PC Advisor Awards 2012

If you're lucky enough to be winding down for Christmas - Why not take a few minutes to vote in the PC Advisor Awards

You could win yourself £250 to spend at Amazon

There's only five categories and you don't even have to vote in all of them.

The one we're interested in is the BEST SPECIALIST ONLINE IT RETAILER

We won it last year so it would be great to win again!

To make sure you're entered in to the prize draw you need to register your email address on the PC Advisor site before you vote not after.

Go here to register: PC Advisor Register

It will only take a few clicks to register then pop back to this post for the link to the awards

Go here to vote in the Awards: PC Advisor Awards

Good luck and have a great Christmas

NEWS RELEASE: The world’s first chain of personally curated, social shopping enabled online stores

MoreFrom.me is a groundbreaking e-commerce concept where anyone can personalise an online store, share it with their social network and earn commission on every sale.

The MoreFrom Group runs several websites including the award-winning MoreComputers.com On analysing customer behaviour, MoreFrom identified a particularly influential group who were recommending to their social network which products to buy and where to buy them.


MoreFrom set out to find a way to reward and encourage these important Facebook, Twitter and blog influencers. They created MoreFrom.me, which embodies this kind of social selling.

Brian Trevaskiss, Head of Marketing at the MoreFrom Group explains:"MoreFrom.Me combines the best marketing tool - (a recommendation from a family member or friend) with the power of social media.
It's an online presence individuals can personalise and curate, where they are compensated in a transparent and authentic way."

MoreFrom.me makes it easy for anyone to create a personalised online technology store. These influencers can curate from over 100,000 big brand and niche products, recommending them through their site and then through social networks. They can earn up to 13% commission for every sale they make.

Brian adds: "In targeting these groups we can increase our business revenues through viral networking by empowering a 'virtual' sales force. It makes for very effective marketing as these people have both access and credibility."



The MoreFrom.me model takes e-commerce and social selling to the next level. Brian identifies four key markets the service appeals to. "First are the technology enthusiasts, proud ‘geeks’ who people turn to for advice. A second group is made up of IT industry professionals who want a zero cost way to sell online. Third are non-profit organisations looking to raise funds, and lastly technology bloggers who can earn affiliate commission for sales of products they review."

Technology bloggers have embraced this idea in particular, Matthew Gibbons, creator of ‘All Things Android’ comments:"Our aim at All Things Android UK is to provide useful information that our readers can trust. If we recommend an Android device or an associated product, it’s because we’ve done our research and genuinely believe it’s a quality product".

"We created our online store All Things Tech UK as a natural progression from recommending products to being able to sell them. In one easy step readers can make a purchase based on what they’ve read. The very fact that they’re reading the blog in the first place means they trust what we’re saying and will invest in a product as a result."

ENDS

Notes to Editors
For enquiries and further information:
Please use this contact form
View and Download MoreFrom.Me images

About MoreComputers.com
Morecomputers.com is part of the MoreFrom group of websites. The MoreFrom Group evolved from the award winning website MoreComputers. The MoreFrom Group was launched in 2010. www.MoreFromGroup.co.uk

Chris Wheater and Simon Lewington founded MoreComputers.com in 1995 in order to provide technology products in a simple, painless way through a trustworthy and reliable service.

About MoreFrom.me
The world’s first ‘social shopping enabled’ online stores reward customers when they create personalised versions of the MoreComputers.com website and then recommend its IT products to purchase.
www.MoreFrom.me

Handy rechargeable USB batteries means it’s time to chuck out the chargers!

MoreFrom.me’s full of flash pieces of kit ranging from top of the range laptops to the latest LED TVs.

But sometimes, it’s worth noticing that good things really do come in small packages, especially a nifty product I’ve found very useful.



The Moixa USB Cell AA Rechargeable Batteries have proven to be a bit of a godsend in our gaff since we got our hands on these little beauties.

I’m a user of wireless mice and keyboards, and whilst in many ways they are spot on, they use up a hell of a lot of batteries. Batteries of course cost money, and rechargables are to be quite frankly honest a bit of a pain in the derriere.

Up until recently I’ve been using clunky chargers that take ages to boost batteries back to anywhere near an acceptable level of juice. Sometimes you even need to leave them on overnight, and carrying them around is just extra baggage.

However, these USB batteries just make life a little easier.


The premise is simple. Just plug these batteries into any USB port, and they will charge up in about 5 hours. Pop the top back on, put them in your device and they power it up. Sorted.

They’re great when on the move as there is no need for any cables, and I can finally cast off those blasted chargers.

Using them is going to save me money as I don’t have to keep shelling out on alkaline batteries, and also it will save energy that won’t be used up using chargers. That’s also good for the environment too.

Also, there’s no need to worry about losing the tops off them as they have a little cord that is attached to the barrel of the battery.

These are mightily handy things that I’m sure will come in useful in many situations. A must buy!

Discover the potential of MoreFrom.Me

Here's a link to morefrom.me/BrianTrevaskiss

I'd like you to see my MoreFrom.Me 'in action'. This will show you what it is and more importantly what you can do with it.

I've spoken to a lot of people in these first few weeks since we launched MoreFrom.Me and not surprisingly not everyone understands how it works. Some people haven't discovered it's full potential, I believe this is because there's nothing like it out there.

• It's not an affiliate scheme
• It's not a reward scheme
• It's not a shop in a box
• It's not a white label
• It's not a review site

It's kind of all those things rolled into one!

I've been adding reviews and recommendations (for things I've personally bought) to my MoreFrom.Me and if you take a look, you'll see how it changes the whole site.

Here's an example of how a reviewed product looks.

If you decide to buy anything I've recommended or indeed anything from my site, I'll earn commission. That's what happens with all MoreFrom.Me sites.

Lot's of people have set up a MoreFrom.Me and are earning good commision. Over the next few weeks I'll be introducing some of them to you, so you can see how they make the most of this new idea.

So, take a look at my MoreFrom.Me and if you decide you'd like one yourself go to www.MoreFrom.Me, it takes less than two minutes to set one up.

PS. If you do buy anything from my MoreFrom.Me I'll donate the commission to charity or somthing - I'm only using this as an example, not a money spinner for me!

How MoreFrom.org can help Schools, Charities and Clubs

MoreFrom.me has launched MoreFrom.org, a service especially for charities, schools and clubs. Here’s how it can help them raise money to buy new equipment, and also boost their profile.

A gadget and technology lover like myself was always going to be attracted to something like MoreFrom.me, but there are a whole host of other people and organisations that can benefit from it.

Their new .org service for schools, colleges, charities and clubs can help them purchase new technology equipment through the commission they make on their very own MoreFrom.org stores.
In education, it’s very important for schools and colleges to keep their equipment up to date by purchasing quality, value for money goods that can help students and staff.

By creating their own Morefrom.me stores, schools are put in charge of raising much needed funds for brand new IT equipment, efforts that promise to go much further than more traditional 'supermarket vouchers for schools' schemes.

With MoreFrom.org, schools and colleges can upload their own branding, logos, and descriptions on their own about us page. They will receive credit for everything they sell, something that will encourage parents to buy from their store rather than elsewhere, knowing their purchase will help their child’s education.

For charities, getting involved with MoreFrom.org is a great way of raising funds to buy brand new goods. But there are other benefits for a charity to have its own store.

With MoreFrom.Me continuing to grow, a personalised store is also a great platform to reach out and promote your charity, raising awareness of the good work you put in to aid your cause.

MoreFrom.org is beneficial for clubs too, especially if they are regular users of technology products.
Now, I’ve mentioned photographers before, but I must say this service would be great for snap-happy camera clubs. By recommending products they have tried and tested out, they can be seen as experts in their field. Let’s face it, people are going to buy from people who know what they are talking about.

This not only means customers will return to you in future, but with the credit you’ve earned from the sales you’ve made, it’s easier for you to purchase the latest models, try them out first, and then tell your loyal shoppers whether you would recommend the products.

All in all, I think this is another example of how MoreFrom.me is moving quickly to provide something that can work on different levels. They tell me there’s even more plans in the pipeline.

For what they are, we’ll have to wait and see.

MoreFrom.Me is 8 weeks old & we've added 8 new features since launch

It's been 8 weeks since the launch of MoreFrom.Me, (our afiliate/reseller program that gives you your own version of our website) and it's going great guns, we've already added 8 new features.

If you haven't had a look at us yet, you only need 60 seconds to watch our 'what is it' video.

Or if you've had a look and promised yourself a closer one, check out new features we've added:

Extra personalisation:

• Your own text in the 'About Us' page
• Links back to any existing site you might have
• Pick your own recommended products for your homepage
• Your reviews now take pride of place

Lots of tools to help you sell:

• Banners to add to any other sites you might have
• Custom signatures for your email
• Emails for you to send - 'Best Sellers' and 'My Recommended'
• An instant email newsletter of your tweets

All of these things are easy to do, as is setting up your MoreFrom.Me

Go to www.morefrom.me for more details

The Price You See = The Price You Pay

You may have seen that credit card surcharges are in news again. Which? say 'Consumers are paying £265k a day in airline card surcharges' and on BBC news 'Debit card surcharges must go' has over 150 comments.

The trend in tech retail to hide credit card surcharges, delivery costs and even VAT seems to be continuing. If anything it's getting worse. So much so, we need to stress even more that all our prices include everything - The price you see is the price you pay!

If you visit our sites you'll notice we've added a large 'No Credit Card Fees' sticker and every product page carries the line 'The Price You See = The Price You Pay'. We've done this so when people visit our site comparing our prices, they'll hopefully realise we're showing the total, final price.

We believe all retailers should be upfront about pricing and delivery charges, and the total price of a purchase should be made clear before a customer enter the checkout. Being sneaky about extra charges or only revealing them at the last possible moment is something certain retailers, even big well know names seem happy to do. Not us! Some retailers will add 1.5% as a credit card surcharge, right at the last minute, after you've entered all your details.

and another thing (to finish off my rant) watch out for retailers who'll charge you 10p per minute to telephone them. Even if it's to solve a problem they've caused! Then to annoy you even more they'll play you adverts while you're paying!

Thanks for listening, I feel better now.

New Categories & Products!

Just a quick update on some new categories to the site this week. With all the hype around tablet devices we've now added a category into the Computers section that currently contains 40 Tablets with offerings from all the best known brands such as the Motorola Xoom, Galaxy Tab, Asus Transformer, HTC Flyer and many more. We've noticed some retailers listing these in their phone department, but we believe they are much more of a laptop/netbook replacement so that's where we've put them. The Phones section still contains all the unlocked Smartphones on the market. To see my tablet recommendations check out my personalised homepage here. And if you want your own personalised homepage go here.

We've also updated the TV & Audio section to better reflect the range of Home Cinema systems, Bluray and DVD Players we have on offer.

In Components we've recently added Coolermaster and Xigmatek brands. The fastest growing area in components seems to be Solid state Drives which now has around 100 drives in stock.

And finally don't forget there are over 1600 software titles available for download from the top games publishers right thru to Microsoft. So no waiting in for a box to be delivered !

MoreFrom.me is Go!

MoreFrom.me is well and truly up and running. After waiting eagerly to find out what it was all about, and then being involved with all the initial tests and trials, I’m now set up on this unique social shopping concept.

So, how does it all work and what’s its appeal?

Getting started:



MoreFrom.me says it is easy and takes “two minutes” to get started. Now “two minutes” can sometimes be seen as a figure of speech and not an actual literal timescale. Like when you’re picking up that friend who's never quite ready and they say, “I’ll only be two minutes”, when you know it’s really going to be a lot longer as they frantically apply make-up/hunt for their keys/try to get out of bed.....

However, I found up setting up on MoreFrom.me and customising my layout surprisingly simple, and it does actually take only two minutes. Less in fact, if you don’t spend 30 seconds deliberating which picture of yourself looks best to use.

This is great for those of us with short attention spans, as we can quickly get started with MoreFrom.me without having to go through tiresome box ticking and the nagging thought, “is this all going to be worth it?”.

What’s in store?:

MoreFrom.me allows you to put your brand or your name on the award-winning MoreComputers site. You gain credit from every sale you make which you can then use to get money off when buying from their huge array of technology goods.

So, you’ve got your store, now what? First thing is, they’re not lying when they say there are tens of thousands of products. Thankfully, I found navigating my way through this myriad of technology goods simple as I could browse by category, price and manufacturer.

Then it’s up to you to recommend products and have a look around at what other people have picked out as key buys. The fact that you can see from users themselves what they think of products is crucial, as internet shopping has always seen consumers take note of testimonies.

Also, once you’re all set up, you can check out the hints and tips site for some excellent advice on how to get the best out of Morefrom.me on http://morefrom-me.blogspot.com.

Who’s really going to be into this?:

Because MoreFrom.me has so many product ranges there is a lot to attract anyone who uses technology goods, but there are some specific user markets for whom the service could be particularly useful.



An example of this is photographers. Now I know photographers, and if you get four of them in a room together they will talk ad nauseum about new products, accessories, ISOs, SLRs and other more technical subjects.

MoreFrom.me has hundreds of cameras and gadgets for photographers, but offering a platform for your own recommendations on products gives people the chance to become trusted sellers.

Schools and charities can also benefit from this as they gain a commission for every product sold which they can use themselves to buy IT equipment from MoreFrom.me.

My verdict:

Whilst Social Shopping is not necessarily a new thing, there’s nothing out there like the concept MoreFrom.me have. Gaining credit on products you sell is innovative and very appealing. The service has the potential to move into other marketplaces too, and I’m pretty sure there’s more to come from Morefrom.me in the future.

Overall, I have to say I’m mightily impressed! If you'd like to buy from TheLadyTron, click here!

MoreFrom Launches Social Shopping Concept

The following press release has been circulated today with details of our MoreFrom.Me launch

Sheffield, UK. August 2nd 2011

MoreFrom group, owner of MoreComputers.com, announced today the launch of MoreFrom.Me, the first implementation of their 'From.Me' social shopping concept.

It's well documented that online shoppers love recommendations and independent reviews from fellow shoppers. Even better is a recommendation from a person the shopper knows. The people giving out the advice and the writing reviews are often forgotten, 'From.Me' gives these people the profile they deserve and rewards these unsung heroes of online shopping.

The From.Me concept is simple: personalise, promote and earn

• An online retailer lets anyone set up set up a personalised 'from me' version of their website, in just a few easy clicks.
• The 'From.Me-er' (as they become) can then use their new site when recommending and reviewing. Sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ etc. is built in.
• When people buy the recommended product, the From.Me-er is rewarded with credit to spend at the retailers store.

"We were looking for a way to reward our customers, especially those helping other shoppers and helping us promote our site. The From.Me concept became the answer. It's easy for our customers to do, costs them nothing and they earn credit for doing something they were already doing" said Chris Wheater MD of MoreFrom group. "We soon realised the From.Me concept would be attractive to a wide range of retailers".

Gadget enthusiasts, gamers, IT companies and charities are amongst those who received early invites and are already using their MoreFrom.Me. 1000s more have reserved their usernames and have just been given access.

"This is just the beginning of the From.Me idea, we have many more customisable features already being developed. It's created 'Me Commerce'. A network full of genuine customer opinions, other customers can trust, that are delivered in a highly personal way". Added Brian Trevaskiss Head of Marketing. "MoreFrom.Me takes the whole concept of Social Shopping and makes it a reality".

MoreFrom.Me is free and you can earn up to thirteen and a half percent in commission. The award winning MoreComputers.com customer service team processes all sales, deliveries and returns.

-Ends-

Please link to http://www.morefrom.me


NOTES TO EDITORS:

• MoreFrom group is a group of websites best known for MoreFrom.com and MoreComputers.com.
• MoreComputers.com sells over 100,000 products including computers, televisions, cameras, accessories, telephones, satNav, MP3 players and downloadable software
• MoreComputers.com is rated as one of the best online retailers in the UK and is award winning:
• Won PC Advisor Best Specialist online IT retailer 2011
• Received six out of six stars for customer service in the PC Pro Awards 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010
• Won Best Online Retailer in the PC Pro Awards 2009
• Won Retailer of the Year in the PriceRunner awards 2006
• MoreComputers.com has a 94% customer service satisfaction rating, compared to the industry average of 85% (PC Pro magazine 2009 Service and Reliability Survey)
• MoreComputers.com was founded by Chris Wheater and is headquartered in Sheffield

Further background is at http://www.morefromgroup.co.uk

The press contact is Brian Trevaskiss on 0114 292 29 30

3 Weird and Wacky Innovations

As one of my tasks whilst undergoing my work experience placement, I was asked to scour www.MoreComputers.com for the most unusual and completely ridiculous things I could find. So, here you have it, my top 3 perplexing, interesting and on the other hand, plain daft products:

1. Swann Pro-430 Sprinkler Head CCTV Camera

This CCTV camera is perfect for catching unsuspecting troublemakers in the act. The very realistic design is a perfect disguise to hide it in any office, shop or school. Unfortunately, it does not give the wrong-doers a soaking but is a great novelty product none-the-less.
Just because the design is so cunning, don't think for one second that the spec is any less impressive...

It records in colour, the quality being decent too. Also, it can plug straight into any TV meaning that you need no 'middleman' products and makes the set-up very simple.

2. I-Fluid PC Video Game

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a drop of water?
Now you can spend an enthralling day-in-the-life of a water droplet, facing all it's challenges, with every-day objects becoming your worst enemy:

• Avoiding being absorbed by tablecloths, flour and scattered cake crumbs
• Balancing on sizzling vegetables, avoiding vaporisation from the heat of a deadly frying pan
• Escaping from deadly thirsty cockroaches during a Mexican party

This extremely odd and pointless game completely baffles me, but may be a great way for your children to be introduced to the world of physics (?).

Visit the i-Fluid official site for more details.

3. 3DConnexion Space Navigation 3D Mouse

This relatively new and unique piece of kit takes the world of mouses into a new dimension, literally!
You can now explore the depths of your PC. This is a great product, especially for animators and such like. They can fully enjoy the 3D graphics they've created and explore cityscapes as if you are actually living in your computer.

This product may be quite irrelevant and pointless to common people like myself but is a great way to explore and fully immerse yourself in all your 3D creations.

In Depth: The Hauppauge HD-PVR

The Hauppauge HD-PVR is a few years old now, yet it is still one of the best-sellers at www.MoreComputers.com but has it stood the 'test of time'?

Overview

What it can do:

Record TV programmes as a ‘middleman’ between a set top box and a PC

Record gameplay from most major games consoles including the PS3 and Xbox 360

Record in 1080i High Definition and in AVCHD Blu-Ray format to be replayed via a Blu-Ray player

Save the recordings directly onto your PC

Change the file type for compatibility with portable media players and YouTube using the provided PC software

With the software provided you can burn your recordings to DVD and Blu-Ray discs

Transfer your previously recorded programmes from your Sky box (or similar) onto your PC then burn them onto a disc

Transfer your VHS cassettes to discs using a VHS player, the HD-PVR and a PC

What it cannot do:

Store your recordings it’s self (it has no hard drive)

Record TV single-handedly (there is no built in tuner)

Play discs (there is no built in disc drive)

Burn discs without a PC

Burn discs, change file type etc. on a Mac, as the software is not compatible

In Depth

As you’d expect from any product of this type, it records your favourite programmes and films from your TV. However, unlike most, the Hauppauge HD-PVR doesn’t have a built in tuner this means it needs to be wired up to a freeview, satellite or cable TV set top box.

To makes matters worse there’s no internal hard drive, meaning you need a PC to save your recordings.

This means that the HD-PVR is a kind of ‘middleman’, you need 3 different devices (the HD-PVR itself, a set top box and a PC) to do what a traditional PVR does.

However, there are redeeming features for this product that make it worthwhile:

The HD-PVR can make real-time H.264 compressed recordings with a resolution of up to 1080i, 720p or VGA/D1 along with high definition 5.1 surround sound where possible, usually only achievable with high-end PVRs.

It also records in Blu-Ray AVCHD format so the included software, you can burn all your recordings onto a standard DVD or Blu-Ray disc, both of which can be played back on any Blu-Ray player for the full experience.

What’s more, you can record and watch your favourite HD shows simultaneously thanks to the Audio/Video component loop through, although, because there is no built-in tuner, you cannot record one channel and watch another.

It also has an IR Blaster to change the TV channel automatically so you can record what you want, when you want. This means you don’t have to be there to change the channel for the programme that you want to record.

A key feature is the ability to transfer your previously recorded TV programmes from your Sky+ box onto your PC. Unfortunately, this is a very tedious operation, to do so you must replay them back as they are re-recorded by the HD-PVR.

You can also transfer all your old home movies from traditional cassettes to your PC to burn onto a disc and give them a new lease of life using the S-Video input.

The included software selection: Arcsoft's TotalMediaExtreme, TotalMediaTheatre and MediaConverter, is a major bonus to this product, introducing numerous features...

You can convert your recordings to a games console compatible format, copy them to your console and play them back on your TV whenever you want.

You can convert your recordings into the correct file format for most portable media devices, to watch your clips on the move.

There is also the opportunity to convert your recordings into YouTube and Facebook compatible files, so you can share your favourite TV moments with all your friends.

Also, you can playback and edit all your recordings on your PC

In addition, you can hook up the recorder to your Xbox 360 or PS3 (and other consoles) to record seamless gameplay footage as you play. You can then uploaded your game highlights to YouTube and other online video sites, to show off your skill to your friends and family. This video pass through system, also means that the footage is uploaded to your computer whilst the recording is happening. This provides instant viewing, flawless recording and uninterrupted gameplay.

What’s in the box?

The product comes with everything you need to get started:

• The HD-PVR box - a mere 19.8cm wide x 17.3 cm deep x 7 cm high – this controls everything; it’s the nerve-centre of the all the recordings you’ll ever make.
• The HD-PVR PC software – System Requirements: Windows 7 (32/64 bit), Vista (32/64 bit), or Windows XP Service Pack 3. This is the software that you need to be able to playback and save your recordings onto your PC. N.B. this product is not compatible with Macs so, sorry to all the Steve Jobs’ out there but I’m afraid to say that this product is not for you.
• A power supply (for obvious reasons).
• A USB cable – connects the box to your PC.
• An IR Blaster cable – for the automatic changing of channels when recording.
• A Component video and audio cable set – all the standard cables required to set the HD-PVR up and connect with your cable or satellite top box or your games console.
• A Quickinstall guide – tells you everything you need to get going.
• Remote control – to control the functions of your set top box, not the product itself, in functions like changing channels.

Verdict

The HD-PVR was the first of its kind when it was released: a PVR (Personal Video Recorder) that can transfer all your recordings to your PC and can also record your gameplay from a games console. Now many other companies have stepped up to the mark with their own versions of a Personal Video Recorder to rival Hauppauge.

This product is great for everyone wanting to record their favourite TV shows and gameplay, and it's much better than any built in feature in a DVD or Blu-Ray player.

It may be a few years old, and with technology improving so quickly, you’d expect it to have been left behind. However, its' uses are as relevant today as they were when it was invented and it's still up there with the competition, keeping a sturdy foothold in the market. It does exactly what it says on the tin, providing an excellent video recording experience.

Received an average of 4.5/5 from MoreComputers' reviewers

Customers come first for MoreFrom.Me

Today was the day we officially told the world the name of our secret project. But we told our customers a couple of days ago to give them the chance to get in first.

We've been talking about our new project for some months (code named Project Chameleon), so it was genuinely exciting to be able to use it's real name, MoreFrom.Me, for the first time in public today. But why tell our customers about it before anyone else?

I'm still not going to give anything away as to what MoreFrom.Me is, but a major part of it is having a MoreFrom.Me name or username. As the name suggests, it's all about you. The name you pick becomes your URL, so it's great to grab the username you use the most, the one everyone knows you by. There's nothing worse than entering your name on a site only to find it's been taken already.

With all this in mind we decided we'd give our fantastic customers the chance to grab their favourite user names first. They also get the chance to reserve the desirable first names and single letters. Seems only fair to give the people who've supported us so far the chance to bag those cherished names.

Having said all that it's still early days and there's plenty of usernames left, so go reserve yours now at MoreFrom.me

OFT agrees 'rip off' surcharges are unfair

Great news today, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has agreed with Which?'s surcharges super complaint. We comply already and always have done! No hidden charges. No nonsense.

We've said hidden charges are annoying to online shoppers for a long time now, so it's great to see some action at last!

Cavendish Elithorn, senior director of the OFT's Goods and Consumer Group, explained that 'people are frustrated about being asked to pay for paying.'

He added 'consumers find it harder to shop around and find the best deal if they have to invest time and effort in discovering surcharges. This also weakens competition between retailers which is bad news for the UK economy.'

Which? use the budget airlines as examples, but online IT retail has plenty offenders too. The price you see is the price you pay on our sites. We look forward to transparent prices from others soon.

Once Again, More Brands Added This Month

It's that time of month again for me to spread the word on the latest brands to hit the MoreFrom sites. If you read my last blog, you will know we now have over 100,000 different products listed and we're still adding more.

As a proud owner of an iPhone and various iPod's, I'm pleased to report we now have many more 'i' Accessories for you to sink your teeth into. Personally, Griffin is my favourite brand when it comes to protective cases and there's now a large variety of these in 'MoreIPods'. They are not too expensive, look very smart and do the job. Griffin are well know in this area, although if you're shopping for a iPhone case with a bright and funky design, then take a look at Cygnett. Also in addition to these are XtreamMac, who produce iPhone cases and cables.

There is one particular accessory that excited me, the 'Griffin Slap' for the iPod Nano 6th Gen. It's a really clever product that enables you to strap a Nano to your wrist and avoids the hassle of removing it from your pocket to skip a track or change the volume. They come in a number of vibrant colours, and can turn your Nano into a watch when the display is set to the lock screen. Will this product be enough to put H.Samuel out of business? I don't know, although I do know I want one!









We've also added more software brands. Roxio produce some really useful format conversion kits, which enable you to convert various files and DVD's to iTunes and other portable device files - many of these are available for download also.

Like always thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or wish to highlight any brands you feel we should stock, please leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do about it. More brands coming soon.

A Round Up Of This Weeks Tech News

This week has already seen some very interesting goings on in the technology world. Nokia are in financial trouble, and rumours about Twitter's latest developments are making the rounds. However, in amongst the media frenzy lies some very cool and some quite pointless gadgets. Here are my favourites;


GoFlex Satellite Mobile Wireless StorageThis GoFlex Wireless storage device allows you to store and stream movies, music and images to up to three WiFi devices at the same time. Targeted at Tablet users, families who entertain their kids as they travel and people on the go, it is light weight, has a USB port and can be easily charged in the car. Sounds great, but is anyone else wondering what happens if you have more than three kids that all want to hook up to phones, iPads and laptops? Someone's bound to come across this issue at some point surely?


Folding Electric ScooterThe race is on in the motoring industry to see who can develop the fastest and most reliable electric vehicle. Not quite leading the way, but sneaking up from behind is this Folding Electric Scooter from Lit Motors. Not only is it carbon friendly and folds down to half its size, it is also suitable for carrying a large box or in this case a person. They hope to release this in the US later on this year, so if we are to see it in the UK, at a guess I wouldn't expect to see it on the shelves until early on next year.


Asus Padfone

Over the past few weeks I have been both excited and saddened by the Bento Book by Rene Woo-Ram Lee. Excited because it is such a genius concept, but saddened by the fact that at present it remains just that, a concept. So, imagine my amazement when I cam across the Asus Padfone, which is beyond just a normal Tablet, it is a Tablet and a Smartphone combined. Yes, really - the Smartphone simply slots into the back of the Tablet like a cassette and will all run off the latest version of Android - even better.


My only issue with both of these concepts, if I'm honest, is what happens when the phone rings? Think about it. Do you use the Tablet as a phone, or take it out and lose where you are at. This aside, I still wouldn't mind giving one of these a try, preferably the Bento Book, but until then the Padfone will have to do.


Pointless TechnologyBringing a whole knew meaning to the term "you snooze, you lose", this pointless gadget shreds your hard earned cash as you catch a few extra zzzzz's in the morning. I can categorically say that this is one gadget I would not like to test out. Who in their right mind would chose willingly to shred their money, seriously?

Review: Asus Eee PC Seashell Netbook by Karim Rashid

Last week I was lucky enough to get my hands on not one, but two Asus Eee PC Seashell netbooks to play around with and review for you.






At first glance, it is hard to know what to think of these two tiny netbooks. Both wrapped in a 'wave-imitating' plastic, I can 'sea' how they came up with the name (see what I did there?). Though nice to the touch, I do wonder if wrapping a laptop in 'touch and feel' plastic is a tad juvenile, arguably this could be Asus' target market of course. I have to say, the matt-brown netbook reminds me ever so slightly of a chocolate bar, enough to make my tummy rumble. The pink one could easily be mistaken for an Essex handbag, if I'm honest. 



Opening up the Asus Seashell, I was pleased to see one or two shiny pearls hiding inside. For example, blatantly taking some inspiration from Apple, it has a multi-touch trackpad which allows you to scroll and zoom in and out easily. Considering they are only small gadgets and not the easiest to type on, I was glad to find that the keys are raised and well spaced, again taking inspiration from Apple MacBooks. This makes typing on such a small gadget bearable.





However, as I switched on the netbooks, the Seashell sank a little in my opinion. The 10.1 inch screen is a tad clunky and the resolution is ok for a standard netbook, but nothing spectacular. It's not all bad news though, a play around makes it clear that, whilst these are no office computers, they are well designed and targeted at younger audiences.



The 'Eee Dock' at the top of the desktop, with 'Eee Amuse', 'Eee Sharing' and 'Eee Xperience' are clearly aimed at the under 20's, with games and entertainment taking president over setting out documents and day-to-day usability. Again the colours and textures (and we all know how I feel about pink gadgets), are more suited to style conscious teen girls, than anyone else.



If you were to ask me whether or not I would buy one of these for myself, I would say hell no. However, if you were to ask me whether or not I would buy or recommend one of these for a younger relative, or a girly, pink obsessed friend - then the answer is yes. 



As for Karim Rashid, I'm a little bemused as to why a man who designs chairs as beautiful as this for Magis, created a wavy, sea inspired netbook range for Asus?

We've hit 100,000 and not out! - What else could we have added?

With over 100,000 products now listed on the site, variety is something the MoreFrom Group doesn't lack. This week we added further brands to the MoreCameras Division for all of you camera lovers, which include a wider range of accessories to get your teeth into.

Nikon is a brand I am sure you will have heard of, they are well recognised in the camera industry. On the MoreFrom site, you can find everything from Nikon's fabulous budget-buy Coolpix Range, to their high spec models. If you call yourself a 'true pro', you might have come across the award winning Nikon D7000 series- this baby has more features than you could imagine, including a 16.2 MP CMOS sensor.

I am sure most will agree that a camera is not complete without its accessories. The newly added Lowepro range is definitely worth a punt if you're in the market for a camera case. They are recognised in the industry as the leading manufacturer in this area, and pride themselves with over 40 years of creating the perfect cases. We have also added Proper Bags to the site, they provide a range of generic bags & cases - these are definitely worth a look if you can't locate a compatible case for your camera. Another addition is UniRoss if your searching for a spare battery, rechargeable camera batteries and charging units. In addition we have added Sigma, who supply compatible lenses for leading brands Nikon and Canon. So, along with the other items in our Camera Accessories section, there's a good chance that if your looking for something in particular, MoreFrom can deliver it straight to your front door with free delivery.

If you have any questions or notice a brand/product you feel we should stock, please leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do about it. More brands to follow, thanks for reading.

We're supporting the Which? surcharges super complaint

Continuing our crusade against hidden charges we have at last been joined by consumer watchdog Which? who have launched a ‘super complaint’ against hidden credit card charges. A super complaint is made to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and can be made about any market that is not working properly for consumers. As consumers are not in the position to overcome this issue themselves, Which? have issued a super complaint on behalf of all consumers.

We’ve been championing this cause for many years with our “Philfing” campaign. “Purposefully Hiding what you are Looking For”, where retailers hide extra charges such as delivery and credit card charges in order to display what seems to be a cheap price.

The MoreFrom group sites have no credit card or other surcharges, but many of our competitors continue to hide extra charges until late in their checkout process in the hope that customers will complete their purchase regardless or assume that all retailers do the same. The price comparison sites are also poor at pointing out these differences and unscrupulous retailers simply play the game of advertising low prices to get consumers to their sites where they are then hit with extra charges.

WE DON’T DO THIS ! The price you see on our product page it the price you actually pay and our standard delivery is FREE, regardless of how much you spend.

So next time you are comparing prices, remember...

MoreComputers prices have no hidden charges

Take a look at the Which? Super Complaint web page for more details.

In the coming months we'll also be revisiting our online shopping annoyances survey to see if anything has really changed. More details on this soon.