In Association With

Joe Drumgoole, our resident technology expert joins George every Monday evening at 6.30pm to road test all the latest products and look at the week’s biggest tech stories.   Check out this weeks  technology queries and Joe ’s advice and recommendations along with some of our listeners texts and emails, below.

If you have any questions for our technology slot or recommendations do email us at technology@newstalk.ie

Q: Can you recommend a camera for under 200euros Janice

Joe: Any of the Cannon Icos or the Sony Cyber Shot ranges are very good and under 150euros. I have always used the Cannon range and they are excellent but any of the major brands will do a good job for you. It is looking around in the shops and looking at the deals of the day.

George: I love the Cyber Shot camera from Sony, I had brought it to Washington for the Obama Inauguration. It was great, charged it up the night before and took great shots the next day.

Joe: There are some really good website you are purchase cameras on Pixmania.com it is a good consumer site and reasonably prices.  Also another site is Komplet.com or Dabs.ie.   It is worth checking these for deals.

How can Joe in Dublin get an Iphone when he is under contract to Vodafone till October. Can he get an upgrade till then ?

Joe: Vodafone may let you buy out the contract.   It is good to have a chat with the guys in the shops, they can bring up your account there and sometimes they would do a deal if you have a lot of traffic coming through on the account.

If my Iphone is connected to my wifi can I be sure that  I can use this convertor to download emails instead of my mobile phone connection. Also when roaming why does my Iphone not need anti viral software like my PC. Richard

Joe: When you are roaming there is a setting connected to your Iphone called ‘Don’t Roam Data’ Turn roaming on if it cannot get to Wifi it will automatically turn to 3G it will cost you money. Always keep the roaming settings off on the phone

With regard to viruses a lot of them are specifically based on the way the programs are laid out on windows and they link up to the windows programme.  This cannot be done on the Iphone.

Q: Everytime I turn on my PC Narrator comes on my PC how do I get rid of this. Brendan

This sounds like one of the helper menus has been turned on with your computer. Go to the control panel and you will be able to turn it off there.

Q: Is there a problem with the Iphone and Apple. Deirdre.

Joe: Apple are saying there is nothing wrong but there are reports that the signal can be affected if you hold the phone a certain way.  In the USA Apple are giving away free rubber covers when you buy and new phone. There is no such offer here as of yet.

Track The Pollen Count

For asthma and hayfever sufferers everywhere this new pollen count application from

Irishhealth.ie will be a boon.

http://www.irishhealth.com/pollen_cnt.html

Gives you today and tomorrows count online. Needs to add email/text alerts to really

fly. Over 432k people are afflicted with hayfever in Ireland.

Q: I cannot make an MP 3 CD from the music in my I Tunes Library. Why not and how can I do it Declan.

Joe: You should be able to make an MP3 CD from your Itunes library.  You need to convert the default format in Itunes.  Convert the AAC to MP3 first.  Pick the music, go to the info box and convert to MP3 it should work fine.

Q: Should I buy the Iphone 3gs or should I hold out till the Iphone 4 comes out and do you know when it is due out. Owen

Joe: It depends, the Iphone 3gs is a great phone but if you are willing to hold out and pay a little more for the Iphone4 I would. It is a beautiful device.

Q: If an Ipad is bought in Belfast would it  work in the republic with an Irish Itunes account ?

Joe: It will work in the republic though  it can be difficult to connect to the 3G network.

Product Review

Canon Legria – HFM31
32GB of memory built in which gives threes hours of video at highest quality mode. There is a slot for an SD card so you can beef up the memory easily. It has a touch screen which is supposed to be a major innovation, I found the touch screen fussy and difficult to use (I’m guessing its a resistive screen).

It has a 3.3 MegaPixel sensor that makes for great video but pretty rubbish still photos. The quality of the the video is amazing.

Excellent stabilisation system which is needed because the big this about this camera is the amazing 15x zoom feature. This allows you to pick out your child at the school sports day from miles away.  Definitely the best zoom camcorder we have covered.

This package doesn’t come cheap though. Expect to shell out over 850 euro for this very slick camera.

Sony Philips FM Wireless headPhones – SBC HC 8440

Wireless headphones without the muss and fuss of bluetooth. A small FM transmitter gets the signal to these super comfortable wireless headphones. Ranged is reputed to be 100m but I started hearing artefacts at around 20-30 metres. Still perfect for round the house at home. In the office they picked up some interference which could be heard when music wasn’t playing so you probably wouldn’t leave them on.  Bluetooth still rules for listening to music on your phone but if you have an audio system at home with audio out these could be the boys for you. Price 49.99 from all DID Stores and online at www.DID.ie

Product Review

Simple Mobile – Just phone calls

A phone, no camera, no GPS, no high res screen. Just makes calls, has big keys. Nasty screen bit like your old 6310i, George.  Has a built in torch. For people who just want a phone this is great. But the build quality is fairly crude and it feels more like a play phone than a real phone. 99.90 euros seems a bit steep. Big Buttons, Big Numbers and big text. Available from www.markettown.ie.

Q: I am buying a laptop for the first time for the family including teenagers, any suggestions. Mag

Joe: I would really recommend a desk top computer, there are loads of form factor desk computers available.  They have a better screen, keyboard, and mouse and overall better performance.  If you want to go with a laptop I would recommend the Imac.

George: DID Electrical have a great range of laptops and desktop computers.  You can also shop online at wwwDID.ie

Q: Can you get You Tube on an Iphone. Frank

Joe: Yes you can, it is the only flash site you can get on an iphone.

Q: Where can you get a cheap netbook, I need to buy two of them for presents.

Joe: I would highly recemmend buying them on the web. Dell have a good selection.

Q: Would you recommend buying and Iphone in Hong Kong and if I did would it work in Ireland. Diarmuid

Joe: The Iphone would work for a while but with the next upgrade it wold probably stop working.

Q: How good are Virtual Private Networks ? Claire

Joe:Yes they do give more privacy but at a price.  If you have a big business it is well worth investing in this.

Q: Do you know if you can update the Iphone 3G to the new 4.0s when released in the summer. ? David

Joe: Yes you can but I do not know if they are going to charge for it.  They have not charged for upgrades up to know so hopefully not in the future.

Q: Have used the Sony Xperia yet.

Joe: No not yet but I am hearing good things about it.

George: Lisa from Greystones says please donate any old phones to Irishautismaction.  There is a great app that helps Children with Autism it is called Grace.

Q Does any Irish company do GPS motor insurance ? Patrick

Joe: I am unsure if Motor Insurance Companies cover this I would say it would be covered under house contents. People do steal the GPS all the time.

George: I have installed Aarrangemyworld on my computer. It is like a filing cabinet for all your information ie. VHI, Insurance, banking etc.  We will have a look at it next week.
Q: I wish to buy a new television, should I go for a 40” or 42” LED or LCD.

Joe: LCD will be a lot cheaper and LEC would give you a better picture. It really depends on what you like to watch on your TV. I find Sports is better viewed on LED.

George: I have to mention routers, I just got one installed I have all my laptops, phones all set up with the router.

Phone Review – HTC HD2

Lovely phone running the Windows Mobile OS so you can expect it to work with all the Microsoft goodies (especially exchange). Gorgeous screen and built in support for twitter and facebook. No flash restrictions, the D2 provides the Opera browser by default and works with all flash sites.  WIFI a little twitchy.  5MP camera is nice, and it has a built in flash, but the lens sticks out a bit and looks like it could get scratched easily.
At the end of the day its a windows mobile phone v 6.5 which not everyone loves, but HTC have worked hard to make the UI really comfortable. If you can’t don’t want an iPhone this is definitely a contender as a replacement.

420 prepay 220 postpay on Vodafone.

50 to 199 on 02.

Gadget Review

Sony ICFC1IP ipod docking station:

• Wake/Sleep to iPod, Radio, or Buzzer
• Automatic Time Set (ATS), Automatic Daylight Savings Time (ADST)
• Digital AM/FM Tuner
• Full Function Wireless Remote Control
• iPod Battery Charging
• cost €79.99

Joe: It works really well, I like it a lot.  It has no station tracking.It is a very nice package it has all the pieces you want. It was very easy to set up. It is a very good price for a good docking station. This docking station is available at all DID Electrical stores and online at www.did.ie

Guest on Technology

Alan Coleman from getitkeepit.com joined George and Joe to talk about www.getitkeepit.com

Consumers are estimated to receive nearly 350 pieces of mail every year. In addition the average person has nearly 3000 mails in the email folder. Finally there is increasing emphasis being placed by service providers on turning off paper and asking users to go to their websites to retrieve their bills and statements.

GetitKeepit.com offers consumers a way to manage and analyse all their utility bills in one place for free. Getitkeepit can link to the top 10 service providers in Ireland and retrieve all a users available past bills, current bills and future bills. When we retrieve this billing information our platform automatically analyses it, creates calendar entries and can alert users to new events. Users can also pay their bills on the site and organise them in however they wish

GetitKeepit.com is free for consumers to use.

Laura Hegarty – Technology Trainer – NCBI joined George and Joe to talk about phone and computers applications for the visually impaired.

Supernova

Supernova is a full screen reader offering magnification, speech and Braille support, giving people visual impairment the freedom to access Windows in the way that suits them best.

Nuance Talks

Nuance Talks converts the displayed text on the mobile handset into highly intelligible speech.  Blind and low-vision users can take advantage of most features, including contact directories, caller ID, text messaging, help files.

Zoom Text Magnifier

This enlarges and enhances everything on your computer screen, making all your applications easy to see and use.  See and hear what you are doing in all of your applications and gives your eyes a rest while Zoon Text reads your documents, web pages, and emails right through your computer’s speakers making your computer easier to see, hear and use.

JAWS 11

The world’s most  popular screen reader. Developed for computer users who vision loss prevents them from seeing screen content.  JAWS reads aloud whats on the PC Screen.  It also provides Braille output in addition to or instead of speech.  An array of versatile features and customizable options lets you tailor JAWS for your individual needs and preferences.

Panasonic HDC TM10 – Super Comact HD Video Camera

Lovely compact HD camera from Panasonic, great 16x xoom which I used to great effect in Dublin zoo over the weekend. Very nice dual mode which allows you to take still and video content just by using a different button. Contact looks stunning when uploaded. Its very much a PC device so when you connect it to your mac it only recognises the still photographs. The video files are in a .MTS file that windows openings in Windows Media Viewer no problem but the Mac spat the dummy.

Panasonic Lumix – DMC-ZX1 – Digital Camera

Simple easy to use with an excellent 8x zoom feature. Also shoots video in HD mode but demonstrates the same poor performance in patchy light as all still cameras in video mode. Comes with great Leica optics. Took some lovely snaps of the kids and found it very compact and easy to carry.

New iPad

Not here yet so this one has been borrowed gratefully from Brian Farrell of Tethras, an Irish startup specialising in translation software for the mobile sector. Its a beautiful game changing  device. 10 hours battery life, amazingly intuitive UI all for around 500 USD. The bad news is these grey market devices have problems if you don’t have a US credit card, no ebooks, no music and no app-store. You also realise these are the only channels to get content and apps onto this device.

No flash support meant I couldn’t track the masters scoreboard over the weekend on it.

I love it, but my recommendation is to wait until they are available in Ireland.

Q: Im looking for a Polaroid camera, are they available anymore? Jacob,

Joe: I have not seen one in ages, do they still exist.  I would think getting the film would be a problem.  You can get small compact printers they work well but not the small as the Polaroid Camera.

Q: What was the name of the Camera that Joe recently purchased ? Robert

Joe: I had to buy a new camera just last week, I would highly recommend the Canon IXUS 951S. Price around 150 euros. 10 mp and 3 Opitcal zoom. Its takes a pretty good video aswell.  More brands so have their own good camera, I recommend to shop around there is good value out there

Q: I have been having problems with the Iplayer on my computer recently what could be causing this. Paul

Go to the Eircom website and look at the speed you are getting on your connection.  Issues could be with (a) your local computer, (b) your network or (c) the remote computer. Check if any of these which would effect your connection.

Q: What is your view on the new Ipad Donal

Joe: I cannot wait to get one, we don’t expect to get them here till mid April.  They are ideal for train journey and travelling to work, if people are prepared for the extra size and weight of them.

Eircom Launches Next Generation Broadband for Ireland

Major initiative to benefit 1 million customers this year

Entry level broadband 8Mb

Automatic FREE upgrades for existing customers

Customers on eircom’s NGB will benefit from no congestion. It will provide users with a better, more consistent ‘free flow’ broadband experience especially during peak times.

This will improve customer experience for high bandwidth activities such as downloading films, gaming and streaming video content. For business customers, it will facilitate new trends such as cloud computing applications

Existing broadband customers on 1Mb, 3Mb and 7Mb will be upgraded for free, as the programme is rolled out. Initially available in Dublin, Next Generation Broadband rollout will be expanded to all major urban areas including Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford by the end of the year. Customers can find out more on www.eircom.net/ngb.

Q: My laptop isn’t able to pick up the internet anymore. It says it cannot find wireless network? Otherwise it’s working fine. Eircom has sent new modem but no joy. Other laptop is ok. Any ideas?

Joe: A few things you can do, check if the WIFI switch is turned on, often you will find that the switch has been turned off. You can check if there are any WIFI signals coming through by looking at the device manager under the control panel. See if there are any clashes between the external and internal hard drives. One final thing is to do check the network panel sometimes the wifi can been disabled.

I had the wireless internet problem too, it turned out that ‘beamer’ that sends the sky t.v upstairs was blocking my wi-fi! When I turned it off it worked fine again  John in Dublin

Q: Can you recommend a good external hard drive for a laptop. Joseph

Joe: There are really good small compact hard drives available holding over a hundred gig of storage space. Worth shopping around there are deals out there.

500GB palm drive cost me €129 6 months ago. Dave

1terrabyte hard drive can be bought for less than 150 euro Eamonn

You can get 500gb for under 100 euro at Komplett Michelle

I recently bought a 1 terrabyte external harddrive for under 100 euro. That’s 10 gigs per euro. Cian

Q: Can you recommend a good site where I can purchase lenshoods. Monica

Joe: Don’t shell out for an expensive lenshood. Goto to lenshoods.net and print one out for free. Simply cut out, fold and deploy. A vast range of cameras are supported.

Q: Is the device available that can help to tidy up and manage my computer and printer cables. Aine

Joe: IKEA have a whole sweet of cheap bits for managing cables at home. Search for the Signum range. All for under 10 euros.

Q: I keep shooting video on my camera in the wrong orientation, how can I fix this. John

We’ve all shot video with the camera at the wrong orientation. Now free video flip and rotate takes the pain out of fixing those images. Search for “free video flip and rotate” to find the download. Make sure that you don’t accidentally ignore the toolbar install which you probably don’t want.

Product Review Panasonic SC SP 00 Docking Station

Beautiful looking docking station, great sound very portable. No WIFI so strictly a docking station. Works with iPods, iPhones and iTouches. Nice remote but suffers from the need to see the screen to read what is playing. Around 134 euro from the panasonicstore.ie & also available in all DID Electrical stores and online at www. DID.ie

Panasonic SC-SP100EB-K ipod docking station features:

• Integrated Universal Dock for iPod™ and iPhone™
• PC Synchronisation with iPod™ and iPhone™ (use Mini USB Type B)
• 20w
• Music Port
• Extra Bass Mode
• Surround Sound Mode
• 2.1ch System with Integrated Subwoofer: 6.5cm Cone Woofer, Dual Passive Radiators

Disclaimer:
The authors of the material on this webpage cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. They cannot be held responsible for any damages arising either directly or consequentially out of the use of or inability to use this information.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 3:24 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.