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Introducing the Dublin Smartphone Film Festival

Marty
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Introducing the Dublin Smartphone Film Festival

We recently put together our mission statement for Goos3D. Sure, we love having the craic but there’s actually a motivation behind everything that we’re doing. At the core of it all, we want everyone to try out new things with technology. That’s why we’re delighted to announce that Goos3D will be joining forces with the Dublin Smartphone Film Festival as an official media partner.

What is the Dublin Smartphone Film Festival?

Set to take place in 2018, The Dublin Smartphone Film Festival is Ireland’s latest International Film Festival dedicated to filmmakers exclusively using mobile devices. The festival will screen a host of short film, documentary, animation and music videos, with industry and educational workshops as well as a few surprises.

We love the idea behind this festival as cinema-quality cameras are accessible to everyone these days. That’s no exaggeration either. Martin Scorcese once insisted on using footage filmed on an iPhone in a brief scene for the Wolf of Wall Street using an iPhone.

The goal of the festival

We’ve partnered with the Dublin Smartphone Film Festival because their goals are so close to out own. Smartphones and tablets have removed the expensive barriers to filmmaking. Mobile devices offer all the tools a filmmaker needs, right there in the palm of their hand. The festival’s mission is to encourage the next generation of filmmakers to share their stories and to provide them with a platform to present these stories to a wider audience.

Categories in the 2018 Dublin Smartphone Film Festival

The festival is accepting submissions now for 2018 in these categories:

  • Grand Jury Prize
  • Best 360/VR Film
  • Cinematic Film Award
  • Best Irish Film
  • Best Animation
  • Best Fiction
  • Best Music Video
  • Best Documentary

and entries should be no longer than 15 minutes long and will be charged a small submission fee, with submissions passing through the festival’s Film Freeway site. Judges will be on the look out for strong concepts, originality and inventive use of technology. There promises to be awards and prizes in each category with every submission getting feedback.

When does the festival take place?

The festival will take place in January 2018. There’s plenty more news to be announced in the coming weeks and months. To keep up to date, give the official festival page a like on Facebook and check out the festival’s site.

We’re extremely excited to play a part in this festival, so keep an eye here too as we’ll be bringing you tips, tricks and apps that’ll help you in your journey towards becoming a great movie maker.

 

Has The White Moose Cafe owner Paul Stenson been arrested?

Marty
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Has The White Moose Cafe owner Paul Stenson been arrested?

I’ve been really getting into Snapchat recently, which is a shame because there’s a fair chance it’ll die like Vine. But I digress. One of the most prolific and enjoyable Snapchatters that I follow is the controversial White Moose Cafe. According to posts on Facebook and Snapchat this morning, the cafe’s owner, Paul Stenson, was arrested this morning.

Who are the White Moose Cafe?

The cafe is based in Dublin 7 and is a part of Charleville Lodge Hotel. Between them, the two businesses have never been too far from making headlines. In the past, they published CCTV videos of customers eating after making a complaint and most recently went on a somewhat justified tirade against someone who left a negative review. They’ve even taken on eir after getting a massive roaming bill. Their own promo video will go some way towards explaining what they’re all about:

The White Moose Cafe uses social media like Facebook and Snapchat to increase their notoriety. Their videos are usually manned by Paul Stenson, the owner, and his boyfriend Jason. Again, they’re rarely too far away from doing something mad on social, but apparently, they’ve overstepped a line.

Was Paul Stenson arrested?

If we take everything at face value, Paul Stenson was indeed arrested this morning. A plain-clothes detective can be seen on the cafe’s Snapchat account informing Paul that there was a complaint about a video he’d made on Snapchat. Then, in a series of Snaps, the Garda brings Paul through the usually arresting malarky, handcuffs him and lobs him into the back of a Garda van. Here’s the Snapchat story for you:

Surely this arrest is a stunt, no?

Every part of mean is jumping up and down saying this is another White Moose Café stunt. But there is a fair bit of evidence to the contrary.

  1. Yesterday the White Moose Cafe was suspended on Snapchat, suggesting someone did indeed report them
  2. It’s unlikely you’ll ever find a Garda willing to handcuff and detain someone as part of a prank
  3. White Moose Cafe and Paul Stenson have a lot of enemies
  4. Paul does the awkward “shite I’ve to talk to a Garda face”
Classic "I've to talk to a Garda face"
Classic “I’ve to talk to a Garda face”

With that said, there’s still a massive chance this will unfold to be a PR stunt. There are parts of this that just come across like a low-budget TV drama. Paul was conveniently Snapchatting important moments in the story and, while doing so discreetly, wasn’t stopped by the Garda from filming the arrest.

The “reading of rights” by the Garda sounded thrown together and surely a bit of questioning would have gone on before an arrest? If I was a gambling man, I’d say that van was also empty leaving the property.

Finally, when a loved one gets arrested, you usually turn to a solicitor, not a Twitter hashtag:

What could they have done wrong?

It’s difficult to know exactly what would have set someone off. Paul and Jason are just back from touring Rome and the Vatican, so some believe it’s possible that they’ve breached that bloody Blasphemy Law by dissing the Pope. I’m far from convinced by this argument as the lads were in Italy, hardly a problem for the Gardai. Was it Jason’s bare arse dancing in the shower? Paul was triggered into a rant about people following their Snapchat and reporting them instead of just not watching. This actually supports the idea that it’s all a PR stunt.

If you’re brave enough, wander into the comment section of their post and you’ll be able to read about the conspiracy theories in full.

Unfortunately, if you want to find out whether this is a prank or not, they’ve done it again and made waves online. To find out the truth, you’ll have to do exactly what they want you to do: follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat.

Update: Paul is back on Snapchat with Jason. Clearly, in the cafe, Paul plays out that he’s still under arrest, signing of a series of tweets:

Considering I’m still in a prison cell, you should definitely believe everything you see online

It would appear to have all been a worthwhile prank, with Stenson claiming their Snapchat had gained 15,000 followers in one afternoon. How do you feel about it all? Let us know in the comments.

 

New on Netflix: We’ve watched The Circle so you don’t have to

Marty
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New on Netflix: We’ve watched The Circle so you don’t have to

For me and many others, Netflix has had an unprecedented string of original hits. There’s nothing more exciting that when you log in and see there’s a new movie on your home screen. Imagine my excitement to see Emma Watson and Tom Hanks starring in a brand-new Netflix Original techno-thriller called The Circle. Naturally, I didn’t hesitate but about twenty minutes in it became clear that this wasn’t a Netflix Original at all. It’s actually just a load of crap.

What is The Circle all about?

The Circle is a techno-thriller that samples various elements of our online lives, dipping into companies like Google and Facebook for inspiration. The plot, if you can call it a plot, follows Mae Holland (Emma Watson) move from utility company customer care into tech company visionary. Here, she opens up her life to the world through technology. This might sound familiar to followers of Motivating Marty, which returns soon.

Mae joins The Circle working in customer care. When the company gives her suffering father, Bill Paxton in his final role, health insurance, Mae decides to repay The Circle by going fully transparent. This means the world can watch her life, leading to her meteoric rise within the company. She then pioneers a technology called Soul Search, which in the space of 20 minutes locates a child murderer and leads to the death of Mae’s childhood friend. All the while, Finn from Star Wars is floating around in the background while Carla from Scrubs makes a brief cameo.

Throughout the movie, The Circle is progressively imposing themselves on the public, breaking down the walls of privacy. The results range from ruined relationships to death. By the end of it all the film is out of control. You can see that the creators obviously just had money to spend and axes to grind against the technology world, only succeeding one of these.

Why does The Circle suck so much?

First of all, the movie has this line in it that became a tagline and it’s awful:

Here on in, there are spoilers. Well, they’re only spoilers if you plan to watch this film, which you shouldn’t.

The movie takes an early stance that technology is bad and that’s fair enough. Actually, quite a few of the privacy topics that they touch on are genuine concerns. The problem comes when the creators focus so much on ‘tech being evil’ that they forget they’re making a movie. By the end of the movie, you’ve seen loads of tech-paranoia and it’s a wake is a waste of some great acting ability. Like, come on, they had Finn from Star Wars and Emma Watson. The writer obviously hoped that having familiar faces on screen would be enough and by combining that with the fear of tech, it would be a guaranteed home run.

 

Did it have to be a terrible movie?

Not at all and here’s why.

The cast of The Circle

This movie has a cast that usually means quality. Instead, the cast was just another crutch the director and writers leant on:

  • Tom Hanks
  • Emma Watson
  • John Boyega AKA yer man from Star Wars
  • Carla from Scrubs
  • Patton Oswalt
  • Bill Paxton

Technophobia is a load of balls

Don’t get me wrong – we need to stay astute and on top of what the world’s biggest tech companies are doing with our data and privacy. But, this film took the piss going straight towards scaremongering. Now, I’m not a fan of scaremongering as you may have read in the past, but this was next level stuff.

The verdict

Leaving aside the fact I love technology, The Circle could have made some valid points regarding online privacy. Instead, it just jammed a load of scenes into a row, insisting it was a film and botching its own arguments as a result. The ending, of good Christ, the ending. Actually, was there an ending? It’s hard to tell – maybe it was a terrible cliffhanger. Oh no, there could be a sequel.

This could have easily been a movie of Snowden-style and impact, but instead – well it’s a load of shite. Don’t waste your time watching it and please don’t make another one.

 

How to buy the Nokia 3310 in Ireland

Goosed.ie Team
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How to buy the Nokia 3310 in Ireland

In a world where mobile smartphones are becoming increasingly complex (to the point where they have so much going on that they overheat, catch fire and explode), a lot of people have started yearning for a bit of simplicity in their telecommunications devices. And since nostalgia is worth big bucks these days, those clever people at Nokia have gone back to basics by revisiting their most famous phone: the Nokia 3310.

For those of you whippersnappers who don’t recall the Nokia 3310, it was the ‘must-have’ tech gizmo of the early ‘00s and the most popular mobile phone of its day. An intuitive design, user-friendly interface, long battery life and battle tank-like sturdiness made it a real crowd pleaser. So much so, that we were able to resurrect some of these last year while raising money for charity.

Now, Nokia has released a revamped version of the 3310. Fans of the original have met the new version with a combination of excitement and suspicion. With mobile phone technology advancing so much in the last dozen years, the new Nokia 3310 has had some upgrades given to it in order to help it ‘get with the times’. But are these necessarily a good thing? As any self-respecting Star Wars fan will tell you, change isn’t always a good thing.

Is the new Nokia 3310 worth picking up, and how does it compare to the original?
Here’s our in-depth run down.

Battery Life

One of the best things about the original Nokia 3310 is that its battery seemed to be akin to an Everlasting Gobstopper, it just kept on trucking like an Energizer Bunny on performance enhancing drugs. Depending on how much you used it, the original’s battery lasted anywhere between 55 and 265 hours. The new version matches these time frames, which is quite impressive seeing as it is a more complex beast with more going on in there. When compared to most modern smartphones, this is a pretty incredible return on battery life.

With that in mind, the Nokia 3310 is quite ‘travel-friendly’, i.e. if you’re going away somewhere for the weekend you don’t have to worry about bringing your charger with you. This makes it particularly handy if you have a music festival to go to and don’t want to be left phoneless after a few hours.

Camera

One of the more controversial aspects of the new Nokia 3310 was the introduction of a 2-megapixel camera with LED flash. While this is a nice feature, purists will note that the original model had no camera at all. While it is by no means the best mobile phone-mounted camera out there, it’s not a bad addition by any means. Truth be told, it would probably be a bit weird using a phone that didn’t have a camera these days, since the camera feature has pretty much become second nature to most people these days. Sure, adding a camera to the 3310 may sound like heresy to some, but you don’t have to use it and it doesn’t really detract from the phone’s overall usability or aesthetic.

Playing That Funky Music

Another thing which the new Nokia 3310 has which the ‘00s version lacked is the ability to play (non-polyphonic ringtone style) music. You can opt to plug into the new FM radio functionality or listen to your own MP3 files (which you can add to the phone via a mini SD card slot which allows you to add an extra 32 gigs of memory, essentially doubling the phone’s storage space). The new version also has internet access, with a pretty basic web browser pre-installed. Internet use on the new 3310 is pretty clunky however, so not recommended for prolonged use.

Looking back at the 2000 original, it’s hard to believe that it didn’t even have basic things like a means to plug in headphones. But hey, at least it had a built in calculator right? Ah yes, the Nokia 3310 truly was the bane of every secondary school maths teacher who ever told a student that, “You won’t just have a calculator in your pocket!” – simpler times indeed.

Weight Issues

Perhaps the main reason why the Nokia 3310 lives so fondly in our collective memory is that they were notoriously hard to break when compared to today’s relatively flimsy smartphones. If a modern smartphone were a sleek sportscar, the original 3310 would be an armoured personnel carrier; it’s not particularly fast or pretty, but it’ll take a beating! So ingrained in our subconscious is the durability of the Nokia 3310 that it has its own Know Your Memes page.

This is where most people are going to have a problem with the newly revamped version of the Nokia 3310; it just isn’t that sturdy. Weighing just over half the weight of its predecessor (79.6g compared to 133g), it is noticeably lighter. While this is good in a way, as it doesn’t feel as hefty in your pocket or bag, the downside is that it can’t take the same amount of punishment as the original could. Those things could literally survive bouncing down a couple of flights of hardwood stairs with little to no ill effect (except for the damage caused to the stairs!). In an attempt to modernise, Nokia have scored something of an own goal by taking away one of its best and most iconic features.

Layout and design

When it comes to size, the new version of the Nokia 3310 is a little bit taller and wider (mostly to accommodate a bigger screen) and noticeably ‘thinner’ and sleeker. The screen itself stretches to 2.4 inches and displays in full colour (as opposed to the original’s various shades of green), making for a much better user experience overall.

The extra bit of space to play with has allowed Nokia to add a bit more space between buttons on the new 3310. They say this makes texting easier, and helps users avoid hitting the wrong keys, but truth be told, that was never really a big issue with the original, so it feels like a bit of a moot point/change.

Snakes Alive!

Everyone remembers spending countless hours playing that blasted Snake game. The new version of the 3310 has an expanded version of Snake (Snake Xenzia as opposed to Snake II) which boast a few new features to keep things interesting. Don’t worry, it’s not too complex, so you’ll still be able to go down the rabbit hole and spend many hours instinctively chasing food pellets, missing all manner of bus stops, important meetings and deadlines in the process.

Is the new Nokia 3310 worth getting?

Truth be told, if you are tech savvy, the revamped version of Nokia’s 3310 isn’t going to rock your socks off and make you want to replace your high-end smartphone. Once the nostalgia factor wears off, it quickly gets exposed as the outdated piece of kit that it truly is. Using the internet, in particular, is something of a chore, for the most part, so you probably would get sick of it after a while.

However, it would serve you well as a backup to your main phone, particularly in situations where opportunities to recharge batteries are scarce and the potential to lose your phone is relatively high (like when at a music festival or camping trip for example). Given the reasonable price point (they retail at €85 or lower), they work pretty well in this regard as you do get considerable bang for your buck.

They’d also make a pretty good option for less tech-savvy relatives who need a mobile phone but aren’t interested in “all that fancy stuff” – nice and basic, and easy to use.

 

 

 

Happy 10th Birthday to the Apple iPhone

Jon
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Happy 10th Birthday to the Apple iPhone

Today is one of them weird and random days in the tech world that just makes all of us take a step back and realise how far we have come in such a short space of time. Today quite possibly the most iconic phone of all time (sorry Nokia 3310) has turned an amazing ten years old and honestly without the blocky and ugly as hell first edition iPhone we wouldn’t have smartphones as we know them. Your probably reading this on a smartphone, this wasn’t possible only a few short years ago.

Just imagine what the world would be like if the humble brick phone was still the norm. We tried this not long ago and it was rough. A world without touchscreens, no App or PlayStore…. oh and we still had headphone ports buts let’s just focus on the good stuff. Without the first iPhone, none of the flagship phones we know and love would exist, social media could still be Bebo and Snake could still have been the only game you would know. Personally I couldn’t imagine how much public transport sucked 10 years ago.

Here’s the man. The myth. The legend.  Steve Jobs making the announcement that changed the mobile game forever.

Having rewatched the unveiling and remembering how big this move was it is impossible to forget how influential Steve Jobs in Apple. Have they done anything relatively groundbreaking since his passing? Personally, I don’t think so, but that’s just this chaps humble opinion.
It really isn’t hard to recognise the impact the iPhone has had on the telecommunications industry let alone the world. The word app didn’t even exist back then and now Apple is seen as the benchmark for every single smartphone release in recent memory. Even Samsung the other big powerhouse have been guilty at times of trying to emulate the iconic nature of the iPhone- the five-year court case between the two for breaching copyright law was only finally put to bed in the last year.
The iPhone essentially created the smartphone and destroyed Nokia in one swift shot. This legacy still holds tough a decade later as in 2016 it was announced over one billion iPhones have been sold globally in the last 10 years. While poor old Nokia is once again still trying to claw their way back from the brink.
Admittedly over the last few years, sales have started to dwindle for a number of reasons, a more saturated market with the likes of OnePlus starting to take a slice coupled with the apparent lack of innovation from Apple. The public is ready for the next big thing and if Tim Cook is to be believed then the soon to be released iPhone 8 will apparently bring updates better than those seen in the phones since 2007.
So to the phone that is probably the only reason I have a job, Thank you. Really I mean that.

 

Unboxing the OnePlus 5: The giant killer is now a giant

Nigel
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Unboxing the OnePlus 5: The giant killer is now a giant

For a couple of years now, the OnePlus range has been a plucky underdog, nipping at the heels of the big-brand smartphones. This year, it looks like the giant killer is set to become a giant with the launch of the OnePlus 5.

With a full review now in the pipework, I first unbox the OnePlus 5.

Can tech help provide insurance for young drivers?

Marty
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Can tech help provide insurance for young drivers?

Ireland is in dire straights at the minute when it comes to car insurance. Drivers up and down the country are getting ridiculous quotes for premiums and renewals. Now, pause for a moment and imagine your a young driver who can no longer swing the name driver with a parent trick. Yeah, pretty harsh scenario right? BoxyMo is hopefully going to do something about that making insurance for young drivers more accessible.

What is BoxyMo?

The biggest problem with car insurance is that one size does not fit all. If you’re a young and responsible driver, you’d feel fairly hard done by to see an older bad driver get preferential treatment. Even as I typed that, it seemed unfair, but it’s happening in Ireland right now simply because it’s how car insurance is sold. A growing motto here in Goos3D Tower is how much we love disruptive tech, tech that changes how we do things. BoxyMo fits that mould.

The biggest problem with car insurance is that one size does not fit all

Simply put, BoxyMo is a really simple device that gets fitted to your car and reports on your driving. The better your driving, the lower a risk your are and so the lower your car insurance is.

What does BoxyMo monitor to determine risk?

BoxyMo looks scans several different aspects of your driving to determine your risk on the road:

  • How often you drive after midnight
  • How often you drive
  • Harsh acceleration
  • Hard breaking
  • Breaking speed limits

The tiny little box in your car reads all these signals and adjusts your insurance respective.

How much does BoxyMo cost?

How good a driver are you? Without trying to be smart, it really does depend on your driving style. We got in touch with BoxyMo and they’ve said that their drivers have experienced savings up to 20%, once they’re responsible on the roads of course.

In an effort to try and connect with younger drivers, the company this week launched a retro-styled 8-bit game. While the game is pretty cool and all, the character names just tickle that part of my humour that I’m pretty ashamed to admit exists.

boxymo provding insurance for young drivers

Jump in and give the game a go.

iD Mobile Set to Leave Irish Market – Who’ll Replace Them?

Marty
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iD Mobile Set to Leave Irish Market – Who’ll Replace Them?

There’s a fair chance you’ve never heard of iD Mobile. That seems to be the reaction I’ve always got when I tell people what network I’m on. It’s a real shame as iD entered the Irish market two years ago to shake things up with a great concept, eventually delivering but never gaining momentum. Today, Dixons Carphone announced their preliminary results for 2016/2017. Contained in these results they announced their intention to remove iD Mobile from the Irish market.

Who Is iD Mobile?

iD Mobile is an MVNO powered by Carphone Warehouse which runs on the Three mobile network. Following Three’s acquisition of O2 in 2013, the EU ruled that to preserve competition in Ireland, Three must support the creation of new networks. This ultimately led to iD Mobile and Virgin Mobile being created.

iD is a fairly innovative network, which keeps the cost of your phone and plan separately in the interest of transparency – a feature replicated by Virgin Mobile. Since their launch in 2015, iD Mobile has failed to make an impact on the Irish market and was dogged with technical issues and poor handset ranges. This paled in comparison to the UK equivalent of the network which continues to go from strength to strength. iD Mobile’s poor performance in Ireland has ultimately led to the news today that Dixons Carphone plans to cease the MVNO’s operations in Ireland.

iD Mobile Set to Leave the Irish Market

We have made the decision to exit our iD mobile operations in the Republic of Ireland

In their annual preliminary report, Dixons Carphone, the umbrella group for Currys, PC World, Carphone Warehouse and iD Mobile, outlined various areas of success the business was enjoying. It concluded a generally positive roundup of the UK and Ireland by stating their plans to remove iD Mobile from Ireland:

“We have made the decision to exit our iD mobile operations in the Republic of Ireland. The iD mobile operations in the Republic of Ireland represent a different business model to the UK, as it is a capacity MVNO with options for expanding its spectrum. This brings with it excellent control, but that comes with upfront costs and increased administration, and we believe the business will flourish faster under dedicated ownership.”

Who Will Buy iD Mobile Ireland?

It’s still all speculation as both Carphone and iD Mobile have remained tight-lipped since the announcement. Looking to international markets for inspiration, here’s who could be Ireland’s next MVNO:

Sky Mobile Ireland

I can’t imagine there are many organisations more interested in this news than Sky Ireland. Having just launched an MVNO in the UK, the scene would appear to be set for Sky to buy up iD Mobile. This would level the playing field between Sky and Virgin Medias customer offerings as all iD customers become Sky customers. It’s not going to be Three-gate all over again so don’t expect to be getting a free phone if you’re in a contract.

SuperValu Mobile Ireland

If Sky isn’t the one to swoop in, things could get really interesting. While travelling recently I couldn’t help but notice a lot of German supermarkets, like Aldi and Lidl, have their own mobile networks. Tesco Mobile has taken an impressive 6.1% market share since its inception, so it’s likely other brands want a piece of the cake. In the UK, ASDA has shown there’s space for two grocery MVNOs.

Irish grocery giant, SuperValu, has shown interest in MVNOs in the past, commissioning Webfactory to investigate what their online presence would look like. SuperValu has also expanded their interests into car insurance recently, suggesting they see the benefit in providing additional services for their customers.

SSE Airtricity Mobile Ireland

Ok, so this one is reaching a fair bit but Airtricity did try to launch an MVNO in the UK back in 2014. This was halted by the UK energy regulator. Mobile plans contribute to the maximum of five plans electricity providers are permitted. After sinking £25 million into the setup, SSE Airtricity Mobile was dead in the water.

Ireland’s energy regulator doesn’t have similar rules. So, with regulation issues unlikely to hamper SSE making a move in Ireland, but the events in the UK will surely have hurt.

Red Bull Mobile Ireland

Ah, Red Bull. Is there anything they won’t put their name on? F1 cars, football teams, extreme sports and wakey-wakey juice. Red Bull seems to have an endless stream of ideas and money. Personally, I’d love to see them enter the MVNO market in Ireland – and it’s a business they know.

Red Bull Mobile Ireland wouldn’t be Red Bull’s first MVNO. They already have a network in both Austria and Poland. They would have the fire power iD Mobile lacked to capture the public’s attention.

Magnet Mobile Ireland

Mainly because I have little to no life, I was browsing ComReg’s Quarterly Report and came across Magnet. Magnet is a fairly well-known broadband provider, especially in areas that can’t get traditional fast broadband. Magnet would be an ideal fit as Ireland’s next MVNO as they already offer Aer TV, a digital service similar to Saorview. eir and Virgin Media have already shown TV and mobile are a good combo in Ireland, with Sky doing the same in the UK. I’d consider Magnet another outside shot, but surely another option for Carphone Warehouse to consider.

I’d consider Magnet another outside shot, but they do fit. BlueFace is a similar service provider also offering business lines which runs an MVNO so Magnet is surely another option for Carphone Warehouse to consider.

These are just some of the companies that could be the next MVNO in Ireland, but the list of potential suitors is endless. Today, loyalty is worth a lot to big businesses. By adding mobile services, companies can increase the amount of revenue they generate per person. For that reason, iD coming onto the market has caught the attention of many.

There is one final possibility which I really hope doesn’t happen. iD might not be sold and eventually cease to exist.

When Will All This Happen?

With the limited information we have, it’s impossible to know how long this will take. Should a prospective buyer like Sky show interest, the process is likely to speed up quite a bit.

Once something get’s confirmed, we’ll update this post.

You can now ship packages to Ireland from the US with AddressPal

Marty
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You can now ship packages to Ireland from the US with AddressPal

An Post has been having a hard time of it lately, running at a loss of almost €16m last year. Rather than bury their head in the sand, led by Chief Executive David McRedmond, An Post are changing how they do things, mainly to suit the new breed of online shopper. Their latest innovation is massive, as their virtual address service, AddressPal, now lets you get packages shipped to Ireland from the US.

What is AddressPal?

We’re massive fans of virtual address services. It al kicked off with Parcel Motel a few years back, which gave you a UK address. You could order items from Amazon.co.uk to this address and then Parcel Motel would ship it to Ireland for you. These virtual address services stoked the fires underneath Irish shoppers an in 2015, 86% of Ireland’s online shoppers made an international purchase.

AddressPal, launched in 2016, is An Post’s answer to Parcel Motel. At launch, it was just another service offering virtual UK addresses, but now they’ve added virtual US addresses.

This means you can order from retailers in the US who charge a fortune for international shipping or who don’t offer it at all. Get your credit cards out.

How does a virtual US address work?

Shipping a package to Ireland from the US is about to get remarkably easy thanks to AddressPal. Once you sign into your account with An Post, you’ll be able to upgrade to include US shipping. That means along side your virtual UK address, you’ll now have a virtual US address:

an post now offers a virtual us address through addresspal

Unlike your virtual UK address, you won’t be able to pick up packages from the US at the post office, instead they’ll be delivered directly to you.

Until now, Irish shoppers generally depended on travelling to the US themselves and stuffing an empty suitcase with as much Abercrombie stuff as possible. Alternatively, there were costly options like MYUS and Border Linx, who generally charge over €30 a pop to ship items to Ireland. With AddressPal’s virtual US address, you can now get items up to 2kgs sent to Ireland for €15.99.

Why is this so great?

If you’re into your gadgets, this will be music to your ears. Getting the likes of a Google Home to Ireland has been a nighmare until now as Google don’t sell these in Ireland. With services like AddressPal’s virtual US address, that €15.99 saves you so much time and hardship, but also opens up a world of choice. Big companies generally launch items Stateside before anything else so for the more impatient among you, like me, this really is great news.

While Amazon.co.uk is great, AddressPal now opens up the likes of Walmart to Irish shoppers. This means you could now pick get a Google Home delivered to Ireland for about €130. All you’ll pay on top of that is customs charges, but more on that later.

How long does AddressPal take to ship to Ireland?

Once your package lands with AddressPal’s US depot, you’ll get your items within five to six working days. You’ll also be given a tracking number so you can keep an eye on your package’s progress.

Ok, but how does AddressPal manage customs?

First of all, no. This isn’t a way to doge customs charges. Once your package arrives in the AddressPal US depot, they’ll look after all the neccessary paperwork to get your package on it’s way. Once this lands in Ireland, it’ll go through the usual customs checks. We’ve reached out to An Post for clarification on how this payment is taken.

What’s the downside? There’s has to be something, surely?

Of course it’s not all super simple:

Returns

Returns could be quite tricky as AddressPal doesn’t cover the cost of these, but do state you can return via your local post offce and pay the fee there.

Size matters

Then there’s the bigger items. If you’re ordering anything over 2KGs, the price will increase. Here’s the full list of AddressPal pricing:

 addresspal pricingInsurance

The service does not include insurance. While An Post state everything is handled securely, this might put some people off buying more expensive items.

Restricted items

Ok, so this isn’t a massive problem, but just to clarify: you can’t buy guns from America now. There’s a list of items you can’t buy from the States, while this includes guns it also includes liquids, so no perfumes. Here’s the full list of restricted items.

An Post is gearing up for a fight

It’s exciting to see these innovations coming from An Post. Started to change things by offering Saturday deliveries. That was a small enough tweak, but AddressPal opening up international shipping to Ireland from the US is a game changer.

Dublin Pride 2017: The world’s tech companies support LGBTQ

Marty
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Dublin Pride 2017: The world’s tech companies support LGBTQ

Dublin Pride 2017 has just finished passing by Goos3D Tower and what a stunning parade it was. Tens of thousands took to the streets of Dublin to celebrate equality, in what was one of the most colourful and entertaining events I’ve ever witnessed. It’s impossible to ignore the sheer volume of tech companies that were involved and here are the best ones we spotted.

Google

The world’s biggest tech company celebrated Dublin Pride 2017 with a huge contingent of employees following a double-decker bus adorned with flowers. Google was quite far back in the parade and was headed up by a bit of a gap for some reason, but their energy more than made up for the lull in the parade.

Google float in Dublin Pride 2017

Amazon

Whether or not the world biggest online store will ever have an actual Irish store or not remains to be seen. Regardless, Amazon has a massive base in Ireland, the vast majority of that office took to the streets in celebration of Dublin Pride this year, some of which were aboard a ‘My Little Pony’ inspired float.

Amazon in Dublin Pride 2017

Facebook

You’re either on Facebook or are on a temporary hiatus from Facebook. We’re spending more and more time on the social media platform than we do in real life. Which makes it even nicer to see so many people out in the real world supporting friends and colleagues. Facebooks float in Dublin Pride 2017 was a massive Facebook logo with rainbow wings.

Facebook in Dublin Pride 2017

Dropbox

Most people now have a free Dropbox account that’s so full of files and photos, they’ve just abandoned it. The Cloud-storage company pulled out all the stops, renting one of the most recognisable vehicles in Dublin: a Viking Splash Tours World War II DUKW.

Dropbox in Dublin Pride 2017

Sky and Virgin Media

Usually responsible for bringing entertainment into our homes, Ireland’s two biggest TV suppliers brought their flair to the streets of Dublin.

Sky

Sky’s own branding fit right in.

Sky in Dublin Pride 2017

Virgin Media

Virgin Media in Dublin Pride 2017

eBay

A standout feature of Dublin Pride 2017 was competing companies standing united for one cause.

competing companies standing united for one cause

We saw Sky march close to Virgin Media but the parade also had the likes of Amazon and eBay. These are huge competitors but everyone realises there is more to life than business.

eBay in Dublin Pride 2017

AirBnB

We’re massive fans of disruptive tech like AirBnB, arguably a world leader when it comes to disruption. Disruption in tech means a company changes how we do age-old things, like renting hotel rooms, but AirBnB’s unicorn VW camper van fit right in at Pride.

AirBnB in Dublin Pride 2017

Microsoft

Look around your room. Chance are there’s a Microsoft-powered device somewhere nearby. At Pride, they made up one of the biggest groups.

Microsoft in Dublin Pride 2017

LinkedIn

LinkedIn has grown substantially in recent years as people are moving jobs and becoming focused on careers more than ever. The online CV social media platform was out in force to show support for Ireland’s LGBTQ community.

LinkedIn in Dublin Pride 2017

Slack

There’s a fair chance you’ve never used Slack, but we swear by it in Goos3D Tower. Slack is an alternative to email communication, popular amongst tech companies.

Slack in Dublin Pride 2017

Groupon

How many experiences and products have people bought purely because it was going cheap on Groupon? I always love that people try something as mad as skydiving because they got it on a discount. People sure do love saving money, even more than full price parachutes.

Groupon in Dublin Pride 2017

Dell

Dell was one of the leading forces in Ireland becoming an international technology hub for the world, opening their first office here in 1990. Primarily in the business of consumer and business hardware, it’s great to see such a large company out in support for Ireland’s LGBTQ community.

Dell in Dublin Pride 2017

MyTaxi

Formerly Hailo, MyTaxi has been through the ringer since rebranding. We can’t help but wonder if there was a poor soul stuck in that taxi picking up the fare while being stuck in extremely heavy Pride traffic!

MyTaxi in Dublin Pride 2017

PayPal

Fintech is blowing up right now with the likes of Lydia and, more recently, Plynk entering the market. Still, PayPal proudly took to the streets to celebrate Pride with a huge group and a double-decker bus.

Missed Dublin Pride 2017?

If you missed Dublin Pride 2017 don’t fret, we’ve got your covered. We were live streaming the entire parade on Facebook and you can watch it back here:

 

 

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