Rough Cuts Ltd Blog

We've had this unit in for a while and never really used it. It retails at around £80 and should be capable of receiving freeview TV broadcasts through a supplied antenna. Inside the box we found a USB cable, a small magnetic based antenna and a small telescopic aerial. We downloaded the elgato eyeTV tuner app and booted it up. It asked us to plug the device in, but it already was. Here comes disappointment number 1. It's not powered from the iPhone socket. We plugged a USB lead into it and the red light came on. The app recognised this fact and we scanned for TV channels. Unfortunately, indoors, we found nothing. So, I took the unit, along with my Mac that was powering it, outside and I stood in almost zero temperatures to scan again.... and again. But alas, with no joy. Disappointment number 2!  Undeterred and with almost child-like enthusiasm and optimism, I took the magnetic aerial out, plugged it into the device and plonked it on top of my car. Where I sat, in freezin...

I honestly thought on the first day of launch, when our demo iPhone 5 showed a scratch on the metal band that this would be a massive problem. Then I saw the problems with the units bending and I thought that this would be a disaster too. An aluminium band as the main support around the outside of an iPhone? Compared to a steel band on the iPhone of old! Surely some mistake!? It's so light by comparison, but at this cost? Well, no, although we have has a couple of people complain about the black paint chipping on their black iPhone 5, it's had very little actual impact. In relation to handsets bending, we've had no complaints at all. None, not a single one, not even an insurance claim. And we've sold lots and lots and lots. Well done Apple. It seems it's all good.

There are very few reviews of Blackberry smartphones on these pages. To be blunt, they wouldn't be very favourable. Anyone who knows me will tell you, I'm not REALLY a fan. In fact, I've hated them, even the handsets that have been given to me, with a connected sim card, with the blackberry service enabled. I loathed them all. The Playbook was ok, I quite liked that. But it wasn't quite as easy to warm to as an iPad. This, well, it's a different beast altogether. Firstly, it's too big for me to to use as a day to day phone. I wouldn't have one for that reason alone. Which, is something of a shame, as the handset is an absolute corker. Within 10 minutes of flicking back and forth between the HUB, the last used apps and the main menu. You'll feel at home. It's a very easy handset to get used to quickly. The Icons are very Apple-esque, but the transform effects are very slick. It's a nice handset to use. The cameras face detect and smile feature i...