Author: Sponsored Post (page 3 of 4)

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These days over 80% of households in the UK own at least one computer and in many homes it is the laptop computer that we will notice more often than desktop PCs. Smaller, more portable, more stylish and oh so 21st century, laptops have fast become one of the must have gadgets around the house. So does this mean the end of the desktop computer?

There are many positives and negatives with both types of computer and it largely depends what you want to do with it whether you will be better off with one or the other.

In general laptops are more expensive than desktop computers if you match the specifications exactly, so depending on your budget you should be able to get higher specification and more powerful desktop computers for the same money as bottom of the range laptops.

Desktop PCs also tend to have more cutting edge technology packed inside as it can take some time for new features to be made small enough for the laptop market, so if you tend to use your computer for lots of gaming, music creation, photo or video editing or anything else requiring high processor speeds and outstanding graphics capabilities, you may find that a desktop is more capable than a laptop.

One of the biggest advantages of a laptop is, of course, its portability. Unfortunately this is also its biggest downfall too, as millions of laptop computers are stolen every year from homes, public places and offices. Consider if you really need the computer to be portable and think about how often you will really use it outside of the home. University students often buy laptops thinking they will take them to lecture theatres with them, but in reality they never do and University halls of residence are one of the worst places for laptop theft.

Another major difference is the ability to upgrade components of the computer as your needs change or technology advances. Laptops can have their memory upgraded, the hard drive can be replaced and the CD/DVD drive can be changed, but that’s about it. This means there is little that can be done to upgrade the overall performance of a laptop, particularly in terms of gaming and graphics upgrades.

Desktop computers however, can be infinitely upgraded with as many new components as you can fit into your case. Even if you run out of space in your case you can always transfer your hard drive into a bigger one! The downside is that desktops do not hold any resale value, although if you have upgraded sound cards, graphics cards and memory you might be able to sell on these individual components to get some money back.

As the situation is currently it is unlikely that we will see the end of desktop PCs. Until there is a way to increase the longevity of laptops by enabling more plug and play upgrading, serious gamers, designers, musicians and photographers will always have a need for the highly customisable desktop computer.

This is a sponsored post written by the sponsor, HostingObserver.com. Please click here for more information on sponsored posts on 40Tech.

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In the week when Google’s Android beat Blackberry and Symbian to claim the top sales spot in the US for the last quarter of 2010, the launch of its latest and groundbreaking app is sure to further boost both its kudos and sales in 2011. We7 promises to let Android users create a custom built radio station which they can listen to at any time, even off line.

This new app uses high speed caching to capture and store music on your mobile device which can be listened to later on. This has two main advantages, firstly if you are listening live and your connection is interfered with, for example whilst travelling on the tube, you don’t experience a ‘buffering’ period or any break in the music. Secondly, when the app has been connected to the internet for a while you will find a good number of tracks have downloaded to the phone which can be listened to at any time, even in the absence of any internet connection at all.

The developers at We7 claim that just 15 to 30 minutes of connection time is long enough to download around 30 to 40 songs for later listening. The deciding factors involved in this are the connection you are using to access the internet (i.e. the speed of the download) and the amount of space available on your device to store the tracks.

There are two levels of service for this app, firstly the free radio version where you can create up to ten personalised radio ‘stations’ which you base around a particular artist or genre. This will not allow users to select individual tracks to listen to, instead the app selects a random list of tracks tailored to your preferences and you are able to skip if a track comes up you don’t enjoy. This version is free but advertising supported, so be prepared to listen to ads in between tracks.

The second option is a subscription service which will allow a jukebox mode to be activated. Users can select individual tracks to add to their device from a huge library of artists and genres. This service will cost £9.99 a month and is advertising free.

The revolutionary We7 app is available for Android users to download right away completely free of charge, but Apple, Blackberry and other platform customers will have to wait until April or beyond to get hold of this exciting software.

With Android based phones such as the HTC Gratia and Samsung Galaxy S2 bringing a new level of value for money to the market, will this be the straw that broke the camel’s back for Apple? The HTC Gratia was released earlier this year and has adopted the best features of the affordably priced Wildfire, but in a neater package. The Samsung Galaxy S2 will push even the HTC Gratia down the mid range leader board, with wildly improved graphics and a price tag of less than half that of the iPhone 4 and features which outstrip most of the other models in its class.

This is a sponsored post written by the sponsor, Broadband Genie.  Please click here for more information on sponsored posts on 40Tech.

Guide to mobile broadband

We’re all on the lookout for a bargain during these recessionary times and the good news about that is when it comes to mobile broadband there’s never been a better time to buy. Cheap mobile broadband deals are more plentiful now than they have ever been, and this is down to a combination of the need to keep prices low and a lot of competition in the marketplace.

If you head along to the free mobile broadband comparison website Broadband Genie, you’ll instantly see a whole array of different mobile broadband deals that are tailored to suit all kinds of users. So it doesn’t matter if you’re a lightweight casual internet user or a 24/7 heavyweight type, there will be a cheap mobile broadband deal to suit your pocket.

Where to start?

By using a mobile broadband comparison website to check what’s available, it means you can pick through important criteria that you’ll need to consider in a matter of mere moments. There are essentially two different options you can choose from, with pay-as-you-go being handy for people who don’t want to sign up for anything.

A contract deal is the other route to take, and this means signing on the dotted line for a fixed period of time, although you generally get a bit more flexibility when it comes to the terms and conditions of a deal.

So, for example, if you want to access and download quite a lot of online content, then you’ll want to look out for mobile broadband packages that offer more freedom and less limitations in the terms and conditions. There are always lots of different deals available anyway, but when you’re searching be sure to check out what else comes as part of the deal, such as a free dongle.

Kit you need

You’ll need a reasonable laptop or netbook to get the best out of a mobile broadband contract, but it’s also worth thinking about the free laptop deals that many mobile providers offer. These generally only come with longer-term contracts, but at the end of it you get to keep the machine.

Lookout too for dongle deals, which are the small plastic USB devices that plug into an available port and allow you to receive the mobile broadband signal. These also come in a whole array of different configurations and you can even get some, called MI-Fi devices, that allow a few users with the right permissions to tap into the same mobile broadband signal.

Mobile broadband deals

With so much competition around you’ll also find that mobile broadband providers are keen to get your custom with other freebies thrown in for good measure. Take a look through the comparison tables within the Broadband Genie site to see what else is being given away when you sign up to one of the packages.

If you’re signing up anyway then this is a great way to add extra value to an offer or package that you’re interested in. Be sure to check out the terms and conditions of any package though, to ensure that it doesn’t have restrictions on usage, although bear in mind that no matter what the package, there will always be some limitations on the amount of data that you can upload and download over a period of time.

It’s also a god idea to check the coverage levels of any packages that you like the look of, so that you can be sure that they’ll work reasonably well, no matter if you’re using the mobile broadband connection at home or while you’re out and about.

This is a sponsored post written by the sponsor, LOVEFiLM.  Please click here for more information on sponsored posts on 40Tech.

One of the most alluring reasons for watching movies online is the freedom it offers. Watching movies online allows film fans to watch what they want, when they want. Another bonus is the fact that all this is possible from anywhere with an active internet connection. This could be at a friend’s house, on a train, in an airport, on holiday, in Wi-Fi hotspots and of course, in the comfort of your own home.

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