Gadgets Blog: Unusual Gift Ideas

Gadgets, gifts and novelties for all ages

Is there going to be anything we don’t use our mobile phones for in the future?

July 31, 2008 on 12:53 pm by Dirk | In News | 1 Comment

With mobile phones getting ever smaller, and incorporating more and more technology, the latest generation incorporating GPS, Wifi, Infra-Red, Bluetooth, accelerometers, among other receivers antennas and chips. Add in the various functions these now perform such as MP3 Player, Radio, Email, Instant Messaging Programmes, and again the list goes on and on.

It’s now being considered that as well as all of the above, in the not too distant future your mobile phone, or something similar, could become the remote control for every appliance in your house. This is all thanks to a small device known as a Femtocell or Access Point Base Station. Basically this is a cellular base station which connects to the service providers network via a Broadband connection. The Femtocell itself then expands network coverage indoors where it would otherwise be lacking or patchy, perfect for your secret underground nuclear bunkers then!

The more forward thinking folks out there have postulated that since all house-hold appliances in the future will have their own IP address and be hooked up to some sort of ‘household network’ there is an opportunity to make a device, such as a mobile phone, that is the control centre of your house. With the ability to control lights, heating, kitchen appliances, TV’s, Stereos, and other items could it be a solution to the lost remote control syndrome?

There are of course the usual concerns from the doom-mongers such as the worry that this could see us put in a vulnerable situation if adequate security measures aren’t put in place. The possibility of someone being able to hack into your network for their own nefarious purposes is a worrying thought, but surely if we can secure our online bank accounts and even our wireless networks this can be secured as well?

Complete household control from the imprint you are sure to make on your favourite chair? Sofa dictatorship could go past merely hogging the TV remote, so sign me up!

What exactly qualifies as a gadget?

July 18, 2008 on 1:22 pm by Dirk | In News | Comment on this post

A recent discussion between two of our Gadgeteers had over a recent ‘Executive Lunch’ looked for answers to the question “What is a gadget?” The dictionary definition of Gadget is – “a device or control that is very useful for a particular job.”

So this means that anything that serves a purpose classifies as a gadget. Doesn’t it? Well following this logic a cardboard box is a gadget, it’s a device that is very useful for storing and transporting things. For me this doesn’t quite fit what we think of as Gadgets here at Gadgets Towers. My personal opinion is that a gadget is something that instils a certain sense of excitement.Yes, we all know how small children are far more interested by the large box the washing machine came in than the ridiculously expensive Christmas/Birthday gift they were bought, but as an adult (at least in age) I don’t get that sense of excitement from these anymore. I think this is where the ambiguity of the term gadget comes from, in that we all have a different sense of what excites us.

There are those of us who are excited by cutting edge technology with a vast array of buttons, and dials to be fiddled with. There are those of us who aren’t too fussed by the technology as long as the article in question serves a use, whether it be a flying car or a sink plunger. There are those who are excited by kitchenalia, gardening devices, I could go on, but I feel you get the point. It would appear that the less than tangible quality of ‘gadgety-ness’ is very difficult to quantify, and leaves it like beauty, and so many other things as in the eye of the beholder, so maybe the question we are asking should really be “How would you define what a gadget is?”

Flipping brilliant video camera

July 10, 2008 on 3:32 pm by Dirk | In News | Comment on this post

Gadgets.co.uk have today added the Flip Ultra Video Camera to our already fabulous range of Gadgets. We have been suitably impressed with the Flip here at Gadgets Towers that we planned to feature a video of our own creation here on this very blog.

In order to demonstrate the quality of the videos taken, as well as the ease of use and small portable size of the camcorder we sent one of our intrepid Gadgeteers off to a certain UK Theme Park and tasked them with taking videos whilst on some of the rides so I could post the doubtless stunning results here.

Unfortunately despite lashing the camera to our gadgeteer so tightly it stopped blood flow we were not allowed by security staff at the park to take the camera on any of the rides, and even when concealing the small hand held video camera, upon discovery at the end of the ride the groundbreaking video was mercilessly deleted without a single viewing, so you shall have to make do with a pretty picture instead.

The Flip Ultra Video Camera is great for anyone who wants to take some good quality videos while out and about, without having the camera overcrowded with needless buttons and settings. OK, as the Flip is without a light, or night mode it’s not at it’s best in very low light environments, and with its fixed USB connector you may experience difficulty in trying to connect to some USB ports, although an extension cord, or USB hub will soon solve this minor problem. On the positive side it switches quickly and effectively from bright light, to low light all on it’s own, auto-focuses, and has an LCD screen so you can play back what you’ve just recorded. Recording is started and stopped by simply pressing the central red button. All the software you need is on the camera itself so there is no need to fiddle around installing drivers or software, just flip out the USB connector and plug in.

Overall the Flip is great for anyone looking for a camera they can just point and shoot with a minimum of fuss.

Flashing Batman T-Shirts arriving soon at Gadgets.co.uk

July 4, 2008 on 3:53 pm by Dirk | In News | Comment on this post

With the release of the new Batman film The Dark Knight just weeks away we here at Gadgets.co.uk thought we should let you know of the fantastic new flashing Batman T-Shirts we will have in stock any day now.
The film continues where Batman Begins left off with Batman fighting the good fight against the escaped convicts from Arkham Asylum. Starring the late Heath Ledger in what many are saying could be his finest hour the film is set to take box offices by storm this summer.
In the same mould as our hugely popular Flashing Transformer T-Shirts these are sure to be just as big. Why not preorder now at our website to make sure you’re one of the first to get one!?

Cardboard crap, or a re-invention of the portaloo?

July 2, 2008 on 4:06 pm by Dirk | In News | Comment on this post

I have today been directed to a product fairly new to the market. It is one of those things that could revolutionise a particular niche market with its simplicity, somewhat like the Post-it Note. Or it could just be a really crap idea. Allow me to introduce the “Shit Box”.

This is the brainchild of one Richard Wharton. He awoke in a tent early one stiflingly hot morning with a need to answer the call of nature. Afflicted by the excesses of the previous day he couldn’t face a trip to the ‘long drop’ toilets. If you’ve ever been to a festival you have probably seen these, and know all too well how grim they get after the first couple of days. While considering his options he spies a tissue box, and naturally, as I’m sure we’ve all done at some point (or not), he then considers that if the box were slightly larger, more sturdy and by simply inserting a plastic bag he would be able to meet his needs with that handy item right there and then. Eureka!

Now I was always of the opinion that epiphanies and eureka moments like these normally came on the toilet, not thinking about using one…?

For the princely sum of £15.67 you can get the ‘Bog Standard’ edition which includes a box and 10 degradable bags, with more bags available on their own in packs of ten. Not content with being a just portable loo it also claims that if you fold the lid down you have your very own stool to sit on, maybe in more ways than one.

To be honest I’m not too sure about this myself. After all you’re going to need to use this in your tent, unless you are a total exhibitionist, and with the inevitable excesses abound at festivals, as well possible complications from a rouge dodgy burger, it could get very messy, very quickly. A few of my friends have said they are quite curious about it, and as such have suggested we take one with us to the Reading festival this year. Others have suggested if we do they don’t want to camp anywhere near it. But is this really all that different to already available products such as the “SheWee”, or indeed, just doing the same over a big ‘vat’? At the end of the day it is more eco friendly than a chemical toilet, you know exactly who’s used it, and you have no need to venture out in the rain, or middle of the night. People will be put off at the idea of doing their business in a box though.
Now at this point I could very easily say this is a movement in the right direction, or some other pun filled paragraph, but instead I shall simply direct you to The Brown Corporation and let you read your way through their highly entertaining site yourself.

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