It seems the long promised mobile phone payment system is finally about to arrive. O2 has been working in conjunction with major high street retailers to introduce an app for smartphones that allows the transfer of payments of up to £500.00.

There are almost a quarter of a million O2 customers in the UK who have smartphones with the necessary near-field communication chips and the company believes that the time for the digitising of credit and debit card payments has arrived.

Somewhat surprisingly wealthy nations lag significantly behind developing world countries in their willingness to adopt this technology. This is due to the fact that a much higher percentage of the population in countries like Kenya, for example, do not have bank accounts and therefore this has been adopted very quickly as a convenient alternative to cash.

The stumbling block for UK consumers is the question of security. Many people believe that more sophisticated security systems simply generate more sophisticated hacking methods.

O2 claims that their encryption system has been trialled and has proven itself to be infallible (well they would, wouldn’t they?). However, O2 do state that passwords, pins and other confidential information is not actually stored in the handset but on a secure remote server.

It remains to be seen how popular this innovation will prove to be. Initially the service is free although there is a planned charge of 15p per transaction to be introduced at a later date. There is a fascinating ability to scan barcodes with this app and search for cheaper products. In addition credit can be loaded to the phone from debit cards and easy access to spending history is also promised.

O2 hope to have this product available before the Olympics. Despite the somewhat lukewarm response so far it is highly unlikely that consumers have heard the last of the digitised wallet concept.

Summer is on the way and if you’re anything like me, you will be out at the opportunity walking, hiking, climbing or cycling. Anything to work off that winter layering we put on to keep us warm during the long cold nights.

After returning from a journey of epic proportions around Britain, testing out the new Garmin Etrex 20 GPS, the conclusion is that without such a simple to use, convenient and accurate device as the Garmin these words may not even have been written.

The main features of this gadget are the waypoints. A waypoint is entered at the start point of your journey, and no matter where you go from there the Garmin will lead you back. The device will work anywhere in Europe, and searches for the nearest and strongest satellite to your location, resulting in quick and to the meter accuracy every step of the way.

If you are anything like me, having a tendency to drop everything new that you own, then this may well be the piece of equipment that you require. Demonstrably rugged, it was dropped on rock, in mud, and other more dubious substances, it never failed to deliver our group of weary travellers safely back to our tents at the end of a long day. Priced at £152.48 on Amazon this handy gadget won’t break the bank. With a compass, route planner, proximity alarms and much more this is a great addition to your explorer/survivor kit.

A lot of the New year’s resolutions I have heard  have been; ‘I must read more’ and ‘must do our bit to save the planet’. These two technically contradict each other –  as the more books your read the more trees are being cut down to make those trees. However there is a way that you can achieve your resolutions in one, the Amazon Kindle.

There are thousands of titles to choose from in the Kindle shop on Amazon .com and a variety of different Kindles to suit your needs. The all new Kindle WiFi retails on Amazon for £89, and the Kindle Keyboard 36/ WiFi at £149. They work anywhere in the world and have access to a full library of new, old and classic titles.

Books are from £1 upwards, and cheaper than in any bookshop as a paper back or hard back. It’s very durable –  as we have found out after dropping it after just  1 day of having it –  apart from a small scratch it still works fine, but you do have the usual one year warranty just in case.

These are the probably the best e-readers available to buy. Smaller and lighter than tablets such as the iPad and the Samsung P1000Galaxy, and much easier to use. Just connect to the Amazon Kindle store, either look at the best sellers, or search through their selection and buy it. There is barely any download time so if you are in a rush, don’t worry about clockwatching, you won’t be staring at the rotating hourglass for more than a few seconds seconds.

This comes highly recommended and a definite must buy for 2012. As we enter a world full of gadgets, tablet pc’s, smart phones and space travel this is one small step to being a little more up-to-date.

There is a fantastically varied array of add on’s and extensions to jazz up your i-phones, i-pads and i-pods on the market today.  I have compiled a top ten list to guide you through the quagmire of tech. Practicality was certainly not a prerequisite for this list, from the shinny to the ingenious, the more ludicrous the better.  I have assembled a list of the top 10 of these gadgets from both Mac and third party designers.

1. http://www.firebox.com/product/2029/Vuzix-iWear

Vuzix I- Wear is a incredibly cool little gizmo that displays your I-ware display through a pair of very cool shades. The Vuzix I-wear is reminiscent of the Matrix and fulfils those 90’s promises of virtual reality made by the like of  Nintendo less than successful Virtual Boy, well nearly. And better still you get to look like Star Treks very own Geordi for around just £100.

2. http://www.firebox.com/product/3796/AppToyz-Blaster

The AppToyz-Blaster makes a mockery of i-ware compact design by situating it within a huge arcade style gun used to hunt pesky aliens, its brilliant just brilliant.  What the Apptoyz-blaster continues along a virtual reality thread rather ingeniously making use of the camera in your phone etc and imposing the aliens on whatever the surface your camera points at. This game is frantic and devilishly addictive. A bargain at any price but even better at around £20.

3. http://www.firebox.com/product/3254/iPhone-Horn

The iPhone horn is a very clever piece of steam punk technology Frankensteined together with well Apples I phone. I’m not usually one to go into the technical side of gadgets but on this occasion I decided to make an exception. The i-Phone Horn uses the unique “horn” design to boost the sonic output of your i-Phone but a whopping 13 decibels. This technology is ripped straight from 17th century hearing trumpets, and I for one am thrilled to see its renaissance espically at around £14.

4.http://www.firebox.com/product/4581/Trumstand

Continuing in my love of the pastiche, I introduce the Trumstand to my list, sure it’s not quite as retro as the ear trumpet but a gramophone for your I-ware is still mighty cool in my book. Making use once again of the miracle of the horn the Trumstand amplifies your audio in a fantastically authentic manner. There’s no sub woofers, no bass just good old horn generated resonance.  The Trumstand looks, it just looks stunning available in either nickel or gold guaranteed to add a certain ambiance to any room. There is only one catch and only a very minor catch unlike the any man iPhone-horn the Trumstad costs a cool £1499.99.  I know a  wee bit disappointing isn’t it unless… you were to buy a reproduction gramophone for about £100 and situate your i-phone underneath… Well It could work.

5. http://www.firebox.com/product/3611/Steadicam-Smoothee-for-iPhone-4

The Steadicam Smoothee is a little bit of kit based on the $60,000 Hollywood steadicam rig. and it certainly looks the part its sleek looking monoframe lets you capture video like the pro’s. No practice required bust clip on your phone and start shouting action. The cost of motion sickness free viewing only £169 plus an extra £25 for a mount, Still this is pretty darn cool in my book.

6. http://www.firebox.com/product/3735/iCade-for-iPad?via=top10

The i-Cade for the i-Pad brings a new meaning to retro fitting. The i-Cade is your own miniature arcade game cabinet in miniature form. There’s a whole heap of Attari classics for this bad boy as well as more contemporary Tittles that are every bit as loveable. For only 80 quid this hunk of nostalgia delivers on all fronts, it’s worth £80 as just a really cool i-Pad stand.

7. http://www.iworld.co.uk/p/DeskPets_TANKBOT_Micro-Robotic_3_Mode_Tank_-_Green.htm

The TANKBot Micro-Robotic 3 Mode Tank has one of those names that just role off the tongue, sure it’s a office toy so it’s got some negative connation’s but why should office workers get all the gun.  This sort of gizmo had been available for quite some time now and the TANKbot doesn’t really build upon its predecessors other than one of its modes enabling it to be controlled by the i-Phone. But hey at £24.95 its still great fun for whiling away the odd half an hour.

8. http://www.amazon.com/Freeloader-Pico-Rechargeable-iPhone-Charger/dp/B0029KH944

This is perhaps the one bit of kit that made it to the list through sheer practicality. There’s just something about solar power which I find very exciting. There’s not a great deal to say about this product it charges your i-ware by harnessing the power of the Sun. £12.99 not much for free power, for ever!

9. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thumbs-Up-Eye-Scope-iPhone/dp/B004I4HFZC/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1322650036&sr=8-11

The cameras on phones etc boast millions upon millions of pixels there right up there with small compact’s that is until you take into account optical zoom. The Thumbs-Up-Eye-Scope-iPhone attachment gives your camera an 8 time optical zoom as well as 246m field of view. But this is somewhat superfluous in light of just how cool it makes your iPhone look, what’s more it comes with a little tripod and all this for under £30, well a penny less.

10. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thumbs-Up-IP4DESK-iPhone-Desktop/dp/B0064JJR5K/ref=sr_1_42?ie=UTF8&qid=1322650082&sr=8-42

The i-Phone 4 Desktop Phone is well a turns your mobile phone into a desktop phone, It doesn’t make it better it just makes it well static. I don’t know why you’d want to regress your mobile phone to a point where its primary function is no longer fulfilled, but I do know I like this.  Nostalgia is clearly a big money spinner I guess and this gizmo gets in there even before the departure of landlines as obsolete technology. At around £20 I’m not sure it’s good value but it is cool.

Here is bunch of gadgets that you will hopefully be able to get cheaper in the January sales. Either way, they are essential and you have to have them. Simple.

Scandyna Minipod MK11 is a funny looking speaker. It is constructed of three orb shaped cabinets merged into one massive noise generator. They way it is made reduces the amount of vibration, distortion and general nastiness that you get when blasting out your tunes. The only thing that may not like this speaker is your windows, because they are guaranteed to shake and possible shatter. Retailing at £550 at www.scandyna-speakers.com

Isn’t it annoying when you put a nicely ironed shirt in a bag and when you need it and an iron is worlds away, it is more creased than my 100 year old grandmother. Well those days over people, as we now have the ‘Shirt Shuttle,’ which allows you to put your neatly ironed shirt inside and clip it in securely. When you take it out of the shuttle your shirt will be crisp clean and ready to be worn without looking like an old packet of crisps, and just for £30 from www.conranshop.co.uk.

I wonder what would happen if I put my Nan in there? Hmmm!

Ever wanted to have sight like Superman, or super ’spidey senses’ like Peter Parkers alternative persona. Well the  Glasses don’t enable this, but do offer a step in the right direction.

Using liquid crystal technology which creates a stroboscopic effect periodically blocking your vision, forces you to be uber-tuned unto your surroundings. And when you are not wearing these supper-specks your sensory performance is majorly enhanced and one day you will be able to save the world. A bit expensive at £190, but can you put a price on the future of the human race? www.store.nike.com

Is one of your ambitions to try and save the world? Maybe be little more enviro-friendly? Well the Native Union Play will assist in reducing the amount of paper you use leaving little messages around the house or work place for your friends, enemies, families and colleagues. This 2.4 inch screened device sticks to your fridge, or any magnetically attractive object and lets you leave a video/audio message for any desired recipient. Make sure you leave a message that other users owe you a percentage of the £50 it cost to buy this essential device.

It cannot be guaranteed that it will be used sensibly, in fact we recommend not to use it sensibly. It so much more fun. www.nativeunion.com

Since the android and iPhone app was created, it has opened up a universe of opportunities to better utilise our down time, never giving us a chance to be bored and keeping our brain active more than ever before.

Now giving an app for Christmas may seem a little pathetic, but it could affect your loved ones life more than a new pair of socks or a DVD. So here we have offered our top five applications to make sure you all have a Merry Christmas and an Happy New Year.

At 5 is 4OD’s catch up app which allows you to view the best of More 4, E4 and Channel 4. Did you miss a great documentary or are you a fan of Misfits and Fresh Meat but have such a full social life you never get to see it? Well never fear, 4OD Catch up enables you to stream all of these and much more straight to your device. It’s free to download, there’s no extra charge to watch anything, it doesn’t take up memory space and you can save you favourites. So what more could you ask for.

Grand Theft Auto is a global phenomenon in the gaming world with more than ten variations of the game. GTA Chinatown Wars for the iPhone and iPod touch takes it back to its routes with the birds eye view, easy to use controls and unique story line. It is the most critically-acclaimed handheld title of this type of game and provides endless amounts of fun as GTA always does, and at £1.99 it’s a bargain. If that’s a bit too much for you then a free ‘lite’ version is also available and is just a fun.

Dragon dictation comes in at 3. This is a great way to send out those Christmas messages without typing your fingers to the bone. All you have to do is ‘tap to dictate’ and talk. This free application will listen to what you have to say and write it down ready for you to text, email or post it wherever you like.

In second place is an obvious one but deserves it all the same. Angry birds. This game has won numerous awards and is the number one paid app and game in over 60 countries. With more than 250 levels to keep you entertained. There are a number of birds with different abilities (no…not like that!) I’m talking about birds with wings, some explode, some have super speed and one is just big and red. So there are plenty of ways to destroy those evil pigs that keep stealing your eggs. This app costs just 69p and once you’ve done that there are loads of updates and various versions to catapult your way through.

And finally we have handed the crown of top app this Christmas to Skype. Free to download, free to text and video chat, and cheaper to call anywhere in the world. The festive time of year is when we all like to get in contact with friends and family that we don’t usually speak to, so instead of a whopping phone bill to welcome in the New Year, just use Skype to keep connected.

If you think any apps should have been included in our top 5 then please let us know so we can try them out. Otherwise, make sure you have an appsolutely amazing Christmas.

Phillip Tottman

The Internet is an amazing thing with many features, but one of the main features is shopping! When I think of shopping online, one site in particular pops into mind eBay!! But many people out there are still unsure how to use eBay or even know what it is! Well Macs magazine is here to help!! With a quick buyers guild for eBay!!!

First of all when you visit the site you need to make sure you go to the United Kingdom domain by typing ‘www. Ebay.co.uk’ Not .com!

After you have visited the site and set up an eBay account you are ready to rock and roll!!

When buying any item on eBay you can either bid for it or sometimes you will have the ‘buy now’ feature, if you click ‘Buy Now’ you will be buying the product like you would from any other site… simple!

Let’s focus on eBay’s unique bidding system, to bid on the item you simply click on the ‘Bid’ button and enter in the amount you would like to bid up-to and then click ‘Confirm’ after that all you need to do is sit back and wait to see what happens, if someone were to outbid you, you can simply increase your maximum bid and enter a bidding battle!! Until the time for the bidding closes and the customer with the highest offer will win!!

Almost like going to an auction!!

Now after you have won a bid or brought an item using the ‘Buy Now’ button eBay will guild you through the sales process, but after this is complete you’re still not finished!!

EBay uses customer feed back to rate buyers and sellers so that other eBay users will know who’s trust worthy and who’s not (this will be displayed under their username by a percentage [the higher the better]).

To leave feedback all you need to do is click on the ‘My eBay’ tab at the top of the page and click on the ‘Purchase History’ button, here you will see all your past transactions, and at the near bottoms of the page on the left hand side there will be a ‘Leave Feedback’ button, click this and go down to the seller or buyer you want to leave feedback for to the right of their name will be a button that says ‘Leave Feedback’ press this and leave the feedback you want!!

And if you were to sell any items eBay works in a similar manner and will guild you through the whole process!!

So get out there and start ‘eBaying’ good luck and happy shopping!!

Do you use eBay? How do you find using it; easy or a bit of a pain? Macs magazine is always interested to hear your opinions so don’t be afraid to get in touch!!

Written by Daniel Titcombe

A beginners guide to the iPhone 4 iOS5

There seems to be an on-going battle between all ever changing smart phones. With the HTC, Samsung Galaxy and of course the apparent father of all devices, the iPhone. The fact that these contraptions are constantly being upgraded and renewed mean that it can either be quite hard to keep up with the trends, or if you are new to the smart phone world it can seem quite formidable.

Apple’s iPhone is a flagship product with its innovative design and workability, it defines an era of communication and even offers a new way of organising your life. When a phone does so many more things than make a call, it’s hard to ascertain how to best use all the functions. So instead of staring blankly at the tiny screen with its apps for everything, push notifications and a seemingly constant need to ‘use your current location’, here is a short list of what is probably some of the most useful operations of the iPhone 4’s iOS 5 factory setting.

Firstly the contact list, which no longer just holds a single telephone number. In fact it can hold numerous contact numbers including mobile, home and iphone number, home and work email, website, home address and even a full profile. This may seem a bit too much but it’s all information that we may need at some point and instead of having it all dotted about on various computers and address books it’s all in one place. Just don’t tell anyone that you know every little detail about them, it’s just creepy!

Messaging and emailing has never been easier or more serviceable. With numerous apps available to download from the app store (don’t worry, we will get to that in a minute!) which are ready and set to chat with your contacts for free. However the standard text service on the phone is just as good and as easy as writing a letter, just without having to rely on the Royal Mail for delivery!

iMessage is a messaging service between iPhones. You do need a Wi-Fi connection or 3G but it allows the user to send text, photos, videos, locations and contacts as well as enabling the operator to see when someone is typing. This makes it a fantastically simple and convenient way to keep in contact.

The App Store and iTunes is available for you to download the best Apps, music and videos straight to your device. All you have to do is set up your Apple id and off you go. Be sure not to get carried away though, its surprising how expensive using your fingertips can get.

A brand new feature for the iPhone is the notification centre which includes all your notifications, stock levels and even the weather report. Accuracy can never be guaranteed, does anyone trust a weather man?

Other ways to organise yourself is the reminder function. When you find yourself thinking ‘I must remember to…’ instead of inevitably forgetting this important piece of information, just whip out your iPhone a jot it down. These also connect to your iCalendar, so never again will you get home and realise that you have forgotten the milk or conveniently forget that dinner date to stay home to watch your favourite show.

The evolution of communication is endless, and can intimidate the most technical minded of us. But instead of hiding in the dark ages and being content with letter pigeons to keep in touch with everyone, why not embrace the immense universe of the smart phone. Only then will you realise that they are certainly more of a help that a hindrance and are surprisingly simple to use. So Instead of being dazzled by the tens of thousands of apps at

hand for you, this has hopefully given a taster of how to get the most out the iPhone 4 iOS5 by just taking it out of the box and funnily enough, mainly using it as a phone

We have been hearing a lot about this new social networking phenomenon but what exactly is Google+?

Google+ is Google’s answer to Facebook, a recent poll discovered that 40% of Facebook users don’t actually like using the site!! One of the reasons for this is due to the fact that Facebook is now littered with advertisements; Facebook is however still the world’s number 1 social networking site (as from a poll taken in July 2011) with over 700 MILLION users! With Twitter coming in 2^nd with 200 Million (still a lot but not as impressive as Facebook).

With 700 million users, the question is can Google+ really compete? Even with a name as big as Google backing the project it seems like an Everest of a task so can they do it? To do this Google+ has to offer something fresh and new! So lets have a look at some of the features that Google+ is offering.

One thing that stands out when using Google+ is that you don’t have friends you have ‘Circles’, the idea of a circle is that it allows you to group the people that you have added into different categories i.e. friends, work colleagues, followers, best friends, etc. You can even create your own circles!

The idea of having circles is great and it comes in handy when your posting a status that you don’t want a certain group to see! For example; say your going to a party and you want to write a post about how excited you are but you have work the next day. So you don’t want your ‘work colleagues’ group to see it because you have your boss added in that circle (and lets be honest a party normally means hangover.) Well once you have written your status Google+ will ask you who you want to see your post, all your circles will come up and so will an option to show the public, all you have to do is de-select the work colleagues circle and done your boss will never know and you can blame your hangover on having a cold.

Another great feature that comes with Google+ is the ‘Hangout’ option. This is where you can chose one of your circles and have a group webcam chat so it is actually possible to have a webcam conversation with more than one other person!! This feature has already gained a good name for itself due to it being used by Mark Hoppus from ‘Blink 182’ who has already used this feature many times to talk to his fans!!

That’s not the only handy thing about Google+! It also has elements of the Twitter social networking site so you are able to follow celebrities and people that would not normally add you has a friend so you can keep up to date with what they are doing in life (when they choose to post to the public).

Google+’s lay out is quite similar to Facebook and easy to use, it doesn’t exactly look pretty but with no advertisements hassling you it really does feel like your own space online. It also has ever growing megabyte space so you will always be able to update it with photos and video that you want broadcast.

To be honest Google+ has a lot going for it already and with it being one of the only social networking sites that allows you to keep some privacy instead of being forced to post everything to the world it already stands out. Not many people are on it at the moment as it’s still in the invite only stage (meaning you can only use it if someone you know has it and sends you an email allowing you to use it as well) there isn’t a lot to do on it and it seems a bit like a ghost town!

Once it is open to the public will it really become as big as some critics are saying? Will it be able to over throw Facebook as the king of social networking sites? Or will it just fail like many sites’ that have tried to compete in this vicious social networking market? What do you think?

Sources: (forpoles) http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites

Newspaper: ‘I’ newspaper issue date: 22^nd July 2011 issue number: 203 Page: 27