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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

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

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:

 

 

Sega Forever: Relive your childhood on your smartphone

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Retro gaming can still leave us wasting a couple of days in a row. We’ve already spent more time that we should have in Token trying and failing to beat some high scores. Thankfully, Token closes it’s doors from time to time so you have to go home. Sega spotted this and have gone and released a load of their classic console games for free on Android and iOS. This is Sega Forever.

What games are available on Sega Forever?

Sega hasn’t gone the whole hog to start with but there are a few classics available for you to play right now:

  1. Sonic the Hedgehog
  2. Altered Beast
  3. Phantasy Star II
  4. Kid Chameleon
  5. Comix Zone

So, there’s no Mortal Kombat or Streets of Rage – yet. Sega will be releasing new games every two weeks.

sega forever games at launch

What are the games like?

Playing without a proper retro controller is never as enjoyable as the real thing but still, Sega Forever will scratch a retro itch. One massive detractor from the whole experience is the ads. Unskippable 30-second ads pop up every time you pass a level. I know Sega has to make money and all that, but considering you can get most of these retro games on your laptop with free emulators, they’re really preying on the non-techies out there.

Still, a sorta freebie to get you out of a retro buzz should you feel so inclined.

Snap Map: Why people are freaking out and why they’re wrong

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Snapchat made the leap towards the stock market in March and the platform has experienced shaky times since. The recent European launch of Spectacles and a massive €90 million investment by Time Warner has done much to settle the ship. Snapchat has continued to make waves this week with the launch of their Snap Map feature and the internet is freaking out.

What are Snap Maps?

Snap Maps are a new way of seeing what your friends are up to on Snapchat by browsing your locality. You can even zoom out to see what your friends around the world are up to. You and your friends have to opt into location sharing, but once that’s your location will appear on the Snap Map.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvl82FfnUvw

You can also see what’s got in your area, you know like Justin Bieber concerts and the likes.

snap map ireland

How to access your Snap Map

Accessing your map to share your activities and see your friends activities is pretty simple:

  1. Update your Snapchat app to the latest iOS or Android version
  2. Open the Snapchat app
  3. Activate your selfie camera
  4. Pinch to zoom out
  5. Select who can see you
  6. Look around the Snap Map

And that should be it. You’re up and running.

What is the point of your Snap Map?

Snapchats intro video paints a perfect world where you pop into the app and see who’s having the craic before joining them. This could work, but really Snap Maps are a great way of getting a good idea of where all those people in your Snapchat app actually are. We live in a world where friends and family are dotted around the world, so it’s nice to actually see that in map form.

Why are people freaking out?

Whenever a new location service like this comes out, people go into full blown tinfoil hat mode. We even found one guy who was warning everyone to check for sex offenders in their areas because of this feature.

snap map warning

snap map warning 2Honestly, because you must activate your location and even then only friends can see your location, it’s fairly safe. You really have to take responsibility for the company you keep on Snapchat. I can hear you screaming at your screen, ‘but what about the kids?’ and I hear you. If you don’t trust your kids to use Snapchat responsibly, why did you let them get a smartphone in the first place?

Seriously, you have a piece of tech that can do wonderful things, treat it with respect.

What do you think of your Snap Map? Is it really cool or really creepy? Either way, add us on Snapchat for the craic.

Get Irish tech news on snapchat

BleeperBikes: Ireland’s First Station-Free Bike Sharing Service

We’ve already dived into why BleeperBikes are different to Dublin Bikes, but we wanted to go further and see if they are any good. We sent Martin out to brave the streets of Dublin to review BleeperBikes.

What are BleeperBikes?

BleeperBikes are shared bikes, now available in South Dublin with plans to hit the city in the new year. Unlike Dublin Bikes, BleeperBikes can be parked at any bike stand and don’t require a dedicated station. You can locate the nearest bike to your location using their app and you’ll pay €1 per hour when you have the bike.

What are the bikes like?

I’m more of a car guy, but I’ll admit that these bikes are cool. People were actually turning their heads to look at the bikes because they look unique – either that or my arse was out. The bikes tick almost every box you could hope for:

Security lock

Well, this is the main talking point really isn’t it. Scan the QR code on the bike with your smartphone and the bike unlocks. That’s bloody cool. Beyond that, bleeperbikes review because they're now available in dublinyou have a flexible and secure chord that locks the bike up.

Comfort

The saddle is a nice mix of soft and firm and the seat can be adjusted to a suitable height for you. The bike itself feels incredibly solid and sturdy across a variety of terrains.

Safety

There are no helmets for any of these bike shares, so hopefully, the likes of these paper helmets get an outlet sooner rather than later. The brakes are responsive and the bikes are well lit up with reflectors and lights.

On-board storage

This is the only let down. There’s no basket on the bikes. Instead, there’s a weird area that I could only imagine my bag falling from before knocking me off my bike.

Other features

BleeperBikes also come with a three-speed grip shift gear selector and a bell on your left-hand side.

What’s the service like?

I could have no complaints from my first run with my BleeperBike. It’s early days, so sometimes you’re bound to be a bit annoyed to find someone swiped your bike, but that’s the nature of the beast. The app works really well and provides accurate data on how you can find a bike.

If I was to dig deeper for a criticism, I did leave the bike, locked properly, but still got a notification I didn’t and couldn’t close the app. I could only resolve this by going back to the bike. I’m pretty sure this was my own fault for not reading something properly.

Are BleeperBikes good value?

The long-term best value is to go and buy a bike, especially if you can make use of the Bike to Work Scheme. If you don’t plan to cycle more than 25 times a year, BleeperBikes will likely work out better than Dublin Bikes. Anything more than that, especially if you’ll be enjoying short cycles, Dublin Bikes will probably work out cheaper for you.

Either way, you can sign up to BleeperBikes and get your first ride free. Sure you wouldn’t get that kind of deal in Coppers.

Bonus: Video review

Netflix has just started A/B testing their content

Netflix is not afraid of stepping to the front when it comes to innovation. Their latest development has effectively introduced A/B for viewers if their kid’s show – Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale.

Wait, what is A/B testing?

Sorry, we did get a little nerdy there. When building websites and web pages that you see everyday, developers often use a concept called A/B testing. This requires two versions of the page being built before directing people to both to see which performs better. It’s also known as split testing.

Right. What has that got to do with Netflix?

Well, it might sound mad, but Netflix is now A/B testing kids programming with something called “branching narrative episodes“.

puss in book ab testing

These “branching narrative episodes” are designed to immerse Netflix viewers into the story. Viewers occasionally make one of two decisions which impacts the narrative of the story.

Netflix has been researching what kids and parents expect to see when watching TV shows. With the content created, they are now going to go further and monitor the public’s decisions in the show. In a release, Netflix’s Director of Product Innovation, Carla Engelbrecht Fisher, outlined how she is eager to learn “which choices or storylines will be the most popular? Will the mean bears or the friendly bears be more popular? Are members more compelled to rewatch and uncover all of the different storylines?”

See, they really are A/B testing with video content now.

But, that’s just like…

Yeah, I hear you. It’s just like…

abominable snow man choose your own adventure… those classic choose your own adventure books. It’s exactly like that, but it’s a modern twist on it. Netflix stated they are eager yo create new non-linear storytelling platforms, so expect to see more grown up versions of these shows appearing too.

How you can play Netflix’s choose your own adventure titles

Right now, this is limited to two Netflix titles:

  1. Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale
  2. Buddy Thunderstruck: The Maybe Pile

To enjoy the interactive features, you’ll need to play these Netflix titles on:

  • Many newer devices, including
    • Smart TVs
    • Streaming media playersG
    • Game consoles
    • iOS devices running the latest version of the Netflix app

Unfortunately, Android, Chromecast, Apple TV and the Netflix website do not support interactive shows. You can still watch on these platforms, but you’ll just have to watch the boring old episode without choices.

BleeperBikes or Dublin Bikes? – What’s the difference?

Dublin Bikes has been a resounding success since their introduction in 2014. These Coca-Cola sponsored bikes are an affordable and fast way to zip around Dublin City. But now, building on a popular concept from China, Dublin has a new way to rent bikes called BleeperBikes. Here’s how the two systems stack up against each other.

What are Dublin Bikes?

Dublin Bikes is a public bike rental scheme powered by several stations around Dublin. Since the introduction of the service, there have been almost 19.5m journeys using Dublin Bikes. Members can grab a bike at any station and cycle to another station or actually lock-up the bike anywhere at all. The only catch is, once away from the station, that bike is ‘in-use’ and liable for charges.

How much do Dublin Bikes cost?

First of all, you pay an annual subscription of €25 for Dublin Bikes. This fee also includes the first half-hour of any journey you take. Here are the full range of costs:

€25 Pricing-Structure-CCZDB_referenceV2

You can see that the Dublin Bikes pricing system generally encourages users to get from A to B and to dock back at a station to save some money.

What are BleeperBikes?

BleeperBikes isn’t a million miles away from the core concept of Dublin Bikes. The main difference is that there are no stations. Instead, you park the bike up using a fixed smart lock. Dublin City Council were none-too-pleased with this idea fearing a repeat of what this system led to in China. There was a blatant abandonment of bikes everywhere, with bikes locked to anything and everything imaginable.

Despite opposition, BleeperBikes launched and simply emphasised the importance of proper bike parking. This is reinforced by a points system which rewards correct usage of the bikes.

How much do BleeperBikes cost?

There’s no annual charge for using BleeperBikes. Instead, you pay by the ride. €5 will get you 5 rides with a €25 top-up getting you 27 rides. By the way, one ride is up to one hour of usage.

Which is better? Dublin Bikes or BleeperBikes?

That’s a really tough question. Each has a unique selling point that the competitor doesn’t have. It all depends on which suits your personal needs best. Here are the pros and cons:

What’s the craic with Dublin Bikes:

Pros Cons
Free half hour with annual  membership Stations can be either full or empty
Consistent location for bike stations around Dublin Full station? It’ll cost you unless you find another one
Useless if there’s no station near where you’re going

What’s the craic with BleeperBikes:

Pros Cons
Park anywhere once parked properly  Anyone can take your parked bike
Consistent location for bikes  No free rides included
You can earn free rides

 

As you can see, it’s a fairly tight race between both Dublin-based bike-sharing options. The most important thing for users of both services is that competition brings value. Both services also have unique selling points to benefit users at different times so there’s no harm in the likes of BleeperBikes challenging Dublin Bikes for the public’s interest.

Sign up to Bleeper Bikes now and get your first ride free to see if it’s the kind of service that suits you.

Roaming Charges in the EU are gone – but beware of data roaming

Yes, the day has finally arrived. Roaming charges in the EU are gone. But there are still things that you’ll need to watch out for, especially around data roaming.

Back in February, we posted about how roaming charges for customers travelling within the EU could be gone by June of this year. As it turns out, today is the day that these charges are finally gone, but only for calls and texts.

Fees abolished for calls and texts

That’s right. From today, any call or text message made while travelling in the EU come from your monthly allowance. Providing you are making a call to an Irish number of course as international charges still apply. No doubt, this is great news, but there is still a grey area around data roaming.

What to know about Data Roaming?

Much like calls and texts, data usage depends on your network having a roaming agreement. This allows you browse the internet, post on Facebook,  or, if you’re like Jon, spend your day sending silly Snapchats to everyone.

What’s different, you ask? Data you use while abroad doesn’t always come out of your normal monthly allowance. This is significant, and it’s something to be wary of. Most bill shock stories nowadays relate to data usage.

Remember the White Moose Cafe hoo-hah with Eir? That was caused by using Snapchat abroad. Fortunately, the Irish networks have data roaming options available to you.

What is each network offering?

Lets start with the best offering out there. Vodafone have kept things simple. For anyone who is on a contract, you can use your data allowance within the EU just like you would at home. No stress. Any out of bundle charges are the same as if you were in Ireland as well.

Meteor and Eir are doing things a little differently to Vodafone. Depending on your monthly plan, your data roaming allowance can change significantly. Allowances range from 5GB up to 9GB. You’re best to check what you’re allowances are with Meteor or Eir before travelling.

To find out what you’re entitled to from Three is a bit of a minefield. Best to quote directly from their site:

Take the sum of your monthly mobile tariff, take the Vat away, divide it by 7.7 (€7.70 is the agreed EU inter-operator price per gigabyte of data) and multiply it by two.
For example, if you are on a bill pay plan our Sim only plan is €30 per month. The ex-Vat price of that is €Y. So divide €Y by 7.7 and you 2.1. Multiply it by two to get your EU data allowance – ZGB.

It breaks down as 6GB if you are on a €30 or €45 per month plan, and 9GB if you are on the Unlimited €60 per month plan.

ID data roamingare offering up to 6.3GB of data allowance while roaming, dependent on what data package you have signed up for.

Remember, before travelling, always check what you’re signed up for and that roaming is active. Happy roaming!

Trump is blocking celebs on Twitter and we’ve got the solution

Trumps presidency has already been one awash with childishness to-date. It doesn’t look like it’s going to get much better any time soon.

Trump is blocking celebs on Twitter

Today, Trump blocked Stephen King from reading his tweets. No, I shit you not:

The second tweet by King is a great point. The entire internet is pulling Trump’s tweets apart, also who the hell tweets and then wants it to be kept a secret? To be honest, we didn’t put too much time into thinking about Trump making sense as we know this is all par for the course.

Always being up for some divilment, we got to thinking: just how easy would it be to bring Trumps tweets those he blocked.

Trump.Goos3D.com

Yeah, we turned it around pretty quickly, but there’s now a site that publishes all of Trump’s tweets. We’re going to say it’s in BETA for now, but it works.

@Trmplstltskn

And you can also follow out Trump-clone Twitter account.

The whole idea here is that he’s probably doing more harm than good with his Twitter rants, so we want to make sure everyone can read his non-sense. We’re not alone in this logic either: