Getting Internet on the move is now increasingly important to us all, but it’s also important to be able to get access to high-speed mobile Internet without paying a fortune. Our Pete find that rather than using 3G, he’s able to get access to free Internet out-and-about with little fuss, and at no cost – thanks to the network of free wi-fi hotspots.

Unlike the days of BT Openzone and The Cloud, you can now get free Wifi across much of the UK. Yes, there are still plenty of pay-to-use wi-fi services, but it’s pretty easy to take advantage of free wi-fi.

Our team’s been having great results from two of the largest providers of free wi-fi:

BT Wi-fi

An email’s just dropped into the FrequencyCast inbox that we thought we’d share with you. We’ve heard today that BT now has 5 million wi-fi hotspots.

To be fair, you can only access this network for free if you get your broadband from BT. If you’re not, you can still access the service (although it’s not free and it lacks the coverage of 3G)

So how is BT able to offer so many access points? They’re able to get such a big network due to the number of homes that have one of BT’s Home Hubs. Users with a Home Hub can allow a small percentage of their bandwidth to be shared with other BT customers. As a result, BT Broadband customers can get a free connection with the majority of homes equipped with a Hub. In addition, there are loads of other hotspots at hotels, service stations and places like Starbucks. BT also partners with FON, meaning there are 3 million free hotspots outside the UK that you can access

You can find out more about BT’s free wifi network here: BT Wifi Network

Connecting is pretty easy – it’[s a case of logging onto the wireless hotspot from your smartphone, laptop or tablet, then using the web browser to log in. We find it a lot easier to use the free BT Wifi app, which makes logging in simple. It also has a handy map to show you local wi-fi coverage – and the map shows that there’s quite a lot of free coverage out there (see the example below – ‘blue’ is coverage). The app is available free on iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Android and iPad.

o2 Wifi

o2′s network is nowhere near as large as BT’s, but it has the advantage of being available at a range of locations, and also being free. You don;t even need to be an o2 customer. Log on for free at McDonalds, Costs Coffee, o2 stores and Subway. There’s also a free app available for smartphone users.

You can find out more about BT’s free wifi network here: o2 Wi-fi

Mobile wi-fi user?

Any thoughts on mobile wi-fi? Let us know – this may be something we feature in the next show…

Here’s what we cover in our May 2013 show:

• News: YouView, Google Now and Nook readers
• Focus: Touchscreen adapters and tablets
• Update: Gadget Show Live 2013
• Discussed: Are Scanners and trackers legal?
• Mentioned: Pod awards and the BBC News 24 jingle
• Feedback: Extracting Sky shows, DAB switchover, Gold on BT Vision and catchup boxes

How to get FrequencyCast Show 87:

You can get the latest FrequencyCast show online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html – Our award-winning technology shows are completely free, and you can listen online, or download shows to your computer, tablet, smartphone or portable media player.

If you own an iPhone, iPad or an iPod, then you can get our shows automatically via Apple iTunes – You’ll find us here: FrequencyCast on iTunes.

Show Links:

• Show Notes and Transcripts for Show 87: FrequencyCast 87 Show Notes
• TV, Radio and Aircraft USB Stick: Realtek 2832 USB TV and Radio Receiver
• Video updates on our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/frequencycast

Help Spread The Word:

FrequencyCast is free. To keep us to keep it that way, we need you to help us spread the word and tell your friends about us. Here are a few ways that you can help:

Like FrequencyCast on Facebook, or Follow FrequencyCast on Twitter and send your followers a message about us. We’d also love it if you’d review us on iTunes

Please add a comment about this month’s show in the comments section below.

The Nook Simple Touch

If you’re looking to get yourself a cheap eBook reader – either for you, or as a gift for someone, note that we’ve just discovered a massive drop of the price of the Barnes & Noble reader, the Nook Simple Touch.

Normal price £79, but currently with £50 off… just £29. It’s available at this silly price in a number of places, including Argos, John Lewis and Currys: Nook Simple Touch at Argos

The Nook Simple Touch has a surprising amount to offer. Many of us assume that the only game in town is the Kindle, but that’s not necessarily the case, as brands such as Nook and Kobo offer pretty powerful readers with impressive features. For example, this £29 Nook offers the following:

• A claimed two-month battery life on a single charge
• Space for 1000 books,
• Wi-fi (with book sharing)
• 6″ eInk touchscreen

It works well in bright light, supports ePub books as well as PDF files, and at the moment, 2.5 million titles are available.

Apparently, the price drop is something to do with Barnes & Noble’s campaign to get people reading, and is likely to be for a limited time, so if you’re interested, you might want to hurry, as we can’t imagine it’ll continue to be offered at that price for long.

With this being available for such a silly price, we’re ordering one now, and we’d suggest that listeners to FrequencyCast grab one at this sill price too. If you’ve got yourself a Nook already, we’d love to know what you think. Please add a comment below.

Video Report

Here’s our video report from Day One. Watch Kelly and Pete having loads of fun at the NEC in Birmingham

Audio Report

Any comments on our video or audio? Or, if you’ve been to this year’s show… how was it? Add some words below!

Here’s what we cover in our April 2013 show:

• News: Sport on Now TV, Freesat and Google announcements
• Focus: Google Android TV dongles
• Hands-on: Freeview, radio and aircraft tracking with a USB dongle
• Discussed: Smartphone watches including the new Pebble
• Mentioned: Pod awards and the BBC News 24 jingle
• Feedback: Sky signal,Mustard TV and 0208 area codes

How to get FrequencyCast Show 86:

You can get the latest FrequencyCast show online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html – Our award-winning technology shows are completely free, and you can listen online, or download shows to your computer, tablet, smartphone or portable media player.

If you own an iPhone, iPad or an iPod, then you can get our shows automatically via Apple iTunes – You’ll find us here: FrequencyCast on iTunes.

Show Links:

• Show Notes and Transcripts for Show 86: http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/cast86.html
• Android OS TV Stick: Google Android TV Cloud Stick
• TV, Radio and Aircraft USB Stick: Realtek 2832 USB TV and Radio Receiver
• Sue Holderness Interview: Marlene from Only Fools and Horses

Help Spread The Word:

FrequencyCast is free. To keep us to keep it that way, we need you to help us spread the word and tell your friends about us. Here are a few ways that you can help:

Like FrequencyCast on Facebook, or Follow FrequencyCast on Twitter and send your followers a message about us. We’d also love it if you’d review us on iTunes

Please add a comment about this month’s show in the comments section below.

If you’re going to this month’s Gadget Show Live, we hope to bump into you there. Stay tuned to us via Twitter for updates from the Press Day on Birmingham!

At the grand opening of an Only Fools and Horses exhibition called “Trotters on Sea”, our Pete met up with Sue Holderness, who plays Boycie’s long-suffering wife, Marlene. The exhibition, which was held on Southend Pier, featured a whole range of iconic Only Fools and Horses stuff, including Trigger’s broom, Del’s first mobile phone and one of the Trotters Independent Traders yellow Reliant Robins.

Pete chatted with Sue Holderness about the production of the show, and asked why she feels that despite being on our TVs for over 30 years, the show still endures, and looks at some of the great moments from the show.

The interview is available in two forms – audio, or video. The video is a montage of photos from the Fools and Horses exhibition.

“That is what dates the episodes, of course. You see phones the size of bricks, and video recorders the size of suitcases, and it’s quite fun for those of us who lived through that time, as it does take you back.

It’s interesting as a sort of a historical document for the current generation to see what is was like for their parents – the amazing equipment we dealt with while they’re managing to go on email with their tiny little phones. It is a very different world”

We hope you enjoy our interview with the lovely Sue Holderness, who’s leopard-print outfits graced our screens on Only Fools and Horses, as well as the spin-off series Green Green Grass.

Happy Easter everyone!

This time next year, we’ll be millionaires!

At 9am UK time, the winners of the 2012 European Podcast Awards were announced live on Facebook.

Ten European nations took part, over 2800 podcasts were nominated, and over 2.5 million votes were cast by podcast listeners across Europe. There were four categories, and here is a list of the UK winners:

• Personality: The Bugcast – Music and chat for South Yorkshire
• Professional: Coffee Break French
• Business: Maximise Your Potential
• Non-profit: FrequencyCast UK TV and Tech

With the help of our listeners voting for us online, we’re won our second European Podcast Award, and we’re pretty pleased about it.

You can find a list of all of the European winners over on the European Podcast Awards site, here: blog.european-podcast-award.eu/epa-2012-the-national-winners-885

Pete called Kelly with the news this morning, and we’ve released a 5 minute audio update discussing the award in more detail, as well as an update on TV station “Mustard”, and our Gadget Show Live ticket giveaway. The audio update is attached to this blog post, and it’s also available from and on iTunes.

Our thanks…

We’ve had a lot of fun making FrequencyCast over the years and helping to serve you, our listeners, with technology news, chat and information. Carl and Pete launched the first show back in 2006 and it’s been a heck of a ride. Kelly joined the team last year after some appearances in 2011, and now brings a welcome female opinion on tech topics. As well as acknowledging Kelly, Carl and Pete, we’d also like to thank our various contributors for lending their voice to the show.

Most importantly, we’d like to thank the audience – without who we’d not be here. Our shows are based on questions and suggestions from you, and its your feedback that drives us. Thanks for making FrequencyCast Number One!!

You can find more information about the European Podcast Awards 2012 in this short video clip:

Here’s what we cover in our March 2013 show:

• News: Sky buys o2 Broadband, and BT buys ESPN Sports
• Focus: Is local TV worth a watch?
• Challenge: Kelly vs. Amateur Radio
• Discussed: 4G vs. Freeview interference
• Featured: Echostar PVR and Slingbox
• Feedback: YouView multiroom and Linux

How to get FrequencyCast Show 85:

You can get the latest FrequencyCast show online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html – Of course, our shows are always free. You can also find out how to get our shows delivered automatically to you computer or smartphone, or how to listen to us online.

If you own an iPad, iPhone or iPod, then you can get the latest show via iTunes – You’ll find us here: FrequencyCast on iTunes.

Find out how Kelly gets on at her amateur radio training session

Show Links:

• Show Notes and Transcripts for Show 85: http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/cast85.html
• Kelly vs. Amateur Radio (Video): http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/kellyar

Help Spread The Word:

FrequencyCast is free. To keep us to keep it that way, we need you to help us spread the word and tell your friends about us. Here are a few ways that you can help:

Like FrequencyCast on Facebook, or Follow FrequencyCast on Twitter and send your followers a message about us. We’d also love it if you’d review us on iTunes

Please add a comment below.

Pete already had some background in the fields of electronics and radio, so the entry-level ham radio course was pretty straightforward for our Pete… but what about Kelly. Could she cope with learning Ohm’s law, trying her hand at Morse code, connecting the various bits of equipment together, and learning the language used by radio hams around the world. And if she was able to make it through the practicals, what about the exam needed to get her radio licence?

Well, last weekend, Kelly had her first training session, and we’ve put together a special video feature tracking her progress. Take a look and see how she got on:

Foundation training courses are offered around the UK, and Kelly was invited by the Thames Amateur Radio Group to attend their course. This offered a mix of practical sessions, as well as presentations on the theory needed to pass the RCF Foundation exam.

Kelly with the Foundation Now Training Book

Years back, amateur radio exams included a Morse code test. At Foundation level, it’s not required to learn Morse code, but one of the practicals offers an “appreciation” of Morse. Kelly seemed to take to this quite well (better than Pete did, we’re told!). Here’s Kelly “on the key” sending a short message.

Kelly, getting to grips with the Morse appreciation practical

Two of the other practicals were also a breeze for our chatty presenter – talking on the radio. The syllabus requires that candidates complete a conversation on both the HF and the VHF bands, and her experience with FrequencyCast stood her in good stead. She’d done her homework on some of the lingo used by ham radio operators too, so the special terms and codes weren’t much of a problem either.

Kelly, with other candidates, learning the controls of an HF radio

The hard work, of course, was the learning. There’s a mix of formulas, transmitter theory, circuit diagrams, antenna theory, plus licence conditions… a lot to take in if you’re green to the subject matter.

Find out how Kelly got on by watching our video montage. We’ll also be featuring her training in the next FrequencyCast show, due for release on the 1st of March.

Any comments, or messages for Kelly… please add them in the box below.

Normally, we read this out as “0208 133 4567″ – We know that the London code is “020″, but we’ve been reading our number this way for as long as we can remember. It has a good bounce about it, even though it may not be the approved way

What started the debate was the following email from “Web Dude”:

“Just a quick pedant note – the code for London is 020 not 0208, 0207, 0203 or anything else (020 0xxx xxxx numbers exist, normally hidden by 0800 and other 08xx free/chargeable numbers)

 I did get the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to alter their press releases to show 020 some time back, but unfortunately far too many media people still say ’0207′ or similar and this confuses Londoners into thinking that it’s OK to quote numbers that way… It isn’t!

Obviously I’d like to hear you say it as “020 8133 4567″ though I’ll let you off with “020 813 34567″

To us, neither of the proposed numbers sound right on the radio, so we asked our audience. Here’s a summary of some of the Facebook messages and Tweets that we’ve received so far:

• Helen Prevett: To bring it in line with the way us non-city dwellers say our numbers, it really should be “02081 334567″
• Liane Bond: I always say phone numbers 4-3-4 so I’d say don’t change
• Richard: Easy first one (“0208 133 4567″)
• Stuart J Skinner: I think it sounds perfect as you do it now but you could always go with 0208-13-films :-)
• Rob Dickson: I’d been meaning to mention it for ages. 020 is the dialing code for London.
• Troy Hippy Ashdown: You guys are right. its similar to an 0800 or 08000 number.. you would generally say what’s easier for you
• Bob Standen: I wonder how may people use 8-digit local dialling within the 020 area?
• Martyn Watkins: As long as they say ZERO and not OH, I m happy!
• Ian Coxall: Speaking as a long term GPO/BT/Openreach employee. I really only deal with the last 7 digits these being grouped 3 – 4. So I think in terms of 133 4567. The 020 is an area code (London as we know). Where there used to be Inner and Outer London this was split into 7 & 8 and was often placed in both locations These days, though, with so many other service providers it is necessary to group the last 8 digits. The full international presentation (yes I am being flash) would be +4420 8133 4567. But who really cares, spaces don’t count anyway because there isn’t one on the keypad.
• Dean Smith: It’s how you print it ,not how you say it as you just read out the whole number with no pause . So print 020 81334567.

We’ve changed the number on the website, to keep “Web Dude” sweet, but saying  “020 8133 4567″ out loud just doesn’t work. For us, we’d rather read out the number in a way that’s memorable and easier to write down.

Web Dude has added the following:

“The smaller locations have 4 (or even 5) digits as the ‘prefix’ (excludes the ’0′ – so Brighton is (0) 1273 etc), then cities are in one of two formats:

  011x xxx xxxx eg Leeds 0113 2xx xxxx

 01×1 xxx xxxx eg Glasgow 0131 xxx xxxx 

  02x numbers are regions and 020 is ‘Greater London’ (hence no distinction between old ’0171′ and ’0181′)  Format 02x xxxx xxxx      eg Coleraine is 028 70xx xxxx  

  020 is London, 023 Southern England (check Portsmouth, Southampton), 024 Midlands (see Coventry), 028 is N.Ireland, 029 is Wales (Cardiff 029 2xxx xxxx)

  It’s when the London Evening Standard has a piece saying “0203 is new code for London” that people get wrong idea…  What about when 020 4xxx or 020 5xxx numbers appear (in some years to come) ?

… and Web Dude has been back in touch, with the following:

 ”The reason for the first gap is to split the prefix from the local part of the number. Within the 020 area (on a landline that itself has an 020 prefix), you can dial 81334567 and get through. You could try dialling 1334567 but you certainly won’t get through – 133 used to be the prefix for Mercury, I think, but now it may give you a chargeable call, or end (after some seconds) with a voice message about you dialling an invalid number.

The prefix and local parts are perhaps less important as so many people dial from a mobile, and ‘assume’ all the digits are significant, but on POTS the Local part is all that is needed to make the call.”

Any thoughts on this rather thorny topic? Please add them below…

Here’s what we cover in our February 2013 show:

• News: 4G, Blackberry, BBC Radio & Sky Sport
• Focus: BT SmartTalk & Facebook Graph.
• Featured: RoadPixel Car Cameras
• Featured: A quick summary of London Toy Fair 2013
• Interview: Behind the scenes of the Dragon’s Den
• Questions and comments on YouView, Freesat & Windows 8

How to get FrequencyCast Show 84:

You can get the latest FrequencyCast show online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html – Of course, our shows are always free. You can also find out how to get our shows delivered automatically to you computer or smartphone, or how to listen to us online.

If you own an iPad, iPhone or iPod, then you can get the latest show via iTunes – You’ll find us here: FrequencyCast on iTunes.

Show Links:

• Show Notes and Transcripts for Show 84: http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/cast84.html
• Toy Fair 2013 coverage (including video): http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/toyfair2013.html

Help Spread The Word:

FrequencyCast is free. To keep us to keep it that way, we need you to help us spread the word and tell your friends about us. Here are a few ways that you can help:

Like FrequencyCast on Facebook, or Follow FrequencyCast on Twitter and send your followers a message about us. We’d also love it if you’d review us on iTunes

Please add a comment below.

Not just any top fair, this is “The Toy Fair 2013“, the annual trade event at London’s Olympia. Sarah and Pete from FrequencyCast trekked along to this large show to take a look at what new tech toys we can expect to enter the market in 2013 and talk to some of the exhibitors. We were there on press day, Tuesday the 22nd of January, and in record time, we’ve produced not only an audio report, but also a video report.

Here’s our twelve minute summary of what’s to see at this year’s Toy Fair:

We caught up with several companies to see what they had on offer, and in our report, we talked to the following four firms:

Apptoyz: A look at some innovative smartphone add-ons, including an augmented reality alien shoot-em-up

Logicom: We’ve looked at their Spy-C tank and robotic massager in the past, but our attention was drawn to the Tosi dancing disco robot

vtech: Gurus of kiddie tech, we looked at an impressive toddler iPad table, a camera with stop-motion video, the Innotab 2 tablet computer, and a missile-firing T-Rex.

RoboFish: An impressively realistic robotic fish, for under a tenner. Set to take the UK by storm in 2013.

A very interesting show with lots to see, and the chance to bump into some old friends. We hope you enjoy our review of Toy Fair 2013, and our special video report showing the sights and scenes from this year’s show at London Olympia.

More details and photos here: FrequencyCast Toy Fair 2013 Special Repor t

For our January show, we take a look back at the last twelve months of tech, reviewing some of the stories we’ve covered, the products we’ve looked at, and the various events and shows we’ve visited in 2012. Here’s a summary of what you’ll find in our first show of the New Year:

• News: Instagram backlash, Ofcom stats, YouView apps and Amazon Airbags
• Focus: Review of tech in 2012
• Discussed: A look at what the next 12 months has in store
• Interaction: Questions and comments on powerline adapters and BT Vision.

How to get FrequencyCast Show 83:

You can get the latest FrequencyCast show online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html – Of course, our shows are always free. You can also find out how to get our shows delivered automatically to you computer or smartphone, or how to listen to us online.

If you own an iPad, iPhone or iPod, then you can get the latest show via iTunes – You’ll find us here: FrequencyCast on iTunes.

Show Links:

• Show Notes for Show 83: http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/cast83.html

Vote For Us:

FrequencyCast has been nominated in the European Podcast Awards 2012. Please show your support for us by casting your vote. Go to http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/vote , and please show us that you care!

Help Spread The Word:

FrequencyCast is free. To keep us to keep it that way, we need you to help us spread the word and tell your friends about us. Here are a few ways that you can help:

Like FrequencyCast on Facebook, or Follow FrequencyCast on Twitter and send your followers a message about us. We’d also love it if you’d review us on iTunes

It’s been an interesting year for the FrequencyCast team, and we’d like to thank our loyal listeners for your support. Got any thoughts on what we should cover in 2013, or what will top our headlines? Please add a comment below.

Ever-prepared, FrequencyCast hid the team at a secure underground location and waited until things had blown over. Here is a bit of free bonus material with Pete and Kelly discussing all things related to the end of the world, recorded while we were all waiting for the Apocalypse that hasn’t happened (yet).

Hear Pete and Kelly discussing the social media buzz regarding the 21st of December 2012, as well as Christmas presents, CCTV systems, and Kelly being successfully asked out on a date at Gadget Show Live.

How to get our Special Report

You can get our Update at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/endoftheworld.html – it’s a free download. You can also find out how to get our shows delivered for free, or how to listen to us online.

If you own an iPad, iPhone or iPod, then you can get this special little update via iTunes – You’ll find it here: FrequencyCast on iTunes.

Hopefully this little update makes you smile. We’d love to know that you listened. It’s your feedback that helps make the show come together, and the more we know you’re listening, the more work we do in producing extra content, new shows, and special reports. If you enjoyed this update, please add a comment below.

We wish all of our loyal listeners a happy and safe Armageddon. Live long and prosper!

Vote For Us:

FrequencyCast has been nominated in the European Podcast Awards 2012. Please show your support for us by casting your vote. Go to http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/vote , and please show us that you care!

As Apple users will be all too aware, the Google Maps service was removed in iOS6 as part of Apple’s cull of Google-owned services. The replacement mapping solution provided by Apple has proved to be a pretty poor substitute, with lots of user complaints about the lack of accuracy.

Google Maps for iOS

The Google Maps app for iOS6 is now available for free download from the Apple iTunes Store, and it’s nice to have this old friend back.

Google Maps iOS App – Map view with traffic

We’ve been playing with the new app for a couple of hours, and it’s pretty good. First off, the new app supports turn-by-turn navigation. It’s also got better information on local points-of-interest, and offers public transport route planning. The live travel information is pretty good too. The Search box is a little more intrusive than is ideal, but not a major problem

Google Maps iOS App – Satellite View

Street View is also there, but it’s not immediately obvious how to get to it. The trick is to hold your finger down on an address, and wait until the address pop-up appears at the bottom of the screen – then tap this to see and access the street view. An upward-swipe returns you to normal view.

Google Maps iOS App – Street ViewGoogle Maps iOS App – Street View

The new Google Maps app for iOS is now available from iTunes, and runs on iOS 5.1 devices or above, including iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

The only fly-in-the-ointment is that the Google Maps app isn’t the default map on the system, which means that Apple apps such as Contacts and Siri will open Apple’s sub-standard mapping app by default. Apparently Google is looking to open up an API to their app, allowing developers to link their apps into the Google Maps app.

Welcome back, old friend!

On Saturday, we released FrequencyCast Show 82, which includes a 21 minute special report on Gadget Show Live, including a chat with some of the exhibitors and fans, plus some hands-on product reviews.

We had a lot of fun looking at the various sights and sounds at Gadget Show Live, and as an experiment, we’ve put together a little video montage to let you see exactly what Pete and Kelly got up to at the show.

FrequencyCast Video Report

This is an eight-minute video including some stills, sounds and video from the event. It’s the first time that we’ve released this kind of video montage to support one of our shows, and we’d love to know what you think:

• Vote for us in the European Podcast Awards
• Write a review about FrequencyCast on the Apple iTunes Store
• Place your next Amazon order via our Amazon Store Link

If you have any comments on the video, please add them below!

More on Gadget Show Live

You can listen to our 21 minute audio review in Show 82 of FrequencyCast, but for some more photos from the show, plus links to the exhibitors we spoke to, take a look at our Gadget Show Live Xmas 2012 Report.

Share and enjoy…

Our December show is a special from the first Gadget Show Live Christmas show in London. Here’s a summary of what we look at in our December 2012 show:

• News: Freeview disruptions in 2018 and the end of Windows Live Messenger
• Focus: Gadget Show Live Xmas 2012
• Hands-on: Nintendo Wii U has launched
• Featured: Bubblepix, bikes, Aves DAB and EchoStar PVR
• Questions and comments on weather stations, Virgin TiVo and power meters.

We had lots of fun exploring Gadget Show Live, and we’re in the process of putting together a video montage. Keep an eye on our site in the next couple of days.

How to get the show

You can get the latest FrequencyCast show online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html – it’s a free download. You can also find out how to get our shows delivered for free, or how to listen to us online.

If you own an iPad, iPhone or iPod, then you can get the latest show now via iTunes – You’ll find it here: FrequencyCast on iTunes.

Show Links:

• Show Notes for Show 82: http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/cast82.html
• Gadget Show Live Coverage: http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/gadgetshowlive2012xmas.html

Vote For Us:

FrequencyCast has been nominated in the European Podcast Awards 2012. Please show your support for us by casting your vote. Go to http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/vote , and please show us that you care!

Show us you love us

FrequencyCast is a free service. To keep it that way, we need your help. We need you to do, is to tell your friends about us.

Like FrequencyCast on Facebook, or Follow FrequencyCast on Twitter and send your followers a message about us. We’d also love it if you’d review us on iTunes

Pete, Kelly and Mario, from Gadget Show Live in London

Please add a comment about this month’s show, and let us know you’re listening!

Fitbit Activity Tracker

This has to be our favourite gadget of the year, and following on from our recent interview with Channel 5′s Pollyanna Woodward, we’ve heard from a few of you looking for more information on the little Fitbit we discussed recently.

So what is the Fitbit? Well, it’s a small tracker that sits in your pocket or clips onto your clothes, and it trackers your activity. OK – You’re thinking “pedometer”, but this is a little more sophisticated than that. As well as tracking steps walked, it measures your activity level and also counts how many flights of stairs you climb. You also wear it at night, and it monitors how well you sleep.

The Fitbit then sends this wirelessly to your computer or your smartphone, where you can see information about the day’s activities, and if you’re working towards a fitness goal (such as losing a few pounds), then this reports your progress and gives you motivational suggestions and encouragement.

On the subject of wearable trackers, here’s what Poll had to say:

“It encourages to you to be more active. It’s so much fun and it’s always quite interesting how much information you get from them. 

I find it fascinating when you can see how many steps you’ve taken, see how many calories you’ve burned and see how you slept. It does it in such a very fun and very cool way.”

The information gathered on your daily activity and patterns is amazingly detailed, and has plenty of uses outside of fitness – we’ve found it serves as a “what was I doing last Wednesday” type of diary, and also to confirm that a late night does indeed hinder a productive day’s work the next day.

 
To explain a little more about what this wireless activity tracker is all about, we’ve recorded a review of the Fitbit, and included our hands-on field test from a few shows back, Pollyanna Woodward’s views on wearable trackers, and also an interview with Gareth Jones, the European General Manager for Fitbit. Take a listen to our 15 minute feature:

FrequencyCast Features the Fitbit Activity Tracker

If you’re interested in getting a Fitbit, or reading some of the online reviews, check out the Fitbit One on Amazon - There’s also a budget model, the  Fitbit Zip on Amazon

More on the Fitbit

For more information on this clever little fitness tracker, see our feature: Hands-on with the Fitbit Tracker

Well, even before most of us have got our hands on a 4G phone (and expensive data contract), the regulator Ofcom has announced… wait for it… 5G is on the way!

Why 5G?

Always thinking ahead, OfCom’s worked out that our data demands are likely to be 80 times greater than they are today by the time we hit 2030, meaning we need to start planning for the next network. Here’s a snippet of what Ofcom have to say:

“To help meet this demand and avert a possible ‘capacity crunch, more mobile spectrum is needed over the long term, together with new technologies to make mobile broadband more efficient.

Ofcom is preparing plans now to support the release of spectrum for future mobile services, possibly ‘5G’, when the spectrum becomes available.”

In reality, it seems that the spectrum will be shuffled around to bring usage inline with the rest of the world, and it will have an important impact on Freeview.

The good news, is that we can expect the number of Freeview HD channels to increase in coming years, with another 10 HD channels being a possibility. The bad news, is Freeview channels may have to be moved, meaning more action from UK TV viewers will be needed…

Freeview disruption

Apparently, the new bandwidth needed for yet anther mobile network will be found in the 700MHz part of the radio spectrum… which is heavily used for Freeview at the moment. Whilst we’re told that this won’t mean another digital TV switchover, it will mean some changes to the way we watch Freeview, and Ofcom has not yet released details of what we can expect. Our consultant has told us here at FrequencyCast to “alert your listeners to some significant disruption to Freeview” in the run-up to 2018. You’ve been warned!

Also, regular listeners to the show will note that we’re still expecting a sizable about of disruption to Freeview from next year, as the 4G services begin to appear – will over a million households expected to need a filter to stop interference from the new 4G base stations.

As one of our listeners has suggested… could the constant Freeview re-tunes, and warnings of 4G interference and 5G hassle be a cunning ploy to push us all over to Sky or Freesat, and sell the old Freeview space off for a 6G network? Conspiracy theorists of the world unite.

More on 4G and 5G in a future show, no doubt…

We reviewed this briefly a few months ago when we were at Gadget Show Live, but having checked again, the price of this little technological marvel has dropped, making it even more attractive for those looking for a kid-friendly Christmas present.

We’ve also heard from you that you’re missing our Carl and his cheesy jokes, and for that reason, we asked him to help out with a reminder of what the Boogie Board was all about., For some reason, it meant heading off to a primary school classroom, to look at another device that’s been used by schools for capturing and sharing information.

So, Pete, Kelly and Carl have recorded a special feature looking at what the Boogie Board has to offer. It’s available now for your listening pleasure.

What is the Boogie Board?

It’s a thin battery-powered scribbling pad that uses technology broadly similar to a Kindle ebook reader. Using the supplied pen, you write on the black screen, and your image is retained electronically. At the touch of a button, you can remove the image electronically.

It may not sound too exciting, but if you have children in the family, this is a great potential present – it replaces kids scribble-pads, is great for games (such as noughts-and-crosses or Pictionary), and is perfect for long car trips where you need to keep you r backseat passengers quiet.

FrequencyCast Features the Boogie Board from Improv Electronics

As you’ll hear in the audio, Carl tried his hand at some artwork on a good old school blackboard, and as promised, here’s a picture of his masterpiece. You can tell it’s a Carl creation by the hairy arm sporting a SWAP watch…

Carl gets arty with a low-tech blackboard

For more on the Boogie Board, see our Boogie Board Review.