Rough Cuts Ltd Blog

It's not often we get something in genuinely unique, based more on style than functionality, but this week we have just that. The Binatone Brick is modelled on the Motorola DynaTAC, which was unsympathetically nicknamed the brick, because of it's sheer bulk. Having said that, at the time, it was a massive leap from the car battery and curly cord affairs that were lugged around by the 80's 1%! This handset is, frankly ginormous by todays standards. You can, if you choose, put a sim card in it and use it as your main phone. Or if you prefer, you can connect it via bluetooth to your smartphone and use it separately. It wedges beautifully between your shoulder and head but is not a road legal handsfree kit. It's compatible with the 2G network, so is capable of sending SMS messages as well as making and receiving calls. It has digital call quality so calls are clear and hiss free. Not only that, but, it has a memory card slot.... It includes a music player, although ironi...

We had the Sony Smart watch in some months ago, however, it wasn't a great experience. To start, the watch looks cumbersome and plastic, the screen resolution was poor, the functionality clumsy and the effective usefulness virtually nil. I wore it for a day or two, then realised I looked like an idiot and it did nothing I want, so it's sat, unreviewed on my shelf ever since, gathering dust. Sadly now, I no longer use an android handset, but the Samsung Galaxy Gear really makes me wish I did. Sure it's not perfect, but look at it! Even James Bond never had a watch this cool. The appearance of the white strapped, rose gold version that we have is clearly a subjective issue, but so far, everyone that has seen it in our office is a fan. The screen is also strikingly clear. Set up is a little tedious if I'm being honest. Initially it had nil charge and, once we'd put it in it's bulky charging clamp bed, it didn't even appear to be charging; but it was. The odd...

Don't get me wrong, I love Windows mobile OS. In terms of favourites, I'd place it higher than Android, which I know many people quite justifiably disagree with. I have no beef with Microsoft, I love my X-Box too. I like Microsoft, I just despise Windows and think it's long overdue a massive makeover, to make it simpler and easier to use and less prone to system errors. iPad's just don't do system errors. Ironically iPhone's and Windows phones both 'just work'. Mac OSX isn't perfect, but it's a damn sight less imperfect and I am genuinely excited about Mavericks, which, I hope, will be even less imperfect. My first look at a surface was at a meeting last week, when the geekiest of us, proudly produced it to show us some photos from years gone by. We found we couldn't swipe from photo to photo, instead we had to close the window down.. view the old familiar Windows Explorer underneath, then click to open the next photo. I wasn't impress...

Just read a pretty misleading article on Google music and how it doesn't really 'gel' for people with Apple hardware, so I just wanted to set the record straight. For anyone that read the easy cheap networking post using Apple products, you'll be aware that pretty much most of the networked devices I have are Apple. For this article we only need to consider the 2 x Airport Express (Aex) units and Apple TV (Atv) devices. I also use a Mac an iPhone and an iPad. I use iTunes on the Mac pretty extensively for arranging and syncing music between the iPad and iPhone. Music I have is a mix of stuff bought through iTunes and MP3 ripped from old CD's. I boot up Google's Mac software 'Music Manager' which uploads my iTunes folder to Google Music. It doesn't offer 2 way sync, so if I delete an album from iTunes, it remains on Google Music. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing (sometimes I regret deleting an album, and as it's not eating into any storag...

The wireless future was supposed to make sharing films, photos, music and documents easier. Computers with various operating systems, mobile phones, would all be able to store and share information around the home, streaming from screen to screen or to a networked device from a networked storage device somewhere else in the same building. For many, this hasn't happened as easily as they thought. Setting up a 'workable' and enjoyable home network can be a challenge. But it doesn't have to be, there are easy and cheap work arounds for most of the problems. Surprisingly, many of these come from Apple. Let me explain my setup before I explain how it works, so that you can decide whether this is what you're looking to achieve. I'll explain the technology I use, the settings or programs I use, where appropriate and the connections between the devices that makes it all possible. We can wirelessly stream music to THREE rooms in the home. Living room, Bedroom and ...

The Sony Z is the current hottest Android handset on the market. There's no doubt on paper the unit trounces most of the competition. But does the best of Android beat the best of Apple? Well, for starters, there is the size difference to consider. The iPhone 5 is clearly much bigger than the older 4s. The 4s and all of the other handsets were marketted on the fact that you could use them with one hand. That is to say, you could still comfortably reach the upper left hand side of the screen, with the thumb on your right hand. The same can be said of the iPhone 5. Yes, it is a little longer, but it's no wider. So the one handed promises Apple made are still true. Not true of the Xperia Z. Not true at all, it's vast by comparison and it can only be described as a two handed machine. If texting while holding a pint is high on your agenda, you shouldn't even consider the Xperia! On the other hand, if you want the highest screen resolution, then perhaps surprisingly, (co...

I like Windows operating system. Both of my young kids are using windows phones and they just seem to know how to use them. One has the HTC Radar and one has the Nokia Lumia 800. In all honesty, the Lumia gives us the most headaches with the seemingly unfixable turning on/off bug that makes it nigh on impossible to switch back on after the battery becomes fully depleted, having booked the phone in for repair, it seems to be ok now; touch wood. The Radar, on the other hand, has been pretty much faultless. The Lumia 820 is a lovely unit though and so far, we've yet to hear of any similar software glitches. In the hand it feels like a high quality product. Again though, this new trend of 'bigger is best' makes it just a smidge too large for it to be comfortably used with one hand. Not only that, but the matt edges don't allow for a good grip and it's a heavy unit. So I suspect one to two may have been inadvertently 'launched'. The new Windows OS is lovely to ...