Here’s a look at just some of what we’re covering in our February show:

• News Updates: A new phone with a novel power source, upgrades in store for Virgin customers, three video-on-demand stories, an amazing price-cut on the Blackberry tablet, plus the fate of the leap-second
• Focus: We look at a selection of the latest wireless fitness products, and some applications that will help you stay in shape in 2012
• First look: We get some help from a guest listener to take a look at the just-launched Netflix service
• Review: Probably the oddest beverage accessory we’ve ever seen, plus a peak into Pete’s kitchen
• Feedback: Problems with Virgin speed, your complaints, plus the hunt for a Freesat/Freeview set-top box

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.

Alternatively, you can get the latest FrequencyCast online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html , where you’ll also find instructions on how to subscribe, download the show to your portable device, and listen to us online.

Show Links:

• Show Notes for Show 72
• Transcript: Wireless Fitness Tech (plus bonus material)
• Transcript: UK Netflix Review

Please remember that FrequencyCast is free – We need your support though – We don’t need your money… what we need you to do, is provide us with feedback and suggestions, but more importantly, tell your friends about us. Like FrequencyCast on Facebook, or follow FrequencyCast on Twitter and send your followers a message. Alternatively, mention us online, in emails, or tell your friends about us. Without you, we’re nothing.

We’d love to get your comments and feedback on the show. If you have a comment, good or bad, please add a comment in the box below, or leave us a voicemail message on 0208 133 4567 (price of a call to London).

Thanks again for your support. We hope you have a great 2012, and we look forward to entertaining you in the coming months.

Well, we’ve released some audio just for those getting into the festive spirit, and it’s all thanks to CoolArif79 who tweeted thus: “Can you for show 69 and 70 concentrate on gadgets coming out for Christmas?”

We don’t claim to have any insight on what are going to be the top gadgets for Christmas 2011, but we can help with a few ideas of things to add to your list. Carl and Pete recorded a special Update looking at favourite gadgets of the last six months, and then went out-and-about to see what stocking-fillers they could find at a major shopping centre in England.

The audio update lasts 20 minutes, and features a special guest. As blokes don’t do shopping, we were assisted by the lovely Kelly, who kept Carl and Pete under control, and also kept an eye out for a few gifts for the tech-savvy ladies out there.

We looked at a few high-end must have gadgets, some novelty items, and even a few high-tech kids toys… the aim was to suggest a range of gift ideas that you may not have previously considered – and on our show notes, we include a few links and photos to get your creative juices flowing!

We hope you enjoy this rather unorthodox FrequencyCast update. As you’ll hear, we had quite a laugh putting this together, and hopefully will give you a few ideas on what to look out for as gifts for the upcoming festive period.

Our Audio Special

The show has just been released to iTunes, and is also attached to this news post as an mp3 file. The audio will soon appear on our streaming radio service, and can also be downloaded from our FrequencyCast Update page.

Show Notes and Links

You’ll find the show notes, links and pictures here: www.frequencycast.co.uk/gadgets.html

We’ve also released a transcript, complete with pictures, at www.frequencycast.co.uk/festivegadgets.html

Marmite Chocolate?

So, why have we chosen a picture of Marmite chocolate to illustrate this audio update? Well, you’ll have to take a listen! We challenge our listeners to try this stuff for themselves – your life may never be the same again…!

Comments please!

We’ve love to know what you think of our little Christmas Special. Please add your comments below.

Remember, without your feedback, there’s no show, so please have your say on what you’ve heard, and what gadgets you want for Christmas…

It seems that a significant number of  iOS 5 users have noticed a marked drop in battery life, and we’re getting reports that this may be due to a bug (a.k.a a “feature”) introduced in the last official software release. It looks like the operating system may be using the location services to make power-hungry calls to check the clock.

Possible fix:

A number of sites on the ‘net have been reporting a possible fix, and users seem to be reporting that the fix is making a difference. Here’s the fix:

iOS 5 makes use of the device GPS and Wi-fi location to find out where it is, and uses this to work out what time zone you’re in when you’re roaming. For a high percentage of users, this could be viewed as unneccesary.

• Go to “Settings”
• Go to “Location Services”
• Scroll down to “System Services”
• Set “Setting Time Zone” to “Off”

Before turning it off, you may notice that the little purple location services icon appears next to “Setting Time Zone”, which confirms that the device is indeed using location software, and therefore battery.

iOS 5 Battery Issue Location Settings

If this is indeed a confirmed Apple bug, no doubt a fix will be forthcoming in the form of a new version of iOS 5 – And possibly the first to be sent over-the-air.

Been hit with a low battery? Had any luck with this fix? Please let us know in the comments below!

• News Updates: New Freeview services, Samsung Galaxy news, eBooks and the switchover
• Focus: Pete and Carl go out and about to explore the world of  Geocaching.
• Featured: Local TV, Sky Movies, Community Radio and Onavo, an app that will save on your mobile data charges
• Your comments and questions on eTRV, mobile data, Internet TV, the iPhone 5 and the BBC iPlayer

If you have an iPod, iPhone or iPad device, you should find show 67 is available now for free download – If you’ve not subscribed, go to FrequencyCast on iTunes.

Alternatively, you can download Show 67 direct to your MP3 player or listen online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html

Links:

• Show Notes for Show 67
• Transcript: Geocaching Transcript
• Recommended link: Mobile Data Petition

If you enjoy this show, please say thanks by getting a free SIM card! See our GiffGaff page for the link.

Our shows are free, and we need to you to spread the word – Please mention FrequencyCast on Facebook and Twitter, and tell your friends about us.

Fancy a cheap and collectible souvenir of April’s Royal Wedding? Well, here it is. A Limited Edition Wills and Kate Mobile Phone.

In patriotic Red White and Blue, with a picture of the happy couple as a screensaver, this exclusive handset will only cost you a quid, and in a few years, could well go for quite a bit more on eBay.

The phone is made by Alcatel, and for its price (£1), has a few handy features, such as a torch and an FM radio.

For the sheer heck of it, Alcatel has also pre-loaded the phone with a “God Save The Queen” ringtone, to make calls on Royal Wedding Day just that bit more topical and regal.

About the phone

According to the blurb provided to us, this is a one-of-a-kind collector’s item and comes in a commemorative box. On the back of the phone, there’s an inscription of Kate Middleton and Prince William’s initials joined together, as well as the date of the historic wedding. The phone also has a calculator, organiser, FM radio and alarm clock (We wonder if it has “Here comes the bride” as the wake-up tone?)

The Special Edition Royal Wedding Phone is available online exclusively at Carphone Warehouse, for a very limited time only.

Price – £1 for the phone. You have to top up with £10. Delivery is free. You can get it on Orange and Virgin.

If you fancy a collectible, get the souvenir Royal Wedding Phone quickly (before it’s too late) from the following link: Royal Wedding Phone at Carphone Warehouse

FrequencyCast were there, and we have some exclusive photos and interviews.

Gadget Show Live Presenters

Go to frequencycast.co.uk/gsl to see some early pics, and our show summary. Essential listening if you’re coming to the show!

More to follow soon!

Pete and Carl

We’ve released a quick two minute audio “teaser”. Please have a listen!

If you’re coming to the Gadget Show Live this week, stay tuned as we keep you informed!

Go to http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/gsl

Our teaser is now available iTunes: FrequencyCast on iTunes, or you can get it from here: FrequencyCast at Gadget Show Live

Gadget Show Live 2011 Hall

At the moment, Amazon’s doing a great deal on the wi-fi only version of the 7″ Galaxy Tab – Just £299 at Amazon.co.uk

We appreciate that all the talk at the moment is of the iPad 2, but as we covered in our Tablets roundup in Show 60, the Galaxy Tab is a top performer, and well worth consideration.

There are new Galaxy Tab devices in the offing, which is probably something to do with the sudden price drop, but for those looking for a decent high-spec tablet, the Amazon deal (with free postage) is brill.

More:  Samsung Galaxy Tab at Amazon

In this update, the guys talk about the new Apple updates, a look at some BBC radio changes, plus a new appointment to the YouView team.

We also read out some of your feedback and play a couple of recent podline calls.

Pete also brings along some new toys – a disposable digital camera, and a plush red Angry Bird.

Also – details of a top freebie from Maplin – if you’re quick – Free PIR light from Maplin

Our update is now available iTunes: FrequencyCast on iTunes, or you can get it from here: FrequencyCast Updates

Share and Enjoy!

You may well be familiar with the concept of the disposable camera – you may find them at weddings, and indeed you may take them to places where you wouldn’t want to risk your £400 SLR camera. Normally, of course, these are film cameras.

The camera we feature in our new podcast is a disposable digital from Vistaquest, which is now available in the UK.

Here are the headline features of this camera:

• Takes 40 digital photos
• Disposable and recycleable
• Built-in battery and flash

The advantage of a disposable digital over a disposable film camera, is you don’t need to take the camera down to Boots to get to the images you’ve captured, and you don’t need to pay for printing and processing.

If you want to find out more, go here: Vistaquest Digital Single Use Camera at AdvancedMP3Players

If you’ve been considering getting an external light for your front door, but don’t fancy the hassle of running mains outside your house, then this little freebie could be the answer. It gets power from the sun, and when it detects movement, fires up 15 LEDs for 25 seconds.

To get the free light system, worth £24.99, just spend £35 or more at the online Maplin store between now and the 22nd of March. Here’s how:

• Go to maplin.co.uk and buy stuff to the value of £35 or more
• Add the PIR light to your basket as part of your order – the order code is : N10JF.
• Select from the vouchers drop down menu ‘FREEGIFT £24.99 off item £35′ in the checkout process.

If the free PIR light doesn’t tickle your fancy, here’s some money-off codes valid until 22nd March 2011:

• £1 off any purchase over £10* (voucher code: secret1)
• £3 off any purchase over £30* (voucher code: secret3)
• £5 off any purchase over £65* (voucher code: secret5)
• £10 off any purchase over £130* (voucher code: secret10)
• £15 off any purchase over £200* (voucher code: secret15)
• £25 off any purchase over £300* (voucher code: secret25)

Share and enjoy!

This lightweight recorder stores up to 420 hours of audio, and runs for up to 51 hours on one set of batteries. It has built-in noise reduction filters and voice activated recording.

The clever bit though, is the speech-to-text. Record in some audio, connect it to your PC, then use the supplied Dragon Naturally Speaking software to transcribe your voice into computer-editable text.

Read more about this impressive little recorder on our Olympus VN-8500 Review

In case you’re wondering, he’s referring to “Crimestoppers Property Protector“, another name for a product we reviewed last year, EnigmaTag.

In 2010, we interviewed Clive Smith, who explained exactly how the gadget protection liquid works. Enigmatag also gave us a special code to allow you to get the product at a discounted price – Get £8 off the retail price!

For the review, interview and the discount code, see our EnigmaTag Reviewed page.

Version 3.1 of the Kindle Operating System add the following:

• Real Page Numbers: At the moment, instead of page numbers, you get a Location and a Percentage. This update adds actual page numbers, to help those referring to a paper book’s page numbering. This feature is only supported for titles that have real page numbers included
• Public Notes: The option to make your book notes and highlights available for all to see. Opt-in to share your thoughts on what you’re reading with the Kindle community.
• Before You Go: When you get to the end of a book, the instant option to rate the book,  share a message about the book with your social network, get personalised recommendations for what to read next, and see more books by the same author.
• New Newspaper and Magazine Layout: Improved layout for reading newspapers and magazines, with a news snapshot

The update to v3.1 will be rolled out using wi-fi when your Kindle goes into Idle mode, or you can force an update via USB.

More on the update, and how to get it, here

In this latest show, here’s a look at what we cover:

• News Updates: All change for Sky HD, plus Atlantic and new channels
• Focus: Our look back at the last 12 months of TV and tech
• Your comments and questions on adding maps to your camera and Freeview HD sound

You can download Show 59 direct to your MP3 player or listen online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html.

If you have an iPod or iPhone, get shows faster by signing up via iTunes.

Links:

• Show Notes for Show 59
• Transcript: Review of 2010

We hope you enjoy today’s show. We’d love to know what you think.

As ever, if you like what you’ve heard, please spread the word to your Facebook and Twitter chums…

Set this up in your garden, then it will send a wireless signal to the base unit indoors, which you can connect to a PC. If you have a website, you can set up a live weather website with data delivered from the sensor in your garden.

Forecasting your own weather is great fun, and with 50% off, now’s the time to get one – but you might want to let the snow subside before you venture out to install it!

You can order the weather station online for half price until 24th December 2010 at Maplin USB Weather Station, whicle stocks last. (You could also be cheeky and try to use the code secret3 at the checkout for £3 off orders over £30!)

The grey version is available too: Maplin USB Weather Station. (Use the code secret5 at the checkout for £5 off orders over £65 before 24 Dec 2010!)

For more, have a listen to Show 48 or see our web review of this product: Weather Station Review.

In this latest show, here’s a look at what we cover:

• News Updates: Tablet newspapers, 3D BT, and no more Tease Me
• Focus: Broadband Suppliers – Making the right choice
• Hands-on: Big Trak Junior 2010
• Your comments and questions on Nokia’s DAB, slow Internet, HD recorders and tablet devices

You can download Show 58 direct to your MP3 player or listen online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html.

If you have an iPod or iPhone, get shows faster by signing up via iTunes.

Links:

• Show Notes for Show 58
• Transcript: Choosing a Broadband Provider
• Transcript: BigTrak is Back

We hope you enjoy today’s show. We’d love to know what you think.

As ever, if you like what you’ve heard, please spread the word to your Facebook and Twitter chums…

In this update, we look at BBC iPlayer, Apple iTunes, Karotz, servers, Zombies and Apple TV

The 12 minute FrequencyCast Update is attached to this blog entry, and is available free via iTunes or at www.frequencycast.co.uk/update.html

We hope you enjoy our little update…

The Spy Camera sits on your keyring and looks like a standard car opening “beeper” box – but it’s so much more. It can capture high res video, audio and still photos – making it perfect for those covert missions!

Ian Coxall has one of these (although at the time of writing, he’s misplaced it!), and has put together a review, complete with a photo taken on the keyring, and a 10 second AVI file to highlight the quality that the Spy Camera Keyring can capture.

You’ll find Ian’s review here: Spy Camera Keyring Review

In this latest show, here’s a look at what we cover:

• News Updates: Sky to kill top TV channels, and a book on DAB’s future
• Hands-on: TV distribution with a Triax TV Link
• Classic Tech: Our look back at the humble calculator
• Your comments and questions on the Kindle, and Freeview after the switchover

You can download Show 56 direct to your MP3 player or listen online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html.

If you have an iPod or iPhone, get shows faster by signing up via iTunes.

Links:

• Show Notes for Show 56
• Transcript: Focus on 3D Tech

We hope you enjoy today’s show. We’d love to know what you think.

As ever, if you like what you’ve heard, please spread the word to your Facebook and Twitter chums…