Archive for October, 2010

Gadgets.co.uk Welcomes Dave The Cheeky Monkey

Friday, October 29th, 2010

It’s been an incredibly exciting day here at Gadgets Towers, as we have been expecting a very special arrival. The red carpet was rolled out, and we even had a squadron of our Desktop Roadsweepers give it a quick once over to make sure it was entirely dirt and lint free. Why all the effort? Well today we were expecting our first shipment of Dave The Cheeky Monkey.

Thankfully there were no unforseen delays or incidents, and the busy folks at the warehouse worked incredibly hard first getting the delivery booked in, and then getting all your orders processed and despatched. So if you pre-ordered Dave, he should be arriving with you in the next few days ready to charm his way into your affections. If you wanted to wait until we actually had stock then you’d better get onto the Website and place your order pronto, as although we have plenty we’re expecting them to fly straight back out of the warehouse nearly as soon as they arrive. Much like a far more adorable version of the flying monkeys from The Wizard Of Oz.

Of course as well as Dave, we have loads of other great new gift ideas and gadgets to choose from on our website, so on the off-chance that cute monkeys aren’t your thing, you’re sure to find something else that is.

A Zombie Ate My Cupcake

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

The whole building has been buzzing this week as Halloween is just around the corner. Downstairs has been decorated with spooky spider webs, skeletons and a few make shift pumpkins, all in preparation for the fancy dress competition on Friday. I won’t be partaking in the fancy dress however I will be having a go at baking a few goodies for the day.

Those of you who read the blog regularly will know that I’m a keen cook, so when the ‘ A Zombie Ate My Cupcake’ recipe book arrived, I was first in the queue to get my hands on one. The book is the mastermind of Lily Vanilli aka Lily Jones who is a baker and cake designer. Within the book she has created 25 weird, ugly and grotesque types of cupcakes. Although very different to the usual cupcake they’ll still taste as yummy, so the book promises.

Now I have the book and the event I just need to decide which ones to have try, will it be Mutants Ears, Blood-Stained Brains or Sweeney Todds Surprise!! Well I still have a few days to decide so I’ll let you know which one I choose.

Weird cakes

If you fancy having a go at making some of these unusual cupcakes for your Halloween party you still have time, you can get yours here.

M x

Winter Is Here!

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

Wow! Well I don’t know about you guys, but for me at least Monday seems like it was ages ago! I’m hoping for a nice relaxing weekend, and Mandy will be hoping likewise, although in her case she has popped off to Wales. I on the other hand will be enjoying staying in the warm at home mostly this weekend as the temperatures have certainly dropped over the last few days. Shock horror I even had to scrape frost from my car the other morning!

If you need some help keeping cosy whilst relaxing at home then we have a range of gadgets that are ideal for just this purpose, from our ever popular Cosy Combo, to the sweet smelling Cosy Cardie Warmer and cuddly new Wild Warmers

Whatever you plan on doing this weekend, here’s hoping you keep cosy and warm!

An Alternative Monday Message

Monday, October 18th, 2010

Mondays, they might be a day that a lot of us dread, the start of another working/school week. Five long days until the freedom of another weekend. But they needn’t be like that at all. Monday, as the start of the week can be looked as a new beginning, a chance to sculpt the new week into something more pleasant than the one just passed. This being the case it seemed quite apt that today I got a little hands on time with our new Blobimals. If there is one Gadget we have that embodies the alternative Monday feeling I’m trying to portray it’s these malleable little monsters.

Each Blobimal consists of about a handful of brightly coloured putty, either red green or blue, and around half a dozen plastic monster parts in a matching colour. The idea of course is that you can squish, squeeze, stretch, and mould the putty in various weird and wonderful shapes. To give a bit of character to your monster you can add the various features such as eyes, a mouth brimming with razor sharp teeth, and various deadly looking spiky bits. The great thing about the Blobimals is that no two monsters that you ever make, will be the same, nor will they be permanent.

The putty is firm and stable enough to hold its shape for a while, long enough for you to get some snaps to show off to friends and family, but leave your Blobimal alone for any length of time and they’ll slowly melt into a formless puddle of putty, just waiting to be remoulded into new and exotic shapes!

I’ve had some great fun with the Blobimals today, and at just £5.95 they will make a great stocking filler, encouraging creativity and artistic flair in anyone. Of course Blobimals aren’t just for kids, as squeezing and manipulating the putty can be quite soothing in itself!

Meet The Eyeborg

Thursday, October 14th, 2010

“When Canadian filmmaker Rob Spence was a kid, he would peer through the bionic eye of his Six Million Dollar Man action figure. After a shooting accident left him partially blind, he decided to create his own electronic eye. Now he calls himself Eyeborg.”

That’s right, this film maker has specially developed a bionic eye that contains a battery powered wireless video camera. The working prototype was finished last year, and was even named one of the best inventions of 2009 by Time Magazine.

Although the current incarnation of the eye produces low res pictures, contains a weak transmitter requiring the receiving antenna to be held to his cheek, and a short 3.5 hour battery life the concept is sound. The group are continually striving to improve the technology, with developments continually being made, they are currently working on a version giving a clearer picture. Eyeborg eventually hopes to be able to broadcast over the internet to bring everyone else his exact perspective, eyelashes and all, of the world. You can see his videos on the Eyeborg Vimeo channel here (though not all of them are for the squeamish!).

Autonomous Cars In Development, Chauffeurs Everywhere Worried For Future

Monday, October 11th, 2010

I can’t be the only one who has read the various ridiculous stories you see occasionally in the media, about people leaving their cars to drive themselves either on cruise control, or because of a sat nav system. Autonomous car systems have come one leaps and bounds in the last few years with Higher end car manufacturers, such as Lexus, already having automatic parking systems, and cleverer cruise control.

The next step is surely to have completely autonomous cars that will drive themselves, and development is already well underway by various companies. Google have hit the news today with their own project in this area, their cars having already covered as much as 140,000 miles in and around San Francisco and Lake Tahoe.

Google maintain that safety is the foremost priority whilst testing this new technology, and the cars are always manned with a specially trained driver as well as a software expert. Routes are mapped out and planned in advance, with local police also being made aware. The tests so far have been a great success, with only one minor bump, which occurred when one of the Google cars was bumped from behind at some traffic lights. If anything this just lends weight to the idea behind the technology; that people make mistakes, and these are what cause accidents.

Google are hoping the end result could reduce road traffic and the number of accidents, although they do stress that the project is still very much in the experimental stage. On a slight side note, one thing that concerns me about the video below is actually nothing to do with the driverless car, but that the video was shot in America, in a left-hand drive car, which means the video is being shot, semingly, by the driver, who I would guess, does not have a Google self driving car….

New Simpsons Themed Gifts Arrive At Gadgets.co.uk

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

It may be hard to believe, but even nearly 21 years after they first came into our lives back in 1989 The Simpsons remain, arguably, the first animated family of TV. The cast of characters has expanded over the years, and everyone has their favourite character, be it a Bart or Homer who is in just about every episode, or one of the guest characters such as Lionel Hutz, Renier Wolfcastle or, my favourite, Sideshow Bob. I think that alongside how the show relates to real life, it is the range of characters that ensures everyone can really empathise with at least one character, or parts of several different ones.

Of course, I’m here to talk about our range of gifts and gadgets, and we’ve just had some new Simpsons lines arrive over the last few days. First up is our Duff Gift Set which consists of a Duff branded stein, and keychain bottle opener. After all: “You can’t get enough of that wonderful Duff!”. My favourite of the two new items though is definitely the Talking Homer Simpson Bottle Opener, so next time you need a cold refreshing Duff, you can crack one open and listen to one of Homer’s pearls of wisdom.

These two great new gifts, along with our Simpsons USB Hub and Homer Simpson Phone Spinners, are sure to make any Simpsons fan’s day.

Nintendo Announces Launch Dates And Price For 3DS

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

Well, the waiting is nearly over, Nintendo have finally announced that the 3DS will be available next March, for what is reportedly just shy of the £200 mark! They will no doubt be hoping the the 3DS does indeed prove to be the next evolution of the incredibly popular DS, which even last year was difficult to get hold of around Christmas time! The biggest gamble is that all the more ‘casual’ 3DS gamers will want to upgrade and move over to the new system for the enhanced graphics, and gameplay options that will be available through what will surely be one of next years must have gadgets!

Now, I’ve always been a huge Nintendo fan, I feel they are the one games company that you can rely to push the boundaries of gaming to bring you new experiences. Most recently and notably they have done so with the Wii and the DS, bringing gaming to millions that previously had rarely, if ever, even picked up a control pad. But is the cost of the 3DS too high?

I suppose only time will tell, and as the first 3D portable gaming machine no doubt it will be picked up by those who have to have the latest gadgetry. Will I be amongst them, queuing on launch day? I was for the DS, and if I start saving my pennies now I probably will be.

Dave The Cheeky Monkey Arrives At Gadgets Towers!

Friday, October 1st, 2010

We were all most excited this week at Gadgets Towers, as a much anticipated visitor arrived. If you’ve perused Hamley’s “Top Ten Toys For Christmas”, or saw Something For The Weekend a couple of weeks ago you may already know just who Dave The Cheeky Monkey is. If not then let me enlighten you; Dave The Cheeky Monkey is basically a robotic puppet who sits on your shoulder and responds to a remote control which can be discreetly hidden in your pocket. The remote control features just 8 buttons, and simple combinations can produce over 30 different movements and mannerisms from Dave, allowing him to wave, nod, hide, or even fart and burp if you’re feeling particularly mischievous.

I was lucky enough to get to spend some time with Dave, and although I only memorised two or three functions without having to look at the ‘cheat sheet’, if you spend a little time with him you can have him interacting with you and those around you seamlessly. The video below gives an idea of how Dave works, and if you are anything like us you’ll want to give Dave The Cheeky Monkey a home this Christmas!

We are expecting stock to arrive in our warehouse towards the end of October, and we recommend you get your pre-orders in now as although we will be receiving plenty of stock we expect them to be swinging their way out of our doors even quicker than they arrive!