TechWire

10 second review: 'Go' service from Irish Broadband

Irish Broadband is currently launching its new mobile broadband product, 'Go'. It's a PCMCIA card that sticks into the side of a laptop. I've been using it for a couple of weeks. I've found:

(i) It's temperamental. The signal drops off about once a minute in the areas I've been using it in (Camden Street, Harcourt Street areas of Dublin)
(ii) The speed averages around 300k
(iii) It sometimes doesn't connect properly off the bat. I had continuous problems with getting it started one day and had to call technical support. Embarrassingly, it then worked fine.
(iv) It doesn't work with more modern laptops' card ports. I'm using it with a three year old Compaq laptop
(v) It has one very good feature -- no download cap. However, at 512k, one shouldn't be clocking up too much anyhow.

The 'Go' service costs €100 up front and €40 per month thereafter. Coverage is metropolitan Dublin only, with build-out planned for other cities.

Christmas gadget gift ideas

What makes a good gadget gift for Christmas? iPods and cameras, sure -- but anything else? One item that I find works for older folks (or those not into MP3 players) is the Philips Pet 320 personal player. It's a DVD and CD player in one, with a 3.5 inch screen on the front of it. And at €130, it's pretty affordable.

Aldi flogs 32 inch HD-Ready telly for €650

Seems like there's an even cheaper 32 inch HD-Ready TV in our midst. Step forward Aldi's Tevion model, on sale this Thursday. Some of the specs on it are a little lower than bigger brand models (7 watt speakers instead of 10 or 15 watts and a lower brightness level) but the core specs are fine. €650 seems to be the new benchmark in budget HDTVs...

Free Dublin wi-fi on the cards?

Looks like free or subsidised wi-fi for Dublin city is still simmering as an issue. Dublin City Council looks set to put in free wi-fi in all Dublin library branches, according to documents I've seen. And a Labour TD, Tommy Broughan, has re-iterated his call for a free wi-fi zone between the canals in Dublin. More on this later.

No HDTV from us until late 2007, says NTL Ireland boss

NTL Ireland won't launch a HD television service until "the second half of 2007", according to its head of sales and marketing, Mark Coan. This leaves Sky as the only game in town until then, which means you'll continue to need an Eircom landline to watch HDTV.

HD-Ready TV: a guide

Confused about HD-Ready TV? Here's a guide I've wriiten for novices, with references to some of the (32-inch) models currently on the Irish market. In the budget category, I like the Mirai DTL (€800 in Xtravision). In the mid-range, Samsung's 32 inch model (€1,130-€1,200) is what I'd go for.

10 second review: Nokia E61

I've been using Nokia's E61 (about €450 sim-free or €150-€200 on an upgrade) business mobile for the past two months now. Here's the low-down:

The good
- Great screen
- Fast internet access, even on 3G
- On-board wi-fi

The bad
- Small keys a little awkward for dialling, texting or mailing
- Mediocre battery life (in fairness, it's a big screen)
- Occasional software glitches, like re-starting for no reason (in fairness, only two or three times since I've had it
- Slowish response to button commands (like other Symbian Series 60 devices)
- No camera

New apartment developments' disappearing TV choices

What happens when you've bought an apartment in a block which has an 'exclusive' TV supply deal with a company you didn't want? Worse, when the TV picture freezes and pixellates every 15 minutes? That's the situation facing angry residents in one new apartment development in Finglas, Prospect Hill. The developer signed a monopoly provision deal with Smart Telecom. But residents aren't exactly chuffed with the service and have been complaining in their droves.
Tough luck, though -- they're stuck with them. NTL? They're not 'allowed' lay cable into the property. Sky dishes? Not 'allowed' on the balconies.
One curious by-product of these local monopoly deals -- and it's also the likes of Magnet and NTL which are signing them -- is the gradual dissolution of Eircom's universal service obligation (USO). If a developer signs a monopoly deal with a rival telecoms company, and Eircom 'isn't allowed' on the premises, where does that leave the consumer's USO rights? This affects thousands of people in the greater Dublin area.

Where have all the MVNOs gone?

Anyone know where all the likely MVNOs have disappeared to? It's a question being asked around the mobile industry.
"I'm pretty sure you'll see the first MVNO within the next six months," John Doherty, chairman of Comreg, told me today. "The logic is inescapable."
Alas, Doherty couldn't say which of the various contenders the first one might be. It's six years since MVNO hype started in Ireland.

The pink tech market

Speaking of Sony, what's with its latest colour schemes for laptops and PSP consoles? Pink is the new black, apparently.