Introducing the HTC Desire Media Link

HTC are having a great time at the moment. It seems like every handset they launch is a winner, with the HTC Desire and HTC Desire HD proving to be incredibly popular.

Both versions of the Desire are great for both taking and looking at photos, recording videos and watching movies, but what if you want to watch your content on your HDTV at home?

The traditional way of doing it would be to transfer your media to your Mac/PC and then burn your video to dvd to play it back, but that’s such a long winded and slow process no-one really bothers.

Thankfully though, technology has moved on and HTC have brought out their tiny Media Link DLNA adapter that allows you to stream music, pictures and videos from your phone to your TV wirelessly. What’s more, as DNLA is a fairly common standard, it will also work with most other brands of phone that support DLNA as well as a number of laptops and cameras, although compatibility will vary from device to device.

If you’ve never come across the term DLNA before, you might want to have a quick look at our post on What Is DLNA? as this explains what it is and why you’ll want it!

In a way, the Media link adapter is similar to the latest Apple TV. It allows you to play content from around your house or from your phone, without having to mess around with plugging your gadgets into your TV. Simply power it up, connect it via HDMI to your TV and away you go. There’s no support for streaming from websites, not yet anyway, but as the HTC Media Link is running Android it might appear in a future update.

The HTC Media link connects quickly and easily to your existing wireless network, and all the set up is done through your PC. All you need to know is the name of your network and the password and you’ll be up and running in less than 5 minutes. All you need to do then is make sure your phone is on the same network, launch the Connected Media app, find the photos, videos or music you want to play back and hit play. Your content will then be displayed on the screen.

Engadget recently reviewed the HTC Media Link, here’s a quick video from them testing it out with the HTC Desire Z.

You can read their full review of the Media Link on the Engadget site. For more details, head over to the HTC Media Link product page.

Tech Explained: 4G Phones in the UK

Last week Las Vegas played host to the Consumer Electronics Show – the biggest event of the year in terms of electronic gadgets. All the big names from the world of TV, Gaming, Audio, and Mobile phones were there, each trying to out shine their competitors by revealing their product line ups for 2011.

While most gadgets that were announced are exciting, we were more interested in the mobile phone side of things, but as it turned out, it’s not all such good news – not for us in the UK anyway. All the 4G handsets that were announced are US only – with the exception of the Motorola Atrix which has already been confirmed as coming to the Orange network, but without the 4G branding.

Introducing 4G

Most people have heard of 3G phones. The technology has been around for about ten years and is now pretty much the standard. For those that aren’t familiar with it, 3G allows mobile phones to access the internet at higher speeds, make video calls and allows you to browse and call at the same time. 3G is more about the speeds and network capacity than features such as emailing, internet, tethering etc. These features are all possible because of 3G, but some will still work even on a slower 2G or GSM connection.

4G takes fast data connections several steps further, but unlike 3G, there is no defined standard yet for 4G and this is bound to cause some confusion. If you’d asked a few years ago what was likely to become 4G, you’d have probably been told Wi-Max or LTE, but now it turns out that Wi-Max is all but ruled out, and a tweaked version of 3G, HSPA+, is likely to become the standard for 4G. Confused yet? I know it’s a bit tricky to understand, so here’s a bit more about each of the different technologies.

LTE – Long Term Evolution

LTE is already available in the USA and will be rolling out to more countries this year, but the UK isn’t one of them. A UK release is planned, but we will be behind most other countries when it comes to LTE deployment by around 2 years.

LTE can provide speeds of upto 150 mega bits per second, compared to most current 3G networks which can provide speeds of up to 7 mega bits per second, (this varies by location and network).

HSPA+ – High Speed Packet Access

This is an even faster version of current 3G technology with maximum speeds of around 42 mbps.  Although HSPA+ is slower than LTE, it’s an easier and cheaper option for the networks to upgrade to.

No new licenses are required in order for the networks to run HSPA+, but transmitters and other equipment needs upgrading. Some UK networks are already using HSPA+ to provide speeds of around 21 Mbps and are calling it their 3G+ service.

Over the coming months I’d expect some networks to start using the ’4G’ tag and coverage should start to increase, becoming available in more places rather than just major cities and built up areas. HSPA+ networks are already in development and will run alongside LTE networks when they arrive  in 2012/2013.

Wi-Max

WiMax networks are still being developed, but they are focusing more on providing wireless broadband access and computer networking, rather than mobile phone services.

Manchester was one of the first places in the UK to launch a commercial WiMax service, where people can access fast broadband, without the need for a phone line.

Some phones are likely to be launched with WiMax support, but it’s unlikely to become the standard for 4G phones.

All this of course is subject to change – Ofcom still need to allocate all the necessary bandwidth in order for all this to be possible, and as is often the case in the world of mobile phones, nothing is certain until it actually happens!

The Best Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headsets

I’ve been working with mobile phones for years now, and I’ve noticed that people really seem to struggle when it comes to choosing a Bluetooth Headset. To someone who isn’t that clued up on mobile technology they all look the same, they all allow you to use your phone safely in the car and can answer & end calls, so why are there so many different ones to choose from and why the big differences in price?

Up until recently my answer would have been that the main differences were size, weight and battery life and that’s still true for most headsets, but advances in headset technology have meant that there is now something else to consider when choosing a Bluetooth Headset – Noise Cancellation.

If you’ve ever looked into bluetooth headsets in the past, you might be thinking that noise cancellation is nothing new and that it’s been around for years, and your right, it has. Over the years noise cancellation has seen many different forms, from simple design changes such as foam covers over the microphone to clever software that makes your voice clearer, but newer Bluetooth headsets go one step further and have 2 microphones built into them, one that picks up your voice and another that picks up background noise. Software in the headset then analyses the sound from both microphones and any sounds picked up by both microphones are removed so that your voice comes through clearly.

Not all Bluetooth Headsets currently have this feature, and trying to find the ones that do out of the hundreds that are available will take you quite some time, so to help you along I’ve listed below what I think are some of the best noise cancelling headsets available. All of these headsets have the dual microphone technology, and a couple of them have some extra clever technology make your voice even clearer.

Most of these headsets are available from mobile fun and I’ve provided a link to the relevant page on their site if you want to find out more about any particular headset. If you’re thinking of ordering one, us the voucher code MFAWAUG9 before the end of August to get 5 off any order over 25.

Read more »

Setting up Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo mail on your Samsung Tocco

One of the questions I get asked the most at the moment is “How do I set up email on my Tocco” and although there are suggestions and a settings spread across the web, I thought I’d bring it all together into one post to make setting up your Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo email accounts on your Samsung Tocco F480, Samsung Tocco Lite or Samsung Tocco Ultra quick and easy.

Now, before I start I just want to say that these settings should work on all phones, not just the Tocco’s. You may find that they need a little tweaking depending on your network – particularly the SMTP settings. Without getting too technical on you, the SMTP server is similar to your local sorting office, you send your letters there and they then get sorted and sent on to the person you sent the email to. In an attempt to cut down on the amount of spam being sent, some mobile networks restrict the SMTP servers that you can use and in most cases force you to use their own.

So, if you set your phone up using the same SMTP server as your email provider, but find that you get an error message when you try and send a message, go back to the account settings and change the SMTP server to that of your network. Don’t panic if you don’t know what they are – I’ve listed them all for you at the end of this post.

Read more »

The Ultimate Guide to GPS and Mobile Phones

GPS has been around in mobile phones for a few years now, but for a lot of people it’s purpose isn’t all that clear. As well as being a basic requirement for Satellite Navigation, GPS has a number of other really useful applications that you may not be aware of. This guide explains the basics of GPS and runs through the different types of GPS receiver and software available.

So What Is GPS?

GPS (Global Positioning System) receivers use a network of satellites in orbit around the earth to pinpoint your location (longtitude and latitude) to within a few metres. GPS receivers don’t require a signal from a mobile phone company to work, they just need to be able to see the sky. Locking on to GPS Satellites normally takes a couple of minutes, sometimes longer if you’re already on the move.

Over the last couple of years GPS receivers have found their way in to a number of mobile phones. Mobile Phones work slightly differently to stand alone GPS receivers as they can triangulate their location using nearby transmitters. Mobile phones combine the information from nearby transmitters with the information received from the GPS receiver to give them an exact location. A brief internet connection is normally required to find your location.This type of receiver is called A-GPS (Assisted Global Positioning System).

Both GPS and A-GPS have their strengths and weaknesses. External GPS Receivers tend to lock on to more satellites for more stable tracking. They also have better battery life than A-GPS as they don’t need an internet connection and have no screen to run the battery down. Phones with A-GPS tend to lock on to your location a little bit faster and may still be able to track you if you are indoors or under cover.

GPS Receivers

Generally speaking most GPS receivers are designed to communicate over a Bluetooth connection. Bluetooth is a way that 2 devices can talk to each other wirelessly and is found in most mobile phones and computers. If your PC doesn’t have Bluetooth built in, you can add this function easily by purchasing a USB Bluetooth Adapter.

If you want to use a GPS receiver with your phone, you just need to make sure that your phone has Bluetooth and you’ll need to pair the GPS receiver with your phone. When you launch an application on your phone that requires GPS data, your phone will automatically make the connection to the GPS receiver as long as your receiver is turned on.

GPS Software

If someone were to say to you “GPS” the first thing that comes to your mind will probably be Satellite Navigation, mainly because of the phenomenal success of TomTom’s Sat Nav products, but GPS is not all about Navigation.

There are 5 main categories of GPS software available and chances are that you’ll be able to find a use for at least one of these in your day to day life. There are applications to help you find the nearest petrol station, can track your route while you’re out walking, jogging or cycling or maybe you want to be able to add your location to photographs that you will be uploading to Flickr.

GPS receivers can be used with a range of tracking, location aware, geo-tagging mapping and directional applications and I’ve spent the last few days looking around at all the different GPS software that’s available and here are a few of the best free applications that I’ve found for each type of application. I’m only going to list a few examples here, but I’ve compiled a list of GPS applications for each of the main mobile phone platforms on a separate post.

Tracking
Whether you’re off trekking in the Lake District, going for a run and want to track your training progress, or maybe you want to track your employees where abouts while they’re out working there are a range of free applications that will let you do all of these things.

Location Aware
Location Awareness is the ‘big thing’ in mobile phone applications at the moment. The way that these work is by looking up your GPS location against a database of shops, bars, banks, cashpoints hotels… the list is almost endless. Once you know where you want to go, some location aware applications will then provide directions on how to get there.

Geo-Tagging
Geo-tagging is a fairly new feature that is making it’s way in to digital cameras. The idea behind it is simple, when you take a photograph the longitude and latitude of where the photograph was taken is added to the meta data of the image. (Meta Data is information about the photo such as time and date it was taken,the camera used and the exposure/aperture settings). As not all camera’s have the ability to connect to GPS receivers, you may not be able to tag your photo’s as they are taken – in which case you would need a GPS receiver that supports GPS logging.

GPS Logging
Some devices will support GPS logging. This is where the GPS receiver records your position at set time intervals. When you get home and transfer this data to your PC, you can then add the location (of where the photo was taken) to the image, by matching the time and date your photos were taken with the coordinates recorded at the same time and date on the GPS Receiver. It might sound complicated but it is an extremely simple process!

Mapping
Mapping applications are different to Sat Nav applications as these will just let you plan routes and work out where to go. They can show you where you are in relation to your planned route, but won’t provide turn by turn instructions. This can be extremely useful if you are out and about on foot, or are looking to find out how far away places are before you set off or plan your journey.

Sat Nav & Turn by Turn
Without doubt this is the main reason that most people will look to get a GPS receiver for their phone. With Sat Nav software on your phone you won’t need to use a separate Navigation device as the phone will be able to guide you from door to door. There are a number of different options available for most phones, some software is free, others you have to pay for, the main difference between them being the additional features they offer and how they look on your phone.

So now you’ve got a better understanding of GPS on mobiles, you’re probably wondering what applications are available for your phone and where can you download them from – take a look at our Ultimate Guide to GPS Applications and I’ll show you what’s available and where you can get it from.

Use your iPhone as a Modem

Along with Stereo Bluetooth, one of the other big new features of iPhone OS 3.0 is the ability to use your iPhone as a modem with your Mac, PC or Laptop.

Tethering your iPhone is as easy as using a Mobile Broadband Dongle. You enable Internet Tethering on your iPhone, connect it to your computer using your USB Cable and away you go.

If you want to avoid having to rummage around in your bag for your USB Cable you can also connect your phone using Bluetooth – most Mac’s have Bluetooth built in as standard but PC’s don’t so you might need to get yourself a Bluetooth Dongle. The process is just as simple using bluetooth and takes no time at all to set up. All you need is the latest version of iTunes.

Connecting with the USB cable is just a case of enabling tethering on your iPhone and plugging it in to your computer. After a few seconds you’ll be connected and see the blue tethering bar across the top of your screen.

Using Bluetooth is slightly different and the exact process will vary slightly depending on the Bluetooth Dongle that you are using, but this is how to tether your iPhone 3G to Windows using Bluetooth:

1. Turn on Bluetooth & Tethering on your iPhone
2. Search for Bluetooth Devices on your PC
3. Find your iPhone and enter a Passkey of your choice
4. Enter the same Passkey on your iPhone
5. If asked to select services for device, select PAN or Network Access
6. Device will install and connect to your iPhone
7. Blue Band will show at top of iPhone home screen when PC is connected to your phone

The whole process is amazingly simple and I have to admit, this was about the easiest phone I’ve ever set up for use as a modem. There are no drivers to install and no complicated network settings to enter, you just connect using Bluetooth and it works.

Not Got Bluetooth?

If you don’t have a Bluetooth enabled computer then don’t panic, it’s extremely easy to add Bluetooth to any PC. All you need is a USB Bluetooth Dongle.

Adding a Bluetooth Dongle to your PC won’t just help with tethering your iPhone, it will allow friends and family to send files and photo’s to your computer quickly and easily and you will be able to use a Bluetooth headset for making calls over Skype and listening to music.

Installing a dongle is quick and easy and you don’t need any knowledge of PC’s, just plug it in to a spare USB port and wait for Windows to set it up – Easy!

If you do have any problems setting it up, I’ve put a guide together onInstalling your Bluetooth Dongle that will talk you through it step by step.

Don’t forget though, in order to use tethering, you will need to have the service activated by O2 and there is an extra monthly fee for the service.

What are FM Transmitters?

FM Transmitters are an increasingly popular way of listening to your choice of music on your car stereo or at home. As technology is developing, more and more phones are getting FM Transmitters built into them, eliminating the need to buy a separate one. If your phone hasn’t got it built in, then these are the different types of FM Transmitter available.

Essentially these devices are simple, small devices that plug into the headphone socket on your mobile phone, CD or MP3 Player. They send the music using a short range FM signal, all you need to do then is tune your radio into the same frequency as the transmitter is sending and hey presto, your music plays through your home or car stereo. Since their legalisation in 2006, FM Transmitters have developed considerably and broadcasting music from an MP3 player to your stereo is now just a small part of what they can do.

FM Transmitters are now used in some Bluetooth Simple Car Kits. Where as a conventional Bluetooth Simple Car Kit would transfer audio from a telephone call to a loud speaker, the addition of a FM Transmitter allows the audio quality to be greatly improved by broadcasting it to your car stereo speakers.

The addition of Bluetooth to FM Transmitters has opened up even more opportunities for in-car entertainment. As more and more phones become MP3 enabled and are able to stream stereo music using Bluetooth, a range of multimedia Simple Car Kits has started to emerge. These kits allow music to be sent via Bluetooth from your phone to the kits, and then to your car stereo using the FM Transmitter. As soon as a call comes in, your music is paused and the call audio is played through your car stereo. The more advanced kits will even display Caller ID and song information on the display of your stereo.

One of the best things about these kits is that they are easy to install and set up. There are no wires, and usually plug in to your cigarette lighter charger or clip onto your sun visor. All you have to do is set the frequency and tune in your stereo!

How to Boost your 3G Mobile Broadband Signal

One of the great things about Mobile Broadband is that you can go online anywhere you like – but you can almost guarantee that the place you need it the most is the place where signal is at its weakest.

While 3G coverage is getting stronger with all networks, there will still be blackspots where it drops out, or you can only pick up a 2G signal. Thankfully, a couple of solutions are now available to try and get round these signal issues. If you don’t have a dongle yet and are looking for the network with the strongest 3G signal, then the OFCOM website has just published updated coverage maps (as of 31/12/08) that allow you to view the 3G coverage by network.

There are now two different types of antenna available:

• Clip Antenna: This Antenna is designed to be a portable solution that clips onto the screen on your laptop or sits on your desk. It is omni-directional, which means that it will pick up signals from all directions.
• High Gain 3G Directional Antenna: This is a much more powerful signal booster than the clip antenna and is ideal for people who have real problems with 3G reception. They are directional, which means that you will need to point this towards your network’s transmitter in order for it to improve the signal. The High Gain antenna when positioned correctly will make a significant difference to the signal you receive and can be wall mounted as a permanent fixture.

Read more »

What is DLNA?

DLNA is all about the Digital Home and getting the devices you use everyday to work together. Chances are you’ve got a digital camera, but are restricted to watching your photos back on the screen of your PC, or you’ve got video footage on your camcorder that you have to stop and burn to disc, and then hope it will play on your DVD player. You’ve got a big screen TV in the lounge, but can only use it for TV and DVD’s. Getting them all to work now normally involves lots of cables, lots of patience and a fair bit of time too, but DLNA is hoping to change all that.

DLNA stands for Digital Living Network Alliance, and is basically a set of rules that electronics companies are all following in order for devices to talk to each other. I struggled to get to grips with it to start with, but if you look less at what it is and look more at what it does, you’ll soon see how its going to change how we use our devices.

What is DLNA?
The first thing to remember is DLNA is not a product itself (you can’t buy DLNA adapters for existing devices) the support for DLNA needs to be built into the software of the device you’re using, so for most of us its not gong to be something we can all use straight away – but the next time you buy a digital device its worth looking for one with DLNA support built in, just look out for the DLNA logo (shown above).

In order to use DLNA features there are a few things you’ll need:

• A home network (wired or wireless)
  Most of us by now already have networks in place at home for accessing the internet, so you should easily be able to expand your network to incorporate more devices with minimal hassle. Some devices will only be able to connect wirelessly, and others will need to connect to your network using a cable.
• Home media server software
  It sounds scary, but its not. There are several different media servers available, but these are becoming a standard part of PC operating systems, and most new PC’s should have one built in.
• DLNA Certified products
  Certified products include mobile phones, PC’s, TV’s, Network Storage Devices, Digital Video Recorders, Audio Systems, Printers, Games Consoles & Digital Media Players. You’ll need more than one obviously in order to really do anything, but no doubt over time most devices in your house will support DLNA.

What does DLNA do?
In a nutshell, DLNA allows digital devices to talk to each other over a wired or wireless network. It lets you access content from your PC on your TV, play music from your phone through your Hi-Fi, all with out having to plug anything in!

What does it allow me do?

There are loads of different ways that DLNA devices can help make your life a little bit easier, here’s a couple of examples.

You’ve been on a day out, you get home and want to look back at the photos on your phone. With DLNA devices, you can play your photo slideshow back on your widescreen TV, and when you’re finished you can send all your photos to your network storage device for safe keeping. Without DLNA, you’d have been restriced to watching them back on your phone screen or messing around with cables to transfer them to your PC to watch on your computer screen.

You’ve filmed your recent holiday and downloaded it to your PC, and you sent it to your networked storage device for safe keeping. When the family come round, you can all sit and watch it together, watching it back on your TV using just your TV remote to play it back – its that simple. Without DLNA, you’d have been restriced to watching them back on your computer screen, burning the film to DVD or messing around with cables to connect the camcorder to your TV.

For more possibilities have a look at the DLNA website.

In reality:

I’m sure you’re probably thinking this all sounds good, but does it really work? Honestly, Yes. To give you a better idea of what a simple DLNA network set-up would be, this is my current set up at home:

• Windows PC running Home Media Server, connected to Wi-Fi network,
• Sony Bravia TV connected to my wireless router using an ethernet cable,
• Nokia N97 connected to Wi-Fi network.

With this set up I can view photos from my phone and PC on the TV using my TV remote. I can play music from my phone through my PC or TV, and can control the music playback from my phone or my TV remote. My Dad has a DLNA enabled laptop, and when he visits, he simply logs onto my wireless network and he is able to show pictures and music on my TV straight away with out having to set anything up.

The Playstation 3 is DLNA enabled and is more and more people have one, people are starting to use DLNA without even realising. The PS3 allows to you stream music, photos and video from any pc in your home to your TV – as long as you’re running media software (see below).
Current DLNA certified Mobile Phones:

Currently there aren’t many handsets in the UK that are DLNA Certified, I’ve listed some of the more recent of these are listed here:

To see what other devices are available have a look at the DLNA certified Product Range.

If you don’t have a Media Server installed on your PC, take a look at these solutions.

• Twonky
• Home Media Server (included free with Nokia NSeries)
• Orb

These aren’t the only options out there, but the one’s I’ve found easiest to use, although Orb is slightly different in as much as it allows you to stream your content over the internet to any device. Twonky and Home Media Server are simpler to set up and use.

If you have any questions or comments, or need anything clarifying – leave your comments below!

Which 3G Antenna do I need?

The table below shows the current 3G Broadband Dongles and the Antennas that are available. If you aren’t sure which dongle you have, my post on how to boost your 3G signal will show you where to find this information.

There are two different types of antenna available. The standard Clip Antenna is designed to be a portable solution that clips onto the screen on your laptop or sits on your desk. It is omni-directional, which means that it will pick up signals from all directions. The High Gain 3G Directional Antenna is a more powerful signal booster. It is directional, which means that you will need to point this towards your networks transmitter in order for it to improve the signal. The High Gain antenna when positioned correctly will make a significant difference to the signal you receive, and can be wall mounted as a permanent fixture.

To find your dongle quickly, press “ctrl” and “f” on your keyboard, and then type in the model number of your dongle excluding the manufacturer or network eg: E160G to search this page. If your dongle is not listed here, don’t worry, this is only a snapshot of the most popular dongles.

If you still can’t find your dongle, please add a comment with the network, dongle make and model number and I’ll find out which antenna you need and add it to the list alternatively the Universal antenna will work with all USB modems.
Read more »