Row.co.uk Blog

Cooking options have come a long way since the days when you could consider yourself fortunate to have a microwave in addition to your hob and oven. These days, there are all sorts of options available for countertop appliances that promise to cook your meals using all manner of different technologies.

One of the most popular is the halogen oven. The concept of a halogen oven is pretty straightforward. It uses a halogen lamp as a cooking element with a fan to circulate the hot air, meaning you never have to bother with turning food to cook both sides. Most halogen ovens take the form of a glass crock pot-type container, with a lid fitted with the lamp sat on top to cook whatever food is placed inside.

But why would you consider a halogen as well as or even instead of your conventional stove or microwave? Here are four key benefits.

Energy efficient


When used as light bulbs, halogen lamps are known to be more energy efficient than standard incandescent bulbs (the types that ‘burn’ the piece of wire inside the lamp), but not as efficient as fluorescent bulbs. In fact, their use as ‘energy efficient’ bulbs has been discontinued. However, they do produce a lot more heat than fluorescent lamps, which makes them suitable for cooking. They are also much more efficient than conventional ovens - a halogen lamp will cook the same meal using 75% less electricity than a standard electric oven.

All-in-one cooking solution


With a normal kitchen range, you have different tools to cook food in different ways - an oven to roast and bake, a stovetop to boil and fry, a grill to, er, grill. But with a halogen oven, you can do it all in one. The high convection temperatures in a relatively small space, combined with a fan to distribute all the heat, mean that food will be cooked through thoroughly, often in less time it will take using conventional methods. This makes halogens ideal for baking cakes or roasting joints and so on. But because of the proximity to the cooking element, you also get that crispy effect on the outside of food that we all love about frying, grilling and roasting - something you just don’t get from a microwave.

One pot convenience


If you are one of those people who gets put off cooking because you don’t like having to fiddle around with multiple pans and trays in different ovens, and you can never seem to get the timing and coordination of everything right - a halogen oven is the appliance for you. You can literally throw an entire meal into a halogen and let it all cook together, with minimum fuss. Like the idea of doing an entire roast in one pot by surrounding a whole chicken with the vegetables of your choice? That’s how easy cooking can be with a halogen oven.

Save space


Finally, if counter space in your kitchen is at a premium, a halogen oven can be a godsend. Instead of multiple plug-in grills, friers or even a microwave, you could just do away with them all and have a halogen instead. And even better, once you have finished cooking, a halogen is compact enough to tuck away out of sight in a cupboard. As they are also easily portable, halogen ovens are ideal for students in temporary accommodation, or you could even pack one in your car and take it on holiday if you are self-catering!

Your halogen oven could easily become the go-to cooking option you can’t bear to be without. So make sure you protect your new-found friend with Row.co.uk’s superb value kitchen appliance insurance.

*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.

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What Apps Come With The iPhone 5s?

Row.co.uk Blog

What Apps Come With The iPhone 5s?

Well, Apple’s App Store has over 900,000 apps covering work, rest and play, oh and not forgetting fitness. And you will of course be able to access this overwhelming range with the new iPhone 5s.

Hello iOS 7

But more excitingly, in line with the iPhone 5s’ new operating system, the iOS 7, developers have gone all out to create new and improved versions of their apps to utilise its features.

Built-in apps

So what comes already installed? The iOS 7 has a smart and super quick interface allowing you to easily access the phone’s built-in apps. These include familiar apps such as the camera, photos, music, messages, mail, maps, video, timer, calculator and torch. Also Safari for web browsing, FaceTime for video or just audio calls, Passbook for scanning and storing copies of your tickets, boarding passes and coupons. And not forgetting Siri.

The voice of reason

For those of you who have become attached to Siri, and quite frankly couldn’t function without it, don’t worry it’s still very much on board. He or she, depending on your preference and selection, will continue to help you in whatever iPhone related or daily endeavour you face.

The new iOS 7 has also made Siri more indispensible than ever. This handy feature is activated by holding down the Home button and is happy to write texts, make calls or set up reminders for you.

The power of three

One of the iPhone 5s’ new features allows you to download three apps simultaneously. This is perfect for the impatient amongst you! And if more apps take your fancy, they just form an orderly queue and download when it’s their turn.

Work if you have to

Undoubtedly with so many devices at our fingertips, work spills into our social life more than ever before. We are now so accustomed to being able to access emails and tweak work documents on the go, that apps which help with this are crucial.

Although the new iPhone 5s doesn’t come with preinstalled versions of Apple’s alternatives to Microsoft Office, they are free to download on all newly purchased iPhones. These include Numbers, similar to Excel, Pages for word processing and Keynote, which is similar to PowerPoint. So that’s work taken care of.

The sky’s the limit

For peace of mind, the iPhone 5s allows you to back up documents to iCloud. Not only are they safe should your iPhone have an off day, but this means they are also accessible via a web browser or any other compatible devices.

New and improved apps

As we said, developers have been busy developing apps to make the most of the iPhone 5s’ new operating system. These include Twitter, Evernote, eBay, Netflix and many more.

With such a huge range of apps available in the App Store, if it’s not already on the iPhone 5s, it will more than likely be available to download. You know the catchphrase: there’s an app for that. And generally there is.

*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.

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