Even though it is totally free, Dropbox is one of our very favorite web applications here at Gadgets and Technology News.

We’re constantly surprised though by how many of our readers have never even heard of Dropbox so I decided to write a review to explain what Dropbox is and how you can benefit from it.

In short, Dropbox is a safe and secure disk drive in the sky where you can keep copies of your documents, photos and videos.

To get started with Dropbox, you simply sign up for a free account and download the software to your computer. This then gives you an additional folder (often on your desktop) and any files you put in this folder are automatically saved to your ‘disk drive in the sky’.

So why is this useful?

Here’s just a few ways that we use Dropbox…

1/ A Secure Backup

Too many people have all of their important files, photos etc on their computer but with no backup copy. If your computer dies… and they easily can do … or your hard-drive gets corrupted, then you could lose everything on your computer. All those important holiday photos gone forever as well as emails, downloads and important documents with no way of recovering them.

There are of course lots of ways of creating an automated backup (such as with an external hard drive or an automated online backup service such as our favorite Carbonite) but many don’t want the extra expense of this and so simply don’t have any backup!

With Dropbox, you can simply copy all of your important documents to your Dropbox folder and as if by magic, you have a backup of them ‘in the cloud’ which you can retrieve at any time and from any computer.

2/ Your Files Available to you Anywhere

Not so many years ago most people were lucky to have one computer. These days many people with have all or a selection of a desktop, a laptop or netbook, an iPad or other tablet, and an iPhone or other Smartphone (which is essentially a tiny but powerful computer).

So, what happens if you have a file on your desktop computer but need it on your iPad or iPhone?  Again this is where Dropbox comes in!

Once you have your free Dropbox account you can download the software onto any computer or laptop, and access your files from there. There are also apps for iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry so you can access your files from there too. And with the Dropbox website you can even access your files from any computer anywhere in the world as long as you can get internet access.

3/ Share Files with One Person or Lots of People

If you have a number of photos or large files that you need to send to a friend then what do you do?  Many people will try to email them but often email hosts have a 10MB limit and it can take ages to do too. Maybe you could put them on a CD or memory stick …. but not so easy if your friend lives hundreds of miles away!

With Dropbox, you have two options:

1/ Within the Dropbox folder on your computer you can create a subfolder that you can easily and securely give access to your friend (or a number of friends). Any files you add to this subfolder will be accessible to them immediately and they can also add files to the folder on their computer that will be accessible to you.

It’s perfectly secure though, as only the person or people that you have given authority to will be able to access the subfolder and of course they will only be able to access that subfolder and not anything you put in your other Dropbox folders.

2/ Within your Dropbox folder there is a subfolder called ‘Public’. If for example you put a photo in this subfolder and then right-mouse-clicked on it, you would be given a public link to that photo.  For example, here’s a public link to the Gadgets and Technology News logo:  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1360536/New-Gadgets-Logo200w.jpg    Once you have this link, you can give it to anyone you like and they will be able to download that file. You could for example, email the link to a number of friends so they could download your photo.

So there are three great uses for Dropbox. There are certainly more that you’ll discover when you join but I think that’s plenty to get you started. It’s totally free so please do give Dropbox a try… we know you’ll love it as much as we do!

As we said Dropbox is totally free for up to 2GB of storage space but we’ve got a special link that will give you a further 250MB of space for free too.

Just click here now to get your Free Dropbox

Mobile Web Pro by Kevin Koop and David Cisneros

Review by Chris Towland, Gadget Editor

Everyone knows that the mobile web use is just growing and growing on a daily basis. Pretty much everyone buying a phone wants the internet capability that the iPhone and Android phones bring to the table. When we then add in the web browsing capabilities of the iPad and other tablets and it’s easy to understand why more and more internet useage is moving from the pc and laptop to mobile platforms.

One area where this change is causing problems is with business websites.  Even though in excess of 67% of smartphone users claim to have used their device to look for a local business’s location info, a very small percentage of business websites look good or are easy to navigate on a mobile phone.

This can of course equate to lost customers for the business! For example, someone looking for a nearby restaurant on their mobile phone finds your website vut can’t move around the site easily to find your address or phone number. They eventually leave your site to find another restaurant whose address they can easily find. Something as simple as this can mean the difference between a profit and a loss for small businesses.

A very cost effective solution to this problem comes in the form of Mobile Web Pro by Kevin Koop and David Cisneros.

At a price of less than $10, Mobile Web Pro provides six professionally designed mobile templates that can be added to any website. The code that comes with the templates means that if someone views your website on a desktop or laptop computer then they see your normal website whereas if they view the same site on their phone then they will see the new mobile version of your site.

This allows you to direct them straight to the information that a mobile user is looking for which is usually address or telephone number. In fact, the mobile templates will even let your visitor simply press a button on your website so that the person can telephone you automatically.

Included in Mobile Web Pro are:

• Six different mobile web templates, each in seven style versions (giving you 42 different looks for your mobile site.)
• The Mobile Detect script that decides if the user is on a mobile device or pc and gives them the correct website.
• Twenty five tutorial videos that will ensure you can quickly get the templates set up and working on your business site.
• A 30 day money back guarantee.

In my view these templates will help anyone to quickly make an effective, professional looking mobile website for their business and all for the price of a few coffees.

I’m unsure as to how long the special pricing will remain but currently it is available at The Warrior Forum.

Review by Chris Towland, Gadget Editor

Well, where do I start with the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean?

First things first … this is easily the best toothbrush I’ve ever used!

I don’t say that though from the point of view of someone who has always used a manual brush and has suddenly discovered the extra cleanness you get from an electric brush. For several years I have used an electric brush and actually one of the Philips Sonicare range… but a £30 brush as opposed to the DiamondClean that currently retails around the £250 mark.

So where does the DiamondClean beat my normal electric brush?

Build Quality

The overall quality of the brush and case are very good. No cheap plastic unit here but a good solid feel to it.

Travel Case

The travel case again has a great build quality that will cope with the knocks it may get on your travels. Also, when the brush is in the case, a charging cable can be plugged into the outside of the case to recharge the brush either by wall socket or by the USB port of a computer.

Battery Life

Whilst I never quite managed to get the 3 weeks of battery life that was mentioned in the advertising for the DiamondClean I always get well over two weeks before I need to recharge.

Cleaning Modes

The DiamondClean has 5 different cleaning modes:

Clean – The standard two minute clean your teeth and plaque removal mode with a short pause every 30 seconds so you know to move to another ‘quadrant’ of your mouth.

White – The same as above but with a further 30 seconds specifically designed to whiten your front teeth.

Polish – A quick 1 minute mode to brighten and polish your front teeth.

Gum Care – The 2 minute Clean mode as above with an additional minute to massage your gums to improve gum health.
Sensitive – An extra gentle mode for people with sensitive teeth.

Without doubt, my favourite mode is the Gum Care mode. As someone who has regularly suffered with painful gums I can very happily report that I have not had a single gum problem for well over a month now (and I have been using the DiamondClean for just over five weeks). I have done nothing else different except change to the DiamondCare and use the Gum Care mode once a day but my gums have certainly noticed the difference!

Charging Cup

I’m really not sure whether most people would see this as a unique feature of this brush or maybe just a bit of a gimmick but to charge your DiamondCare at home, you simply drop it into the charging charging cup that you then plug into your wall socket.

Clean Teeth

The most important difference for me with the DiamondClean is how clean my teeth feel compared to my normal electric brush. Now this is not something I can quantify, but my teeth and my whole mouth just feel cleaner and fresher after using this brush.

So, what negatives did I find with the Philips Sonicare Diamondclean?

The Price

At around £250 this is certainly not a cheap electric brush and so will be out of reach for many people. For anyone who is happy with the cost though who is looking for the very best electric toothbrush available, this has to be a serious contender.

Switching Between Modes

Each time you start the brush it starts in the same mode that you last used it. This is great if, for example, you always use the Gum Care mode as one touch of the start button will always start you in this mode. However, if like me you want to use the Clean mode in the morning and the Gum Care mode at night, it’s not quite so simple!

Picture the scene – You hold your brush under the tap, then load it up with toothpaste. You put it in your mouth and hit the start button. As you know you’re not in the mode you want, you take the brush out of your mouth to look at the display and cycle through the modes but the toothpaste and water now sprays over your face and your shirt. This is hardly ideal so what you end up doing is starting the brush in your mouth, pressing the button to cycle through the modes until it stops the brush, when you hit the start button again it now starts at Clean mode and cycles through the others in order for each press of the button, so you need to remember the order and press the right number of times for the mode you want (twice for White mode, four times for Gum Care etc). All in all not a major inconvenience but something I would have thought would have been considered on a top end brush.

No Spare Brush Heads

The DiamondClean came with a normal sized brush head and a smaller sized head (there was no explanation of these either – was one a child’s brush or people with very small mouths maybe?) I would have expected at least one spare head in a brush of this quality.

My final verdict:

Without doubt this is not a cheap electric brush but you certainly get what you pay for. If you want the very best electric toothbrush available then the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean gets my highest recommendation.

Here is the official info from Philips:

Taking care of your oral health is easy with the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Toothbrush. This rechargeable power toothbrush offers Sonicare’s best plaque removal and whitening system, featuring Sonic technology and brush heads with diamond-shaped bristles that gently brush away plaque. Five cleaning modes provide a custom cleaning experience, and the Smartimer and Quadpacer ensure you brush adequately and evenly. For your convenience, DiamondClean includes a sleek charging glass and a USB charging travel case.

Unlike a manual toothbrush, Philips Sonicare DiamondClean uses powerful Sonic technology to clean teeth with up to 31,000 brush strokes per minute. Sweeping motions drive fluids deep into the tight spaces between your teeth and along your gum line, resulting in a cleaner, healthier mouth.

Achieve better results with DiamondClean: naturally whiter teeth, improved gum health, and better plaque removal than a manual toothbrush. DiamondClean is clinically proven to improve gum health in just two weeks. The gentle brushing action of DiamondClean helps prevent gum recession and removes up to 100 percent more plaque in hard-to-reach areas compared to a manual toothbrush. Proven to brighten your smile in just one week, DiamondClean will also gently remove coffee, tea and tobacco, and red wine stains.

The Philips Sonicare DiamonClean is available from many High Street and internet retailers including Amazon.

Full disclosure: I received a free product to keep, for the purposes of this review but as ever, all reviews on Gadgets and Technology News are totally impartial and without bias.

32″ LCD HDTV , 60Hz, 720p HDTV 500 cd/m2 brightness Includes table stand 100 x 100 VESA compatible for use with an optional wall mount Receives ATSC, NTSC and QAM video signals 2 built-in 3-Watt per channel speakers for stereo sound Full function remote control 15.0 lbs. (17.6 lbs. w/stand)

Brand: Haier

Model: L32D1120

Feature: 32-inch LCD HDTV

Feature: 7-Watt/2 channel speakers

Feature: Auto volume leveler

Feature: 1 direct USB input.

5.0 out of 5 stars A REAL DEAL FOR A REALLY GOOD TV, November 8, 2011
By JON IN L.A. (West Hollywood, CA)

This review is from: Haier L32D1120 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV, Black (Electronics)
As my first HDTV I don’t have anything to compare it to, but after a week, I am thoroughly pleased and happy with this new TV purchase.

Sale price was awesome and free almost next day shipping (ordered sun, arrived tues)

Great picture quality, great sound, nothing bad or even annoying to say about it.

Actually – I can’t seem to get my DirecTv to use the correct code with the DirecTV Remote. So I have 2 remotes. Not that big a deal.

99 of 134 people found the following review helpful:

1. In terms of picture quality, I would rate this set above average. Please note that I highly recommend a 1080p image over a 720p such as this one (particularly if you frequently watch blu-ray as I do), however the difference between the two is not very noticeable on a 32″ screen.

2. The sound quality on this TV is pretty good (sometimes the built-in speakers can be terrible on these units).

3. I also like the design of the remote, which is small and sleek. For those who hate those large remotes with a hundred buttons that you never use, this is the remote for you!
More Information Here

Review by Chris Towland – Gadget Editor

With about ten minutes of use the Jaybird Freedom became my first choice of headphones to use with my iPhone!

Firstly, as soon as I opened the box I knew this was a quality product – from the quality of the packaging to the case you keep your headphones in, to the actual Jaybird Freedom’s themselves – you can see and feel the quality.

Next ease of use – It took me two minutes to sync the headphones to the Blutoooth on my iPhone and be up and running. (Please note that I’m mentioning my iPhone in this review as that is what I tested the headphones on, but the Freedom’s can be used with any Bluetooth device including other smartphones, iPad etc)

Handsfree – Because they’re Bluetooth and handsfree it means my iPhone can be in my back pocket but there’s no wire trailing up my back and pulling the earphones out of my ears. This makes them ideal for use when jogging or at the gym (none of the usual wires inside or outside your t-shirt / coat conundrum).

Quality of sound – I’m a gadget man and not a sound expert but the Freedom’s gave a better, richer sound compared to any of the other iPhone headphones I compared them to.

Comfort – Because the Jaybird Freedom’s are supplied with a selection of eartips of differing sizes it is easy to find the ones that are just right for your ears. Once I had the right tips I found them very comfortable to wear and had no issues with them falling out of my ears.

Recharging – The headphones have a built in battery that lasted for hours and recharging is done via the USB cable supplied.

Control – Volume can be controlled from the headphones themselves so no need to dig your music device out of your pocket. Also because of the built in microphone I could answer phone calls and chat with the Freedom’s just like any Bluetooth headset.

So, did I find any problems with the Freedom’s?  Yes I did but they were very minor. Firstly, because the chord that goes round the back of your neck is rubber, I found that sometimes it stuck to my neck slightly when turning my head. This was more of a small inconvenience though rather than a problem and could be removed greatly by adjusting the length of the chord.

Also, I found that very occasionally if I turned my head rapidly, I lost sound briefly. I’m guessing this was somehow a short loss of the Bluetooth connection which was quickly regained. This really didn’t cause me a problem but I wanted to mention it so you had my full findings on these headphones.

Finally, the price at £99 certainly will be an issue for some when of course you can buy a cheap set of earphones for a few pounds but I think when considering the quality of product and sound as well as the benefits of handsfree / wire free Bluetooth, the Freedom’s are good value.

All in all I found the Jaybird Freedom’s to be superb, high quality headphones that were a joy to wear. If you value quality sound and ease of use – or you just like to be ultra cool with the very latest gadgets – you’ll find the Jaybird Freedom Wireless Handsfree Bluetooth Headphones an ideal choice.

Here’s the official info from the manufacturer:

Tiny, fitted with a tangle free flat cord and lightweight (16g only), these headphones are ideal to move freely as your music is travelling with you without disturbing your flow. Smartphone in your

pocket and Freedom in your ears – perfect complements to your active lifestyle. Marvel as you bring music to your world!

Freedom have been specially designed to fit securely in your ears thanks to GeckoGrip active eartips by Jaybird. Enhancing isolation, these GeckoGrip eartips cling to your ear canal and hold the headphones steadily to your ears. And no worries Jaybird thought about all your inimitable ears, you will find in the box a multitude of eartips enables you to find the perfect fit for even the most unique of ears.

Pair Freedom up with your Bluetooth music device (itouch, iPad, iPhone, Smartphone etc) and off you go! That’s you ready to run at the gym or run to catch your bus. You will also be able to receive calls anywhere through the integrated microphone – it could be on the treadmill or on a bath!

The Freedom pull off the almost-impossible by delivering you top-quality sound. With its bassy beats, these headphones deliver CD quality sound with Apt-X. Crank up the volume and enjoy your favourite songs.

Distributed in the UK by DAD, the Jaybird Freedom Bluetooth Headphones are be available from Amazon.co.uk, Advanced MP3 Players, Advanced Headphones, Apple, Dixons Airport stores, Harrods and other leading headphones retailers; priced at £99.

Product Specifications
·    Bluetooth V2.1 + EDR
·    Profiles: HSP, HFP, A2DP, AVRCP
·    In-built Microphone
·    Battery Life: up to 6 hours
·    Over ear Secure fit for sports
·    Apt-X audio on board
·    AVRCP Music Controls
·    Life time warranty against sweat
·    Tiny size and lightweight 40 x 17 x 7 mm
·    Weight: 16g
·    Charging: 1.5 hours

With technology racing ahead at astonishing speed right now, we rarely get to stop and take notice of new gadgets.

However Blue Aura Wireless Speakers deserve our special attention, as they reflect exactly what we want from our audio systems.

We want the freedom to place the speakers wherever we want in our homes and be able to control them with ease from anywhere too and this new product gives us just that.

But let’s start with the most important part – sound.

Often the innovation in one direction can hamper the very purpose of a device. However designers who worked on Blue Aura have clearly started with the most crucial piece of the jigsaw.

And the results are truly amazing. The sound is totally natural and almost as clear as if you were listening to live music. Every tone is delivered with absolute precision making the whole experience truly stunning.

When we connected Blue Aura to our TV system, we discovered that the depth of sound and the direction of stereo was just jaw-dropping and could easily compete with our local multiplex.

Moving on to the wonderful wireless capability. All we can say that if other audio sets may be able to match Blue Aura for sound, they will struggle to deliver the ability to place speakers wherever you choose and the capacity to control sound in different rooms with just one remote control.

All that is possible, because the speakers are connected with each-other through a wireless transmitter, which is the only part that has to be attached to the source of audio you are playing.

No longer do you need to run cables around your home. Now you can have a couple of speakers in your kitchen and another set in your living room and you will still have the ability to play music in both rooms at the same time as well as the power to set the volume at different levels in each location.

The wireless transmitter is powered through a USB cable which can be plugged into your computer or TV or mains by using an adapter (included). It also comes with an audio mini jack, which can be connected to your iPod, mobile phone or any other music player. You should be able to connect pretty much any audio device to it.

Each speaker has an individual cable to plug it into a socket, making them totally independent of each-other.

At a time when we want more freedom and more ease of use, Blue Aura is the product which allows us to have both those things. A product for the current generation of consumers.

www.blueaura.co.uk

When shopping for portable speakers two things are usually in people’s mind: convenience and sound quality. However many products fail to deliver on both grounds.

Normally good audio devices are bulky and need to be powered from a wall socket.

But the clever people at Sound Science have come up with a gadget that does everything you would expect from modern tech device and managed to do away with almost all of ugly and annoying wires.

QSB 30W HiFi speakers deliver sweet sound with a powerful base and unbelievably are powered directly from your computer through just the one USB cable.

Imagine having amazing audio coming out from beautifully designed black cubes, without the need to find sockets and hide cords away. It is a dream if you want to switch between different sources of audio or locations. One minute they could be in your office, the next away in a park. What is more, you also get a brilliant leather case to make your QSB’s perfect for all type of travel.

We literally could not believe how powerful the sound was, considering the small amount of power being delivered into the device. Many of us have got used to the idea that if something is not powered externally, then it just will not be very loud. But QSB’s are a real engineering masterpiece, quashing those preconceptions.

And at 85mm square they are small enough to fit in any suitcase and to find room on any desk. Simply perfect.

Top marks on all accounts.

http://www.soundscience.it/sound/index.php?option=com_redshop&view=product&pid=4&Itemid=2

FindMeTV is actually a TV listings website but it also has apps for the iPad and iPhone as well as iPod Touch and Android.

I gave the app a spin on my iPad so I’ll share what I thought of it below, but first, here’s what FindMeTV say about their service:

FindMeTV makes finding TV programmes easy. By bringing together traditional TV schedules, recommendations and links to VOD content in one place, users can search, browse and discover TV shows to watch on TV or online.

The service is available online at www.findmetv.com and through apps on the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android.

·    14 days of TV listings updated twice a day

·    Set your package and select from 400 channels to match the TV service you receive at home

·    Create a schedule of your favourite shows with MyTV

·    Set reminders and get recommendations

·    Set your set top box to record from the apps

·    Find shows you’ve missed to watch online

·    Smart search to find shows by name, actor, genre or day

·    Sync to MyTV online- keep your account synchronised from both your iPhone and iPad

·    Offline mode – up to 7 days of TV listings available, so even if you’re offline, you can still see what’s on TV!

So, what did I think of the app on my iPad?
All in all I really liked it!
It covers all of the TV channels … from terrestrial and Freeview to Sky and Virgin and most importantly it will let me select the channels I subscribe to or like to watch. In other words, if you don’t subscribe to Sky Sports for example, you won’t be interested in seeing the listings for Sky Sports so you can untick this from the list and then don’t see them.

This makes it very easy to scan the channels I like to watch to see what’s on.

When you open the app it automatically goes to ‘Grid View’ which shows you what is on now and for the next few hours on a grid of your chosen channels. It is then very easy to move the screen right to left to see later times or down to up to see more channels.

Clicking on a specific programme brings up more details of that programme as well as options to alert you when a programme is about to start and if you link the app to your Sky account you get the option to record programmes on your Sky+ direct from the app (although it didn’t seem to offer me a Series Link option at the moment).
You can also use the ‘Channels’ view to see everything on specific channels over the next 24 hours.

I’ve tried a few TV Listings apps recently and whilst it is not amazingly different from some of the others, FindMeTV is certainly my favourite of these at the moment so I can recommend you give it a try!

You can see more details at findmetv.com or by searching for findmetv in your app store.

We all know how difficult it is to find a set of speakers which look and sound great and will not leave a large hole in our bank accounts.

But the Edifier Aurora MP300 Plus speaker system could just be an answer to all your worries.

They deliver an exceptional sound quality at an affordable price.

We had a chance to it to save you all the leg-work and we can report that we were not disappointed.

It comes in a range of vivid colours (we had the mighty pink and it looked awesome!) as well as the customary black. The three-piece set only takes up small amount of room, so should fit even on the most clattered desk.

But let’s get to the important bit: the sound you get is huge!

We tested it out against some big R’n'B and Rock tunes and it stood tall and delivered amazingly natural sound time after time. We also played some podcasts to check how it would deal with just human voice and once again the resulting sounds were clear to hear even at a low volume.

You no longer have to subject your ears to tinny noises from your desktop audio system. It puts to shame Gear4 sets, which are so popular as budget buys.

I was a little surprised, though, to find that the volume controls were regular click buttons and not touch sensitive ones.

Aside from that the product exceeded our expectations at all levels.

It is one of the best speaker systems we’ve ever heard (and we get to hear a lot!).

http://klassociates.blogspot.com/search/label/Edifier

Many readers have been asking what we think of particular gadgets, so from today we will be adding gadget reviews on a regular basis.

These will always be totally impartial and will reflect what we think are the pros and cons of the gadget in question.

If you would like to suggest a gadget for us to review, or you are a manufacturer or PR company and would like us to review your gadget, then please contact Chris Towland or Alun Hill:

Chris Towland – Gadgets Editor:  chris@gadgetsandtechnologynews.com

Alun Hill – Technology Editor:  alun@gadgetsandtechnologynews.com