Happy New Year to all our readers

What a 2013 its been, back in Jan we moved from Tumblr to Blogger, and since then we have moved on from strength to strength.

Having seen many new gadgets arrive from +Kickstarter - +Google Glass getting additional features and gaining momentum plus many other developments in wearable tech. Later this year (2013) we had started to work on our own internal projects, we are working on hosting a +ROCKI party which will happen soon - not to mention a special announcement. 

February we will be in Barcelona for MWC, and of course coverage of the event.

Sometime in Q1 2014 we will be relocating to New York, something we are very excited about. 



Over 8,000 readers a day enjoy this blog and we cant thank you enough, every one of you, keep reading and keep giving us great feedback - we love it.

Happy New Year from everyone at ihaveagadget.com

An app to tell if someone is fibbing, really ?

Memotion app is currently still in BETA, however the new update really has made it very accurate in guessing someones emotion just by their speech pattern. There is a Memo feature included which is a bit like "utter!" I guess.

It has a ‘quick analyse’ feature (voice recorder), so you can analyse anyone speaking at the press of a button and discover the true emotions behind what they were saying. Interesting to use it during speeches etc, or if the other half cant make it home because "they are working late" or find out about post NYE activities from a friend for a bit of fun.

As for guessing if someone its telling big fat fibs or little white lies, that's purely down to your interpretation of the information that's presented.

Interested ? Download a copy here from the Google Play Store.

Why early adoption is always a good idea

Since the turn of the "noughties" technology has moved on fast, and as 2013 is coming to a close, that juggernaut shows no sign of slowing down any time soon, infact its going faster.

In the year 2000 we had +Nokia  rule the mobile roost with the 3310 selling 126 million units worldwide, we had SMS taking off in a big way. GPRS signals were being broadcast for data for the first time, 2002 saw the first MMS being sent from handset to handset.

Can you imagine with that in mind, where we are now, had nobody taken up the chance to have a mobile phone or sent a text or want fast data on their handsets in the first place. +Motorola Mobility would never have invented the STARtac, a world without one of those handsets is a dull place indeed.

Without all this, maybe we wouldn't have seen many other technology sectors.

That's just in the mobile / cell phone space, I could carry on in the same way for many other areas of technology. Most of us will agree we needed to have mobile phones to communicate, made the world turn that bit faster and information could fly round much quicker than it ever did before. News events would be reported on quicker, the final score from the game would make it to you round the supermarket instead of reading the paper the next day.

Early adoption of all this technology got us where we are today, it got your sister playing Angry Birds, that company employs a load of people who wouldn't have had a career without those in the 1990's buying a mobile phone at great expense. The industry as a whole now employs millions - Apple, all the Android OEMs generate billions of dollars / pounds whatever, every year. The list goes on and on, including the $1,000+ stock of +Google  reaching record proportions

The moral of this story is this. At a time where we need people to adopt technology early and progress boundaries, think of the long term benefits it will bring. Potential jobs, growing an eco system or making a new one, helping the economy grow. Not all of them will succeed, not all solve a problem we need resolving, yes I'm looking at you SMS, although that generated more than calls in terms of revenue for Vodafone at one point. Anyway I digress, I will continue to support new and emerging technology, new services, new ideas, new gadgets. As a technologist I would do anyway, but for those who "wait" to see how things pan out - don't, without your support or doing something first, then it may never happen in the first place.

Where would your son, daughter, sister, wife, mom be without Angry Birds then ?

Watch "Live" UKTV on your Wii U

On  the Wii U open browser, go to either. http://ipad.tvcatchup.com or http://iphone.tvcatchup.com

Doesnt matter which you use, just whichever UI you prefer, the iphone version works best.

Signup and Login.

Click channel and watch in glorious HD too.

This works as it's a HTML5 stream, and should work with any ipad/iphone compatible streaming web sites, I'm sure you can think of many.

Moto G - G is for Genius

When you get the Moto G you will start to feel disappointed from the off, the box is tiny, inside the box the phone looks small. There is no USB charger, but there is a USB cable, plus a couple of standard bits of documentation but that's it. No headphones either.
So the disappointment of the minimalist everything evaporates quickly, because whats inside is genius. 

The phone is fast and snappy, the Motorola apps that help you migrate from phone A to B push the process along quite well, there is also a +Motorola Mobility phone location tool which seems to work better than the garbage +Android phone finder, in the UK at least.

Display is crisp and vibrant, I cant imagine seeing anything this good for the price so low, and it has good viewing angles too even better than a few flagships I can think of. 

The inter changeable backs look great, we are awaiting a couple to arrive, but wow its tough to get it off, had to apply force close to hanging off a monkey bar. Behind the back cover is a battery and a slot of the micro SIM Card, you cant change the battery its kinda locked in, and the slot is side loaded rather then a drop in layout for the SIM.

Android 4.3 is loaded as standard, and the latest Kit Kat is on its way OTA according to some sources.


Moto G has a good battery life, thanks to its parts not needing a huge amount of power, we got a full day out the 'G' with around 5hrs of screen time. Pretty impressive.

GSM Arena produced these stats on the Moto G and we can say its pretty accurate for web browsing, and standby does drain a little. 

Download the Snapdragon Battery Guru to expend battery life on the Moto G, you can use it on any Snapdragon CPU based mobile. Take a look at how it worked with a Nexus 5 here on this very blog. Produced an additional 3hrs of standby on this handset.

 So a good screen, decent battery, fantastic screen, whats bad ?

Not much to be frank, the camera is mediocre at best, and the video recording isnt brilliant. That's about it. Sure its not the fastest phone on the block, its not got the biggest screen but for £159 - who cares. 

+Google  have helped Motorola create a phone that's almost as disposable as your razor but I cant imagine why you would want to change is as often - unless there was a misshape of course. No idea how durable it will be long term, but you have no shortage of cases and protectors to keep it safe, a good sign the phone is well received. 

If you were considering a mobile phone for travel or for the kids, or even if you want something for when you do sports (you might want to invest in the LifeProof case) then this IS the phone for you. Look no further, we love it.

Price for the 16Gb is £159, we got ours online from +Phones 4u and arrived quickly. So if you want one before the New Year - they have them in stock at time of going to press.

After spending time with the phone, you will forget about that small box and meager accessories and most of all you will forget you paid peanuts for it.. How did Motorola do it !? However they did it, its a stroke of genius.

Festive bargains in Play Store Sale

New list of games on sale on the Google Play store, check out the list - then check it twice, see if there is anything not naughty but nice. (See what we did there).


Modern Combat is good fun, Rayman is also worth picking up.

N.O.V.A. 3 - Near Orbit... 69p
Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour - 69p
Gangstar Vegas - 69p
Skylanders Battlegrounds™ - £1.82
Batman: Arkham City Lockdown- 60p
Ticket to Ride - £1.21
Neon Shadow - 60p
Need for Speed™ Most Wanted - 69p
Anomaly 2 - £1.49
Monster Loves You! - 57p
The Amazing Spider-Man - 69p
Joe Dever's Lone Wolf - £1.68
Sonic 4 Episode II - 69p
Rayman Jungle Run - 69p
The Walking Dead: Assault - 60p
The Bard's Tale - 61p
Dr. Panda's Airport - 59p

Not sure if that's the same in the US store, but for us lucky Brits, enjoy !

IHAG Top 5 Gadgets of 2013

This year has seen loads of superb gadgets make it out into the wild, some were expected and anticipated and a few took us by surprise.

We were lucky enough to see most of them, some evaded us - yes I'm looking at you Google Glass (although we should have ours in January). We haven't included Google Glass in our list though, because its not on general release and we haven't seen it either !

So what made our list ?!


OUYA

The +Kickstarter Android micro console went from hero to (almost) zero and back again in the space of a year. +Julie Uhrman seemed to stumble from one crisis to another, the media seemed to give +OUYA a bit of a kicking at the start as well. So now you are wondering why we have selected it as one of our top 5 gadgets for 2013. Well that's simple, its opened up the market for Android, easy to develop for micro consoles - the OUYA was followed by an announced Game Stick, which has had troubles all of its own too, Mad Katz also followed. 

Despite the problems OUYA had, they have a very good beta in the external storage feature that everyone wanted so badly. Games seem to be coming quicker and thicker now, some gems to be had, and Julie has quit banging the same drum every 10 mins. Maybe they sacked their rubbish PR department.

+XBMC support was the biggest draw for me personally, and its pleasing to see it running so so well too. Initial issues were resolved quite quickly and there isn't much the console cant do that you can do on the PC version, its fast and nimble. Hardware decoding was added too in the OUYA release. 

+Plex added their app to the OUYA store, that was warmly welcomed by the OUYA community. Firmware is updated with a few nice touches regularly so someone is listening to feed back somewhere.

You can see all our OUYA coverage in our blog here. Its also worth following our contributor +James Mapley who always has something interesting to post about OUYA.

Nexus 5

Now some of our regular readers are sitting there right now thinking, hey IHAG - you gave the +Nexus  5 a bit of a kicking. Yes, that's true we did, and you can read all about it here.

So why on earth would it make the list, that's simple. Putting the +Motorola Mobility Moto G to one side, its the best value Android you can get. Sure it has a few short comings, but its not trying to be a flagship phone (or a budget phone for emerging markets or removal of the second user market like the Moto G), its has plenty of the features, +Google  did a great job with Kit Kat - improvements to Google Now are spot on. 

+LG Electronics  made a smaller brother of the superb LG G2, and that's maybe one of the best phones on the market right now too. Having a scaled down G2 is no bad thing.

For almost half the cost of the HTC One, Sony Z1 or Samsung S4, you do get a handset pretty close to those specs of the OEM flagships, and you can sell on pretty easy when the next hardware refresh comes along 12 months later. Only question is, who makes the next 2 Nexus devices ?!

Sony Playstation 4

Yes, +Sony have returned to form with the +Sony PlayStation 4 - the PS3 still managed to outsell the Xbox 360 worldwide over the course of its life, but Sony lost the battle early on which hurt its reputation and ability to compete - rest on its laurels ?! Sony did just that after the success of the PS2. 

Lesson learned, the Japanese company went back to the drawing board. This time, no custom hardware, no crazy difficult to learn SDK and most of all a good message.

2013 saw Sony come out swinging, the anticipation for the device grew - Sony courted the indie devs - the message Sony gave out was consistent and clear. Our console is for gaming, and sharing games will be easy. Microsoft didn't seem to like playing so nice, and constantly kicked themselves in the bollocks. quite the opposite to Sony.

The console is sleek, the UI is so much better than the PS3 XMB, and cross chat / game chat is great (to have working at long last). Sharing live footage is fun, the console is small, much improved dualshock - just all round improvement. 

Lets hope this turns Sony around after the terrible few years they have had. I absolutely love the PS4 - I think you will too. 

Chromecast

Google's streaming device took everyone by surprise earlier this year, and only recently have we seen more apps added to the library of 3 that the device was released with - Netflix, You Tube, Google services such as Google Music and TV then in December joined by +VEVO , Plex and Red Bull TV to name a few which now really have start to show what Chromecast can do. 

Mountain View have a much firmer grip on this than the Android OS, so don't expect 100 best farts app to be working with Chromecast anytime soon, which is a good thing of course.

$35 (£22) really is an amazing price but I can help but wonder what will become of Google TV in the long run, seems to be forgotten. Anyway, check out what we have written about Chromecast on our blog, here. Its so simple to use, if you're in the UK import one, if you're in the US lucky you !

Pebble

Another darling of +Kickstarter that really has come on leaps and bounds, it ticks all the big boxes that +Sony and +Samsung Mobile seemed to have missed with their smartwatch efforts this year. Sony built a decent effort but with plenty of draw backs and corners cut, Samsung made a feature rich watch that needs power every 10 mins and limited in what handsets it plays nice with.  

A long battery life, a screen while not producing colour of Josephs coat, but more like a Kindle paper screen - it still manages to be feature rich, and displays all the important information you want. Pebble just announced a new +Pebble  Store which means the demand is healthy enough for them to warrant making one. Our advice is couple Pebble with something like Tasker, then you can control notifications a little easier by turning off sync at bed time for example.

Compatible with pretty much all Android devices. Bluetooth technology allows simple pairing with your handset (yes even Apple too), so you can easily view text messages and other notifications, accept or decline incoming calls, control your music and more. Downloadable watch faces and apps let you personalize your watch. The E-paper display ensures a clear view even when you're outdoors, and the waterproof design enables use while swimming or washing dishes (not that we do that often - our gadget of 1985 takes care of that).

The only gripes are the price, its a little expensive and its not pretty - fugly is sometimes mentioned but I wouldn't go that far. If you can over look those two then you really have a wonderful watch that produces the best experience from a Smartwatch 1.0.

Watch out as  +Laurent Le Pen is bringing +Omate TrueSmart to backers as we type, and the Smartwatch 2.0 platform really is going to push the boundary of smart watches. Early reaction is mostly positive, maybe Pebble are taking note. 

Whatsapp update brings ART support to Kit Kat

The new "Whatsapp" update brings ART support to Kit Kat 4.4.1 and beyond. So pleased this has been fixed, think Ill move the N5 to ART for good now.

Yahhhhaaayyyy

Congratulations to our winner !

Congratulations Jessi Jacquet - you are now the lucky owner of the fantastic, +Spigen Ultra Hybrid Slim case for the Nexus 5.

Jessi won by sharing our competition to his circles on +Google+ 

If you can reach out to us Jessi, to claim your prize. 


Well done !

SPIGEN Google Nexus 5 Case Give-a-way - Winner announced later today

Yes its the 15th of December and later today we will announce the winner of the wonderful +Spigen Ultra Hybrid Case for Nexus 5, +Google latest Android handset.

The original competition is here. We had over 348 shares across all social media, so the chances of a win were quite good. 

Stay tuned, the winner will be announced  9am Est - 2pm GMT

Living with the Sony Smartwatch 2

Sony's latest effort of a smartwatch was given a very mixed reaction to its release earlier this year - including us as you can read here. The price certainly hit the sweet spot at around £120, and the specs while not groundbreaking do boast a nifty splash proof IP57 rating - its not waterproof so don't go splashing around in the pool with it on - but it does resist rain etc

Initial connection is NFC based, just rub your phone on the underbelly of the watch and the sync starts, quick and simple, then bluetooth does the rest. Any updates will be pulled through your mobiles internet connection too.

Apps are added to the watch via +Sony Xperia Smart Connect app from the Google Play Store and you set them up the same way. Now at the business end of the watch, I found the whole "smart" watch experience a bit of a let down. Sony and Samsung have both invented a screen that repeats a small amount of information from apps on your phone, and to be honest, thats about all it does. From Facebook, Twitter and Gmail, (Email is only supported from a Sony Xperia handset, booooo Sony) you get notifications, but you only get around 30% of that information. Say for example someone on the social losing Facebook, 'likes' a status you posted. The only information you get is " likes you...." 

Hummm do I really need that information ?! No I don't, so that feature is useless, the same can be said for Twitter, so that's two of the large social networking apps that can be ignored. Google + doesnt have a plug in for the SMe 2 sadly.  

Gmail gets a little better, you can read entire emails from Google, even if you cant reply, its handy none the less but its just Gmail. Regular Email needs a Sony Xperia for that to work and the experience is pretty much the same as Gmail, again - handy but only for Xperia owners.

The weather app is decent enough, but I can get that on my phone. I can read texts but cant reply, I find this feature the best of all but its not a killer app is it ? Just another screen for reading texts ? 

The dialer is good but the contacts take too long to load up, so you find yourself faffing around waiting to scroll through, then wait again for each screen to load up with the contact you want to find. I cant really think of a use other than not taking the phone out of your pocket, assuming you have headphones on it the first place to make the call, otherwise the phone has to make a public appearance anyway rendering the whole process useless.

Music can be controlled but only works with local media, not Google Play Music etc. Not very useful for me anyway. You might find that useful. 

After spending close to a month with the watch, I found it to be good in very few situations, it drains battery from your phone and you have to remember to charge the SM2 every 2 days or so as well.

The screen isnt mega responsive in the cold, you have to press 2 buttons to activate the screen - assuming you don't have a pin to secure the watch. I found the missed calls option and caller screening feature to be the best of the bunch but really at £120+ its not really worth the entrance fee. I played with the +Samsung Mobile USA smartwatch too and that was the same, just with a stupid price tag that makes the Sony SM2 seem like a bargain, and not as well built at that.

I would say this is a toy rather than an experience you will want to use time and time again - talking of time, the SM2 also tells the time.

Think I will just pass this on and wait for the +Omate TrueSmart to arrive here at +IHAG Gadget Blog 

For now, a smartwatch like this, is looking for a problem to solve that just doesn't exist.

Google Chromecast gets value added

 VEVO, Red Bull.TV, Songza, PostTV, Viki, Revision 3, BeyondPod, Plex, Avia and RealPlayer Cloud - to name just ten of the extra apps that now work with Googles smart streaming device.


I played with Songza and Red Bull TV (which is a personal favorite) and they all work very well. 

Anyway enjoy and lets hope that more gets added in the coming weeks / months. I hope NHL Gamecenter gets added - that would be epic !

BBC takes 5 HD

Today the BBC TV UK announced it will deliver BBC Three HD, BBC Four HD, BBC News HD, CBeebies HD and CBBC HD to free view and freesat. Starting tomorrow (10th December).

Thats 5 additional HD channels. Why we need to see the Tweenies (or at all) in high def I'll never know but you can see where your TV tax is being spent now.

One desktop to rule them all - Why Chromebook should mop up

With the rise and fall of PC sales worldwide over the last few years , one thing is clear. The shift to a 'more' mobile OS has been a transition not only in large numbers but in getting end users away from their Windows powered OS to 'something else'.

That something else is either iOS or Android, sometimes Windows Phone or Google's Chromebook OS. Whats interesting is that all three (Apple, Google and Microsoft) have all got a finger in each of the pies - however both Windows and Apples OS have been established for quite a while and both have seen a decline in sales (in some form) for desktop over the last 2-4 years - with Microsoft seeing the biggest fall.

Chromebooks have been dominating their sector with increased sales and often listed as the #1 sub $300 laptop on Amazon. You can use the same +Google  services on your phone as you can on the Chromebook, Google Docs, Drive etc all work but it has its draw backs. Namely the inability to find network shares, NAS or SAN devices, these features alone stop me from getting a Chromebook. I absolutely love the idea of the device but it misses the mark a little, or maybe I'm missing the point - until Google addresses this issue or finds a way round it then Ill be out of this battle for quite a while. 

Google really have a great opportunity to integrate some of Androids best bits and Chrome, throw in a few extra features and you have a brilliant idea which could grow into a true powerhouse of a desktop, at a price we all can swallow. Mobile has shown us that we can do so much with our handsets, and many features contained in a desktop OS like Apple's and Microsoft's are unloved or wanted - many don't need to have a "start" button, the masses just want access to email, music, documents, browsing and file access, be it photos or alike. After all how many do you know just use a PC for social media and email ?! I bet its quite high in terms of numbers..

Microsoft will continue to sell a dead horse for a while at least, their newer Metro style is their attempt to match an overall experience across all devices - again misses the mark as the PC will cost you north of $500-$600, and Apple just have a full bloodied desktop OS on a very pricey 'mac'. Which leaves the space that Google are currently operating in - and doing bloody well.

There will always be a need for a PC for those that need one, that will never go away but in terms of where the market is going, unification of mobile and desktop is a good target to aim for.

If Google can get this right, and I mean right now. They could just be able to make the one desktop to rule them all. 

Welcome to ihaveagadget.com - our new domain

Our new domain is now live, you can reach us using our regular blogspot address - and now via 

http://www.ihaveagadget.com

Hows that for choice !!

Sony Xperia Z1 Power Case 3200mAh jacket

We reviewed the +Sony Xperia Z1 a while back here on this very blog, and we found it had a few short comings. One of which was the battery life. 

The stand-by is excellent (as is the talk time), but when you want to use the handset, the power sucks quicker than a back stage party with +Miley Cyrus. So we have gone to market looking around to see what is out there for all you Z1 owners, that, like us - want to spend longer, away from a charger.

On test we have this 3200mAh jacket for our Z1, from Brando.

Specification of the jacket, is as follows.

• 3200mAh
• Input 5v/800mA
• Output 5v/1000mA
• Weight 8.1g
• Charging time 4hrs
• 500 x recharge usage
• Size: 144mm(L) x 74mm(W)x 13mm(T)

The jacket is a reasonable design although it has been made with price in mind, so low quality plastics and a very glossy rear - there is a kickstand to stand the handset up - but that could easily break if used. Don't expect this jacket to offer any protection for your phone at all, which is a shame because it would have been easy to include some kind of screen protection. 

Additional "bumps" on the side mean a little additional width as well as depth is added to the Z1.

When attached to the phone it uses the side power port rather than the USB 'flap' however this doesn't mean the power jacket is waterproof too, because its not. Make sure you remember that next time you jump into a pool with it on !

The hole for the flash is not really good, the reflection from the flash bounced all over the show, resulting in a horrid sheen /mist over any picture that needed additional light.

With those negatives out of the way there are some plus points. 

Charging is simple, the USB port on the bottom of the jacket is easily accessible. 

Pressing the button on the back of the jacket sets priority of charge, either charge the handset first - then the jacket charges. Additional press will change the jacket first and then you have to press again to discharge into the phone at a later date. A helpful series of LED lights let you know how much juice you have left too.

Even though it only supports 800mA charging rate - we didn't feel it felt slow when left over night - it also discharged at a reasonable rate.

While the design isn't THE best, it does hand a smart curve that stops your Z1 from becoming a clunky box.

In real world usage it does exactly what it says on the tin - no drama - just a basic power jacket. its very cheap, and useful - doesn't add so much bulk that you feel like your dragging half a power station along with you.

Would we recommend it !? Yes for sure, don't expect it to last a long time, its just not built to last. We can also over look the lack of waterproofing too, especially at the $34.99 price tag (£22) - get yours at Brando (http://shop.brando.com/)

This jacket fits the following models.

• Sony Xperia Z1
• Sony Xperia Z1 Honami
• Sony Xperia Z1 C6902
• Sony Xperia Z1 L39h
• Sony Xperia Z1 C6903
• Sony Xperia Z1 C6906
• Sony Xperia Z1 C6943

Go go Gadget December ! - Omate - Chipolo - Pressy - PS4 - ROCKI

Now November is out the way, there is plenty of excitement building. 

Putting Christmas to one side, we have the Omate Truesmart watch, Chipolo, Pressy, Sony Z1 power jacket, Sony PS4 and of course ROCKI - making their way to us in the festive month, although we do have the Sony Z1 jacket and PS4 in the process of being reviewed (thank you Tesco)

Cant wait to get our hands on them, we might need more hands !

Stay tuned !

Want to try out ROCKI ? Look out for an exclusive London event coming soon

Now ROCKI has already hit 25% funded on Kickstarter and the likes of Engaget have started to give the device some coverage too - we thought it would be an awesome time to reveal a secret London event for a limited few to try out ROCKI and also have a chance to get involved with helping us shape ROCKI's future.


"I Have a Gadget" will be hosting the event and we hope to be joined by some ROCKI staff too. 

If you want to take part then head over to our Facebook, or our Google+ page and let us know you are interested - alternatively email us at IHAG.ROCKI.Party@gmx.us with your name and contact details. We will be in touch in due course, with when and where !

We hope to do many more of these events in the future but for now, we would like to invite you to get involved.

ROCKI goes live on Kickstarter - The best $49 you will ever spend !

ROCKI goes live today, and we hope you will join us in backing this most awesome project on Kickstarter. If you don't know what ROCKI is then check out the video below after this short explanation.

The ROCKI device attaches to your hifi, you and your friends can connect to the ROCKI via direct wifi or over the local network via your phone.

You can have more than one phone controlling the music and create a music queue together. 

Invite your friends to connect to ROCKI and let them add their tunes to the playlist and free their music too! Head over the kickstarter today http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rocki/rocki-wifi-music-system-from-every-phone-to-all-sp?ref=live or goto http://www.myrocki.com/

Maybe the best $49 you will ever spend - keep an eye on our blog for more exciting news on ROCKI.

ROCKI - free your music from Harro Heijboer on Vimeo.

XBMC Wizard for OUYA and Android Xunity

Since there has been some changes to XBMC Hub over the last few months, I thought I'd update those asking where the best repo and Wizard are now, namely Xunity.

You can follow the instructions as before but rather than using the source "xbmchub" you replace it with "http://xfinity.xunitytalk.com"

Our original item on XBMC (for OUYA) was here

If you want some visual help, see the below You Tube.

SPIGEN Glas.tR SLIM 9H Premium Tempered Glass for Sony Z1

Having not used tempered glass on a handset before I was keen to see how good and how much of a difference the experience is over and above a regular screen protector.

In this case, the Sony Z1 comes with a protector which applies very well and has impressive performance, after several months of use it didn't have many marks on but it did love finger prints. 

When the screen was off you could see the marks all over the show. I've always just shrugged and thought that's part of the joy of owning a touch screen smartphone, sure you hear of screen protectors which use technology you never heard of to stop grubby mits marking your darling - but I'm always skeptical to these claims.

Now the fitting of the screen isn't easy because the screen is so ridged, and after my first attempt I ended up with a bubble that just wouldn't go way, no matter how hard I tried it just remained. I had left the case on to give me guidance for placement and that was a good plan - position placing was easy. 

So after a second attempt it went on great, although a small bit of dust did get in just under the screen by the bottom bezel but to be honest it doesn't show on the screen so - who cares. 

Once on, the screen protector shows its quality, its super sensitive and a far cry from the plastic of the default screenie - very happy with that. 

Finger print issues are greatly reduced, no idea how it works but it just doesn't mark - well nowhere near as easy that's for sure, munch on a bag of crisps (chips) and I'm sure it would show up though after a few handfuls of Doritos.

The light passes though well and while the camera on the front is covered by the glass rather than a hole for it, it doesn't effect performance at all. The sensor in the top left works great too and not impacted, the only gripe would be while the edges are smoothed so it doesn't get chipped. The weakness here would be around the top sensor, I think it would be very unlucky you got a chip there but I guess it should be pointed out non the less.

The protector is premium that's for sure, a large enough improvement to warrant an investment but I guess only once your current one has started to let you down. Its super sensitive, and very clear, in fact you hardly notice its there post install; I highly recommend this item to protect your Z1. If you haven't got a screen protector on right now, then seek this one out, high and low, and buy it. Make sure you have a case that has a screen lip on it to protect the glass though.

While we were very lucky to be sent one to try out, there is no stock of this Z1 version in the UK just yet. So you have to import but we hope to see this appear from Amazon soon - once we know we will post a link up here for you to buy.

Bald ? like music ? get iGrow

Yes, as mad as it sounds, this device helps your hair regrow* while you listen to music of your choice. Wow cool, and how much is said hair regrower ? A bargain at £665 or $1000 depending on your location of course. 

Its mooted as easily portable, so we wonder if we can use this in the car, train, bus, plane !? The down side is the obvious finger pointing and laughing thrown at your direction by various children and adults.

Anyway to get your very own iGrow, head over to http://www.currentbody.com and order one today.

* IHAG do not confirm or deny this product works.

Xbox One having plenty of problems at launch

Microsoft are having their name pulled through the mud yet again, not content with screwing users over on the Xbox 360 RRoD, the update to the Xbox One has been bricking consoles, with other issues being mooted too.

Various issues from a broken Blu Ray drive, to a Green Screen of Death as seen on You Tube today, and now the update is causing issues, this update remember is not optional. Seems odd that these reports are hitting social media so quickly so it must be a fair few in number having the problem.

Sky News have been reporting on the topic here

Worlds Thinnest Tracking Device for your Wallet, Luggage and more

Since we backed Chipolo (and the failed Gear Tag) a while back on Kickstarter we have started to see a few more variations of a bluetooth tag for locating your belongings.

However the new kid on the block is very thin, and can be used for many applications too. The app that's going to be launched alongside the card for both iOS and Android (and we hope there isnt a delay on the Android version) has a large range of features. 

Used with the free Find’em Tracking mobile app, this innovative tracking device uses Bluetooth 4.0 technology to alert the user when they are about to leave valuable belongings behind - so attached to your keys or slipped into your wallet you wont forget those important items at the pub.

The mobile app is integrated with Google Maps to help you locate the last place you left your baggage or wallet giving you the exact location of where they last were, assuming the bluetooth has been enabled we guess. You can flag the range of alerts from 20-40ft away, of course you can customize this to however you like.

Gary Nazarain had this to say about his new project

“Leaving your valuables behind is a problem that people face in their daily lives and can be avoided with the Find’em Tracking device and app,“ said Find’em Tracking CEO Gary Nazarian. “Since our product is the thinnest Bluetooth tracking device out there, it easily fits into a wallet and allows you to never leave your valuables behind ever again. And if you never loose your valuables in your wallet, your identity is that much safer.”

Of course not just your wallet can be protected, could be handy for luggage - get an alert your baggage is about to hit the carousel is a good example of its usage.

Want to know more ? than head over to http://www.findemtracking.com/ and order yours for a very reasonable $24.99 however this is a time dependent offer so act soon.

Find’Em Tracking Features:

·      Instant Loss-Prevention Alert – Set the distance from 10-150 feet and get an instant alert once out of range.

·      Reverse Tracking – Find’em Tracking card has a button to make your phone ring if users can’t find their phone.

·      Find’em Tracking Radar – Precise radar will indicate the radius between the user and their valuables and guide the user to find their valuables.

·      Google Maps GPS – If for any reason the user doesn’t notice the alert go off or their wallet is not within tracking distance, use integrated Google Maps to find the last specific GPS location.

·      Luggage Tracker – Alerts users when their luggage is ready to be picked up from the baggage claim terminal.


We will review the device once we get one, which is pegged for an early 2014 release. We are very excited about this product, as a traveler (not in the caravan white trash sense) and also forgetful it will be good knowing I'm not going to leave my stuff behind - which I sometimes do.

Review coming soon so, stay tuned.

Google : Moto X news coming soon, official

Could this be the the biggest hint we have had so far on the Moto X coming to Europe ? When asked about the Moto X coming to the Euro zone anytime soon we got this response.

Take that as it comes folks, however we are sure that this is the biggest hint yet, with an actual update, like soon.

Thanks to Lior for getting back to us so quickly too.