Boys and their Toys

E-books are expected to be one of the biggest selling gadgets this Christmas with the Amazon Kindle being one of the front runners. Amazon themselves have recently suggested that their device has sold by the million in recent months.
In a nutshell the Kindle is a device which enables you to download books, from the internet, in the form of an e-book. The e-book is then displayed on the screen of the device enabling you to read it. The Kindle is a compact piece of kit enabling a much easier reading experience especially as it can store 3,500 novels in its memory.
As well as being able to read the latest best seller you can also view PDF documents and other documents formats which can be emailed straight to your device.

There are two options available:

Kindle Wi-Fi £109.00
This basic Kindle is wireless enabled so that you can connect to the internet wherever there’s a wireless connection point.

Kindle Wi-Fi 3G £149.00
The most expensive option also comes with free 3G connection enabling you to connect to the internet wherever there’s a mobile network. The fee is paid for by Amazon so you don’t have to pay any monthly fee.

Fans of Batman can now purchase the ultimate gadget for their collection, a real life size, driveable, Batmobile. If you have ambitions of being the caped crusader you can now cruise around in a replica of the vehicle which featured in the 1960’s TV series.
Before driving around your local neighbourhood looking for law breaking hoodies, you will have to part with £120,000 of your hard earned wages. Although, if you’re mega rich like Bruce Wayne, £120,000 is probably just pocket change!

The car is jammed full of working gadgets such as:
Working rocket exhaust flamethrower
Roll top dashboard doors
Flashing red beacon
Automatic Batbeam antenna grid
Glowing Detect-a-Scope radar screen
Push-button ignition
Dash-mounted DVD player
Electric actuators that open the hood and trunk
Six speaker sound system
Chromed rocket tubes
Double ‘bubble’ windshields

As for performance the GM350 crate engine will power the fibreglass body from 0-60mph in 5 seconds with a top speed of 90mph. The car also has an automatic gearbox, power steering and will produce 280hp with 325ft/llb of torque.

So, if you fancy your very own Batmobile visit Firebox.com now.

As we approach the end of 2010 I though I’d look at what are considered the best gadgets of the last ten years, in no particular order:

Apple iPod. Introduced in 2001 the music player has revolutionised the way we listen to music.

Nintendo Wii. The family focused, in-expensive game system introduced a ground breaking motion control system which has forced it’s competitors to stand up and take notice.

Blackberry. Another device that was revolutionary, since 2002, this time for brilliant email functionality in mobile phones.

iPhone. Since 2007 Apples smart phone as redefined the experience of using a mobile phone.

USB flash drive.  Now considered one of the most essential computer accessories.  In 2000 it replaced the floppy disc as the quickest and easiest way of transferring files from one computer to the another.

Asus Eee PC. When release in 2007 the Asus seemed far to good to be true. An ultralight, small laptop with a great battery life costing less than £200.

Flip. The first pocket sized digital camcorder released in 2007 and capable of capturing 1 hours worth of film.

Tom Tom Go. When released in 2004 it was the first affordable GPS navigation unit.

Playstation 3. The PS3 was released in 2006 it offers the same next generation gaming as the Xbox 360 (released the year before), it also combined a Blu-ray player. Hence why it pips Microsofts offering.

Slingbox. This device, which was released in 2005, will stream your television to any computer or smartphone in the world.

I think that we all know of someone who can’t be bothered to do much let along make a cup of tea. Well I came across a plain lazy mug, it actually self-stirs. You simply flick a switch which is located on the top of the handle; the included battery will drive the mechanism to stir the tea for you. This is the ultimate of laziness, but how the mind works is proving fantastic to me after seeing this. The only way to make this less effortless would be getting someone to lift the cup to your mouth and that has to be said would be taking laziness to another level.

Are you struggling to use your iPhones or touch screen phone this winter, wearing your thick gloves. Wearing gloves is a must due to it being so chilly, but this is no good for those of us with touchscreen phones. Constantly putting on and taking off our gloves to reply to a text or to answer a call proves to be a little irritating. So on my hunt for a solution I came across some not very fashionable gloves that have some special conductive material woven into the thumb and index finger, thus allowing you to use your touch screen phone.

Many people eat at their office desk due to being so busy, I’ve watched colleagues then just wipe away crumbs onto the floor! I have not discovered a brilliant little gadget for all those messy eaters’ desks, his name is Henry and he fits on your desk! Henry is a little hoover that is powered by 3xAA Batteries; he picks up crumbs and unidentified dust and specks from your work space! This daft but endearing gizmo should be on everyone’s desks, so go out and buy one, it’s a perfect little gift for your secret Santa this coming Christmas.

As Christmas is fast approaching many people will be hunting for that perfect gift for a friend or loved one. I’ve been looking myself for something for a friend who spends 99% of her time outside, she is a writer so when it rain this proves difficult when she’s out in the countryside gaining some kind of inspiration. However fear not, I came across the perfect present. A journal that is waterproof! Whoever came up with this idea is pure genius. Only costing £16.99 this is the perfect gift, it is available in lined or squared paper pages. Brilliant.

I came across the perfect present for those of you who are in the army or spend a lot of time camping etc. It’s a Giant Swiss army knife; it’s almost Inspector Gadget looking. It’s awesome yet ridiculous; this army knife is packed with 85 fully functional implements. This fantastic knife was crafted in Switzerland, absolutely not pocket sized and believe me it isn’t cheap. However it does contain some really handy tools and probably many that you will never use, but that’s the fun of it isn’t it! There are pliers, loads of screwdrivers, saws, wrenches etc. Now for the price… a staggering £499.99 but well worth it!

With Christmas coming up, now is the perfect time to start thinking up a few good gift ideas. Whilst it’s true that classic, traditional types of gifts are timeless and will always be appreciated, it’s sometimes a good idea to shake things up a bit and give gifts the recipients won’t be expecting.

A perfect example of this is calendars, the pleasing and reliable Christmas gift available in so many different varieties that it’s easy to find one suited to the recipient.

However, what if there was a way to revolutionise your calendar gift this year? There is a high-tech solution available in the form of electronic calendars and social planners, but a word of warning – these gadgets are not suited for technophobes or people with limited patience.

Features to look for in electronic calendars:

• Easy accessibility, usually found in web-based electronic calendars

• Platform synchronisation, so you can transfer and access your information online or offline, at work or at home

• Group scheduling for meetings or parties, where invitations are automatically sent out to everyone and all the responses are stored and easy to see

• Wireless technology integration, for the on-the-go users who want to stay connected all the time

The new Archos 5 internet tablet is packed to the brim with features. Running on Andorid operating system it has features like:

• Web Browsing
• Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth
• Music Play
• Radio

To be able to provide all these features the Archos internet tablet can be seen as quite bulky but is an impressive bit of kit. Available in a range of memory sizes (price vary) the Archos is a Swiss army knife of portable entertainment. The functionality can be extended greatly with the purchase of a dock which allows you to record TV shows direct from your home tv ready fro watching when you have time. This is certainly a gadget to have.