App Review: UltimateFaves PRO

30/01/2010 — efan78

This is a post that I’ve been meaning to write for ever such a long time but never got round to.  As you may know (if you’ve ever read this blog before or seen my twitterstream) I love my Android phone – and it’s apps like UltimateFaves PRO that explain that love.

Now, I need to start off with a bit of a disclosure, Lior – the fantastically responsive dev behind UltimateFaves PRO, did forward me an email to join the affiliate programme for the app, I haven’t joined and don’t intend to for two reasons.  One: You know that this is a completely true record of how I feel about the app – I’m not making any money from this and have bought the product myself, and two: I haven’t done any work whatsoever on the application and so I truly feel that Lior deserves every penny, cent or whatever denomination you pay.

Android Market QR Code for UltimateFaves (free)

Now, unfortunately – because the Android Market isn’t worldwide just yet – UltimateFaves PRO can’t be obtained directly from the market – but you can at least download the free taster version ‘UltimateFaves’ and try it out.  If you want to support the app after that, or realise just how great it is and want to increase the number of carousels you can use, have a look at Lior’s UltimateFaves Blog and buy using PayPal.

Don’t forget, when you send it to your phone you’ll need to allow your phone to install non-market applications.  (Yes iPhone users – we’re not tied to just the one marketplace – that’s the idea of an Open OS! ;-P)  You can do this by going to: Settings > Applications > Tick the ‘Unknown sources’ box > Click on OK.

Now I’m sure you’re asking yourself “why would I want to download it?”  Well, it’s quite simple – UltimateFaves allows you to create scrolling carousels of your favourite apps that scroll around in a visually pleasing way.  You can also create shortcuts to those carousels on your home screen (a bit like folders) which means you’re never more than a click, swipe, click, away from your programmes.

Now, as I’ve rooted my phone and use apps to SD this really helps me – with over 125 apps in my phone it can get a bit unwieldy – but UltimateFaves means that I can keep all my Office-type applications on one carousel, system apps on another, games on a third and more!

But wait… UltimateFaves PRO doesn’t stop there – contacts, bookmarks, phone direct dials can all be added too.  The latest version even includes the facility to create a carousel of currently running apps and with a long click either shut them down or uninstall them without having to go to the market or manage applications in settings.  (Yes iPhone users – I know you don’t need this facility – that’s because you only ever have one app running! Bwahaha!)

Now, a little background, when it was released the app ran as a straightforward application but that wasn’t good enough for the market and they demanded widgets.  I didn’t know how it could be done but Lior figured out a way.  Of course, as we all know – widgets slow down your home screen.  But then the Android team released v1.6 – which allows the creation of shortcuts directly to parts of an app, so Lior stepped in and included this in a newer version.  As I said earlier – he’s really responsive and you can tell that he has a passion for the application that he’s developed.

I’m really interested to see where the app’s heading – to be honest, I felt that Lior could quite easily have sat on his laurels as it was, and yet he continues to make UltimateFaves PRO do things that I never knew I wanted but now I need!

And I’m sure you’ll feel the same.

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I’ve crossed to the red side

24/01/2010 — efan78

Yes, it is with a heavy heart that I have left my current broadband provider for beardy Branson’s baby.  After updating my PC last year and getting a new Laptop, along with my G1, Andy’s laptop, Sam’s laptop and the Wii (as well as Lee’s PS3 when he brings it over) I began to notice that the broadband wasn’t as robust as it had been.

I used all the tricks to get a better signal into the router – changing the microfilters, moving the router to the Master socket, rebooting it regularly, but it just wasn’t enough.

Don’t get me wrong, the service that I received from the team over at BE broadband was fantastic.  In fact, I’m following them over on twitter and will continue to do so.  My second account (which we set up for Andy’s mum) is also going to be kept, although with the updates to their prices I think the lower package may be the best for her.  There’ll be no difference in speed but if she exceeds the 40GB/month limit I’ll be wondering just what it is she’s doing with her computer!

I really like BE.  The team in their technical support and accounts call centres are fantastic.  They pitch their advice to the level you’re at, simple and straightforward for those who aren’t techie.  Slightly moreso for those who are, and I’m sure if you were some sort of l33t H@XX0r – they’d be able to match you acronym for acronym.  As a call centre worker I think the highest praise I can give them is that I don’t care that they’re not based in the UK.  Well, actually I do!  If they were I’d have applied for a job ;-D

They give the impression that they’re a small company who values it’s customers – and value each and every one of those customers.  They arrange socials, meetings and even conference calls to discuss changes to the service.  They are truly everything I look for in a company.

So why do you want to leave?  I’m sure you’re asking.

It’s simple and has nothing whatsoever to do with BE.  The simple answer is BT.

For years BT had a complete monopoly on telephone services, competition didn’t exist and any that did was swiftly quashed (anyone remember the Mercury button?) But the powers that be decided to break that monopoly (and quite rightly so).  But the problem is – like the gas companies with Transco – new broadband and telephone companies have to use BT Openreach and its outdated copper wires.  This means that they just can’t offer the speeds that we need in this always on, always connected world, because BT can’t keep up – never mind get ahead of the game for the future.

So, it is with a heavy heart that I have swallowed my dislike for Richard Branson and his awful media-pandering ways and gone to Virgin Media for my Broadband.  I’ve been assured that I’ll be able to get 18-20Mb through the fibre-optic cable that allegedly runs into my house, and I’ve also been told that they aren’t running a fair usage policy any more.  But we’ll wait to see.

In the meantime my advice to you is this.  If you’re not in a cable area, or the speed that you can get down a BT line is good enough for you then I urge you to look at BE.  Their customer service is second to none and they’re the company that Branson wants us to think Virgin are.  But if it’s speed you need then I’m afraid you’re going to have to head to the red too.  Sorry!

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The iPhone Rumours have started earlier this year…

24/01/2010 — efan78

OK, I posted this over on my Posterous account the other day as it was just a quick post, but now I’ve got the time to neaten it up here we go:

Taken from Geek.com(via geek.com)

Ah! The iPhone rumours start to congeal yet again into a bland blah blah of things that other companies are already doing but Apple’ll take credit for the wonderful work *sigh*

Actually, I’m seeing at least a couple of things that people were talking about last year when I wrote “What’s so great about the iPhone?”

And just like I did then I can honestly say the only things that even look vaguely interesting here are Dual Core and a 64Gb NAND Memory.

I mean, seriously, Apple fanbois are truly getting excited over a Removable Battery, 5M Camera, LED Flash and Contacts on the home screen, have they seen the Droid/Milestone or the Nexus One? RFID? – Nokia were doing that back in 2008!

Oh, but don’t forget – Apple are expected to allow multitasking (*sigh* Android/Blackberry/Palm) and are planning to release their own maps produced using a start up company that they bought last year (so that’s blatantly going to be better than Google Maps, Microsoft Earth, etc… who’ve thrown millions into this for years).

I said it last May, and I’ll say it again, if this is the best they can do then they’ve run out of steam and need to step aside. And until people start actually looking at what’s available rather than bleating along behind the rest of the sheep that like the iPhone ‘because that’s what’s cool’ – Apple won’t bother – they’ll just let everyone else do the innovating and then trample all over them.

I’m beginning to think that Microsoft isn’t the big bad any more :-D

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