Matt's broadband and smartphone help

  • Top broadband speed tips: annotated video guide

    We're doing something a little bit different for this week's blog. The chaps at BE Broadband have produced a series of web video clips giving advice and tips for getting the most out of your broadband connection. It features their very own Matt, not me. In amongst the weirdness they actually contain some useful information, so if you're wondering why your internet is so slow and what you can do to improve...

    by Matt on 10 September 2010Read more >

  • How to debrand an HTC Desire and update to Froyo

    Vodafone caught some flak recently when HTC Desire owners expecting an update to Android 2.2 (aka Froyo) found that they had instead downloaded a collection of Vodafone branded software and browser shortcuts. This is something that affects lots of phones on all networks but as Android handsets are so open to hacking and tweaking it can be remedied fairly easily. Not only is it possible to debrand - removing...

    by Matt on 22 August 201029 Comments  |  Read more >

  • Beginner's guide: choosing a data package for your mobile broadband dongle

    One of the most common questions we're asked on the forum (along with “can I use mobile broadband abroad?”) is about how much data is needed for mobile broadband. Unless you're familiar with such things, being asked how many gigabytes you require when shopping for a dongle is almost certainly going to result in confusion, and I suspect there are lots of people out there with unsuitable packages...

    by Matt on 10 August 2010Read more >

  • A beginner's guide to femtocells

    No, Broadband Genie isn't branching out into biology and femtocells aren't a weird disease, but something that will be of interest to anyone struggling to get a mobile phone signal at home. What is a femtocell? To quote the all-knowing Wikipedia a femtocell is a “small cellular base station, typically designed for use in a home or small business”. Base stations are the receiver transmitters that...

    by Matt on 23 July 2010Read more >

  • Nine cool and useful things to do with your smartphone

    They aren't called smartphones because they look snazzy - the latest handsets can do so much more than make calls and send texts. Packed full of cutting-edge technology and running the latest mobile operating systems, there are thousands of applications to perform all kinds of tasks. From controlling a home PC anywhere in the world to tracking down stolen phones, here are 9 of our favourite extra tools and...

    by Matt on 09 July 2010Read more >

  • How to Unlock Mobile Broadband Dongles

    Tried popping a new SIM in your dongle and found it doesn't connect? Just like mobile phones broadband dongles can be locked in to a network, because providers don't want you taking advantage of cheap dongle deals then popping in another SIM. Luckily, dongles can also be unlocked like a phone handset. This can be useful for a number of reasons. Perhaps you've bought a dongle and discovered that...

    by Matt on 25 June 20101 Comment  |  Read more >

  • Expert guide: what's the difference between laptops, netbooks and tablets?

    Portables have been outselling desktop computers for years and it's not hard to see why. Gadget appeal aside, they take up less room, are relatively inexpensive and even an entry level model will easily handle the basic web browsing, video, music and word processing functions we require on a day to day basis. It's also now easy to get a new computer for 'free' by signing up for a mobile broadband contract,...

    by Matt on 03 June 20101 Comment  |  Read more >

  • Expert guide: protecting your kids online

    Chris' recent blog post about a parent's guide to online gaming made the very good point that it isn't fair to force kids to use their computer in a family room just so you can check they aren't up to anything untoward. That said, parents have a right to be worried about what their child is getting up to online. Newspapers like to make out that the internet is a scary, dangerous thing with inevitable front-page...

    by Matt on 21 May 20102 Comments  |  Read more >

  • Your guide to the essential Android apps

    We've all seen those iPhone adverts that declare there's an app for everything so you'd be forgiven for thinking that the Apple App Store was the only one with any choice. But while Nokia's Ovi Store and Microsoft's Windows Mobile Marketplace have been the dampest of damp squibs in comparison there is one competitor that can match the iPhone in variety. Android is the Google operating system for mobile...

    by Matt on 07 May 20103 Comments  |  Read more >

  • Expert guide to internet tethering: How to tether your smartphone

    Want to use mobile broadband without a dongle? Well you're in luck, because this week Broadband Genie technical expert and forum guru Matt Powell tackles the subject of terthering a smartphone so you can use its internet capabilities on another machine. Tethering is the art of hooking up a mobile phone to a computer and connecting to the internet via a mobile network, essentially what a mobile broadband dongle...

    by Matt on 27 April 2010Read more >