With these codes, you can simply scan the code using your smartphone and then that code can be used for buying the products online. The idea may seem bizarre. Essentially, it would be a store where you cannot buy anything. However, it would be great for people who avoid online shopping as they do not get to touch and feel the goods before purchasing them. With QR codes, you can test the goods as much you want and later can order the goods from the comfort of your home.

According to eBay, the Christmas store will feature a wide variety of “top gifts from leading brands, each with its own unique QR code and up to 70 per cent off”. The store will open on December 1 through December 5.

eBay Goes High Street With its London Christmas Store: Complete with QR Codes is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

So around 8am this morning, I waited in anticipation to buy the iPhone 4S on the Offical Apple website. The website was down for quite a while however at 9:05am I managed to a pre-order for my shiny iPhone 4S, 32GB in white. For those of you that still want an iPhone 4S and have it delivered straight to your doorstep rather than queuing at the Apple store on the 14th of October, there are quite a few retailers that are accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 4S, however you will need to hurry fast as they are being snapped up like hotcakes at the moment:

Buy iPhone 4S: Apple Website

If you’re looking to get a sim only iPhone 4S then you can visit the Apple website, however they have estimated that you will receive between 1-2 weeks so it might not be in time for the 14th of October. If you can’t wait that long then there are some contract versions available from other providers below or you could start camping out your local Apple store now…

Buy iPhone 4S: 3 Store

If you’re looking to get a new contract then Three are offering a pay monthly option for the 32GB and 64GB versions. To work out which plan is best for you, visit their store here which will direct you straight to the pre-order website. For the 16GB version unfortunately they are only available in store.

Buy iPhone 4S: Vodafone

Similar to Three if you’re looking to get a contact then Vodafone are offering some contract options for the iPhone 4S. However unlike Three they are also accepting pre-orders for the 16GB as well as the 32GB and 64GB versions. Their tariffs range from £26 to £65 per month for the 16GB, and increase as you want more the other two GB versions. Check out what they can offer you by visiting directly online here

Where Can I Buy the iPhone 4S? is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

A recent study by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech has estimated that by this time next year, at least 50 per cent of all UK handsets will be smartphones. With that statistic it’s clear that non-smart-phones are being slowly phased out. But there’s always going to be a market for cheap, back-to-basics handsets, some people just don’t want snazzy features they feel ‘they’ll never use’ this is where the budget handsets like San Francisco are going to sell like hot cakes.

According to the study, RIM is the most tempting brand  with 85 per cent of its new customers seeking upgrades from their previous ‘feature phones’ towards full blown ‘smartphones..  Android is a close second with 74.4% of customers upgrading.

How about you, are you yet to jump into the smartphone marker, if so, what’s putting you off?

This Time Next Year 50% Of Mobiles Will Be Smartphones is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

The study, which was led by Cambridge University, involved interviews with families in the UK, US, Australia and China, with the aim of exploring the impact of the communications technology revolution on the human condition. It’s a study that needs to be done, it’s just strange that BT are involved, but Kudos for them for thinking beyond profit.

Professor John Clarkson said, “There is much discussion about whether communications technology is affecting us for the better or worse. The research has shown that communications technology is seen by most as a positive tool but there are examples where people are not managing usage as well as they could be.”

BT most likely in an attempt to stop their customers going mad and bringing bad press to telecommunications have provided us with five rules for a healthy management of technology :

- Keep the tech in communal places at home so you’re still around ‘real people’
- Be aware of how much you’re using communications tech
- Set boundaries about how, when and where technology is used
- Set a good example for kids
- Find your balance

Ultimately the research takes the blame from technology to us. “The research revealed that technology itself is not the problem. Compare it to food. To stay healthy, you need to eat a balanced diet.The same is true when it comes to using technology; you need to find a balance which works for you” said Gavin Patterson, chief exec of BT Retail.

So what do you think? Do you need a diet?

BT Call For ‘Telecommunications Diet’ is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

The UK provider states that the new tariffs are simpler and easier to understand, and are in response to the increase smartphone sales.

If you an existing customer things are a little more complicated, if your upgrading to the new tariffs this is aloud according to O2, but if your downgrading you must have had the contract longer that 6 months.

It’s good news for anyone who owns a Wi-Fi iPad or iPhone, but not great if you have just shelled out on a 3G editon.

Once you have updated your contract, the data you use will come out of your basic allowance regardless of whether that is used on your handset or a Wi-Fi connected device like an iPad or laptop computer.

New data plans cost £3 for 100MB, £6 for 500MB and a tenner for 1GB and the new 12-month contracts mean iPhone users will be able to get a new Holy Handset every year rather than waiting an extra six months or paying a penalty to cash in unused months.

Are you annoyed that O2 announced these changes 3 days after the launch of the new iPad ? Let us know below.

O2 Announces New Tariffs And Includes Free Tethering For The First Time is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

Nexus S is equipped with the latest version of Android aka Gingerbread and has a spacious 4 inch WVGA Super AMOLED display with 480×800 resolution. Under the hood, it has got 1GHz processor. It has a reasonably good 5MP rear camera with a front facing VGA camera. Apart from it, the phone has usual bells and whistles such as NFC feature, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. It also features a microUSB 2.0 port and claims its battery to be good for 6.7 hours on 3G. So, are you excited about getting Nexus S on AT&T?

Source: GG

Google Nexus May Come to AT&T is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

With the New Year making you tighten those purse strings, one thing which we need to cut out and budget is the unnecessary items.  Apart from cutting out the chocolates, alcohol and eating out, there is one unnessary item which can save you money every month, which is mobile phone insurance.

If you own for example an iPhone, then there is a likely chance that you will be paying a hefty £15.99 per month on top of your monthly bill is certainly something which you can cut out of your monthly outgoings.

Now, it would be silly of us to offer you advice on not having any form of insurance as a mobile phone, particularly the iPhone is certainly an pretty expensive piece of kit and when things go wrong you need to have good insurance in place to be able to replace it.  So what other options are out there?  Well, we have decided to trawl the Internet to see whether we could find the best deal for insuring your iPhone without having to pay the hefty price tag.

Read the Small Print

If you want to buy your mobile phone insurance, this can be done in minutes online – and you can select a myriad of different options allowing you to really tailor your insurance for your needs – this is just a small sample of whats on offer.

But they have different excess levels and will leave you without a phone for a while the new one is couriered to you. If you buy from the shop, quite often you can go to your local phone shop with the necessary paper work and you will be given a new phone on the day, unless the insurance claim is investigated – which tends to be 1 in 100 claims.

When it comes to excesses, you need to be aware that if you claim within 3 months you will see a substantially larger excess than if you claim after 6 months and 12 months. But you need to have made the claim within 24hours of the said incident – especially if your abroad.

You must understand the terms of the agreement; make sure you stick to them and you should have piece of mind that your phone is covered. For instance if you leave you phone in your car and it’s on show they will not pay out.

With any type of insurance there are various different comparisons sites which will do the leg work for you – so use them and save time, money and stress. Here are some of the latest deals we found.

Betterbuy Insurance: From £19.99 – £49.99 Per Year

Betterbuy came up with the cheapest quote for an iPhone 4 – for £19.99 per year. You will get cover for accidental damage worldwide only, but will not cover you for loss, breakdown or theft. They will not insure phones for under 16′s, and will only payout to the value of £400.00 so may not cover the whole phone. The excess is £35-£50.

For £39.99 per year you can get their next cover which will include theft, but not breakdown or loss. The insurance includes Unauthorised calls. new replacement. But again only up to £400.00 and only for over 16′s. The excess is more on this deal is £50 -£100.

Their top insurance deal at £49.99 per year and will include the theft, loss and accidental cover. As well as unauthorised calls. worldwide cover – but not breakdown. The policy again only pays up to £400.00 and only for over 16′s only. The excess is £50-£100

Protect Your Bubble: From £64.89 – £76.89 Per Year

Protect your bubble came up with most comprehensive coverage we found for £64.89 – they will cover you for theft, breakdown and accidental cover. They guarantee a 48hour replacement, unauthorised calls, no age restriction and you can get one month free.

If you pay £76.89 – they will include loss as well making the only one we found to cover all possible situations, both in the UK and worldwide. The excess is a reasonable £50.00 -£75.00.

Insurance2Go: From £40.41 -53.41 Per Year

For £40.41 Insurance2go will cover your pride and joy for theft and accidental damage. Again their limit is £400.00, under 16′s not covered and excess will fall the longer the policy – and the you can get the first three months for free if you signup today. The excess is £50-£100.

For an extra £13.00 you will be covered for theft, loss and accidental damage. Again the same restrictions apply from above including the 3 months for free. Unfortunately Insurance2go will not cover you for breakdown. The excess is £50-£100.

Mobile Phone Protect Insurance: From £83.88 to £119.88 Per Year

Mobile Phone Protect Insurance offer iPhone insurance for £83.88 – this will cover you for 3 gadgets to the value of £500, you will be covered for theft, breakdown and accidental cover, but not loss. It only covers UK residents over 18 and is worldwide cover. Their excess is only £20.00.

The also offer the same deal for five gadgets up to £1,000 for £119.88, again it  doesn’t cover loss, but does include theft, breakdown and accidental damage.Its only for UK residents who are over 16 years of age.

Conclusion

As you can see their of plenty of options to choose from – our advice would be go one of the popular comparison websites and try and find the best deal for your needs. We found that Protect Your Bubble were the only company to offer fully comprehensive cover for a £6.66 a month for 12 months – this is remarkably good deal and is well worth considering.  We urge anyone paying more than £7 a month for mobile insurance to shop around for cheaper alternatives for the same cover.

Do you have a horror story about insurance ? Been made to wait weeks? Been treated badly ? Air your grievances below – and let us know who you are insured with and whether they kept their end of the bargain.

Top Mobile Insurance Providers: Our Guide to Cheaper Mobile Insurance is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

Picture  these annoying scenarios-

Your phone has a rare charger which is expensive to replace,
Your phone runs out and none of your friends have the same charger,
You’d love nothing more than a portable emergency charger or a car charger but you can’t find one for your model.

Well thankfully these dead battery woes are soon to be a thing of the past as Micro-USB port is confirmed as the standard for charger for smartphones.

At last the phones deserve their smart prefix.

The world’s 14 most prominent mobile manufacturers have been sent details by the European Commission of a new standard connection, after they agreed to sign up to it in June 2009.

The technical specifications are based on the micro-USB connector that many mobile manufacturers have already begun to use. Samsung, Apple, Nokia and Research in Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry, are among those that have agreed to adopt it.

The micro-USB jack is already becoming common as manufacturers, including those outside the 14 who have already agreed on it, have made the shift in preparation. Apple’s iPod connector, however, continues to be used for a host of accessories. The Commission anticipates that the first devices whose chargers meet the precise details of the new standard will appear early next year.

European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship said “the common charger will make life easier for consumers, reduce waste and benefit businesses. It is a true win-win situation.”  Couldn’t have put it better myself

Source: Telegraph

standard phone charger coming 2011 is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

If you’re feeling the pinch this year then recycling old mobiles is a great option. If you’ve got some outdated or broken handsets hanging around gathering dust then why not send them off to one of the great sites below so you can earn a little bit of extra cash to help towards costs and do your bit to help the environment at the same time.

They are free post and take broken phones too. I bet you never thought you’d get paid for that cracked BlackBerry or bricked iPhone that you’ve got stuffed away in a shoebox. Prices fluctuate between websites (especially when it comes to more obscure handsets) so if you do decide to recycle then it’s worth checking each one to see which will offer you the most pennies. Plus there’s service to think of. They’ve all got good feedback but I’d say Mazuma is the easiest/most customer friendly.

And don’t think you’ll only get a couple of pounds. It is worth doing. Some phones can fetch up to £300 and if you’ve got a reasonably new phone (I’d say within three years old) that you no longer need (broken or not) it should easily make double figures and who’s to sniff at £10/£20. Obviously a phone as old as the Nokia 3330 for example doesn’t get close to £10.

To give you an idea of the prices I’ve looked at what you’d get across the range for the classic Nokia 3330 (everyone’s got one of them in the cupboard) and the iPhone (3G 16Gb)

5. Mopay.co.uk

iPhone working- £130
iPhone non-working- £45.50

Nokia 3330 working- £1.01
Nokia 3330 non-working- £0.00

4. envirophone

iPhone working- £130.07
iPhone non-working-case by case

Nokia 3330 working-£0.00
Nokia 3330 non-working- £0.00

3. mobile phone xchange

iPhone working- £131
iPhone non-working-case by case basis

Nokia 3330 working-£0.00
Nokia 3330 non-working-£0.00

2. Fone bank

iPhone working- £132.00
iPhone non-working-£55.00

Nokia 3330 working-£1.00
Nokia 3330 non-working-£0.00

1. Mazuma

iPhone working- £130.00
iPhone non-working-£55.00

Nokia 3330 working-£0.00
Nokia 3330 non-working-£0.00

Finally, also worth a look are: Money 4my mobile, sell old phone

And one more point, many sites offer more cash for vouchers so if you are planning to spend the money in Argos anyway then you can get an extra £5/ £10

And if you do get offered ten pence or even nothing, like the poor old 3330 then why not freepost it off for recycling anyway rather than throw it away. You could be doing your bit for the environment!

Compare more mobile phone recycling deals here and if you’re looking for a newer model then check out some fantastic mobile phone deals here.

Top 5 Mobile Phone Recycling Sites: Strapped for Cash this Christmas? is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com

She has also speculated about glitches in the software and problems with the hardware. Though (of course) Microsoft isn’t saying a button about any problems they have admitted to the reported shortages and have confirmed that supply will be replenished in the coming weeks.

With Black Friday coming up shortly they might want to get a move on.

But it seems strange that Windows phones are sold out when most sites seem to be reporting low sales figures. Just what is going on with them? there’s so much conflicting news at the moment. When the dust settles are we going to start seeing stats which confirm a disappointing launch or have they really sold enough to sell out? Sorry to be one of those guys but, maybe they’re trying to hype their handset up and create the illusion that it is mightily popular when in reality there probably stacked to the ceiling in phone shops.

What do you think is going on with Windows Phone 7? Know anyone that’s bought one, anyone at all, I don’t.

Source: ZDnet

Windows Phone 7 sold out? is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com