Man rescued after using mobile phone to guide the coastguard to his location

At around 4.30pm on Thursday 27^th December, Yarmouth Coastguard received a call from a woman reporting that her husband needed help in the area between Brancaster and Wells. The man had been walking his dog on the beach when he became cut off by the tide. After attempting to swim to safety he realized he was in serious trouble.

Luckily he managed to get out of the cold water and telephone the coastguard and guide the rescue team to his exact location using the torch on his mobile phone.

The Wells and Hunstanton Coastguard Rescue Teams and a rescue helicopter from RAF Wattisham managed rescue the man and his dog and took the man to hospital at Kings Lynn where he was treated for exposure.

Christina Martyn, watch manager, said: “If you are cut off by the tide and find yourself unsure of your location, you should call 999 and ask for the Coastguard. Do not attempt to find your own way back by entering the water.

“To assist the rescue teams in finding you, we recommend you carry a mobile phone, not only so we can talk with you, but so it can also be used as a torch.”

It is important to keep your phone charged and have a contingency should you find yourself in a dangerous situation. The Universal Emergency Barrel Charger includes a range of tips for use with most handsets including Micro USB. It provides you with an extra 2.5 hours of talk time, all from one AA battery that can be replaced as many times as you need. Best of all it’s compact size means that it is fully portable, so you will never find yourself without power when you need it most! 

Make 2013 your fittest year yet!

The time of year is here where we assess our achievements and failures of the year past and make resolutions for the year to come. Even with the best intentions these are often forgotten by the end of January. The problem is that we usually set goals that are unachievable. It is cold an wet outside, the house looks bleak without the Christmas decorations and you just don’t want to have a salad and go for a run in the rain! 

So this year, why not make your resolution to set attainable, realistic goals and start slowly by introducing healthier habits into our everyday activities.

Start with small changes. Instead of surfing the internet in your lunch hour, go for a walk around the block; get off the bus a stop before you usually do; take the stairs instead of the escalator. All of the small changes that you make will add up to make a big difference to your health and fitness levels. Try to increase your activity each week. You could invest in a mobile fitness device such as the Fitbit Ultra to help you keep track of all of the positive changes you are making. The Fitbit Ultra monitors your daily activity to provide you with real-time feedback on steps, distance, calories burned, and stairs climbed to encourage you to walk more and be more active. It wirelessly uploads your data to Fitbit.com so you can gain deeper insight into your daily or monthly fitness and sleep levels with free online graphs and charts. On Fitbit.com, you can earn fitness badges, connect with friends to share and compete on fitness goals, or join the Fitbit community for advice and encouragement.

Make 2013 the year that you actually manage to change your health forever!

Throw the best NYE party ever!

If you are throwing a New Years Eve party this year and want to be sure that your guests don’t flake out before the main event, or you want to avoid the awkward silence and yawning as you wait for the strike of midnight, you might want to provide some entertainment… Start the New Year off with a bang and give them a party to remember with these great ideas to really get the party started...

The Appsing is perfect for when everyone has had a few celebratory drinks. It transforms your phone or media device into the most amazing karaoke machine. Simply slot your smartphone or media device into the Appsing’s universal cage and load your favourite karaoke app, follow the lyrics on screen and sing into the built-in microphone. A separate speaker unit will blast out your singing in stereo sound for everyone to hear! 

Don’t forget to film the fun- it will make perfect year-round blackmail material and will be a great conversation piece at next years New Years Eve party!

It is a good idea to pick a couple of fun interactive games that can include everyone- Make it competitive but keep it lighthearted!

The Appquiz  the most advanced interactive quiz game ever created and turns your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad into a fully interactive quiz machine, with mini games and 1000s of different questions! Just download the free quiz game and meet your charismatic quiz show host – Chuck Boldhart!

Go head to head with 2-4 players or play in small teams; Keep the game fresh and download new game content and quiz packs for hours of fun for all ages! 

Three great gadgets to spend your Christmas money on!

It is easy to get swept up in the Boxing Day sale frenzy and end up with a load of junk that you never really wanted and will never use again… But it seemed like such a good deal at the time!

If your Christmas cash is burning a hole in your pocket but you didn’t fancy queuing for the sales at two this morning, why not invest in something that you really want.

Here are three great gadgets that will give you year-round fun…

The Bubblescope is a remarkable little video and still camera that attaches to your iphone or ipad and captures 360 degrees of your surroundings at the touch of a button. You can then upload your videos and pictured onto Bubblepix.com and choose the angle at which you view it from. You can watch it back endlessly, changing your viewing angle each time so you never have to miss a second of any event!

Remote control toys are not just for kids, and this is not just a remote control toy… The AppCopter from AppToyz is a gyro-stabilized smartphone controlled copter! The appCopter uses your smartphone together with a free downloadable app to become the most intuitive remote control Copter ever! Turn on tilt control for an extreme flight! With an 8 metre flying range, the skies are yours to conquer!

Inspired by the iconic "mau5head", this Deadmau5 portable speaker features LED eyes that light up when connected to your music player. The portable speaker not only looks amazing, but it sounds awesome, too. You will be blown away by the high quality and clarity of the sound.  The Deadmau5 speaker is ultra-portable and can be charged via the supplied USB cable and the built-in Li-ion batteries ensure that you will have plenty of sound no matter where you are. Don't be fooled by the compact size- this speaker really packs a punch!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from everyone at Phone Zest!

Santa is on his way!

It’s Christmas Eve and in some places in the world, Santa has already begun delivering his presents! It’s not long until you find out whether you are on the ‘naughty’ or ‘nice’ list this year!

It you or your little ones can’t wait to hear the sound of reindeer hooves on the roof, you can keep track of Santa’s progress using your computer, tablet or phone!

Google Maps’ Santa Tracker is currently live! For the first time, Google Chrome users can install a special Chrome extension in their browsers so they can watch all of Santa’s travels live while they simultaneously surf for other information without having to open another Chrome tab.

These developments were announced this week by Eric Bidelman, a Chrome developer elf, in a post on the Google Chrome Blog.

“On Christmas Eve, as Santa makes his way across the world, you can follow his progress and keep tabs on how many presents he’s delivered with the Google Maps’ Santa Tracker,” wrote Bidelman. “And this year Santa’s developer elves went a bit further. They created a Chrome extension that enables you to simultaneously browse the web on your Chrome Browser and follow Santa along his route.”

The Santa Tracker Chrome extension can be downloaded from the Chrome Web Store.

That extension has a long list of other fun activities to explore, wrote Bidelman. “Before Santa takes off on Christmas Eve, you can also use the extension to follow the countdown to his departure, play around with his blimp, elf bus, and write messages on a frosty browser window.”

Santa fans can also use Google’s Santa Call feature to ask Santa to make a personal phone call to someone special this Christmas. The animated free service is interactive and asks the user to give some basic information about the recipient so that Santa can make a fun, personalised call to a phone or email address.

If you want to go mobile with your tracking this year, The NORAD Tracks Santa App is the official mobile app of the NORAD Tracks Santa program. Watch the days countdown to Santa's flight, follow Santa's progress on December 24, play "Thin Ice" to help Santa's elves deliver presents, and learn about NORAD and its mission.

It is available from Google Play or the App store

Don't forget to put your stockings out tonight!!

Charge your phone wirelessly in your car

BBC News reported today that Toyota plans to introduce the system for mobile devices in 2013 in its new Avalon sedan, using a charging standard known as Qi (pronounced "chee"). The wireless charging option will be a part of Toyota's $1,950 (£1,200) "technology package", said to be available from next spring.

To charge a device, a driver will simply have to place it on the mat, though the handset has to have a Qi protocol integrated in it. Qi works via magnetic induction that involves transmitting energy over a magnetic field.

Currently, Qi wireless charging is supported by 34 mobile phone models, including the LG Google Nexus 4, Nokia Lumia 920 and HTC Windows Phone 8X.

There are also add-on systems for other smartphones.

"Pioneering the ability to charge with no wires or connectors by simply putting devices in the car console is an intuitive innovation which reflects Toyota's continuing commitment to improve the consumer experience," said Randy Stephens, chief engineer of Toyota Avalon, in a statement.

Unfortunately, you may just have to keep plugging your phone in to charge it until the Qi becomes widely available!

It is important to remember though that cold weather and difficult driving conditions can affect your car’s battery. It is a good idea to keep an emergency charger such as the Universal Emergency Barrel Charger in the car for emergencies. Simply connect your phone and talk whilst charging. It includes a range of tips for use with most handsets, including Micro USB and powers up your phone so that it has up to 2.5 hours of talk time, all from one AA battery.  Keep a couple of spare AA batteries in your glove box and you will never be caught without battery again! It charges your phone for without running the risk of draining your car battery- great for avoiding that mile-long trek in the rain to the emergency phone when you break down just as your phone runs out of battery power!