John Thompson
Hoping to study Computer Science at University in the near future, you’ll seldom see John without a computer in touching distance! His interests include building computers, reading all sorts of literature and of course writing for Zath to keep you updated on all the latest in the world of tech! You can follow John on Twitter as @british_geek.Here are all the Zath articles written by John Thompson...
iOS 5 For iPhone Review
October 12, 2011
Two good things happened at Apple’s event earlier this month: firstly, we finally got to see the new iPhone which, although not as extravagant as the rumour mill would have had us believe, is a great jump from the previous iPhone thanks to the introduction of Siri in iOS 5. Secondly, we actually got a release date for iOS 5, and it will be landing on an iPhone near you today!
If you’re a little cautious about downloading new software before reading some reviews first, then worry not, because we’ve done all of the leg work for you!
Note: This review does not include ‘Siri’, the voice control software found on the new iPhone 4S. If you want to read about Siri, head over to our iPhone 4S review, and you will find all of our thoughts there.
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Huawei E586 MiFi For Three Review (Mobile Broadband Modem/Hotspot)
October 11, 2011
We took a look at the Huawei E367, a 3G broadband dongle on Three UK, a few months ago back in the summer, and despite a sleek looking exterior, it failed to impress when it came down to setting the unit up and running real life speed tests.
Fast forward a few months, and I’m sat here with the latest mobile wi-fi offering from Three: the Huawei E586 MiFi which is the lastest model of the Three Mobile MiFi that we also reviewed earlier in the year and really liked.
This MiFi unit has a number of fundamental differences from the traditional broadband dongle most mobile networks have on offer, the most obvious of which is that it doesn’t connect to a computer over USB. Instead, it broadcasts its own wireless signal so that you can connect more than one device at a time, and use devices that don’t support USB, such as the iPad.
Continue reading »Facebook iPad App Review
October 10, 2011
We’ve known about its existence for months already, and we’ve even seen it accidentally bundled and leaked with the iPhone application, but we now, finally, have an official Facebook application in the iPad App Store.
Launched today, the app is a free download, and it’s available as a universal application which is compatible with both the Apple iPad and iPhone.
Continue reading »YouTube Movie Rentals Now Available In The UK
October 7, 2011
With many Google releases, such as Google Voice, we usually have to wait a long time before they come over to our side of the pond. Fortunately, this isn’t the case with El Goog’s latest product to hit the internet.
More accurately, this new offering is actually an extension of an existing service, with movie rentals being offered to users through YouTube alongside other user uploaded videos.
Continue reading »Google eBookstore Launches In The UK
October 6, 2011
Love e-books but hate being tied down in an eco-system? Me too, and until now my only realistic option in the e-book market has been to use Amazon’s Kindle store and then remove the DRM from my purchased items so that I can read them on any devices that I may own in the future.
Thanks to Google’s eBookstore, however, there is some more choice available, which can only be good for consumers. Until now, it was only available in the USA, but today it has finally launched in the UK as well.
Continue reading »Apple Quietly Launches Micro USB Adapter For iPhone To Comply With EU Regulations
October 5, 2011
It’s been a long time coming, but Apple has finally launched a micro USB adaptor for the iPhone to comply with european regulations.
The phrase ‘better late than never’ comes to mind, as the new adaptor made its way on to the UK Apple Store quietly following the release of the iPhone 4S at an event in Cupertino yesterday.
Continue reading »Apple Announces The iPhone 4S
October 4, 2011
This is the big one! We’ve heard about iPods and saw a few more iOS 5 applications such as Cards and Find My Friends, but Apple has now unveiled the brand new – or not so brand new – iPhone as well.
There’s no doubt that this update to the iPhone is all about the software, with the hardware seeing no external changes whatsoever. This is exactly the same exterior as the iPhone 4, and you’d struggle to tell them apart. There have been a few changes made internally though…
Continue reading »iOS 5 To Be Released For iPhone, iPad And iPod Touch On October 12th
October 4, 2011
It seems like we’ve waited ages for iOS 5 to eventually reach the ‘golden master’ stage, when in fact it’s only been 4 months since it was originally announced back at WWDC in June.
Fortunately for any iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch users out there, iOS 5 has reached that milestone today, and it now has a firm release date of October 12th. Need a refresher on the features that you can look forward to in the new OS? We’ve got you covered!
Continue reading »Apple Announces Find My Friends App For iOS 5
October 4, 2011
Do you value your privacy? If you do, then you might want to look away sometime soon, as Apple has just announced a new feature which will be coming to iOS 5: Find My Friends.
All privacy jokes aside, Find My Friends looks like quite an interesting feature. If you’re meeting friends and want to find them, you can ask them to turn the feature on from their iPhone, and they will become visible on a map, enabling you to find them.
Continue reading »Apple Announces Cards App For iOS
October 4, 2011
We already saw what iOS 5 will have to offer in June, but at their event today, Apple announced an additional application for the upcoming operating system: Cards.
Cards is, essentially, a service which is similar to UK offerings such as moonpig.com, through which you can create and customise your own cards from your browser and then send them to the person of your choice.
Using the app, which will be a separate download to iOS 5, users will be able to create and (snail) mail cards to recipients straight from their iPhone. All of the cards can be customised with custom pictures and text from your iPhone, and will be printed on high quality paper before being sent.
Continue reading »Apple Refreshes iPod Touch And iPod Nano
October 4, 2011
We knew that today’s event was going to focus on the new iPhone, but it’s also that time of year that Apple refreshes its line-up of iPods.
If you were expecting a lot of iPod news today after Apple’s traditional September event didn’t happen, you’ll be left fairly underwhelmed. The only models to get a refresh today were the iPod Nano and iPod Touch. The iPod Shuffle remains exactly the same as last year, and lossless lovers will be glad to know that rumours of the iPod Classic’s death were greatly exaggerated, as it’s also still available to buy from Apple’s online store.
Continue reading »It’s Official! Star Trek: The Next Generation Being Remastered For Blu-Ray Release In 2012
September 29, 2011
Ever since the original Star Trek series was remastered and released on to blu-ray in 2009, there have been countless rumours of The Next Generation receiving the same treatment. Now, its release has been confirmed thanks to a post on startrek.com.
The Next Generation on blu-ray won’t be hitting our shelves until 2012, and even then it won’t be coming all at once, but there’s a good reason for this. Instead of simply upconverting the existing content and throwing it on blu-ray to make a tidy profit, the producers of the new blu-ray version are using the original 35mm film and working through over 25,000 reels of footage to make the video look as good as possible.
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Amazon Unveils The Kindle Fire Tablet With 7-inch Colour Touchscreen For $199
September 28, 2011
Amazon has just unveiled their rumoured tablet, the Kindle Fire, at a press event today, and it certainly hasn’t disappointed. Not in the US anyway.
Running a heavily modified version of Google’s Android and packing a dual-core processor, the Kindle Fire will allow you to do all of the things that you would do on any other tablet. You can browse the web (more on that in a little while), download apps from Amazon’s own app store and consume as much media as you can handle.
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Amazon Announces The New Kindle, Keyboard Not Included
September 28, 2011
Not a fan of touch? Fear not! Amazon hasn’t left you behind just yet. In addition to launching two brand new “Kindle Touch” models today, the US company has also announced an update to the traditional Kindle.
Like the new touch models, the latest generation Kindle no longer has a physical keyboard. Instead, users will have to search content and use the built in browser using a virtual on-screen keyboard which will be controlled by the 5-way controller beneath the screen. In short, if you use the keyboard on your current Kindle a lot, you won’t want to upgrade to the new model anytime soon.
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Amazon Announces The New Kindle Touch And Kindle Touch 3G
September 28, 2011
And we thought today was going to be all about Amazon’s new tablet! Au contraire, the e-ink Kindle is still very much with us, and it’s received a great update today as it enters the world of touch.
Gone is the physical keyboard reminiscent of the previous generation, and as a result the new model Kindle is 11% smaller than the last. It’s also a little bit lighter, shedding 8% of its weight.
The new generation e-ink display is, according to Amazon, their most advanced, although given that they’ve had a year to improve on the last generation that shouldn’t come as too much of a shock.
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Dyson Unveils ‘Hot’ Fan Heater, Available Now For £269.99
September 18, 2011
When Dyson introduced the Air Multiplier – their bladeless fan – in 2009, a lot of people were impressed by the elegant design and efficient cooling methods that you couldn’t get from traditional fans. Despite the hefty price point (the fans start at £200 for the smaller models, and work their way up to £300), there’s no denying that the technology used by Dyson is really impressive.
Fast forward to an unseasonably warm September in 2011, and the result of three years research and development, based upon the design of the Air Multiplier, has resulted in a new product: Dyson Hot.
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TruLink HDMI Over Cat5e Extender Review
September 12, 2011
We use Cat5 cabling for a number of networking related tasks, but not many people will have seen it used as a HDMI extender. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what TruLink has gone and done with this extender. They’ve taken a HDMI connection and paired it with Cat5e technology which will allow you to transmit video over a long distance in your home or workplace up to 60 metres.
TruLink 2-Port HDMI Splitter Review
September 11, 2011
Following the digital switchover here in the UK, almost every man and his dog now has a television that is at least HD ready. That means that demand for HDMI cables and accessories is going sky high. Even HDMI DVD players are available to take advantage of upscaling content and getting the most from your old discs, but what happens when you want to watch the same content on two TVs instead of just one?
TruLink’s 2-port HDMI splitter aims to solve your predicament by offering you an extra port to connect your peripheral in to, but how does it stack up when compared to the plethora of other options available out there? Let’s check it out!
Continue reading »TruLink TV To PC Converter Review
September 10, 2011
There are lots of converters and adaptors available that can take a video signal from your computer and display it on your TV or projector, but there aren’t many that work the other way around. That is, to take a signal from an external device such as a DVD player or cable box and convert it to display on a conventional computer monitor.
For many people who don’t want to use a TV, just a external input device, this could be quite useful, as computer monitors tend to be less expensive than their aerial packing counterparts.
If you want to buy a computer monitor instead of a TV, or you’re just re-purposing an old monitor that you no longer use, then you’ll want to take a look at one of TruLink’s many adaptors.
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TruLink VGA To HDMI Converter Review
September 9, 2011
If you buy a new television now, you can guarantee that it will have at least one HDMI port available to use. Large sets will even have up to 3 or 4 ports for you to connect up all your peripherals and enjoy your media.
What happens when that media is on an older computer, though? Most laptop and desktop computers will, for the past decade, have shipped with a VGA port to connect to an external display or projector before anyone could even say ‘Digital Switchover’. If you still have an older machine that you need to hook up to a new TV, then you’ll need an adaptor like this one from Trulink.
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