Choosing Your Next Broadband Provider: Top Tips

Image courtesy of https://www.freeimages.com/photo/working-woman-1440176 working from home, contractless broadband, wireless, full fibreFinding the best broadband deal that suits both your demand for high speed internet and your budget can be quite the juggling act. First you have to find a provider who serves your area, then you have to navigate all the different packages they offer, comparing this price with that, the speed, the duration of the contract, and then there’s the additional extras they don’t tell you about until you put your order in. Line rental? That’s another £25 or more per month. Installation? £40 to £50 should cover it.

And it’s vital that you choose the right deal, and pick carefully since you could be in that contract for between 12 to 24 months. Choose badly and you could be paying through the nose for your data, or paying a lower price for really poor speeds, which amounts to the same thing. You can’t get out of the contract without paying penalties, or if your provider does do a package which is better for you, you may be due admin fees if you decide you need to change.

And your needs can change at any time. Get a Smart HDTV and suddenly your need for fast internet spikes. Your college age kids move out to go to university and suddenly you only need a fraction of the bandwidth you had before. So do you stick with a plan which no longer suits you, or do you pay the admin fees to get a better product? Read more

Why Now Is The Best Time To Start Looking For Your New Flat Screen TV

flat screen wall mountingIs now the best time to buy a new flat screen TV or other home entertainment tech, or is it better to wait until the trade shows are over?

If you’re in the market for a new television, hifi, or any Smart automated home devices you’re almost always stuck in a quandary, when is the right time to buy to get the best deals without missing out on the latest developments?

If you’ve ever bought an off-the-lot, straight out of the showroom car you’ll have dealt with the same questions. You could buy a “brand new” car today with this year’s registration at full price, or wait until this years’ new releases come out and buy the car as ‘nearly new’ at a discount as the dealer wants to clear the showroom forecourt to make room for the latest models.

The same goes with electronics. Retailers such as Argos, Currys PC World, Hughes, and Richer Sounds only have so much shop-floor and warehouse space so they can’t have ‘old’ tech cluttering up the shop when the new lines are in demand. The problem is timing. Get in too soon and you’ll buy a product today which will be on offer at half the price in a few weeks. Leave it too late and the deals are over, the old stock is already sold or sent back to the manufacturer to be resold in a different market, or shipped away to be recycled and made into more of the pricey technology of tomorrow. Read more