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With Red Nose Day2011 only 28 days away on the 18th of March, Walkers Clash of the Comics is well underway. After much deliberating, tasting, munching, and indeed crunching the team here at Gadgets Towers have finally ranked the crisps in order of preference, so in reverse order they are:

4th – Steak And Al Pie

When you first open the packet the first thing you smell is the steak, so we were all looking forward to getting our lips around these crisps. Unfortunately once you pop one in your mouth your taste buds are assaulted by the ale flavour, which makes these crisps almost taste quite stale. There is something of a bitter aftertaste to them as well, which we have also put down to the ale. To be fair to this flavour we must point out that there are no ale lovers here at Gadgets Towers, and so we are very likely to be the wrong audience for this particular flavour, it may even be that these crisps are more at home as a bar snack than a companion to the rest of your lunch.

Joint 2nd – Frank Roast Dinner and Stephen Fry Up

Both of these flavours divided opinions, with some saying the roast dinner flavour was bland, others that it was flavoursome, and tasted very much like a full roast dinner. The Fry Up on the other hand had detractors pointing to the initial eggyness or others stating that once you got past the initial taste it was a well rounded flavour with the taste you would expect.

Frank Roast Dinner flavour smelled tasty, and generally of herby chicken upon opening the packet. It was largely liked, some classing it as inoffensive yet bland, and others saying if they closed their eyes they could almost be sat down for a big family dinner on a Sunday.

Stephen Fry Up smelled buttery with a touch of egg. Taste wise if you could get past the initial hit of egg you would be rewarded with a well rounded fry up flavour with a tang of bacon, and touches of baked beans and toast.

The Winner – Jimmy Con Carrne

Of course this leaves only the one flavour to claim the Gadgets.co.uk crown as our favourite, and that is Jimmy Con Carrne! Open up the packet and your nose is treated to an aroma that lets your taste buds know exactly what they are in for! It was pretty much unanimous that these were the favourites. A strong, and interesting flavour that tasted just like what it was meant to.

Pick up a bag and let us know what you think of each of the flavours, it’s for a good cause after all, and just in case you need some more motivation, we’ve even included the TV advert below.

We’re nearly in December, and that of course means that we are into the home straight of Christmas shopping. We here at Gadgets Towers have been having discussions about what we think our ten must-haves are for this Christmas. But, going out on a limb and voicing our own personal thoughts, we are also going to say what makes each of these gifts better than anything else.

1. Dave The Cheeky Monkey
Not just one of our top tips for Christmas 2010, Dave has already featured on the top ten toys for this Christmas by both Hamleys and Toys R Us. The manufacturer has stated that they are struggling to meet demand for Dave, despite having opened a third factory to up production levels. In order to feature on this list Dave has to be more than hype, and having had the Funky Monkey here at Gadgets Towers we can assure you he is not. Priced at under £25 Dave is the first in a new generation of remote controlled robotic toys that are affordable, whilst remaining functional. With a bit of practice using the remote and learning the functions you can soon have Dave responding to his surroundings and those around him, children finding him especially enchanting. The only down-side is that since he has over 30 behaviours it may take a while for you to be fluent in his complete repertoire.

2. Keyfinder
At just £14.95 this makes a great stocking filler or small gift for the absent minded. The greatest praise we can heap upon this useful little device is that it works. Most of us will, or know someone who has owned some sort of Keyfinder. Most likely the sort that you need to whistle, or clap your hands to activate. I can say from personal experience that these are appalling, always going off when you don’t want them to, and then not going off when you do! Our Keyfinder responds to an RF signal sent from the credit card section so it won’t start beeping and flashing until you want it to. With an effective range of up to 40m you’ll never have difficulty locating your keys again, we’ve even heard tell of some of our customers using these Keyfinders to play hide and seek.

3. Ice Scraper Mitt
This is another Stocking filler/small present that is great for car owners. With no mechanical, or electronic parts there is nothing that can go wrong with this gift, and it does exactly what it is intended to do: It allows you to scrape ice from your card windows without the hand that holds the scraper getting cold and soggy. Sure, it may not look the most fashionable of items, as some have pointed out, but when you are putting it on for around 5 minutes at a time who cares!?

4. F1 Helmet Sound System
As I mentioned in my blog post about this product, I was really impressed when we had one here for photographing and testing. Both the looks and feel of the Helmet, particularly the motorised visor shout quality, and the performance backs it up. The sound has great clarity and fullness, even at the upper range of volume, and I like my music loud! At £149.95 it is the most costly gift on our top ten, but the quality of the F1 Helmet Sound System ensures its place on this list is fully merited. The motorised visor oozes cool as you operate it from the included remote control, as are the rest of the array of functions. As well as being compatible with all models of iPhone and iPod it can also access MP3 files from both USB devices and SD cards up to 2GB, with a cable to give input from a standard headphone jack at the rear.

5. Personalised Sweetie Jar
In my personal opinion, it isn’t Christmas without a selection box, and these Personalised Sweetie Jars are a great take on that. Who wants to pay over the odds for a selection of five or six chocolate bars when you could instead get a jar packed choc full of sweets? Not only this, but you can personalise the cracking Christmassy label for your chosen recipient. Christmas and indulging your sweet tooth go hand in hand, so the Personalised Sweetie Jar is another must-have Christmas gift.

6. Blobimals
Kids love stuff that is tactile, oozy, and gooey. They also love things that they can put together, take apart, and put back together again time after time. As well as ticking both of these boxes the Blobimals also allow creativity, and no two monsters that you make will ever be the same. These are definitely a must have stocking filler and have been literally flying out of Gadgets Towers since they first arrived.

7. Heli Racer
Remote controlled toys always make great Christmas gifts but we have only chosen one for our top ten list, so what is it that sets the Heli Racer apart from the chasing pack? Well first have a look around, and see if you can find a fully functioning remote controlled car and helicopter for less than £49.95! Both vehicles are just as functional as you would expect them to be if packaged individually, and operate from the same remote, though not at the same time. This is an update to last years ultra-successful Heli Mission, which was rated in the Gadget Shows top 10 gadgets for Christmas last year, and if you ask us, this is even cooler!

8. Mini iPhone Charger
The iPhone is probably the must have Gadget of the last few years, so it was inevitable that our Christmas top 10 would have at least one iPhone dedicated gadget. The mini iPhone charger addresses the only real issue we have with our iPhones – the battery life. The Mini iPhone charger is a brilliant gift idea for those who can’t stop playing with their iPhones, which is pretty much everyone!

9. Space Rug
For a couple of years now the Slanket has ruled supreme when it comes to wearable blankets. There have been many imitators, and challengers to their crown but so far none have dethroned it. This year however sees the entrance of a new contender, the Space Rug. Not content to stick to the same tried and trusted form, riding on the coat tails of the Slanket the Space Rug has added one very important thing to the design; a hood. This simple addition sets the Space Rug apart from The Slanket, and other be-sleeved blankets out there, and we feel it could even allow the Space Rug to topple The Slanket from top spot this Christmas, making this another must-have Christmas gift.

10. Cosy Cardie Warmer
We’ve got a few microwavable warming gifts here at Gadgets Towers, and naturally they make especially great gifts at this time of year. The one we have selected and ear marked for greatness is the Cosy Cardie Warmer. It warms you up just as you would expect of it, but what we especially like is the cosy cuddly look and feel it has. I’m sure we all have memories of being snuggled up with a parent or grandparent in their warm woolly knitted cardigan when we were younger, and the Cosy Cardie Warmer will bring back memories of those times.