Nybbles and Bytes

A few months ago I finally took the plunge and went out on a mission to buy myself a beginners radio controlled helicopter.
Nowadays, this once exclusive hobby has become much more accessible and affordable, thanks to the use of infra-red communication between the remote controller and the helicopter.

It also makes a lot more sense to spend a few hundred bucks on a hobby which takes a bit of learning, rather than spending thousands, only to smash your brand new chopper into a tree on your first flight...

Trust me - I had a few close calls and some pretty spectacular crashes on my first few flights, but thankfully the F106 IR R/C Helicopter is one tough little beast:

In the box - a 4 Channel IR Remote Control and the F106 Chopper...

The F106 in action - best flown indoors (it only weighs 60g!)

Capturing the blades in flight...

It's a good looker, in the air or on the ground...

The F106 packs in 4 channels - now I had to read up a bit to find out what this actually means, but in short, each channel provides a particular function for the radio controlled device.
In this case, there is one channel for throttle, one for pitch (nose up / nose down), one for roll (bank left / bank right) and one for yaw (rudder - i.e. pointing the chopper where you want it to go).

It features 2 rotors that spin in opposite directions which makes it pretty easy to fly, as well as a built in gyroscope which helps to stabilize the chopper in flight.
The horizontal tail rotor provides the pitch function - i.e. the ability to angle the nose up or down.

Flight time is approx. 10 minutes on a single charge, and the F106 charges directly off the remote controller, or via the provided USB cable (which you can plug into any PC USB port to charge from).
A recharge takes approx. 40 mins - 1 hour.

All in all it amounts to a ton of fun - mainly indoors, since the combination of light weight and IR control are not an ideal mix for outdoor flying.
Apparently sunlight somehow interferes with the IR connection - I tried to fly it once in direct sunlight, and it flew about 2 metres and then dropped straight to the ground. Ouch!

I picked up the F106 for R 499 at Outrage R.C. in Broadacres a few months ago.
They were extremely helpful when I purchased it, and when I subsequently brought it back with a broken ski and faulty tail rotor (probably from one of the crashes I mentioned above :)).

You can get in touch with Outrage RC on 011 021 8499, or visit their website at http://www.outragerc.co.za

I just sat down in front of my laptop to get some emails done for the morning, and I was pleasantly surprised by a parcel on my desk, courtesy of the fine folk over at Wintec Solutions.

I have to say guys, this parcel was so well wrapped that in the event of a nuclear catastrophe, it would probably be one of the last items left intact (along with the cockroaches, that is ;))

Thankfully though, my trusty pocket knife was on hand and I was able to get through the thick layer of protection, beneath which I found a brand spanking new Motormonkey - the only in-car cellphone charger that you will ever need (and also the world's smallest...!).

Charges a range of devices using various tips...

Please pardon the photo quality - remind me never to buy a phone with a fixed-focus camera again... :)

The Motormonkey sits snugly in your car cigarette lighter socket until it is ready to be used.
When you need it, simply plug in the USB retractable cable along with the required tip and your cellphone, and you are good to go.

Included with the Motormonkey you will find:

• 1 x Samsung M300 / G600 tip
• 1 x Nokia and Mini Nokia tip
• 1 x Micro USB tip
• 1 x USB retractable cable
• 1 x Mini USB tip for Motorola Razr, Blackberry, GPS and other USB powered devices
• 1 x Sony Ericsson K750i wide connector
• 1 x DC 4.0 connector for PSP
• 1 x LG Chocolate connector

I got to spend some quality time with the great team over at Wintec this week at their Brand Showcase, where I found out about a whack of incredible new gadgets that are now available, and which you can now order right here at Nybbles and Bytes.

Thanks for the invite guys - it was great to meet your team, check out all your current and upcoming products, eat your food and drink your drink :)

There was food...

There was drink...

Rene practicing his selling skills...

Nina & Megan, pleasantly posing... :)

Some of the Powertraveller products on demo.

Some awesome Jabra products. See review below for more...

Need a tough cover / stand / keyboard for your iPad? Look no further...

The super-cool hamper that I am going to win as a result of this review...  ;)

I wonder if it's powered by a Powermonkey... :)

As you can see, there are some seriously innovative and useful products entering the market - get in touch with us here for any enquiries.

Now onto the review - something that I have been meaning to do forever is to get myself a proper Bluetooth car kit - admittedly I was fined once a while back for chatting on my phone while driving.
In general (and I think you would agree), traffic fines are no fun, it is massively unsafe to talk on cellphones while driving, and I hereby scold my younger self for being such an irresponsible driver!

Thankfully, with age comes wisdom (so they say...), but there are times when some pretty urgent calls come through while I am on the road, and that is where the Jabra Freeway steps in.

Needless to say, I had to get myself one to try out - and here she is:

Unboxing the Jabra Freeway...

Charges via a standard Micro USB port on the side of the unit...

The business end of the Jabra Freeway... :)

The Jabra Freeway is more than just a Bluetooth Speakerphone - sure, it allows you to make and receive hands-free calls with crystal clarity, but it also combines a Bluetooth connection to your handset, with an FM connection to your car audio system.

Now for anybody who has ever had an FM transmitter on their cellphone, you know what this means - you can stream your music from your phone to the car audio system via this super-nifty gadget.
I have to say that I had my doubts when I set it up initially - I was unsure how the combination of Bluetooth and FM would work out in terms of sound quality...

Thankfully though, it's pretty amazing, provided that you select an FM channel which is fairly free of interference - I have found that 88.10 works well for me.

Setting it up out of the box is simple - make sure that Bluetooth is active on your phone, then switch on the Jabra Freeway.
The first time you turn it on, it automatically enters pairing mode, and you are voice guided through the pairing process.
When pairing is complete, you hear the Jabra Freeway say "Connected", and you are now ready to go.

Having used the device for a few days now, it is very practical and easy to use on the go.
I have yet to really try out the voice dialling feature (phone dependent), but when I did pick a random number to dial on my phone, it dialled the correct one straight away.
Charging happens via the supplied cable and car charger, and the device will hold enough charge for 14 hours of talk time and 40 days of standby time.

Some pretty cool innovations have also found their way into the Jabra Freeway:

• Features a motion sensor which turns the device off when you leave your car, and then back on when you return. When I got into my car this morning I had actually forgotten about the device, until it suddenly spoke to me saying "Connected"!
  
• Syncs to your phonebook - this means that you can dial your contacts (phone dependent), as well as answer or ignore calls, all using voice commands;
  
• Features 3 speakers which provide crisp stereo and Virtual Surround sound;
  
• Connects to 2 Bluetooth devices simultaneously;
  
• Announces the name of the incoming caller;
  
• Allows A2DP streaming for playback of music, podcasts and directions from GPS applications;
  
• Voice guidance talks you through setup and operation.

The long and the short of it, is that the Jabra Freeway gives you the functionality of a traditional Bluetooth car kit, minus the pain of wiring and installation (and the dashboard scratches that come with it!).
Add to that the ability to transmit music from your phone to your car audio, and you have a winner of a product, guaranteed to deliver outstanding performance and keep you safer on the road.

So if you want to get your hands on one of these, get in touch now - it is currently priced at only R 1700, and as always, T's and C's apply as below:

No stock shall be released until paid for in full;
All above pricing is subject to stock availability;
Product specifications may be subject to change without notice;
Please allow 4-6 working days for delivery;
Nybbles and Bytes cc is not a VAT vendor

When the Nokia N8 launched with its 12MP camera back in 2010, it made waves in smartphone circles as its awesome Carl Zeiss equipped camera soon made a name for itself.

Now 12MP is already pretty hefty for a smartphone, but how does 41MP sound?
41 Megapixels? Seriously Nokia?

Well it's a reality now, thanks to the new Nokia 808 PureView:

Nom Nom Nom...

Hat tip to Vonny for this one ;)

When I found out about a very real fear called Nomophobia recently, I had a bit of a giggle as I thought it was all a joke...

After all, surely Nomophobia is a fear of food...? (Nom nom nom... get it? :)

Ah but wait, there is more to it than that - did you know that Nomophobia is actually a fear of being out of mobile contact?
The word is derived from the term "no-mobile-phone phobia", and it was coined by the UK Post Office during a study to look at anxieties suffered by mobile phone users.
Thinking back to my teenage years when cellphones were not really around yet, I have to wonder how the heck we got by back then?
Sure we had landlines and pagers, but once we set foot outside of home or work, then we were out of touch for hours at a time.
Today that is unheard of - we SMS, BBM, Whatsapp, Email and call constantly through the day.
It's a communications overload if ever there was one...!

Speaking from experience here, it is pretty easy to get caught up in it all.
I know that when my phone battery dies, or if I lose signal, it adds quite a bit of stress to my day.
So I guess in that regard, I am a bit of a Nomophobe... :)

Can you afford to be out of touch with the world and without your cellphone?
Are you a Nomophobe?

Oh, and if you are, then why not head over to the Nybbles and Bytes Store and order yourself a Powertraveller powermonkey, so that you never get stuck with a flat cellphone battery again :)