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Go wireless in the shower
Following the Videospa TV comes more technology for the bathroom in the shape of the Grohe digital Wireless shower
As Text4price reported in one of our previous articles, we are on the edge of an explosion in wireless technology. Wireless is seeping into our everyday lives almost unnoticed.
New from Grohe is a digital wireless shower, which can be switched on and off from any room in the house. It allows you to step out of bed, straight into a shower that's running at the exact temperature you require.
The remote system can be programmed for each member of the family or for different times of the day (you might want a cooler shower to wake you in the morning and a warm one to relax at night).
The remote wirelessly connects to a concealed base unit, which uses your settings to adjust and mix the water as you've ordered. When the ideal setting is found a visible or audible signal will highlight this.
There's also a split-second response if the water flow changes, adjusting the flow to the right temperature accordingly.
It will not be long before similar products enter the market and you'll be able to link them with the rest of your wirelessly enbabled home.
Sounds great. The Grohtherm Digital! Wireless Shower system costs around £600.
Check out some best buys from our price comparison website.
A new Sub 200 pound Sat Nav
Mio launches the C210 with a competitive 199 pound price tag
Belgian technology firm Mio Technology has launched the C210 Sat Nav system. It''s got all the basic navigation features you need at very competitive £199.
Let''S be honest, do you really need a multi-lingual voice translator when you''re lost in Bristol?
This GPS receiver features a 400 MHz processor, a clear and crisp but not large 2.7-inch screen and an SD slot for data storage.
Unlike some other Sat Nav systems, it uses seven digit postcode recognition rather than the usual six digits. This means it can locate an address to within a few metres. If you use six digits, you only cover a number of streets.
You can buy an optional Traffic Messaging Channel (TMC) antenna and, with this plugged in, the C210 can receive live updates of traffic problems and hotspots, planning new routes if required.
There''s a safety camera database alerting drivers of camera locations with the ability to add new cameras (there''s a free database update for one year).
It runs on four AA batteries, which provide over 4.5 hours of navigation on foot with the backlight on and GPS function at full power. An in-car charger provides power when on the road.
Try Text4price online here or on your phone 84070 and see if you can get a better deal than £199.
If you can, let us know.
Price comparison
How you can use Text4Price for price comparison and get a better deal in stores
The proof of any ‘price comparison pudding’ is in the eating and I’m stuffed!
We needed a new printer in the T4P office the other day. For a change I remembered this as I passed PC World in Swindon and popped in to see what they had.
We don’t have particularly onerous print requirements, so I was looking for a basic printer that would be easy to set up. I noticed that there was a Hewlett Packard Laserjet 1020 at £99.99.
To check that this was a good deal, I called up my Text4Price number from my contacts in my mobile, a sleek Motorola SLVR as you ask, and to get the price comparison I entered ‘Find HP Laserjet 1020’.
I waited for about 20 seconds before my inbox got a reply. My expectation was that I’d get a slightly better deal, perhaps £10 cheaper, from an aggressive online trader.
But guess which online company was offering exactly the same model for £30 less?
That’s right – PC World!
I couldn’t resist sharing this price comparison with the store manager and bless him, he was not that surprised – and only too willing to match the price.
So that 25p text message saved me £30.
Isn’t it great when you find something that actually does ‘what it says on the tin’, especially when it’s your own business?!
What is an MDVR
Acrhcos would like it to be a Mobile Digital Video Recorder
Having recently released the AV 700, Archos has just released a new version. This is an MDVR - a mobile digital video recorder and to the best of our knowledge, it's the first of its kind.
The trouble is it still looks exactly like the AV700. In fact, it's exactly the same as the AV700 on the outside but if you could see the electronics beneath the plastic facade, you would think otherwise.
Just like a vanilla AV700 this device plays the video, music and prohun games files on the same vast 7in screen. This all-new AV700 tv also has two - yes this is not a typo - two digital tv tuners.
Why would you need an AV700 with two digital tv tuners?
Because you can record directly from external video sources via the composite input without the need to be linked up to anything else to record - it can do the business from its internal digital tuners and aerial, which pick up the various Freeview channels.
So if it has two tuners- does that mean I can record one programme whilst watching another?
Sadly no, but you can take this device and use it on the train or an area with poorer reception. The two digital tuners work in unison to provide the best TV reception anywhere.
As a bonus, you can schedule TV recordings from the EPG and store up to 35 hours of footage on the 40GB HD. And if you don't have a Freeview set-top box, you can link the av700tv to your telly and record from that too.
For a use anywhere Price comparison service use http://www.Text4Price.com
Is this your next Camera
The S6 is Nikon's slimline snapper. Its WI-Fi enabled and we think its clickin amazing.
This is a compact camera with a basket full of functionality and it's oh so slim and elegant. It packs an eye opening three-inch LCD and it lets you fly through the great looking snaps you've just taken using a small iPod style menu wheel.
To cap it all, you can send your pics to your PC or printer wirelessly - what more could you ask for?
Whilst Nikon's last WI-FI compact, the P2 really opened up a new chapter in wireless photography, it looked less than chic. In fact you could say it looked more like an overweight SLR. This camera, in contrast, is as thin as any lifestyle snapper currently on the market. The three-inch screen offers the clarity and colour that the HD-TV adverts are promising.
One on the best features is the menu wheel. It manoeuvres through the menus like Michael Schumacher through Monaco, allowing you to view your images at up to 10 a second.
We think it's the most intuitive camera control mechanism we have experienced at Text4price, plus it can even work as a traditional four-way selector -you just press it up , down left or right to use in the standard way.
A dedicated button for 'face priority' auto focus adds to the user friendliness and there are plenty more scene modes available via the clear menus to keep any digital camera guru happy. If there is one disappointment, it's the zoom lever which is just a tad too fiddly, but hey, we can forgive it this minor blemish.
At Text4price we are expecting that, just as wireless is creeping into more and more mobile phones, the same will be true for all portable devices with cameras being no exception.
Once you have set the S6 up via its USB cable, you can simply disconnect and beam your crisp 6 mega pixel images direct to your PC or its printer. Uploading a single shot typically takes about 7 seconds.
It looks great, shoots straight and with WI-Fi functionality, it's sure to be a winner.
Compare prices online now before they sell out - Text4Price.com
Travelling to and from the World Cup
Win or lose on the pitch heres how to win when spending your Euros
Whether you’re travelling to Germany full of hope and expectation (if you’re older, that will be a feeling that you dare not hope for anything more than mild despair), or returning euphoric or heart-broken, you’ll be faced with many opportunities to part with your hard earned cash.
Even The Kaiser, Franz Beckenbauer, who played such a key role in securing the World Cup for Germany, has spoken out against the naked profiteering surrounding the tournament. Funny that – football and naked profiteering – whatever next?!!
Despair and euphoria are bad for your cash. As emotions rage you could lose yourself in an orgy of celebrations or indulgent consolation. Imagine what Posh Beckham might do if David scores a hat-trick in the final or, perhaps more likely, runs off with Claudia Schiffer – get the picture? It could be expensive.
Before you go, make sure you plan a few basics. Mobile phone charges abroad can be astronomic. But an enterprising group of England fans has set up www.englandcalling.co.uk to sell mobile phone SIM cards that don’t incur international calling charges.
Whatever you do, don’t travel without holiday insurance. It need not cost much and you can find the best deals at http://www.moneysupermarket.com/travelinsurance/ .
But all of this is mere tinkering. The real damage happens in Duty Free or in the shops. How do you make sure that you’re not getting ripped off? Simple. Sign up free for the text4price travelling abroad service. Just give us some basic contact details, put a new contact in your mobile – text4price – and save our international number +447781474397
Next time you’re in duty-free or travelling...
* Text us with the word 'find' and the product name. eg. 'find ipod nano'.
* Wait a few moments and we'll text you back with the best UK deals available online.
It could save you hundreds of pounds but all it costs is 25p plus your standard network charges each time we compare prices for you. Plus we never charge you unless we can find a result.
Finally, T-Mobile is offering a great service for people using any mobile network. It’s working with the Football Supporters’ Federation to provide key information for travellers, direct to their mobiles, including:
- matchday traffic and travel problems
- latest crucial off the pitch info
- 2006 ticket and merchandise giveaways
- Tips on saving money on calls & texts in Germany
- FSF Embassy locations.
Get the details at T-mobile's Campaign site
Latest Football results from Google
Got a draw crammed with old Gadgets
Want to make money from your old mobile phones
It's always the same - as soon as you buy a new mobile, it's superseded by another model.
So if you want to keep up with the latest styles, you could end up with a drawer full of old mobiles that are unlikely to see the light of day again.
In the UK alone there's an estimated 15 million handsets discarded every year. That means a total of over 100 million sets with fewer than 10% recycled or reused. So how about trading them in for some cash, in-store credit or a contribution to charity?
Companies like Mopay.co.uk and Envirofone.com give you cash for your handset depending on make, model and condition. They then refurbish the handset so it can be reused within the telecoms market.
Envirofone.com has paid out more than £250,000 this year to people recycling their old mobiles. They're now offering alternatives to the cash. Envirofone can now offer a credit note that can be used at Argos or you can nominate a charity to benefit.
The reconditioned handsets are then sent for use overseas, where the cost of new phones is too high for the average person.
According to Environe's chief executive, Pete Petrondas "Unlike traditional schemes, we recognised that we need to encourage the general public to recycle so we decided to offer them either cash or credit from Argos."
Check out these websites and turn out those old phones.
Www.Mopay.co.uk
Www.envirofone.com
Consumer advice from Text4Price.com the UK price comparison site.
Finally Apple hits a high note with its Bass Station
Its Apples first hifi dock for the world beating Ipod
Looking like a retro, ghetto-blaster we can say that Apple has succeeded where others have failed, delivering surprisingly good sound quality.
Feed it a dose of Bjork's ear straining 'Oh so quiet' and it's just as happy pumping bass as it is preserving acoustic subtlety.
However, the horrible, slab like, 'speaker-fallen over' design only succeeds at putting the 'boo' back into boom box! With Apple's design pedigree you would expect better.
The once oh-so-stylish white plastic seems tired and the minimalist lines of the iPod really look lost on top of the big box. Requiring six D-type batteries to run as a truly go anywhere device plus its size makes lugging it about an exhausting prospect to anyone who's not pumping iron in the gym every day.
With the usual plethora of adaptors handily supplied by Apple, all the ipod models are compatible, even the shuffle.
A small remote control lets you change the volume and skip forward and backwards though your tracks, although with no screen, you can't use it to control your carefully crafted play lists.
Sticking with a theme and in time-honoured Apple tradition, the price feels a little too high for what you get but the sound quality is undeniably impressive and at the end of the day, surely that's what you want.
So our advice is, if you're looking for an Apple 'Bass Station' always check with Text4price online at www.text4price.com or by SMS through your mobile phone on 84070. You never know, you may save enough to download Elvis back catalogue.
So what is DVB-H and when are we going to be able to use it
Digital Video Broadcast - Handheld or DVB-H is essentially broadcast TV designed for mobile devices
The TV information is digitised and then broadcast in high concentration short bursts (one second of TV in one tenth of a second).
This means that that the receiver can be switched off 90% of the time and thus save battery power making it useable for devices, like mobiles, which have limited battery reserves.
Unlike TV broadcast over a 3G network, DVB-H shows can be received by an unlimited number of people once it has been broadcast. DVB-H also has some clever technology built into the software to compensate fo the fact that mobile devices with small aerials that may have varying quality of reception levels.
As we said in our previous article DVB-H is a technology still in its infancy, and it is unlikely there will be a commercially launched network before summer.
However Nokia are using the N92 to showcase DVB-H technology and there is something undeniably cool about convergence devices and one that has TV built in definitely packs that extra wow, but the device has plenty to offer besides mobile TV.
The N92 offers a new design form factor – a flip and fold – with a total of four usage modes. In closed mode there is a small secondary screen that displays a limited amount of information (time, message, battery and signal notifications). In flip-open mode the phone operates as a traditional flip phone and it fits snugly in the hand.
In TV mode, the screen is rotated a further 90 degrees so that it becomes flush with the long side of the keypad. This gives the impression of a clamshell device. It is this mode that is used for watching TV. The stereo speakers are located on the back of the unit (away from the person watching TV), which is not ideal, but was probably dictated by space constraints.
It is clear the device is optimised for watching TV in
this mode. You can sit the N92 on a desk in front of you and adjust the viewing angle, or it will sit just as easily in the palm of the hand.
The TV picture is displayed full screen and the quality of the picture is excellent, and channel changing is near instantaneous. It is difficult to get across how good it looks without seeing it for yourself, but between the high resolution screen and the DVB-H technology, the N92 offers an unsurpassed mobile television experience
The screen on the N92 is mid resolution (240 x 320), high colour (16 M colours) and has an anti-glare feature, all of which add up to one excellent screen.
However, the design may not be to everyone's tastes, with the general feel of the device, a not quite good enough camera and the keypad being low points; and there is no getting away from the fact that it is large and heavy.
When DVB-H is launched then you should consider the N92, otherwise you
should look at the smaller and perhaps even more desirable N80.
When its released you will be able to compare the best deals for the N92 online at www.text4price.com.
Chop slice and shred knead beat and grind no its not the latest John Woo movie
Find out how food processors handle all these culinary tasks with ease.
If you've ever tried making mayonnaise at home, you already know how incredibly versatile food-processors can be.
More basic models have a series motor but look for those with an induction motor which gives smoother control and is also favoured by TV chefs, however these models of course cost more.
Powerful machines also tend to give better results and do so in less time so look for a power rating of between 500 watts on a mini processors to 1200 watts for a larger model.
Always look for food processors with the most parts that are dishwasher safe as attachments in particular can be fiddly to clean. Plastic bowls tend to be less expensive, whilst those with stainless steel bowls and casings will certainly be more hardwearing.
However don't get your food processors mixed up with a blender, a food processors uses blades which are extremely sharp to cut through the food. mixed up with a food processors, Blenders use dull blades, processing food with blunt force and Blenders are usually used for pureeing foods that are already soft at the start, such as fruit.
Food processors blades are multi-purpose kitchen tools capable of slicing, grating, chopping, pureeing and even kneading. Whilst all these different options may sound fantastic, they will only add to you drawer clutter if they’re not going to get used.
If space is an issue and you need to de - clutter your work surface some food processors have a blender option fitted alongside the main bowl and some will have attachments for dry foods or even grinding coffee beans cutting down on the overall number of separate appliances you need to own.
Finally look our for the most settings on Variable Speed Control, a Pulse Function that Stops the machine for a few seconds at a time throughout the processing, giving etter results especially on tougher foods and finally a Safety Lock ensuring that the processing cannot start if the lid is not “locked on” properly.
Food processors can be very noisy kitchen appliances some models are much quieter than others so ask to see yours working before you buy so that you can hear for yourself! and don't forget to use text4price in store by texting 'find' then the product to 84070 to find the best price online. Our choice among food processors which stand out from the crowd are Kitchen Aid and Cuisine art, which is the original and still among the best.
PURE launches latest Evoke DAB radio
The Evoke 3 builds on its excellent predecessors with time travel
If you’re looking for a digital radio for the home, you won’t go far wrong with the PURE DAB range.
The latest model, the Evoke 3 improves on its illustrious predecessors’ performance. It won’t win any awards for design appeal but it’s top class where it matters – sound quality, functionality and the kind of innovation that Dr Who fans will love!
The Evoke-2XT is already regarded as top class in its sector – it offers high quality reception and genuine durability. The Evoke 3 offers a number of improvements over the 2XT including longer battery life, new filters on the custom-designed speaker drivers and a very impressive Electronic Program Guide (EPG) – oh yes, and time travel too.
Whilst the Evoke radios are hardly things of great beauty – they really do put function over form – they’re eminently easy to use. The slightly naff but now familiar ‘wooden’ wrap is still there with three main controls in its centre - volume, ReVu and tune. There’s a large LCD on the front panel indicating clearly what station you’re listening to and underneath this, a range of navigation buttons. The LCD displays RadioText, RDS and DAB station information about the broadcast, the name of the artist and a short biography.
On the top of the radio is a SnoozeHandleTM. Tap it and you put the Evoke-3 into snooze mode to give you some extra minutes of precious shut-eye. At the back there are lots of inputs and outputs including power, USB, digital optical out, headphones, line out and aux in. There's a detachable panel concealing a battery compartment for batteries.
When you switch on the Evoke 3 an automatic tuner activates itself. Extend the telescopic aerial and the Evoke 3 finds all available DAB broadcasts and lists them. Tuning is easy and you’ll soon find the point where you can get excellent DAB reception.
One of the most impressive features of the Evoke 3 is the 'ReVu' function which you can use to pause and rewind live DAB broadcasts. That’s right – you can rewind LIVE radio up to 30 minutes into the past! If that’s not impressive enough, you can record songs or complete radio programmes to an SD-card. A 2GB card stores about 30 hours of programming. And you can program the recording function in advance – just like setting the DVD or video – with the EPG. Just select the programme you want to record and press the Record key – it couldn’t be easier.
Like all digital radios, the Evoke 3 may suffer from reception problems in some areas. City dwellers are probably immune but if you live in the country, you may have to fiddle with the aerial to get a good signal and with the location of the radio in particular rooms. If you’ve never used a DAB radio, check with a neighbour and see how they’re getting on.
With the 3.5mm cable accessory you can plug in an iPod and use the Evoke 3 as an amplifier and speaker. You can play MP3 files on the Evoke-3 by inserting an SD card.
Find the best deals for the Evoke 3 at www.text4price.com – whether you’re out shopping or browsing online, we can help you save £££s.
Price comparison UK Text4price.com
Whats the last thing you pack when moving house.
And the first you unpack.
It’s the humble but life giving kettle of course. No other kitchen appliance is used as much so choosing the right one is essential, especially if you want to motivate your builders!
You could be forgiven for thinking that all kettles boil water in much the same way but how quickly will they boil and how long will they last?
There are two main functional characteristics to consider. The first is the element, which heats the water and is always located in the bottom of the kettle. It’s usually made of stainless steel. Look for kettles with concealed elements which are easier to clean because their surface is flat.
Secondly, the power of the kettle is important. The more powerful the kettle, the quicker it will boil the water. Typically, most kettles have a power rating of around 2500 watts. If you are looking for a super quick 'rapid boil' model, look for kettles over 3000 watts.
If you are part of a big family or you’re always making tea and coffee, capacity will be a factor in your buying decision.
Kettles can boil from 1 litre for travel kettles but standard ones typically start from a 1.5 – 1.7 litre capacity.
It has become popular to include filters. Most filters will be a plastic mesh across the spout on the inside, preventing unwanted particles being poured into your cup.
Some of the more expensive models offer a much higher level of filtration, reducing the levels of impurities by means of separate specialist filters working in much the same way as the jug-type water filters.
However, the filters inside them will need changing, so as well as being more expensive to buy, there will be ongoing costs to consider.
If you are lucky enough to have a big kitchen, then being able to lift the kettle from its base and take it to the tap for filling is useful. So a Cordless kettle may be the first decision to make, as not all models will be available in both options.
For those extra finishing touches good models include a Water Gauge – this allows you to see how much water is in the kettle without taking the lid off. A 360 degree swivel base means that the kettle can be used just as easily by right or left handed people as it can be replaced onto the “plate” from any angle.
Just like the choices of kitchen the variety of shapes, colour and styles is huge and is really a personal choice depending on your taste, budget and whether you like a co-ordinated look in your kitchen.
We recommend that you check in your local store to see kettles at first hand but always check with www.text4price.com to see if you are getting a good deal or could save a few pounds online.
Compare prices online or in the shop using SMS text Text4price.com
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