Sebastien Grainger

Over the past few weeks ive been pondering which mobile phone to go for as my old one is up for renewal. I had planned on getting an iPhone just because they are the coolest

Ive also been looking for a laptop to use at college in the new term… I would have liked a mac book as they are also the coolest!

There was a slight problem with that plan though as the iPhone and Mac Book also happen to be the most expensive gadgets on the market, and I just dont have the money at the moment, so I had to make some compromises!

I started looking for a budget laptop instead, I took a look at an Acer but was not took keen on that, and eventually found a Compaq CQ57 at a very affordable price which I almost ordered, but before I did I thought I would have a look around for some phone deals to make sure I had enough money for both.

iPhone contracts are pretty pricey, and if you go for a cheaper contract you have to pay extra for the phone, and no one likes paying extra do they?

So, I had a look at some Android alternatives, the Galaxy SII and SIII are both at least as good as the iPhone, coolness aside, but still pretty expensive, and also quite big, bigger than the iPhone which I did not really like. So I turned my attention to the Galaxy Ace 2 instead, smaller (similar size to the iPhone) and of course cheaper.

Whilst searching for info on phones and laptops I found you could get a free laptop with a mobile phone by using FLMP (a comparison site I found) , and as luck would have it the Galaxy Ace 2 and Compaq laptop were available at a price I could afford with plenty of minutes

In fact, the price I paid is not much more than the iPhone would have cost on its own, so basically I got a free laptop out of the deal. The Q57 is ok, you get what you pay for, it does the job and I am happy with that, plus its less to worry about than a MacBook in terms of carrying around… there is a big difference in the replacement cost!

The Galaxy phone I bought though… that is a different story, I LOVE IT. Full touch screen, loads of apps, got a free music downloader for it (try doing that on an iPhone ) so all in all, I am a very happy guy right now with two new toys and a little money left for the weekend!

I would really recommend you check out this phone if you are looking for an affordable iPhone alternative:

I’ve been reading a bit about Google TV lately, and am a little perplexed as to who would want to use it.

If you are unfamiliar with Google TV, it is a “layer” that can run over existing Internet Television. It runs on Android (Linux) to deliver TV through the Linux version of the Chrome browser.

The only manufacturer I have yet seen selling TV sets integrating with Google TV is Sony, however Sony are partnered with Google on this project, so you cannot count them as an independent manufacturer who see’s a future in this technology (though they clearly do or they would not be involved with it.

The reason I am not convinced about it is that there already seem to be better services available, many through ISP companies who allow internet TV to be streamed through your TV. These do not rely on another “layer” (chrome) but integrate directly with the TV, and this works really nicely.

Also you still need to pay to access content, for example if you want to watch NetFlix content you need a subscription, again you can access this without needing the Google TV “layer”.

Interesting as the technology is I am not sold on its benefits whatsoever, namely because Google have no content, and those that do have content to sell already provide the means of accessing that content.

I use an iPad and there is no shortage of apps that deliver internet TV through various means.

Call be dumb, but I just to not “get it” when it comes to Google TV, I just cannot see the USP.

If you want a more positive overview of what Google TV has to offer, check out the video below: