon EOS5 very safe and secure and, given the English weather, very dry even during a torrential downpour when I was far rom dry!

The bag is stylish and has a reassuring amount of padding around the outside to make you feel that the contents will be very safe and secure and the movable and removable inside dividers ensure that no matter what model of camera or lenses you have they will be very secure.

There are other bags on the market which are very box-like in their design and many do not have anywhere near the amount of padding both around the outside and on the inside dividers to ensure that your – invariably not very cheap – camera stays safe.

Cost: £95.00

BM Rating: 4.5 out of 5

From: www.lovecases.co.uk/

Read more:
Reviewed: Crumpler Cupcake 7500 SLR Camera Bag

The near field communication (NFC) payments solution will be the first service to come from the partnership.

Both companies said they will examine other areas like person-to-person money transfers, loyalty rewards and digital payment services. They will also work on developing services for small businesses to accept payments using mobile phones.

The businesses had been working together for the last three years on Orange’s Quick Tap service, which used NFC on selected devices, and the Orange Cash prepaid card.

Everything Everywhere chief marketing officer Gerry McQuade said: ‘Working with MasterCard is an important step in making mobile contactless payments more widely available for our 27 million customers. By moving our existing co-branded card offers onto mobile devices, we are closer to a world where our customers will be able to use their phone to pay for travel to work, pay for small purchases and take advantage of loyalty rewards from their favourite retail outlets.’

Marion King, president of MasterCard UK & Ireland, said: ‘We’re delighted to be working with Everything Everywhere, the UK’s leading mobile operator. MasterCard’s vision is of a world beyond cash, where consumers and small businesses alike can benefit from simple payments using smart technology. The partnership we are announcing today builds on our strong heritage in the mobile payments space and ensures that MasterCard remains the partner of choice for leading businesses in the UK.

‘As the use of cash continues to decline, we will be able to provide Everything Everywhere’s 27 million customers with an attractive range of new payment services backed by the processing power and security of MasterCard.’

Everything Everywhere is the latest operator to ready a mobile payments service, after O2 launched its Wallet earlier this year. Vodafone is working on a mobile payments service with Visa, which will be launched during its 2012/13 financial year.

Read more:
Everything Everywhere signs five-year mobile payments deal with MasterCard

The BlackBerry maker said that the new tablets will be launched in Canada next week and rolled out in coming months in the United States, Europe, South Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The PlayBook tablet, launched more than a year ago, is strategically important for RIM as it is the first product to use the QNX operating system RIM will move onto a new generation of BlackBerry phones designed to compete with sexier devices already on the market.

But the PlayBook was widely criticized at launch for lacking basic features such as email, and it has failed to wow consumers despite sharply discounted pricing and a major software upgrade.

Read more:
RIM finally launch a new Playbook model with built-in mobile connectivity

British businesses are spending more than £1billion a year on replacing electronic devices broken by clumsy staff members.  This is the startling fact from new research, by Plastic Logic, which has also found that one in four employees has accidentally damaged an electronic device at work.

Smartphones are the most likely to be broken, accounting for over sixty per cent of damaged devices. Tablet PCs fare slightly better in the workplace, making up just a tenth of accidental damage.

Most damage to devices is caused by workers accidentally dropping them – a quarter of electronic devices are broken in this way. Some 14 per cent of devices are left in pieces by clumsy workers sitting on them by mistake. Even the humble cup of tea can prove deadly with one in ten devices ceasing to work after having liquid spilt on it in the office.

Ironically, it is the IT workers and engineers who cause the most damage to their technology, with more than a quarter of people working in this sector saying they have accidentally cracked the screen of their smartphone.

Glasgow came out as having the clumsiest workers, with one in four of the city’s employees having broken an electronic device at work. Workers in Plymouth were found to be the most careful in the country – just one in ten has accidentally damaged a work device.

Liverpool’s companies were found to be the least forgiving of their clumsy workers – one in fifty firms in the city has refused to replace an employee’s device because they’ve broken so many.

Age was found to have the biggest impact on how accident prone workers are. More than half of workers aged 16 – 24 have damaged a device at work. Young workers are twice as likely to break devices as those aged 35 – 44, and three times more likely than those who are 45 or older.

On the other hand, the study found that gender has little impact on how clumsy workers are – just one percent divided men and women, with male workers slightly more accident prone than their female colleagues.

“It really is surprising how accident prone people can be with their work equipment. In today’s economic times, British businesses simply cannot afford repeated breakages of expensive electronic devices and the subsequent impact on employee productivity,” said Indro Mukerjee, CEO of Plastic Logic.

Mukerjee continued, “This research shows a clear need for work devices to become more robust and better able to survive the clumsy actions of their owners. At Plastic Logic, we’ve developed ultra-thin, ultra-lightweight, rugged displays that can be bent, dropped, trodden on, or even cut in half and still work. Our technology is ideal for replacing glass-based displays of all sizes in these apparently fragile devices. As a result, we believe that British businesses would dramatically cut the cost of clumsiness, and improve business performance and productivity.”

Read more:
Clumsy staff cost British businesses £1billion a year

Epson’s iProjection app for the iPhone and iPad lets you connect wirelessly to a number of Epson projectors–no laptop, router, or cables necessary. Paired with a small Epson PowerLite 705 (£450), this seemed like a good way to go. Configuring the free app took just five minutes, but it supports static images only–no transitions, animations, or video–and there is a slight lag between phone and screen.

If there is projector with an HDMI port on-site you could look at Apple TV, a compact £99 device that fits into the palm of your hand. After connecting Apple TV to the projector with an HDMI cable you could use Apple’s AirPlay to establish a wireless connection to an iPhone 4S. You could then create your presentation in Keynote and save it to Apple’s iCloud service.

Using the Keynote app (£6.99) you could download the presentation to your phone. (You can also edit your presentation or even create one from scratch right on your phone.) Setup took about 15 minutes, but there was a big upside: Swiping on my phone brought my full-blown presentation–transitions, animations, and video–to life onscreen (albeit with a delay of about a second).

Apple TV doesn’t work with Android phones, so I also tried a free service called MightyMeeting on my Samsung Galaxy S II. (It works with the iPhone and iPad, too.) With MightyMeeting, you store your presentation in the cloud, which allows you to access it from a connected device anywhere. MightyMeeting does not support transitions, video, or animations, and you can’t edit or create a presentation on the phone, as you can with Keynote.

You also must connect your phone to the projector using an HDMI cable with a special adapter. (A paid version lets you use your phone as a wireless controller, but you still need a laptop as a go-between.) On the plus side, setup took less than 10 minutes, and as I swiped through my slides, they were immediately mirrored by the projector.

In the end, I went with Keynote with my iPhone and Apple TV for my presentation. It was a bit trickier to set up than the other options were, but the ability to edit slides on the fly was a big plus. And, even without an inherent gift for public speaking, I wowed my audience with the ability to call up animations and video with just the tiny device in my hand.

Read more:
Toolbox: Leaving the laptop behind when making a presentation

Design
HTC have put a lot of effort into making the One S their sleekest, lightest smartphone yet. A mere 119.5g and thin as you like it’ll easily slot near-unnoticed into a jacket pocket.

Display
Boasting a large 4.3″ screen with excllent ambient light sensors and pin-point detail, the One S easily outdoes their fruit-logoed rivals. This makes watching videos all the more enjoyable and perhaps more importantly for businesses, means that the small-text from emails and websites is easily readable even from distance.

Camera
The HTC One S has an 8MP camera with auto-focus, LED flash and the ability to shoot video at 1080p. You also get the ability to take photos and shoot video simultaneously and continuous shooting for photographs.

Platform
The HTC One S makes use of the Android platform and whether you want to go this way over Apple is really down to you. Designed by Google, this intuitive platform gives you access to over 70,000 apps and crucially is compatible with widgets. This makes it far easier to browse social networking websites, recieve news and listen to music. More importantly it gives you access to Google Apps: every smartphone for example comes with a turn-by-turn navigation app.

Additional Features
With a flick of the wrist you can turn on the fantastic car-friendly option, giving you the option of hands-free navigation using Google Maps and satellite positioning. You can also play music and recieve calls.

Every HTC One S comes with the innovative Beats headphones. Sure music lovers are divided over their quality, but for free headphones they are of extremely high quality.

Conclusion
An extremely accessible phone, the HTC One S is almost as simple to use as their iPhone rivals and perhaps boasts a better virtual keypad. It baosts a massive screen, an excellent camera and an array of useful features. Ultimately it is up to you whether you prefer to take an Android phone over Apple with their vast app library, but Andriod’s accessible setup and widgets are definitely selling points.

If you are looking into purchasing an Android phone, the HTC One S would make a brilliant choice. It is accessible, durable and intuitive- in short, everything you need.

Costs
Free with £31 per month business plans.

Stockists: http://www.vodafone.co.uk/business/index.htm

Business Matters Rating:
4.8 out of 5

Read more:
Under Review: HTC One S

The mobile platform is the fastest growing consumer service at LinkedIn with 22 per cent of LinkedIn traffic coming from mobile devices. The LinkedIn iPad experience has been built and designed taking into account the unique and specific ways that professionals use their iPads, in particular, as a reading tool.

New features include:
Calendar feature: Get an informative snapshot of all the people you will be meeting with that day and everything you need to know about them
News you can use: Get timely and relevant news surfaced by what your connections and industry peers are sharing and reading
Build your professional brand: Easily connect and follow up with your professional peers and share your expertise

Ariel Eckstein, Managing Director, LinkedIn EMEA said, “It’s important to be where our members are and increasingly, busy professionals are on the go and using LinkedIn while out and about. The iPad application aims to help professionals to be better prepared and empowered to make smarter business decisions wherever they may be working”.

Availability of LinkedIn iPad Application
The LinkedIn iPad application is free from the Apple iTunes Apps Store

Read more:
LinkedIn launches dedicated iPad application

Open to existing and new O2 small business customers On & On will let customers use their phone more than ever before, while paying less.

The new package will give business users access to unlimited calls, unlimited texts along with 1GB of data, and is available on a 24 month contract with a handset included or on a 12 month contract for the SIM only.

On & On will allow small business users to make calls, send texts and surf the web without the worry of incurring high charges. With a range of price points depending on handsets, for just £21.67 a month, ex VAT for customers keeping their current phone or from £30 ex VAT a month with a new phone – On & On offers unlimited minutes to mobiles and landlines in the UK and unlimited text messages to UK based numbers. Also included is a gigabyte (GB) of data for business to use however they like, including tethering and streaming. For more prolific internet users, there is also the option to purchase an extra 1GB of data for £4.17, allowing users to create a package that’s right for their data needs.

Claire Darley, Head of Small Business Sales at O2 said: “We believe that On & On will be the most competitive tariff in the SMB space for some while. O2 has been talking to small business customers and we know that they want better value from mobile networks, as well as simple tariffs.

Devices like smartphones have revolutionised the way we do business because they enable us to stay constantly connected. These tools and technologies add an enormous amount of value, but also make cost management more complex.

Small businesses want to know exactly what they are going to be paying each month to run their communications and connect their staff, suppliers and customers. On & On helps business customers to get the best of both worlds by keeping costs fixed whilst allowing employees to use their devices freely, without the worry of phone bills weighing them down.”

To help make that new phone even more affordable, On & On is available for £30, £34.17 or £38.33 all ex VAT per month. Each price point gives customers the same unlimited UK minutes, the same unlimited UK texts and the same 1GB of data. The three different price points enable a customer to select the right tariff for them based on their monthly tariff and hardware cost. For instance, the iPhone 4S 16GB has an up-front cost of £59.99 (usually £99.99) on the £30 ex VAT On & On tariff, £19.99 (normally £49.99) on the £34.17 ex VAT tariff or free on the £38.66 ex VAT per month tariff.

On & On small business customers will also get the same peace of mind as all O2 Pay Monthly customers with regular text updates on how much data they’re using.

Read more:
O2 launches On & On with unlimited tariffs for UK Small Business

The firm has struggled as many users have abandoned their BlackBerrys for touch-screen phones, such as Apple’s iPhone and models running Google’s Android software.

Research in Motion (RIM) chief executive Thorsten Heins said: “We plan to refocus on the enterprise business and capitalise on our leading position in this segment.

“We believe that BlackBerry cannot succeed if we tried to be everybody’s darling and all things to all people. Therefore, we plan to build on our strength.”

But the move could be worrying for SME customers who use the company’s BIS internet system as their means of getting emails pushed to their devices and do not have exchange servers powering their smaller company email systems.

Read more:
BlackBerry maker could be about to give up on the SME market

Broadly the main upgrade of the Ipad3 is a change in the screen, However it is hard to overstate the significance of this upgrade as Apple has packed four times as many pixels into the same space and the improvement has to be seen to be believed as the display is extraordinarily sharp with text and photos looking beautiful.

Of all the changes Apple has made to the iPad since last year’s release of the iPad 2, this is the one that will make you want to buy a new iPad immediately.

There are other changes too, of course, particularly in performance. The upgrade is apparent already in some of Apple’s apps but it will become clearer still once new apps are released that take advantage of the graphics capabilities of the new A5X processor.

Photo and video related tasks will get a boost, which is handy because Apple’s new iPhoto and iMovie apps are remarkably powerful editing tools.

The performance jump is not as significant as the leap between the original iPad and the iPad 2. In normal use, it means that things are slightly more responsive. iBooks, for example, opens a book noticeably more quickly.

You’ll notice a difference if you buy the ‘4G’ iPad too. Though the super-fast LTE 4G mobile broadband service is not available in Britain, the new iPad supports faster 3G protocols than the iPad 2. Depending on your network, data downloads will be up to six-times faster.

Last year Apple brought cameras to the iPad, primarily for video chat. This year, the rear camera has been upgraded to 5-megapixels, with lens technology taken from the iPhone 4S and a range of image enhancements from the software to the processor.

Apple is pitching the iPad as a quality camera, although we were a little disappointed and struggled to be able to tell the difference between some identical shots taken with both the iPad2 and this third generation device.

The iPad is an unwieldy camera. Still, it is handy for quick snaps when the iPad is the nearest thing to hand.

Perhaps more useful for the business market is the new dictation feature. Tap the new microphone button on the virtual keyboard and you will be able to dictate emails, messages and other documents. It’s hard not to feel self-conscious at first while talking to your iPad but it is a time saver.

Regardless of those features, the new iPad is all about the screen. It is very slightly heavier and thicker but not enough that you would notice. Apple’s magnetic Smart Covers still fit and the battery life remains a robust 10 hours.

If you have been holding off getting a tablet then this is the one to go for. In my view, it’s the best that money can buy.

Existing iPad owners who are thinking of upgrading should take a look at this new device. You’ll see the difference, but we are unsure if many will non-geeks will rush to upgrade.

Cost
The new iPad, £165.83 from £22.50 on 24 month pay monthly plans

Stockists:
www.vodafone.co.uk/business

Business Matters Rating
4.8 out of 5

Read more:
Under Review: The iPad3

The outstanding Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a major contender in the tablet market

So what sets it? For starters the device is a marvel of engineering and just feels right. Unlike the Acer Iconia A500 and the MotorolaXoom, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 finds that ideal balance between a pick-up-and go e-book reader such as the Amazon Kindle 3 and a 10-inch tablet that’s perfect for watching movies on a long car trip, but given the Android Marketplace provides access to thousands of business led apps.

You can resize widgets and scroll through open apps in the pop-up thumbnails for the “recent apps” list.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 doesn’t have a USB port, so it doesn’t take advantage of the new Android 3.1 feature to support USB-connected peripherals which is a shame, but that’s not the direction Samsung is going with this tablet. This is all about pick-up-and-go functionality and portability.

Samsung actually downgraded the built-in camera on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 compared to the Galaxy Tab 10.1V, which had an 8MP rear camera. Still, the new model has a 3MP rear camera, which is three times higher than the Apple iPad 2’s camera. There’s also a front-facing 2MP camera.

There are quite a few interesting perks and additions on this tablet. Some may seem underwhelming at first, but as a whole they give Apple a good run for the prize.

One fact is that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a battery for all-day tablet use. In our tests, it lasted about nine hours for everyday tasks and marginally longer that you can expect from an iPad.

The 10.1 also has a four-way accelerometer and gyro and responded faster to quick turns and screen rotations, and generally worked better for controlling games. It also has great side speakers for playing music and movie audio, and plays smooth HD video.

And of course, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 matches the features of other Android tabs: built-in GPS, support for Adobe Flash in the browser, 1290 x 800 screen resolution, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, the Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor and Android tablet app.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a smart buy for anyone who wants a light and portable Android tablet. Google still has a ways to go on apps for Android and there are tens of thousands of worthy iOS apps.

If, unlike 75per cent of everyone who is reading this, you genuinely want a tablet and are not just going to automatically buy an iPad 2 or 3 then you really should look very seriously at the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Cost
£190.83 on 24 month pay monthly plans

Stockists:
www.vodafone.co.uk/business

Business Matters Rating
4.7 out of 5

Read more:
Under Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

A tiny, fully-functioning PC that costs just £22 could help Britain to unearth a new generation of tech entrepreneurs.

The  Raspberry Pi, which went on sale today, is built to teach children how to programme – it looks like a naked circuit board, but can plug into any television and work like a normal computer.

‘Initiatives like the Raspberry Pi scheme will give children the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of programming,’ said Secretary of State Michael Gove prior to launch. ‘This is the cutting edge of education technology.’

The credit-card-sized device is designed to teach children how to programme, and includes a wi-fi connection to access the internet was created by volunteers in the UK, and all profits go back to a charity.

Its makers hope that enthusiasts will write software for it, and that it will be used in schools.

Eben Upton, the Executive Director of the Raspberry Pi Foundation said, ‘We didn’t realise how successful this was going to be. This means we can scale to volume. Now we can concentrate on teaching people to programme.’

‘Six years after the project’s inception, we’re nearly at the end of our first run of development – although it’s just the beginning of the Raspberry Pi story,’ says the British company.

‘We have entered into licensed manufacture partnerships with two British companies, Premier Farnell and RS Components. They’ll be manufacturing and distributing the devices on behalf of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. The Foundation continues to make a small profit from each Raspberry Pi sold, which we’ll be putting straight back into the charity.’

The Pi requires an additional television and keyboard to function – but the £16 gizmo will eventually be able to do office programmes such as word processing, internet and even TV and video.

Its makers say, ‘The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It’s a capable little PC which can be used for many of the things your desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word-processing and games.

‘It also plays high-definition video. We want to see it being used by kids all over the world to learn programming.’

The computer resembles the first Apple I boards that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak sold from Steve Jobs’ garage in 1976.

The pocket-sized PC runs the operating system Linux or Mac OS.

The chips and connectors allow users to connect cameras and other gadgets via USB, and are powerful enough to deal with hi-def video and sound.

The Raspberry Pi is available at either Premier Farnell or RS Components however you might need to be patient as initial stocks sold out within minutes of the launch.

Read more:
£20 Micro computer set to revolutionise British entrepreneurs

Free wi-fi in hotels is always such a crowd-pleaser that it’s amazing it’s not universal. Of course, some hotels really don’t want you to stay in your room, wanting you to be in their restaurant, bar or conference room.

In these hotels, wi-fi can be prohibitive, and since the price is usually per gadget, you triple your bill when you connect tablet, phone and laptop. Some hotels don’t allow you to have more than one device registered to your room anyway.

Worse, if they do offer free wi-fi it’s restricted to communal areas like the bar – where you’ll be spending money in a different way. This is fine if you’re checking Facebook updates but not suited to confidential work.

Belkin’s latest gadget gives you the freedom to create your own personal hotspot for multiple gadgets. You use the hotel’s network, so you are still paying for connecting to that, but only for the router, which creates the connection for all your other gadgets.

It works with up to five devices simultaneously, which is handy if you’re using your room as a hub for your colleagues to work with you while you’re all away from the office.

What’s more, the router connects by Ethernet cable, so if there’s actually no wi-fi at the hotel, only a cable connection, the Belkin means you’re not restricted to where to sit. The router is supplied with the appropriate cables and a charger with UK and EU connectors.

It’s very simple to set up and works well, though if the hotel wi-fi is slow then using multiple devices will only hobble it further. And if you’ve picked a place with a wi-fi connection but no Ethernet option, it’s no use.

Still, it may be cheaper than upgrading to a better-equipped hotel. And needless to say it works everywhere, not just in hotels, so if your office has cabled internet only, it could add extra flexibility – though check with your IT supervisor first.

This is the sort of gadget that you would hope didn’t need to exist – hotel internet should be fast, wireless and free. But until then, it’s a good stopgap.

Read more:
Under Review: Belkin’s Go router turns a hotel room into an office

“Building on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s proven web browsing, multimedia and multitasking strengths, the new BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 introduces a range of new communications and productivity enhancements as well as expanded app and content support,” said David J. Smith, SVP Mobile Computing, Research In Motion.

New BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 features include:

• Integrated email client with a powerful unified inbox: With BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 you have the option to use a  unified inboxthat consolidates all messages in one place, including messages from Facebook®, LinkedIn® and Twitter®, as well as personal and work email accounts.
• Social Integration with Calendar and Contacts apps:  The built-in calendar harnesses information from social networks and makes it available where and when users need it.  Contact cards are also dynamically populated with updated information from Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to create a consolidated view of contacts.
• Updated BlackBerry Bridge app: BlackBerry® Bridge is a unique app that provides a Bluetooth® connection between your BlackBerry PlayBook and core apps on your BlackBerry® smartphone (including BBM, Email, Contacts, Calendar and Browser) in order to let you view the content on the larger tablet display. With BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, it’s easier and quicker than ever to take documents, web pages, emails and photos that appear on your BlackBerry smartphone and display them on your BlackBerry PlayBook for an optimized viewing and editing experience. The updated BlackBerry Bridge app also provides a new remote control feature that allows a BlackBerry smartphone to be used as a wireless keyboard and mouse for a BlackBerry PlayBook.
• Improved mobile productivity: Updated document editing functions, the new Print To Go app, and increased control and manageability of corporate data with BlackBerry® Balance allow you to get more out of your BlackBerry PlayBook every day. Plus, an updated virtual keyboard with auto correction and predictive next word completion learns how you type to enable faster, more accurate typing.
• New apps and content: Thousands of new apps are being added to BlackBerry App World today (including a range of Android®apps that will run on the BlackBerry PlayBook). A new BlackBerry Video Store¹ is launching today. Enhanced web browsing capabilities are also available with BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0.

Read more:
New Operating System for BlackBerry PlayBook tablet users including email finally released

Design
The Samsung Galaxy S2 is slim and light – it’s plastic body together with the battery weighs only 116g whilst also giving off a feel of solid construction.

Display
It’s screen is very bright, all the colors are eye-popping and very beautiful, and they don’t darken or fade when you look at the screen at an angle. It’s great for watching movies and even for playing HD games (there are plenty of them in Android Market).

Processor
The Samsung Galaxy S2 boasts a 1.2GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor that provides really fast performance without any delay. Web browsing is very quick even via Wi-Fi networks.

Camera
The Samsung Galaxy S2 has a good 8MP camera with auto-focus and LED flash that takes 3264 x 2448 photos and 1080p videos at 30fps.

Platform
Android the Samsung Galaxy S2 runs is the most popular platform at the moment, famous for being easy to customize and for having a huge number of apps in Android Market, too.

Conclusion
This is the first Android phone that I have used and I was very impressed. It was fast, easier to use for web browsing and apps use than, my smart phone of choice, the BlackBerry, and after a while I got used to using the touch screen instead of hard keyboard. Buyers should definitely look at this phone before automatically going to buy an iPhone 4S.

Cost
Free from £30 pay monthly plans

Stockists:  www.vodafone.co.uk/business

Business Matters Rating

4.5 out of 5

Read more:
Under Review: Samsung Galaxy S2