Digital Grog — Australia’s Tech, Gadgets & Digital Life Unfiltered

Digital Grog is Australia’s go‑to tech blog for sharp reviews, digital trends, AI tools, gadgets, cybersecurity updates, and practical how‑tos covering the latest in Aussie technology

Australia

Smartphone App launched by Dan Murphy’s Australia

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If you like a glass of wine or beer or spirit, getting your favourite beer or wine has just become easier with the new DAN MURPHY’S SMARTPHONE APP. Dan Murphy’s has just launched their new application for smartphone that makes it easier for you to browse what’s available in their store on your smartphone and even place an order

review of apps australia

I downloaded the Dan Murphy’s smartphone app this weekend and was quite surprised with the professional looking and functional app that they have produced. The app screen makes it easy to browse and search the store for wines, beers and other alcohol and the weekly deals etc. are conveniently placed just in reach of a quick tap on the screen.

Dan Murphy’s gets social with smartphone launch

 

Right now they are offering the special smartphone application launch deals… so go grab it. When i checked on my phone there was the “ Yellowglen Vintage Perle”  white wine award winner for $89.40 for a case of 6 bottles with delivery. That brings the price down to $14.90 for a bottle for this classic vintage wine (definitely a good deal to get delivered to your home).

The Dan Murphy’s app main screen is as below (in pic)

dan murphys New mobile app

If you tap on the left bottle icon , you get taken to the screen with weekly deals/offers, search , store finder and  your account. Its advisable to  create a account if you get alcohol regularly from  Dan murphy’s. You can shop for alcohol right from this app and either get it delivered ( if available – mostly on six or 12 packs )  or pick it up from store. The bottom right shopping cart button on the screen shows what alcohol you have already checked in or bought via the smartphone app

The Dan Murphy’s story in short

In 1952 a bright young man, Daniel Francis Murphy was working in a liquor store owned and run by his father Timothy Murphy. Dan looked around one day and decided that he could run the shop better than his father and requested to take the reins and the rest is history.  Today  he has about 140 stores all around Australia and it is part of the Woolworths chain.

appstore dan murphy app australia

App download screen in Google play

According to wikipedia

“Dan Murphy’s is an Australian liquor supermarket chain owned by Woolworths Limited, which also owns BWS, another liquor chain with smaller stores. Dan Murphy’s competes principally with 1st Choice Liquor Superstore”

I tried out a special feature on the Dan Murphy’s  app, this app has got label recognition technology built in to the app. If you just click a photo ( via camera icon/button in app- see pic below) of  a label of the bottle in your bar or fridge and if the item is stocked at Dan Murphy’s, the app will come back with the current price of the bottle and also provide  information and reviews on the drink ( pretty neat huh).

smartphone app of dan murphy australia[how%2520the%2520dan%2520murphy%2520app%2520works%255B4%255D.jpg]

Img from:http://australianchinwag.blogspot.com.au/

This new app from Dan Murphy’s could possibly do wonders for many undiscovered small brands or relatively unknown wineries, by bringing them  into focus and increasing their audience  by putting them on  show to the world.

With an increasing number of smartphone users now using their devices to research products or services on-line, apps like this one are becoming the norm for tech-savvy shoppers. The Dan Murphy’s App is free to download onto your android and apple devices.

Customers can download the Dan Murphy’s App for free on their iPhone or Android device by searching for “Dan Murphy’s” in the App Store.

For more information on the Dan Murphy’s App and to view an instructional video, please visit:www.danmurphys.com.au/guides/app-content.

So go give this app a whirl , say cheers to me  and my blog “Digital GROG” and let me know your views on the app

The smart-one that charges you gadgets

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Gadgetaustralia.com was lucky enough to trail the “new portable charging device” produced by Smartone.

gadget australia webite with samrter charger

Charge all your devices with back up battery

The little gadget know as “smartercharger” may be something you may browse past when looking at mobile accessories but after having one of these in just a few days the little pocket rocket can really make an impact; proving very useful and a great little lifesaver is certain situations.

Smartone is an all Australian company based in Adelaide, South Australia.

the smarter charger from australia

The smartcharger is a small USB based fuel source for multiple modern day devices. The smartcharger is only 90mm x 20mm and can be very versatile in its use as well as easily and discretely stored in your luggage, handbag or a great tool to keep in your car.

The smartcharger is easily charged via a USB port, this can be on your home/work pc/laptop or even via a 5v “USB wall charger” or even in your car.

The smart little device can hold a full charge for approximately 100 days.

Specifications

Output

5V/1000mA (Max)

Input

5V/600mA

Capacity

2600mAh

Size

90*20mm

Working Temperature

Charging Time

3 Hours

Weight

68 grams

Cell Type

Li-Polymer Battery

First of all when looking at the product its definitely well built, and for the price retailing at $29.95AU it’s a fair investment of your hard earned dollars.

Img from http://eftm.com.au

We trailed the white version of the product and it looks and feel quite classy, the product is also available in a total of seven different colours, so it’s really take your pick.

The power adapter cord is quite versatile in its use; covering a range of new products including the latest apple attachment.

Within having the product just for a few days it really did come in handy and quite the saviour.

While being on the trip home from the office sitting on the train with my addiction to candy crush at max resolution and brightness and forgetting to charge up, smartcharger came to its first use.

The smart charger supported carry on use of the handset while continuing to give a steady charge to the device.

Overall the smartcharger does the job its designed to do while offering consumers great value for money.

Get your own smartcharger at www.smartcharger.com.au and visit www.gadgetaustralia.com for more gadget news  and releases

Talk is cheap – except in Australia

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New cost of living figures reveal the price of a pre-paid mobile phone is nearly 9 times more in Sydney than Los Angeles.

Whether it’s surfing the net, grabbing a bite out with friends after work or going to see the latest blockbuster movie, on average Australians are paying some of the highest prices in the world.

Comparison of a night out in AUSTRALIA Vs UK vsUS

Below is snapshot from the comparison website

The comparison  below is  for a night out  if  you are visiting   any of the cities London , Sydney or New york and the price of the beer, wine or cocktail

numbeo compariosn cost of living by budget direct us uk australia

Comparison tool link url : http://www.budgetdirect.com.au/costofliving/

The tool is quite handy and you can compare living costs, shopping  and getting around costs  in most major cities, though  the comparison is only focussed to a few  cities  and i would much rather have some more cities in the list  to get a better comparison figure (Comparison website  link below)

One of the differences that stood out was the cost of a pre-paid mobile phone tariff. Australians are paying on average nearly four times more for this than the US and nearly three times more than they are in the UK. When comparing the individual cities, LA costs $0.11 per minutes compared to Sydney, which is nearly 9 times more at $1.00 per minute.

It’s not only chatting on the phone that’s more expensive. Surfing the net costs considerably more in “Australia than the US and UK”. Regardless of what politicians future plans are for Australia’s NBN the data shows that Aussies are currently paying on average over 80% more than the UK and over 25% more than the US.

On a more positive note, the data shows Australians do have the highest median monthly disposable salary after tax.

The comparison guide uses data collected primarily from Numbeo, the world’s largest database of user-contributed data, which allows users to compare three cities across a number of key categories including their weekly shop, living and getting around.

To find out more about the data and make your own cost comparisons, please click here to try the tool yourself.

Virtual pass for ProBlogger Training Event

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Over the last 4 years Problogger has  run an Australian ProBlogger Training Event each year and have grown it from 100, to 200, to 300 and this year to 450 attendees.
The tickets  to this years event which is being held in just over 3 weeks sold out several months ago and so Virtual Passes are on offer for those who couldn’t get tickets.

450 bloggers from all over the world will gather on the Gold Coast on 13-14th September for the annual Problogger event.

This pass gives virtual attendees the chance to listen in to all 31 sessions at the conference (they get all audio files to keep forever) and see any slides used. Virtual Attendees also get access to two great webinars after the event where they can interact with speakers and the wonderful Jonathan Fields.

Sneak peek at some of the content from last year?

Darren RowseHere’s a recording of a session from Darren Rowse last year.  Imagine yourself with access to over 30 hours of this!  Oh the blogging joy.  That’s exactly what you’ll get with a virtual pass.

From Little Things … Big Things Grow — with Darren Rows

 

 

 

Full details of what is included are listed here: http://probloggerevents.com/pbevent-virtual-pass/. It is the closest thing available to being there at the event and is ideal for anyone around the world unable to get to Australia.

Speakers at the event

Speakers at the event include myself, Trey Ratcliff (one of the most followed people on Google+), Amy Porterfield (Facebook expert), Tsh Oxenreider (founder of SimpleMom), Shayne Tilley (the guy who heads up all my marketing and site development) as well as some great speakers from the Aussie Blogosphere (most of whom are full time bloggers doing some amazing things).

 

Previous years

  • Year 1 saw Chris Garrett, myself and a handful of other speakers speak to a packed room of 100 bloggers in a small, cheap suburban hotel.
  • Year 2 saw 200 bloggers turn out to the Novatel to see our first event with 3 ‘streamed’ sessions running simultaneously. Timothy Ferris even popped in for a surprise interview
  • Year 3 saw 300 bloggers come to Etihad Stadium (or rooms at the stadium) with Chris Guillebeau and Aussie Sarah Wilson keynoting

Tickets for this virtual pass are $249.99

Get your ticket or virtual pass here

You can see the full speaker list at http://probloggerevents.com/speakers/ and see the schedule at http://probloggerevents.com/schedule/

The Australian app developer competition

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“Applicants will be judged according to what the app offers, the market need for the product and its path to revenue. I am excited to be part of this Curtin University initiative and I look forward to seeing the unique and innovative entries in the competition,”

dates and details of oz app austrlia competition

The “2014 OzAPP Awards” is calling for mobile applications and is now calling for creative app developers in the Asia Pacific region including Australia and New Zealand to bring forward their best new app concepts for mobile, web and cloud.

The 2014 Oz App Roadshow program will feature

  • Interactive workshops
  • Keynotes speakers (Bill Tai, Partner at Silicon Valley based Charles River Ventures)
  • Mentoring sessions for applicants
  • Pitching opportunities

The road show program will be held in  major cities including Singapore, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane.

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Final judging will be staged in Perth, Western Australia in February 2014. To register for free or to learn more about OzAPPs, visit www.ozapp.com.au.

Sponsors

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Car to Car Communication on Fast Track to Success

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Car to car communication is an idea that can be used to drastically improve driver safety, and some of this technology is already being implemented into today’s latest models. Cars can be updated with the latest road traffic or safety information, in order to avoid icy patches on the road or keep a safe distance from one another in a motorway pileup. Notifications could be given if an ambulance is approaching, so that cars can clear the road before the driver is even able to see or hear the emergency vehicle. There are multiple potential uses for talking car technology, which is why both government agencies and automakers alike are interested in its future.

car technology and car communications

Car technology – Latest Tests and Improvements

A recent conference was held at the University of Michigan in the United States to discuss the future of car to car communications. This Global Symposium on Connected Vehicles and Infrastructure highlighted the fact that recent US trials showed that the system could be entirely viable. In these trials, vehicles chosen for the test communicated with roadside devices throughout the town of Ann Arbor. The vehicles were capable of changing the traffic light if conditions were safe, or could alert the driver if the light was about to change.

Today’s car communication systems use sensors, cameras, and short range communication to transmit basic data. You may already be able to look at a car comparison to choose vehicles with advanced safety features and Bluetooth connectivity, but expect to see short range communication added to the list of basic features not too far in the distant future. This allows cars to track the location and speed of other vehicles on the road, spot pedestrians or animals, and share data with other vehicles.

old car dash and new technology

Use of Australian Technology

The trial undertaken by the University of Michigan is just one example of many similar studies worldwide. The latest form of car to car communication was devised using technology developed by the University of South Australia’s Institute for Telecommunications Research. This system is the one being used both in Ann Arbor and in a similar German study. In Ann Arbor, over eight billion transmissions have been successfully sent between vehicles and roadside infrastructure to help track traffic and improve safety since the trial began.

The Future of Car to Car Communication

These early trials have been largely successful, but it could still be some time before the best SUV cars are able to talk to one another. One issue to contend with is the cost of these systems. Dr. Alexander from the University of South Australia believes that these costs would be quite low to implement, but if sensors must be used in existing traffic structures this could cost more. At the moment, new cars from manufacturers like Volvo are already coming equipped with basic communication systems in place. This will become more widespread as the results of current trials are analysed and the demand for safe, intelligent car design grows.