Archive for June, 2010

Forget RROD, Or BSOD, 2010 Is The Year Of The “Apple Deathgrip”!

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Well, a new week is upon us, and first I shall say that I am going to completely gloss over the absolute travesty that was the football over the weekend, and instead focus on the new buzzword flying around the internet, and reports of the “Apple Deathgrip!”. Yes, that is right, although Microsoft devices have suffered in the past with the RROD (Red Ring Of Death), and the BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) respectively, the new iPhone is afflicted by the Apple Deathgrip.

Wandering around the internet today I came across a target=_blank>Nokia blog which is having a bit of a pop at Apple and the iPhone after, customers reported having serious problems with their shiny new iPhones dropping calls. This was at first thought to be just the new iPhone 4, but some reports are saying it is due to a new piece of software in the 4.0 operating system. Still, no publicity is bad publicity right…? After all it has us all talking about it again, and you would expect the issue to be resolved within the next few days.

I like to imagine in the picture below that Spock is Nokia/Microsoft/A. N. Other of Apple’s rivals, and the new iPhone is the guy in the red uniform. Not because I dislike Apple, but just because it makes me giggle.

I was in Bournemouth over the weekend for a stag do, enjoying the sunshine, and of course the local hostelries! Mandy is out of the office this week having a break on a canal boat, and no doubt enjoying soaking up all this glorious sunshine we are having at the moment!

What Do You Get When You Cross A Weeble And A Toothbrush?

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Most of us, quite rightly so, are always very careful about what we put in our mouths, be it food, drink, or more random things like pens. Generally we don’t want things in our mouths if we don’t know where they’ve been, I know I was indoctrinated to such a school of thought very early in life. But what about your toothbrush? You generally know where it’s been, but you put it in your mouth and brush it around for a couple of minutes at least twice a day before setting back to rest either lying down by the side of the basin, or propped up in some sort of receptacle in the local vicinity.


This is where, when you really think about it, things can get a bit icky. If it’s lying down flat by the basin who knows how many spiders have wiped their feet over it when you haven’t been looking? Or if you put it into a cup when was the last time you cleaned it out properly, or indeed what else you put in there that is leant up against your oral hygiene implement of choice?




Well I stumbled across DEW8 today, a concept design which can only be the result of some experiment involving a common toothbrush and a Weeble. In one fell swoop it eliminates the need for either lying your toothbrush down flat, or some sort of receptacle. Of course as a concept design this unfortunately isn’t available yet, but I managed to find this which is, and performs a similar task, although I don’t think it’s available in the UK yet.

England Expects!

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

The smoke is still clearing after an ‘interesting’ start to the week (to say the least), but tomorrow is D-day for the England football team. Will they sort out whatever is bubbling under the surface, and line up united ready to take on their common foe and progress? Or will they let these differences and niggling arguments ruin their chance of glory?

I know I’m certainly hoping they will find themselves galvanised, like the England rugby union squad was after their humbling defeat to South Africa in the group stages. If you remember they then went on to reach the final, and only narrowly missed out on becoming the first team to retain the Webb Ellis trophy, not bad for a team everyone had written off before the last game of the group stages is it?

Then there is the history behind our relatively successful run in the 1990 World cup after a difficult, and not dissimilar start. I was sent this by a friend today, and I think that it’s just the sort of thing that would get me motivated, and ready to give my all for my country (if I wasn’t already), so I sincerely hope that the England team have something equally as motivating to send them out to the most important 90 minutes of this world cup (so far) tomorrow afternoon.

Apple Site Crashes, But They Still Sell Over 600,000 iPhone 4s!

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Well if you were one of the lucky ones who managed to get onto the Apple site yesterday, and successfully order the new iPhone 4 for delivery on the release day next week I would like to offer my congratulations for what was really quite an achievement! Between the site going down for large periods due to volume of traffic, and then some orders not being completed before pre-order stock ran out you faced quite a struggle to get your order through.

If your order has been successful you should by now have had a confirmation Email sent to your billing Email address, and if not, well maybe you should consider queuing outside an Apple store next week? The amazing thing is that despite these difficulties, Apple have managed to shift the entirety of their first shipment of the new device in less than 24 hours, similar difficulties were experienced in the other territories which will see the new handset released first.

If you haven’t ordered your new iPhone already, don’t worry you can get your order in now and expect it to be shipped to you on July 2nd, which is only 2 weeks after launch day, and that’s not too long to wait.

Right…?

E3, iPhones, and a Festival Weekend.

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

Well, I managed to make it back from Download in one piece, despite the best efforts of the weather. I think we had a bit of everything over the course of the weekend, going from hot and sunny, to dark and cold at night, to a torrential downpour for about 4 hours on the final day. Thankfully the rain didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits too much, and a good time was had by all. Or at least the folks I went with anyway. Here’s a time lapse video taken from the Friday at Download so you can take the sights of a great day, including an awesome set by AC/DC in just 48 seconds!

But of course it’s back to work and the world of Gadgets today. So what does the new week bring us? The main news in the world of Gadgets at the moment, aside from the UK release of the new iPhone 4, is coming from E3, the yearly gaming Expo. Microsoft have already given their presentation unveiling their new Natal control system in greater detail, as well as a new slimmed down XBox 360. Of course with Sony and Nintendo set to give their presentations later today, no doubt there will be a lot more to talk about tomorrow.

Father’s Day

Friday, June 11th, 2010

With Just over a week to go until Fathers Day it’s not too late to order that perfect gift.

Just head over to our Father’s Day category where we’ve carefully chosen a selection of products that we feel would be suitable for any type of Dad.  Whether it’s a sports mad dad, wine loving dad or gadgety geeky dad, I promise you there’s something for everyone.

Fathers Day Banner

What are you waiting for, check it out!

M x

Another Week Is Over!

Friday, June 4th, 2010

Another weekend is upon us, and looking out of the windows here at Gadgets Towers here at the moment it looks set to be a nice sunny one, I’m just hoping it sticks around for the next couple of weeks so it’s nice while I’m at Download. This weekend I’m off to the ‘Rage Factor’ concert at Finsbury Park, and of course Mandy will be back with us next week, and will no doubt blog about all her exciting adventures.

Have a great weekend everyone!

iPad Hits The UK Running

Friday, June 4th, 2010

The Apple iPad was finally launched in the UK last week to much queuing outside retailers, as you have come to expect from new Apple products and there very dedicated, some may say ‘rabid’ fan base. But what do folks think of the new tablet device? Not having used on myself I can only go by thinking of it as an iPod touch, or in the case of the 3G version an iPhone, but bigger. This being the case I really fail to see what the iPad can offer that the iPhone/iPod touch don’t?

I realise that I am a fairly recent convert to the iPhone, and you may think that a few months down the line I may well change my mind and get right behind the iPad as well. I don’t foresee this happening without some drastic changes or specific utilisations for the iPad.

The thing about the iPhone/iPod Touch is that they do what they do when you’re out and about, and fit right in your pocket or handbag. The iPad does exactly the same, albeit with a bigger screen, but is bigger, bulkier, and heavier. In fact, thinking about it, in an age where companies are competing to make gadgets as small as possible, and cram as much in as they can the iPad flies in the face of this and, seemingly to me at least, goes in completely the opposite direction, taking a small device, and making it bigger!

I just fail to see why I would want a bigger device to carry out the functions that I use my iPhone for, and indeed if I would want to carry out any more complex tasks why would I use an iPad over a laptop? Of course, this is my opinion based only on seeing the iPad, and what I know of it, if I were to get one in my hand it may make me realise that I should never have lived without the device, and that would indeed be its most amazing accomplishment if it did!

If you want to read a review from someone who has had the good fortune to actually get their hands on an iPad why not try this one, they seem to have liked it quite a lot…

Quiet Week At Gadgets Towers

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

The start of a new week here at Gadgets Towers, and it’s set to be quieter than usual as Mandy is off enjoying a well earned break do various outdoor things in France.

I haven’t been sat inside the whole time myself over the weekend, and in fact I ran the Bupa London 10k yesterday morning. My final time was 51 minutes and 54 seconds, which was a few minutes better than my time last year, and I think I did pretty well considering I didn’t manage to get a lot of training done beforehand. I have already signed up for next year, and am also doing a 20k run later in the yea, though I think some training will need to be done prior to that one! There were photos taken, by the official photographers that I will try to find and post as soon as they are up, but they aren’t just yet.

After my run I ventured out to the cinema to 4321, the new film by Noel Clarke (Of Kidulthood, Adulthood, and Doctor Who fame). It was a lot better than I expected, and really quite funny in places, although I thought it was slow to get going, and I didn’t like the ending. Here’s the trailer that convinced me it was worth a look, see what you think.