Tag Archives: Mobile Phone

Cat S62 Pro Smartphone Reveals Potential Fire Risks from Working from Home

The possible electrical dangers faced by Britain’s army of home workers are today revealed with the help of mobile thermal imaging technology.

For millions of us, our homes are now our offices, but very few of us are aware of potential electrical safety hazards in our home-office setups or how to ensure we safely accommodate the equipment we use every day.

[s201_bai id=”1″]

These images, captured with the new Cat S62 Pro thermal imaging smartphone, show the fire risks that poorly thought-through domestic office setups can cause.

Bullitt Group, the makers of the Cat S62 Pro, have partnered with Electrical Safety First to highlight the issue and offer tips and advice on how to make your home office set up safer.

[s201_bai id=”2″]

The gallery of images, captured in a home working environment, shows the varying levels of heat invisible to the naked eye that is produced by different electrical setups and devices. The images show common habits including:

  •      Charging laptops and phones on flammable surfaces
  •      Stacking equipment due to lack of space
  •      Daisy-chaining extension leads because you’ve got more to plug in than usual
  •      Overloaded sockets
  •      Routers covered with office materials / or boxed in
  •      Extension cables covered with household items

Working from home is now commonplace but little thought is given to the set-up of our temporary work desks, many just working wherever there is space.

[s201_bai id=”4″]

New research commissioned by Bullitt Group, shows electrical safety checks by employers have dropped by nearly half (a decrease of 46%) since lockdown.

The research, compiled by Censuswide using a 2k sample of people working at home due to COVID, also shows:

  •      Many home workers surveyed (41%) operate in cramped workspaces and things often get piled on top of extension units
  •      Over a third don’t have enough plug sockets (36%)
  •      Over a third say that have to daisy chain extension cables to get the length they need (35%)
  •      There is a high level of complacency around electrical safety with more than half (56%) of respondents saying they are not worried about electrical dangers
  •      When asked about where they currently work, more than a third (36%) say they often move their laptop and charger around as they work in different spots
  •      Almost a third (30%) have never considered the dangers of working in some domestic spaces
  •      23% are sharing electrical sockets for work with other domestic items
  •      21% do not have a dedicated workspace at home and 19% feel the quality of work is affected by not having a dedicated workspace

Working closely with Electrical Safety First, Bullitt Group has come up with some simple guidelines to make the home office environment safer.

Key tips include:

  •      Avoid overloading sockets
  •      Do not leave phones or laptops plugged in to charge overnight and don’t charge on a bed – always charge on a hard, flat, non-flammable  surface
  •      Don’t “daisy chain” extension leads. If your cable doesn’t reach, don’t plug it into another adaptor. Move your workspace closer to the socket or use a longer lead
  •      Regularly check electrical cords and extension cords for damage
  •      Only use extension cords on a temporary basis
  •      Do not plug a space heater or fan into an extension cord or power strip
  •      Do not run cords under rugs/carpets, doors, or windows
  •      Make sure cords do not become tripping hazards
  •      Keep papers and other potential combustibles at least 1m away from space heaters and other heat sources
  •      Make sure you use the right wattage for lamps/lighting
  •      Only use chargers provided with the product and buy any replacements from reputable retailers you know and trust
  •      Keep your work area tidy and keep drinks away from electrical items
  •      Make sure your home has smoke alarms. Test them monthly and replace the unit every 10 years or as directed by the manufacturer

[s201_bai id=”6″]

“When the country first locked down, homeworking was seen as a temporary situation. Now it’s looking more long term, it’s important that both employers and employees are fully aware of the risks and how to mitigate them,” said Nathan Vautier, CEO at Bullitt Group.

“The thermal imaging technology built into the S62 Pro is a quick and simple way to see a world that’s invisible to the naked eye and can improve safety in any working environment.  Tradesmen have used our thermal phones to spot electrical faults and issues for some years, but this is also a genuinely useful tool for anyone who wants to improve safety and monitor what’s going on with electrical equipment in their homes,” continued Vautier.

A spokesman for Electrical Safety First said: “There is simply not enough awareness out there about the possible dangers of poorly set up home office environments. Thermal technology is certainly one way to monitor electrical equipment for overheating issues and the images that Cat phones have created here show very clearly just what is going on and highlight some of the common dangers we regularly warn people against.”

[s201_bai id=”8″]

Other survey results:

  • Before lockdown, 40% of respondents’ companies had a procedure in place to regularly check electrical items. This has now dropped to just 22% since working from home began
  • Almost a third (31%) feel their employer should be doing more to provide safety and other guidance about home working
  • Only 19% have received safety advice/guidance from their employer concerning their home working set up
  • Almost half (45%) don’t know when work specific electrical items were last safety checked

The Cat S62 Pro smartphone has an MSRP of £599 and is available to buy from  Rugged Mobiles

Choosing The Best Phone For You

There’s a lot of talks around mobile phones these days, and we are all looking for the best mobile phone for our needs. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype and advertising, but when it comes to choosing her phone for yourself, then there are a few things that you need to keep in mind before taking the plunge. Many of us average a fair few hours on our phones every day according to studies, so if we have a phone that doesn’t suit our needs this can be frustrating and reduce our enjoyment of the activities we choose. So try and stick to these simple ideas and make a decision that’s right for you.

Photo by Rodion Kutsaev on Unsplash

Experience

Sometimes it can be simple to find the perfect phone for you, and thebigphonestore.co.uk can help you with this, but sometimes we need to draw on our experience and experience of other people to make our decisions. If you have always had an iPhone then it may be difficult for you to make a decision to switch, but if you speak to other people who have experienced the switch before, then you may find you have a better idea of what you are about to decide. Your own experience is also important and something that you need to ensure is taken into account. Also if you have had a bad experience with a brand in the past and this can also alter your opinion. And rightly so. So make sure you take into account your experience and that of others, and even have a look at YouTube videos with people reviewing these phones to see which one you like the look off.

 

Purpose

The main purpose of your phone is going to help you decide, functionality and exactly what you need to do to be able to get the best out of your mobile phone, it’s something that we should all consider carefully. If you use your phone just for calls and texts, then you aren’t going to necessarily need to have a phone that is all singing and all dancing. It’s not always about having the flashiest phone and taking pictures all the time. Some of us just need a phone that works. So don’t feel as though you need to purchase the latest iPhone if it isn’t going to fit your purpose. However, if you do need something that works well, and has all of the access to apps, and functionality then, of course, go in for a top of the range phone is a good investment for you.

 

What matters

At the end of the day, what matters to you is the most important thing here, and making sure that people make the right decisions for themselves ultimately prevents any problems. Getting the right phone to the right people can be tricky, but eventually, we all find the right handset for us, and it’s all about trial and error. Some people have great brand loyalty, and some of us are just looking for a phone that works so decided on what is important to you will help you come to the right conclusion.

Sony Xperia XZ1 – 3D Scanning Tests

I’ve been trying out the Sony Xperia XZ1. Today I had a go at it’s 3d scanning feature. It’s pretty slick and actually works. You really need good lighting and plenty of space.

I’ll use this page to embed scans, as I make them.

 

The Gadget Man – Episode 102 – Nokia 3310 (re)launches in the UK

Click to buy the Nokia 3310 from Amazon

With the UK launch of the Nokia 3310, I talk to Mark Murphy at BBC Radio Suffolk about the nostalgia behind one of the most popular mobile phones of the last 20 years.

The original Nokia 3310 is without doubt an iconic mobile handset and in it’s original form which went on to sell 126,000,000 units.

https://audioboom.com/posts/5950784-nokia-3310-re-launches-in-the-uk

Following the licensing of the ‘Nokia’ phone brand to HMD, four new phones, including three running Android, namely the Nokia 3, Nokia 4 and Nokia 5 are to be launched.

Nokia 3310
Nokia 3310

Alongside these modern smartphones see’s the  reborn Nokia 3310.

The handset is described as ‘a modern classic reborn’, retaining the durability and insane standby time of the original. Available in four distinctive colours and with a price tag of £49, expect the 3310 to be popular again.

Don’t forget to listen in to the stream to find our more!