30 Oct 2013

The iPhone - who's involved in the manufacturing process? [Infogrpahic]

89 million units of iPhone 5's were sold since the new iPhone 5's launch. If you lay this end-to-end, the total length would be 110,182 km, enough to cover the distance from Shenzen, China to Cupertino, California. These and some other interesting facts in an infographic by Alex Hillsberg.

How iPhones Are Made: A Surprising Report on How Much of Apple's Top Product is US-manufactured
Courtesy of: www.financesonline.com | Our Google+ and Vimeo

15 Oct 2013

Customised phone cases from Wrappz

As highlighted by my last post, we can not underestimate the importance of a good case to protect our mobile phones. That does not mean covering them up with thick foam. We want them to retain their functionality and of course, look good as well. I guess that's where customised cases come in. I am a big fan of customised cases and the last time I bought one from Ideal cases for my Samsung Galaxy SII (now used by my better half). It has served us well but recently developed a crack.

Looking for a replacement case led me to Wrappz.com. We had previously bought a skin for our iPod touch and was quite happy with the product and their service and decided to go for it.

Using their site is really simple and just takes 3 steps. First of all, I selected my gadget (Samsung Galaxy S2) under the cases tab on their homepage which takes you to their personalised Samsung Galaxy S2 case cover page. I then uploaded a Instagram photograph of my kids taken at the Isle of Skye. You can also select one of the images from their extensive gallery. Unlike other sites, the site allows you to customise the images in various ways. You can rotate, layer and scale them, besides adding background colours. You can even add text but I left the image as it is.

Once I was happy with the image (under preview), I then proceeded to the checkout.

The overall cost comes to £18.97 + £ 2.50 for shipping (in the UK) but you can get a 20% discount voucher by submitting your email (see screen shot below).


You have the option of paying by card or via Paypal - my preferred option. The best thing is this whole process is that you do not have to go through the whole hassle of registering on their site. The delivery was amazingly fast - just 2 days.

We are really happy with the case cover. The cover clicked into place and fits the phone perfectly, covering all the corners. It is of a better quality then the previous Ideal case cover.


And it is not just us, some of our close friends has given positive comments about the case as well. If you are looking for a customised case cover for your mobile phone, I definitely recommend Wrappz.

8 Oct 2013

Samsung Galaxy Note broken screen

The screen of most touch screen phones are quite tough but as I found out, not THAT tough.

Well, here is what happens when a Samsung Galaxy Note falls down a flight of 13 steps.


I can see that it is still working and can get a replacement screen for about £130/ but do not know whether it is worth the effort or the money.

6 Oct 2013

Hudl - Tesco's affordable tablet


Without much fanfare, Tesco recently launched an affordable tablet called the Hudl. The compact tablet comes with a scratch and smudge resistant glass 7" 1440x900 HD screen and powered by a 1.5GHz A9 Quad-Core processor and runs on the Android OS.

It weighs only 370g and comes in a choice of 4 colours, namely, black, purple, red and blue.


Finally, it is priced at only £119.00 with free delivery on all Click & Collect. Plus it is mentioned that include over £100 worth of vouchers in the box. That's an amazing deal.

The first thing I noticed about this tablet was the price and I assumed that it would be a basic tablet. However, I was surprised when I learnt that it comes with some amazing features:
  • 2 cameras - a 2MP front facing fixed focus and 3MP rear facing auto focus camera.
  • Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz) 802.11
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • GPS
  • Gyroscope, Accelerometer and Compass.
  • 1GB RAM and 16GB internal storage which can be expanded up to 48 GB via Micro-SD.
According to the Tesco page, it has upto 9hrs of video playback time. Check out the video clip:



4 Oct 2013

Sony Xperia Z Ultra

Said to be the world's slimmest smartphone, the Sony Xperia Z Ultra has a  6.4'' Full HD TRILUMINOS™ Display.


It is powered by the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 800 quad-core processor for ultra-fast performance.

You don't have to worry if the rain is pouring down and someone calls you - the Xperia Z Ultra is fully waterproof. You can even take it swimming in the pool.

If you are the creative type, you will appreciate the fact that you can write or draw straight onto the screen using your finger, pencil or metal pen - does not need dedicated stylus.