Second Chinese Android Phone..

The phone that I ordered for my wife for Christmas has arrived fairly promptly - I ordered it using the 'standard' free postage, and it arrived in about 10 days or so which I was happy about as the estimated delivery is 15-30 days... It's dual SIM again, which is particularly useful as it means we can put in the old 'pay as you go' SIM alongside the new contract SIM whilst waiting for the number to migrate from one to the other.

The deal is that I am providing the phone and the contract as a Christmas present so my wife no longer has any phone expenses to pay AND she gets a smart phone into the bargain. However, she really wanted to keep her old number, so we obtained the PAC code for the old PAYG Orange phone number and have given the details to Virgin Mobile, they need about 72 hours or so to do the changeover - so at the moment both SIMs are active (on two separate numbers)which can be a little bit confusing....

The new phone is a DOOGEE DG300 (also called 'Voyager'), and I have to say I actually prefer it to my new phone - it's slightly smaller at 5" - which in my opinion is a bit more manageable - it is just dual core rather than quad core, but still as fast as you need it to be as far as I can tell - Android 4,2 runs nice and smoothly and it is a really neat package all told. I chose this model because of the large battery (2500mAh) and the central button. I like the idea of a solid button for returning the phone to the home-screen - but on mine the two 'soft' buttons ('back' and 'menu') sometimes seem a little unresponsive - on this model however, they seem to work every time - It came with a flip cover which comes joined to a removeable backplate for the phone, so you remove the 'orginal' back cover and clip on the flip cover which I think is a really neat touch... The only issue I have (and it's not a big problem) is that there is no spare battery, but there is a charger and USB cable etc.. as you would expect. No SD card as standard, but I have some spare 8GB cards which I think will be perfectly sufficient. The bottom line then? a phone which seems to (almost)perfectly emulate a Samsung Galaxy S4 for just £66 - you can't really knock that can you? The specs are admittedly lower (camera not quote as good at 5MP - still good enough... onboard memory not as large...) but really still an incredible bargain if you don't want to pay five times as much for the branded version!

restaurant pagers

Here's an idea to make your guests/clients feel that they are being cared for even whilst waiting. The range of restaurant pagers available can be used in a variety of different businesses. In fact any business that through necessity, will have clients waiting to be 'served' can benefit from a system like this. In essence the pager lets you know when your table is ready, but there are other benefits. For one, it gives your client the reassurance that they are not going to be forgotten - in my experience people don't mind a reasonable wait as long as they can feel that they are not being ignored. There is however another benefit to this system in that it can also be used to interact with your client and promote your business whilst they are waiting. Adverts can be played on the system in the form of 'info-mercials'. For instance, whilst diners are waiting to be seated, they could be learning about the function facilities of the restaurant - the meal offers available, the charity event that you are sponsoring... Wherever you may have clients waiting on your premises, this system should be considered as a great tool to make them feel valued.

'Friendly Fire' game on Android

OK, so this is the addictive Android game I mentioned last time I 'talked' about my new Android phone... Naturally it's a free game (otherwise why would I be playing it?) although they do try to get you to pay to upgrade, obviously that didn't work on me, but I suspect others have been cajoled into paying out to get quicker results from the game...

It's a military base-building game with a twist - the twist is that it adapts the actual location of your home as the location for your base - it uses google maps for it's basic layout and then overlays the playing 'board' where the action takes place - so you end up defending your own street which is a very neat twist... Difficult to explain it further without trying it for yourself..
The gameplay is familiar, you build up your defences, and some attacking forces then attack other bases - you can choose to attack people in your own locality, your own country or attack others all over the world. I started this game with a few friends at work and you can attack each others' bases when they are in the same locality which again is another nice twist. I was told it would be addictive, and it lives up to it's billing...
You will be attacked from time to time, but a successful attack means you are immune from further attacks for 12 hours (or until you decide to attack someone else), and although your base is instantly rebuilt, you may lose 'resources' and 'rank' as a result.
As you progress through the levels, you build better defences and better weapons - it's a simple enough concept and much-used, but this has some nice touches which makes it a real addictive pleasure.

Cheap Chinese Android Phone

Well, so far so good - I've had my new phone a couple of weeks now and worked out that it is the same dimensions as the Samsung Note 2. I know this because I found a case in Tesco's that matched the phone's dimensions perfectly...
I'm not sure how much a Samsung Note 2 costs, but am pretty sure it is upwards of  £300, my phone was just £96 from McBub, and may not be exactly that same spec as a Note 2, but is pretty tasty all the same. It has 4GB on-board of which 1.7GB is free for storage, and 1GB ROM - it can take a 32GB SD card (don't buy a cheap one!) and most extraordinary of all...has a quad-core processor.

I have now ordered a dual-core phone from McBub for my wife - costing just £66, and have ordered an extra SIM from my mobile provider that will give reasonable use for texts and mobile internet etc.. for £7 a month. Both phones come loaded with Android 4.2, mine has a 8MP camera, and my wife's will have a 5MP camera - you can get better spec cameras but to be honest if I wanted to take brilliant photo's, I would get a decent camera instead of a 'phone.
I have already started loading all sorts of Apps on the phone, so will be reviewing them over the next few weeks - watch this space for reviews of a really addictive game, and some boring but essential utilities for your Android phone..

samson c01u USB microphone

This microphone, and others like it have already revolutionised home recordings. What you get with the samson c01u is a quality recording microphone that can the 'patched' straight into your PC or laptop. This is the perfect tool for pod-casts or webinars, but will also be perfectly usable for recording vocal performance of all types.
I don't want to get carried away and start comparing it with classic condenser mic's that cost the earth - but nonetheless, it has been a ground-breaking mic proven over quite a few years now.

A possible gift idea for the youngster who is making youtube videos of their singing/guitar playing etc.. If they want to move up a level from relying on their laptop microphone, the C01u will take them up several notches. Or for the serious gamer or 'skype'r who likes to chat online, this will definitely be a welcome gift.

So busy...

My new Android 'phone has arrived from China, despite the wrong carriage charges being applied and then being charged import duties, despite all that, the phone is really pretty good. It came with a spare battery and a flip cover, and worked straight out of the box - the only thing it needed was a micro-SD card. I had a spare 8GB card from my old phone, so I used that until a new 32GB card arrived from eBay.
My initial mistake was buying a 32GB SD card for £5.99 - I know, it was NEVER going to work, but it was a UK seller, so I thought it might be OK - it was rubbish and started to lose apps after the first day. Every time I switched off or rebooted the phone, all the apps I had downloaded would disappear! So I bit the bullet and shelled out a cool £15 on a SanDisk Ultra 32GB card and that is running far more sweetly - no lost apps yet....
I will have to start reviewing Android Apps again now as I can get a much larger selection on the new phone, plus my massive SD card can hold masses of apps, so I don't have to keep uninstalling them like with my old phone.
Oh, and the phone is HUGE, it's a 5.3" screen which I think is equivalent to a Samsung Note 2, and apparently is a 'phablet' - somewhere between a phone and a tablet. Of course, it's tricky to take a photo as I tend to use the phone itself to take photo's...but I will try and get a photo uploaded soon...
I have delayed writing about the phone because work has been so busy lately - no sign of any let up so I think I am going to have an exhausting run up to Christmas, at least my much-awaited pay-rise materialised this year - fingers crossed for a Christmas bonus...

squier bullet - gift ideas

Let's say you are looking for the perfect gift for a budding guitarist, but not sure what would be a cool gift yet at an affordable price... Look no further than the squier bullet at m123...

Not only is the 'blackout' as cool as a stealth bomber when it comes to looks, Squier are definitely NOT one of those companies that knock out cheap copy Fenders - Squier is a brand name used by Fender for guitars it makes outside of the USA using the original Fender blue-prints, and often using the original Fender pick-ups.

So the Squier Bullet has looks, an impressive pedigree, a close association with the legendary Fender brand and is affordable - to be honest, even if your budding guitarist already has a vintage Telecaster, they are still going to love this guitar...

heated floor mats - gift idea

As Winter draws in, there is a real chill in the air at night times now. Here's an idea for a Christmas gift or Winter birthday gift:

There are a huge variety of heated floor mats available from simple mats to stand on while working at a counter, to foot rests to use in the office, or a foot-cosy to wear in bed. In my experience, this is going to be a gift that particularly appeals to the ladies....