QuiText has launched its text message support programme in South Africa. Now smokers trying to give up will have no place to hide…
South Africans now have success to QuiText’s SMS support programme for smokers wanting to quit.
Smokers in South Africa today are facing unprecedented pressure to quit the habit from advertising and social peers and a gradual shift in global awareness. Many smokers have either tried to quit or want to, but many attempts end in failure due to busy lifestyles, lack of preparation or support. According to QuiText founder, Chris Jones, many people who want to quit are simply put off by authority telling them what to do all the time.
"As an ex-smoker, I can sympathise with what many smokers who want to quit are going through. It can be truly exhausting trying to rationalise why you continue to smoke in the face of overwhelming evidence that shows it's really a bad idea." Jones said.
"At QuiText we're trying to cut to the chase and provide a simple, optimistic approach to quitting which doesn't conjure up the feelings of dread many smokers feel when seriously considering giving up. It's about starting afresh and not looking back."
QuiText is based in Sydney and was founded in 2007. The QuiText website and text message service provides smokers with the motivation and support they need to quit smoking and embark on a smoke-free life.
For more information about QuiText, visit its website at www.quitext.com.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Mobile quit smoking service reaches SA
A tiny player with a big sound- Sandisc Sansa Clip
SanDisk Corporation, the second largest seller of MP3 players in the United States, has introduced the colourful Sansa Clip, a tiny MP3 player that boasts an array of cool features, as well as distinctively big sound for its small size.
SanDisk Corporation, the second largest seller of MP3 players in the United States, has introduced the colorful Sansa Clip, a tiny MP3 player that boasts an array of cool features, as well as distinctively big sound for its small size.
Perfect for the fitness buff or traveler, the compact Sansa Clip comes with a fashionable clip for wearing, FM radio with recorder, microphone, long-lasting rechargeable battery and a bright screen for exceptionally easy navigation of tunes. The Sansa Clip is expected to be available at manufacturer's suggested retail prices of R699.00 for a 1 GB player and R999.00 for the 2GB unit.
"Don't let the Sansa Clip's size fool you," said Keith Washo, SanDisk retail product marketing manager for the Sansa Clip. "This tiny player packs a powerful, feature-rich punch. We're excited to bring music lovers a new, cool-looking player with great sound and audio offerings in a body that's smaller than a match box."
Consumers can also show off their style by choosing from an array of colors. The Sansa Clip comes in sleek black, candy apple red, hot pink and ice blue.
The Sansa Clip is loaded with exceptional features:
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Superior sound - one of the best sounding MP3 players on the market.
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A fashionable wearable clip for hands-free portability and effortless enjoyment of digital music on the go.
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Large, bright (OLED) screen with a simple user interface that makes it easy to choose playlists or songs sorted by title, artist, album, genre.
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FM tuner and recorder with 40 presets for listening to sports, tuning in at the gym or your favorite music station.
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Built-in microphone to record thoughts while exercising or on the go. Rechargeable battery with up to 15 hours of life2 - one of the most competitive battery performances for a MP3 player of its size on the market today.
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Solid state flash memory for skip-free playback of music
The Sansa Clip supports many music download and subscription services, including Rhapsody, Napster, eMusic and others. It's designed to work seamlessly with a wide range of popular music formats such as MP3, WAV, Audible (for audio books) and Windows Media Audio (WMA) in both unprotected and protected files (such as those WMA files purchased from music stores). The Sansa Clip can also play "DRM-free" MP3 downloads.
The player is expected to be available from retailers in the U.S. and Europe in September 2007, with other regions to follow shortly thereafter.
Source : http://www.gadget.co.za
Gumba Gumba shares your music in bed or on the go
In South Africa it’s called a Gumba Gumba, township lingo for the Boombox. The portable player with big sound has been around for a long time, starting with the cassette tape, and then including a CD player. Now Philips has reinvented the boom box for the digital age, with their AZ1330D.
A while ago my trusty and somewhat dated bedside clock radio went up in smoke. This started me searching for a more up to date replacement. When I went looking, I could find some really good but very expensive alternatives. Much to my amazement, there were no simple, well-priced units of reasonable quality out there. A Tivoli unit was considered as the sound was great, but no alarm and the high price decided me against it.
And then, along came Philips with a new range of units, from sleek mini hi-fi to Boombox style units, all with alarm clocks, radios and, best of all, a dock for my iPod. The unit I favor is the AZ1330D.
More and more most of us are storing their music on our computers and using some type of iPod or MP 3 player for when we are on the move. So, simply put, all my favorite music is on my iPod and, being able to dock the iPod and listen when I want, where I want, is really useful.
The Philips unit has a built-in iPod dock, with adaptors for all iPods, both current and older, as well as a digital AM and FM radio, along with a CD player for those of us who still buy CDs. One useful feature: the CD player will play MP3s as well as Microsoft’s proprietary WMA format. So it’s a universal player if ever there was one. All of this is a sleek and fairly compact unit.
How does it fare on the Gadget 5-question User Test? Let’s take it for a run:
Is it ready to use?
The unit is well packaged with simple instructions. Plug it into the wall, select radio and you are ready to go. To insert the iPod, you need to find the correct adaptor from among the box of adaptors supplied. The instructions are clear but, like most men, I fiddled with the gadgetry until I found one that fitted my iPod.
Is it easy to use?
Once plugged in, use is really simple, as all controls are large and well marked. Operation is intuitive and simple, and the supplied remote works well. The unit uses 6 D cells to keep it portable, and again these are easy to install. The manual is a little dense but well numbered and logical, for those who read those things.
Does it deliver on its promise?
Gumba Gumba oh yes. Loud and clear, the Philips sounds good. It’s not audiophile quality, but really decent. It has bass boost for those that want big bass, and a relatively clear and honest sound. It does not play extremely loud without distorting, but is more than good enough for most of us. The radio performs well on FM, with good discrimination between close stations. On AM, for those who want it, it’s fine with little interference. The CD player and iPod dock operate as expected and make the unit really versatile.
Is it innovative?
The world is full of multipurpose iPod docks with radios and other features. A portable radio, CD, and dock is nothing really new. However, Philips has put together a high quality, logically set up, and well-specced unit that I enjoyed using. In short, not innovative, but a good example of blending new digital technology with useful features.
Is it value for money?
The street price is in the region of R1000. At this price, taking into account the features and the options, as well as the decent build and sound quality, I would say that this Philips unit is very good value for money. It sounds nearly as good as the expensive iPod dock’s out there and has some useful features that most don’t offer, such as the built-in CD player.
My search for a replacement bedroom radio alarm and music player has just ended. The Philips will replace my old smoking radio alarm, which will now retire after 20 some years of good service, and yes it was also a Philips.
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