Graham Clifford: November 2007 Archives

What a difference a week makes?

In seven days the focus of gadget lovers in the U.K has switched from Apple's iPhone to Amazon's portable reading device - the Kindle.

If the former was well received by most the jury is still out on the latter.

So what is the Amazon Kindle and is it worth the hefty price tag of £194?

Well the wireless electronic book reader is paperback sized and it can store up to 200 books in it's onboard memory.

Content arrives to the handset via wireless and so it doesn't need a PC to be loaded with books, newspapers, personal documents or even blogs. 

Ever fancied yourself as a pilot but couldn't be bothered booking flying lessons?

Well now the Sky Challenger Remote Control Helicopter set 85725 allows you to control not one but two aircraft!

Ideally though this exciting set is to be used by two people battling to outwit each other in the sky.

Pilots use their flying skills and inbuilt laser beams to temporarily disable the other Sky Challenger. If that wasn't tempting enough the flying game is accompanied by an audible sound effect for added excitement!

When you hit your opponent's helicopter with a laser beam it should send it spinning to the ground.

 Built by Wonderland Models their sales pitch includes the following statement - "Only 17cms long and weighing just 11 grams, these two tiny Silverlit Sky Challenger Choppers are remarkably robust, and incorporate an auto stability system to make them easy to operate both indoors and outside in calm conditions."

However it reality these items are far less robust than advertised.

While they certainly 'do what they say on the tin' they can only really be played with in 'non windy' conditions. Therefore using them outside in a British winter may not be the wisest idea.

Retailing at between £40 and £50 this set would be a unique gift at Christmas but may be better suited to adults rather than children.

If you're thinking of picking up a Nintendo Wii game console for Christmas then you may well have to think again.

The wireless controlled consule has been selling off shelves in record time with major stores such as Argos sold out.

The 'Wii' was conceived in 2001as Nintendo worked on to concept of adapting player interaction.

"The consensus was that power isn't everything for a console. Too many powerful consoles can't coexist. It's like having only ferocious dinosaurs. They might fight and hasten their own extinction" said Nintendo game's designer Shigeru Miyamoto when asked about how and why he and others came up with the idea of the wii. 

Since its launch, the monthly sales numbers of the console have been higher than its competitors across the globe. According to the NPD Group, the Wii has sold more units in North America than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 combined in the first half of 2007.

This lead is even larger in the Japanese market, where it currently leads not only in total sales, but usually outsells both consoles by 3:1 to 6:1 every week.

In Australia, the Wii exceeded the Xbox 360 to become the fastest selling games console in Australian history.

The innovation is proving hugely popular across a diverse range of demographics.

Parents in particular believe the product is a more useful playtool than other  games consules due to the fact that players need to be extra active to succeed.

 

At £269 a pop you'd want the Apple iPhone to be everything you dreamed it would be and more!

Not just a mobile phone, MP3 player and e-mailing gizmo combined Apple are at pains to point out that this latest piece of technology is unique for many reasons.

It allows users to listen, talk and e-mail on one handset revolutionising modern walk around technology.

CEO of Apple Steve Jobs (Left) stresses that navigation is easy and overall the iPhone is  ultra easy to use.

Features include  touch activated calling, Visual voicemail, easy to use qwerty keyboard for text messages and e-mails and a 2 mega pixel camera.

The need for a seperate Blackberry, iPod and mobile phone has now been eradicated thanks to the iPhone.

However not everyone is convinced.

 

 

In the world of technology a year is a lifetime. The fact then that Apple's iPod, first launched in 2001, won the Daily Telegraph Digital Life's 'coolest gadget ever' award  is hughely impressive.

The MP3 player was announced the winner of the gong, voted on by Daily Telegraph readers, last week.

The iPod held off a strong challenge from the TomTom GO 300 satnav to secure the top spot.

Seen as the saviour of Apple,   more than 110 million iPods have been sold worldwide since 2001. 

        Top Ten Cool Awards Gadgets     

 

1. Apple iPod

2. Tom Tom Go 300

3. Sky +

4. NES

5  Fender Stratocaster

6. Macintosh Classic

7. Motorola RAZR

8. Leica M3

9. Blackberry

10. Tag Heuer Monaco 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Radio is changing. For Example BBC presenters are now preferred if they have regional accents as opposed to the mono toned clones of yesteryear.

But boy is it changing fast. Take for example the greatest breakthrough in modern bird/wireless technology.

Ladies and Gentlemen may I present the 'Waterproof Duck Radio' - (basically a radio built into a plastic duck!)

Keep in mind here that this isn't designed for children. Why a grown adult would want a duck in their bath is beyond me but the pitch is 'duck's are relaxing' and so is classical music!

Ducky covers both FM and AM wavebands so you might like to tune in to Handel's Water Music (Classic FM), "Yellow Submarine" (AM golden oldies station) or perhaps "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles".

Staying on the theme of artificial heated water platforms have you heard the one about the portable spa?! No it's not a joke, this new gizmo is really here. 

Now, in a matter of just ten minutes, you can inflate your very own spa in your back garden or even indoors. You don't need any tools, just the mains plug included to erect this sturdy beast.

Up to four adults can chill in style in the cushioned tub as 80 turbo-massage jets pummel the day's stresses away. You can control the temperature to an adjustable 40 degrees C.

Well now I have to say I take my hat off to the inventor of this particular gadget.

The floating snack tray may not be too useful in the winter months in the UK but once the sun re-emerges you'll be delighted you invested in this beauty.

In fact this remote controlled gadget is so popular that it's sold out on most of the websites I've seen.

When you walk down the street these days you see people with something resembling a soft drink can on the side of their head!

Some Bluetooth headsets seem to be designed by the inventor of the hummer!

Okay perhaps there is some health issue here but boy do they look strange!

Now though a nifty new gadget has changed all that.

The Pillete headset is so tiny that it's almost invisible to the untrained eye when you are wearing it.

So you don't have to worry anymore about looking like Robocop when walking down the street with it, but you have to consider the possibility of people starting to think you've lost your marbles and you're talking to yourself.

We're well aware that almost all technological appliances are getting smaller and smaller but now US scientists have unveiled a detector thousands of times smaller than the diameter of a human hair that can translate radio waves into sound.

According to a University of California team, the study marks the first time that a nano-sized detector has been demonstrated in a working radio system. 

Now and again in the UK you'll see TV programmes which show robots doing little handy household chores. The premise is that very soon these distant relations of Robocop will be sold on your nearest high street though in reality the consensus is that such a product is generations away.