Technology Blog (UK), Hi-Tech Gadgets & Gaming - Zath! » Gadgets

Dabs.com Live IT & Gadget Show 2010 Review (London)

Serena Obhrai — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:40:40 +0000

Last weekend, I attended the Dabs IT & Gadget Show we recently brought you news of, at Wembley Stadium. It was definitely the biggest hoo-ha I’ve seen for an event that was only fairly mediocre, at best. I was forced to book my tickets for this a couple of months in advance because the organisers claimed that the event was in high demand. After doing so, I was then sent a follow-up email (a couple of weeks before the event) asking me to once again confirm my attendance for the event, as well as asking me how many tickets I would like (up to a maximum of four).

A couple of days before the event I received an email reminding me of the high number of attendees, asking me to bring along my ID, otherwise me and my guests would not be permitted entry. Finally, I was asked to print out the ticket to bring along with me. I took three friends along and we turned up at the door expecting a mad rush of people.

The reality was that we couldn’t see anyone waiting to get in – the only people in sight were stadium staff kicking the ground through boredom. We managed to get inside without my ID being checked and made our way to the event, through the convoluted entry system that is Wembley Stadium. Three floors up and we’re finally at the event. This wouldn’t normally irk me, but I had four spare tickets that I could have given away to people I knew wanted to attend and were unable to through the fabled ‘we have too many people attending’ and the ‘we’re going to check your ID’ policy.

Entering the room, there was nothing spectacular in sight, nor were there more than 150 people in the room. That may even be stretching it – could have been 100. I’m not entirely sure how many people they were expecting to attend the event, but it was definitely a poor show. Perhaps it had to do with the mockery of a booking system you made, eh Dabs? Oh wait, yeah, I forgot to mention that due to the ‘high demand in tickets’ we were also split into two groups on the day – a morning group and an afternoon group, of which both had an hour and a half to roam around and see things. Luckily for Dabs and their awesome organisation skills, they didn’t actually put many stands out so people were done in about 25 minutes.

This period also included a wander around the ‘Gaming Zone’. This was a small cordoned off area where visitors were allotted time slots to walk-in and play games against the pro-gamers. It was a fairly boring event, with Gail Porter presenting and no Suzi Perry in sight. Anywhere. The ‘Football Zone’ was merely a kid’s keeper’s net with a few footballs hanging around to kick into it. The organisers were clearly clutching at straws to fill the event with gimmicky things to keep people entertained. Unfortunately, it was abysmal.

In light of trying to make a bad situation a little better, here are some of the releases that will be available for us to get our hands on this year:

Microsoft was doing some heavy promotion for their wireless headsets, mice and keyboards. Their LifeCams were also a prominent feature of their stand.
HP spent time on their industrial sized printers and printer paraphernalia.
Gigabyte was all about their motherboard technology – the P55 series.
Wacom had their pen tablets out in force. Something I actually had some fun with and could properly interact with was their Cintiq 21UX Interactive Pen Display (this is for the artists and designers among you). I was sceptical at first, but grew to love their products. They also had their Bamboo Pen & Touch and the Intuos4.
Optoma had several of their new projectors out on display, including their itsy bitsy Pico Pocker Projector (PK301). A beautiful piece of kit that fits nicely in the palm of your hand!
DGM had their Ice Top range out on display, as well as a few of their HD widescreen TVs. Crisp, clear quality not just for viewing, but also for gaming.
Buffalo had a small stand displaying their external storage options.
iGo Green also had a tiny stand telling you all about how to conserve energy and to use surge protectors.
Acer completely outdid themselves with not only a pretty impressive stand (in size) displaying their laptops, but by also showing off their Ferrari One laptop. I’m fairly happy to admit that this little beauty is exactly as perfect as you might think it is up close and personal.
The ZonePlayer S5 is an all-in-one wireless system which will connect to your iPhone that actually had pretty decent sound blasting out silly pop music to get your attention.
Panasonic were there with their 2010 camcorder selection.
Steel Series, who had pro gamers there, were also showing off their pro-gaming gear, including headsets, laser mice and keyboards.

Other companies that had stalls, but weren’t very interesting were Iiyama, Logitech, Hitachi, CablesToGo and Canon.

The only really great thing about this event was the stadium tour we received of the newly refurbished and designed England home ground. Highlights included, but were not limited to; the history of the old stadium, the design of the new one, stuff the players get up to and getting to walk through the home changing rooms out into the stadium, as the players do. Before the tour, I joked with my friends about wanting to know how many toilets there were in the stadium and that if I didn’t find out, I would ask the tour guide. Luckily for me, it was the last thing we were told as the tour was winding to a close. If you’d like to know the answer and more about my Wembley Stadium tour, with some very cool pictures/video of player shirts and the ground, please visit my blog for my write-up.

Overall, the Dabs IT and Gadget Event this year was really rather lacking in any substance. Given the number of hoops I had to jump through to get into the event in the first place, I’m just not going to bother next time.

Alternatively check out some of our other sites - Gadgets For Men - Tech-Styling - Cheap Bargains - Zath TV

Dabs.com Live IT & Gadget Show 2010 Review (London)

Bundle Box Offers UK An Early iPad Release Date

Rob Nichols — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:16:24 +0000

Transatlantic shopping service Bundle Box have managed to secure a deal which will allow UK customers to get a fully legit Apple iPad before the official UK release date. Not only does it not cost any extra than it would if you waited for the official release, you actually save £30 on the predicted launch price due to the differences in retail price between the UK and USA.

So you may be thinking, well won’t I have to pay import duty? Won’t that make the savings pretty much negligible? Well actually, no. Thanks to a binding ruling by UK customs, there is a guaranteed 0% import cost.

So it all sounds pretty spectacular. Of course, there will be plenty of skeptics which will disregard the idea under the assumption there is a ‘catch’. As far as I can tell it is trustworthy and I can’t see why it wouldn’t be attractive to potential iPad buyers. In addition to the lower costs and early release, delivery is promised within 3 days of the US launch date. The pre-order of the Apple iPad in the US opened on Friday 12th March.

So what is Bundle Box? As i mentioned earlier, they are an online transatlantic shopping service which allows Brits to register for a free USA postal address. Therefore being able to easily ship items from the states with, in this case, no extra cost. BundleBox allows customers to order from any US website and send the goods to your registered address. Bundle Box then send out the goods to the consumer in the UK. The company was started by former Google executive Andre Schmidt in the UK last year.

The total cost of the device including postage and packing, when ordered through BundleBox, will come to a modest £465.20 for the 16Gb Wi-Fi version. As I said, this is a saving of approximately £30 over the predicted UK price, sounds like the best deal I’ve heard of for an Apple’s iPad yet, what do you think to it?

One of the biggest gripes I have with living in the UK is the pretty limited collection of technology on the market and the more expensive price tags when compared to those across the pond. Short of flying across and actually buying the goods ourselves, we really are stuck with high prices and limited variety.

Some sites in the US such as the Apple store, only allows payment using USA credit cards, however the ‘buy for me’ service provided by Bundle Box allows users without such cards to purchase the goods anyway. Registration for the site is free as well so it won’t break your bank just taking a look. Other services provided by BundleBox include the ‘strip and ship’ offer which removes bulky packaging to minimise shipping costs.

Personally, I love the idea and have been looking out for such a service such as Bundle Box for some time now. Obviously with other goods this can be an extremely expensive way of shipping certain goods depending on the physical size of it. However generally US prices are cheaper than here in the UK, so you will have to take time weighing up the pro’s and con’s for each individual items, although bulk shipping to save costs is a viable option.

So what do you think of the Bundle Box service? Is it something that interests you? The Apple iPad is no doubt going to be high in demand so this service does give you a chance to get there ahead of the crowd.

Via – Gaj-It

Alternatively check out some of our other sites - Gadgets For Men - Tech-Styling - Cheap Bargains - Zath TV

Bundle Box Offers UK An Early iPad Release Date

Wall Of Sound: The Biggest iPod Speaker In The World!

Jakk Ogden — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:23:29 +0000

So when exactly could an iPod speaker be considered over the top? When the neighbours come knocking? When the police get called? Nope, now it seems there is a new benchmark – size.

Introducing the Wall Of Sound which dwarfs any personal speaker I have ever seen in my lifetime. Weighing in at 225 pounds and completely handmade, the Wall Of Sound can be purchased for mammoth price of $4,495.

Promoted as the world’s most powerful iPod speaker, the Wall Of Sound has a frequency response of 40Hz – 20,00kHz, which is impressive to say the least. Here is the actual description of the product as seen on the official website;

So would you buy one? Or more importantly, could you fit one in your house? I know I couldn’t, perhaps this is something for Steve Jobs himself, although he probably would have opinions about the styling not going with his iPod Nano!

This mammoth ‘gadget’ is certainly not very eco friendly either and I doubt it has the ‘Energy Star’ which has become so relevant on the latest gadgets of 2010. I think I’ll have to pass on this being the speaker for my iPod Touch, I wonder just how many of these will be sold though?

Alternatively check out some of our other sites - Gadgets For Men - Tech-Styling - Cheap Bargains - Zath TV

Wall Of Sound: The Biggest iPod Speaker In The World!

Zath’s Technology & Gadget Roundup (08/03/2010)

Simon Barker — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:05:34 +0000

It’s the start of another week here on Zath, wow this year is really flying by, but at least it starting to get sunny here in the UK – anyway let’s have a quick look back at some of the interesting technology and gadget articles in the past week…

LG InTouch Max (GW620) Review – we’ve reviewed quite a few LG mobile phone handsets over the past couple of years and now we’ve had chance to take a proper look at LG’s first Android mobile phone, it’s perhaps not everything that you might have wanted if you’re looking to move from an iPhone, however if you’re looking for a good low priced Android handset, then this could be the one for you!

Google Buzz iPhone App Launched – well it didn’t take a long did it? You can now get an iPhone app that works as a software client for the latest social network; Google Buzz. I have an iPhone and have looked at the Google webpage app, but haven’t really used it. It’s good to see separate clients appearing for Google Buzz as it wasn’t until I started using clients with Twitter that I properly used that.

Review: Sony Ericsson Aino (The PS3 Phone) – have you got a Playstation 3? Would you like to be able to connect your mobile phone up to it and use Remote Play to control and view content on your PS3. This is an interesting move forward for the console manufacturers, ever since we first did our Sony Ericsson Aino preview, I’ve been thinking that in future we’ll be seeing more ways in which to use your mobile phones with your gaming console.

FLIPR iPhone Universal Remote – this nifty little device plugs into your iPhone 3G, 3GS or iPod Touch and turns it into a universal remote control. I’ve tried a variety of different universal remote controls in the past, but unfortunately for a variety of reasons always end up going back to having a line of original remote controls on my sofa. However, having a customisable touch-screen remote control in the form of my iPhone 3GS that I always have in my pocket does sound appealing!

Virgin Broadband: Next-Gen Fragging For Discerning Gamers – do you need the fastest of high-speed broadband? Are you a gamer that needs the fastest connection to ensure the lowest pings on your online games? Or do you love your online media and want to be able to stream the latest high definition programming? Does it take you ages to upload your photos and videos to sites such as Facebook? I can only wish that I could have internet access to these kinds of levels because of my location, but if you’re lucky enough to live somewhere that is covered by Virgin Media Broadband, then you might want to take a look at what it’s capable of!

Wayne Unwillingly Goes Wireless For The Weekend – so what happens if your internet provider goes down? Well normally we’d just have to put up with it, wait for it be fixed, perhaps find a coffee shop that offers free wifi, however if you have an online business, you probably need another option you can depend on, here Wayne gets to test out Orange’s iPhone tethering internet access. I found this particularly interesting as I’m looking at mobile broadband options in the form of either a USB dongle, a Mifi (mobile internet wireless hotspot) or perhaps an Android-based phone such as the Nexus One and using a tethering option with that. What are your thoughts on this subject? I’d be interested to know what you think!

World Of Warcraft Characters Papercraft Is Just WOW! – right well I admit it, I do on occasion play a bit of World of Warcraft and if you’ve ever played the game too, then I’m sure you can appreciate some of the impressively created WoW papercraft characters that someone has made – I’m sure it takes ages to make something like that, but they do look very cool and if you’re someone who already has a WoW mouse and perhaps a WoW keyboard connected up to your computer, then these could be just what you need to complete your desk!

Mini Freeview Digital TV & Media Player – so it seems that everyone is talking tablet devices this year, what with a plethora of different companies producing their own products and not to mention a certain product called the Apple iPad whose launch is creeping closer every day. But what if you want a smaller, simpler media player to watch your Freeview digital TV, videos and music, then this might be a better option for you!

Radio Controlled Nighthawk Helicopter – ever since I was a little kid, I’ve had some kind of fascination with helicopters, I’m not quite sure what it is, but they always looked so cool to me just hovering in the air, seeing the Airwolf helicopter on the TV show probably added a lot to it. Anyway, consequently I’ve always wanted a really good radio controlled helicopter, unfortunately they were always so expensive, however they are now coming down to an affordable price as technology marches on, so I might have to give one of these a try now. What do you think, have you got a remote control helicopter? Do you have any advice in buying one?

If you read or run a technology or gadget-related that has written some interesting articles that you think other people would like to read about, then feel free to send us your suggestions to contact@zath.co.uk

Also, if you haven’t already, you can follow us on Twitter or Facebook as a way of keeping up to date with everything on Zath, try it out and see what you think, it won’t cost you anything!

Alternatively check out some of our other sites - Gadgets For Men - Tech-Styling - Cheap Bargains - Zath TV

Zath’s Technology & Gadget Roundup (08/03/2010)

Contour USB Diabetes Meter / Monitoring System

Rob Nichols — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:44:45 +0000

Diabetes affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide and is predicted by some to become one of, if not the biggest health issues of the 21st century. Up to now, many diabetics manage their blood glucose levels using some form of electronic reader.

They are then left up to their own devices to keep a note of any recurring trends which need to be addressed. This could mean that problems go unnoticed could cause further issues in the long term.

Thankfully, Bayer Diabetes Care have come up with a solution for simpler management of the condition. Their Contour USB Diabetes Meter accurately records up to 2000 readings of blood glucose levels and directly plugs into any PC via USB. It contains 500Mb of storage for all your personal diabetes records and information.

It acts like any blood glucose meter in that you have to take samples and let the machine work its magic in calculating your levels. It’s after that where the Contour USB Diabetes meter is set apart from previous devices. There is a bright colour display which projects information regarding the current level, time of day and meal times etc. It’s an all round management system for anyone with diabetes.

“This technology has the potential to transform the way people manage their diabetes; instead of seeing a single blood glucose level, they can now simply see & review the whole picture” said Dr. Iain Cranston, Consultant Physician, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth.

“Up until now visualisation of this data has been difficult and people with diabetes have often just been reacting to their one-off blood glucose levels on a real-time basis, but CONTOUR® USB gives them a much bigger overview, enabling them to spot regular patterns and potential problems emerging and allowing them to take a more proactive role in their condition.”

As I said, the device stores thousands of records which are translated into trends, patterns and fluctuations which can be accessed via the built in screen or via your PC through means of a USB connection. It is the only diabetes management system of its kind and the technology is forecast to have a major impact on the lives of diabetics on a global scale.

Glucofacts DELUXE diabetes management software is available with the device for your PC. The software plays an integral part in ensuring the successful management of the device. This is where your records are most accessible and you can manage the tests, numbers and issues easily from your PC at home.

The company is backed by Jonas Brothers star Nick, who has been using the device and went on records himself by stating, “I have been using Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB meter and really like it. The technology has made monitoring my blood sugar, logging the results, and sharing information with my healthcare professional an easier process for me, especially with my busy schedule. This new meter has totally simplified my diabetes management experience.”

I myself do not suffer from the condition, all though I do have a relative who does. I can only imagine how useful this device and all round package would be to people simply down to the fact that it makes it…simpler. The world is always looking for ways to move forward particularly in medicine and managing conditions and illnesses. I’m guessing this is one of those innovations which will be regarded as real solid progress for diabetics.

The Contour USB Diabetes Meter / Monitoring System is available from Bayer’s online store for only £24.99 which doesn’t sound too expensive from where I’m sitting.

Alternatively check out some of our other sites - Gadgets For Men - Tech-Styling - Cheap Bargains - Zath TV

Contour USB Diabetes Meter / Monitoring System

Zath’s Technology & Gadget Roundup (01/03/2010)

Simon Barker — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:09:17 +0000

It’s the start of another week and hopefully you’ve all had a great weekend, I thought we’d begin it with a quite look back at some of the best in hi-tech gadgets and technology blogging that I saw from last week…

Best 10 Free Android Apps For Your Mobile Phone – do you have an Android-based mobile phone? Or are you planning on getting one of the many that are going to be released this year such as Google’s Nexus One, LG GW620, one of the new HTC’s Desire, Legend, HD Mini or one of the many other Android phones that will be released this year? If so, you’ll definitely want to take a look at this list of some of the best free Android apps that are currently out there!

iPhone 4G To Include Front-Facing Camera – another day, another rumour about the upcoming new iPhone 4G mobile phone, this time it surrounds the possibility of a front-facing camera that would allow people to make video calls/conferencing including using Skype. Although that said, these kinds of rumours are just that and nothing might come from them, for instance I wrote about a similar rumour of the 3rd generation iPhone getting a front-facing camera nearly a year ago and then when Apple announced the iPhone 3GS, we were left feeling a little underwhelmed by it all.

Nexus One Coming To Vodafone UK In April – Google’s very own Nexus One mobile phone has been available for around a couple of months now and despite rumours of the Nexus One release date on Vodafone rumoured to be in February 2010, nothing appeared unfortunately for those people who are eagerly waiting to get their hands on one and it now looks like it’s going to be an April release, so at least another month to wait…unless you want to buy the Nexus One direct from Google.

Free Gadget Giveaway: Win A New 32GB iPod Touch – yeah that’s right, the guys over at GadgetLite are giving away a brand new 32GB iPod Touch to one of their lucky readers, all you need to do is subscribe to their website and leave a comment saying what you’re most looking forward to doing if you get your hands on the iPod Touch 32GB. Who doesn’t like a an easy-to-enter competition like this? Just be quick as the competition closes at 8pm GMT today!

LG Windows Phone 7 Smartphone Launching In September – well this is an interesting rumour, it would appear that we’re just six months away from seeing the first of those nifty-looking new Windows Phones! If you’ve not seen the new upcoming attempt by Microsoft to re-boot their mobile phone business then go and take a look at what the Windows Phone 7 Series mobile phones promises to be giving us in terms of design and features.

Android Users To Get Sky News App – this is a very good sign for the Android platform as far as I’m concerned. Being someone who wants to get an Android mobile phone at some point this year, the more big name iPhone apps (such as the Sky News iPhone app) that makes their way over to Google’s mobile operating system the better. I’m sure this number will only continue to grow as more people get more of the newer Android-based phones during the course of 2010.

How To Make Your Facebook Picture Popup – so most of us will no doubt be on Facebook now, obviously you have a profile picture which your friends can easily identify you from at a glance, but how about making it stand out a little more than everyone else’s? Well take a look at this guide as to how to do just that, it makes it appear as though you’re peering up from behind the main profile background, perhaps I should do this for the Zath Facebook page! Brilliant!

First Impression Of The Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB – it’s now over a year since I got my first iPhone (the iPhone 3G PAYG), but it certainly was an interesting experience when you first get used to using one. Are these first impressions of the iPhone 3GS 32GB similar to your own? Do you want an iPhone, but haven’t got one yet? What’s holding you back?

Please Rob Me! – do you like to use some of the latest location-based services and apps out there? You know like saying when you’re currently out on Twitter, or by checking in somewhere using Foursquare or Gowalla, or perhaps using the location features of the new Google Buzz social network? Well you might want to consider the potential pitfall of disclosing this information online as you’re telling people that you’re not at home and perhaps they could rob your home? Especially when this information has been collated and put into this special Please Rob Me! website, although it’s only there to highlight to people the information that is already out there on the web. Do you tell the online world when you’re away from home or use location-based? Is this a concern for you?

Electric Stonebake Pizza Oven / Maker – now I’m a big fan of pizzas, especially those really authentic ones that you’d find in the good restaurants that use a stonebake oven. Well now you can experience the same with your own pizzas at home with this easy to use (and clean) pizza oven.

Salt and Pepper Robots – What’s the best way to serve up salt and pepper with your meals if you’re a gadget fan? Well how about some salt and pepper pots (bots) that will walk to your plate? A cool little novelty I thought, unless you’re more one for the retro-style puzzles, in which case the Rubiks Cube Salt and Pepper Pots would also be worth taking a look at!

Strange, Weird and Funny Search Phrases (Feb 2010) – one of the most interesting things to look through when analysing your website statistics has to be the phrases that people type into search engines to find your site, so take a look at some that have been used in the past month.

Let us know what you think to any of these topics in the comments below. Hope you have a great week ahead of you all!

Alternatively check out some of our other sites - Gadgets For Men - Tech-Styling - Cheap Bargains - Zath TV

Zath’s Technology & Gadget Roundup (01/03/2010)

I Want One Of Those – 3 for 2 Gadget Sale

Simon Barker — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:29:55 +0000

As 2010 seems to be rapidly moving forward, Christmas has faded into memory, although I’m sure I’m not alone in still recovering financially from it, so when I saw that I Want One Of Those (IWOOT) are currently running a new 3 for 2 promotional campaign on their site I thought this would be quite useful!

Obviously, here at Zath HQ we like our gadgets so anytime we can save some money when we buy our latest shiny toy, it’s always most welcome and once again IWOOT aren’t letting us down by giving us ways to pick up some cheap bargain gadgets, just like they have in the past in by running IWOOT free delivery promotions.

The IWOOT 3 for 2 sale promotion includes lots of our favourite gadgets that we’ve previously looked at as well as some we’ve not seen before! Some highlights for us in particular include the following:

Double Slankets
Fridge Magnet Photo Frame
Retro iPod Alarm Clock
Chain Wine Bottle Holder
6 In 1 Solar Robot Kit
Metal Detecting Sandals
Personalised Classic Novels (Perhaps a great one for Mother’s Day that’s in a few weeks time?)

So if you’re a fan of gadgets or want to buy a special someone a gadget-based gift, then now’s the time to do so and save some money in the process by getting the cheapest 3rd item for free from I Want One Of Those, just be quick as the promotion ends on the 1st March 2010!

Terms & Conditions
• This promotion is valid for a limited time only from 10am on Tuesday 23rd February until 4:30pm on Monday 1st of March 2010.
• This promotion is only available for web orders and not phone orders.
• The 3 for 2 offer works as follows : Every 3rd item is free, in descending price order. That means, unsurprisingly, that if you buy 3 products in this range, the cheapest one is free! And that if you buy 9 items, the ones you get free are the third, sixth and ninth most expensive, not the 3 cheapest. This means you get the best value from the offer.
• Returns work as follows: Any discount that has been applied to the order will be refunded on a pro-rata % based on the total cost of the qualifying items in the order before discount. Customer Services will confirm accordingly if you have to return an item.
• The promotion applies only to qualifying items displaying the offer message. Items that do not display the offer message do not qualify.
• The offer is subject to product availability while stocks last.
• The promotion only applies when all of your chosen qualifying products are purchased in one order, being delivered to a single address.
• The promotion applies to products alone and does not include delivery charges or gift wrapping.
• Photo Gift products and Experiences are exempt from the promotion whether purchased on the iwoot main website www.iwoot.com or on its sister sites www.iwoote.com or www.iwootpg.com
• I Want One Of Those reserves the right to refuse orders placed in conjunction with this promotion and/or to withdraw the promotion at any time.

Alternatively check out some of our other sites - Gadgets For Men - Tech-Styling - Cheap Bargains - Zath TV

I Want One Of Those – 3 for 2 Gadget Sale

Etre Touchy Gloves – Use Your iPhone Touchscreen Out In The Cold!

Rob Nichols — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:28:34 +0000

In the last few months I have purchased a touchscreen phone as well as an iPod Touch, and what with the weather being so cold I have been faced with a small dilemma. If I wear gloves, I will be warm, but unfortunately this will restrict use of such touchscreen devices and mean I will most likely have to remove the gloves to send an SMS or make a call. Either that or I could be extremely cold meaning I would still not be able to use the devices properly anyway.

Thankfully, some rather novel gloves have appeared on the market which tackles such a dilemma. Etre’s Touchy Gloves are specifically designed for the use of touchscreen devices and therefore have 2 holes at the tip of the thumb and forefinger on either hand. This means you can sufficiently use your iPhone 3GS, Nexus One or other similar touchscreen devices whilst staying warm.

Not only are these gloves functional, they are also fairly stylish. In terms of how they look, they aren’t too dissimilar to most ordinary gloves on the market, bar the fact they having missing fingertips. They are available in several different colours, with the tip of the reduced fingers in a contrasting colour. For example, the main 4 colours available to the public are ‘Charcoal with Turquoise’, ‘Grey with Rose’, ‘Black with Charcoal’ and ‘Chocolate with Mint’. However, more colours are available if you buy the gloves in great bulk, perhaps if you intend to be a reseller. When buying over 20 pairs, you can choose from 120 different colours!

There are several other uses listed on the site for the Etre Touchy Gloves, which include reading braille, operating professional video camera’s with adjustable lenses, using an e-reader, fishing, the list is pretty endless I must say. Incredibly, they even include such activities as picking your nose and milking goats as good and proper uses for the gloves. As you can tell, these are no ordinary gloves and have several unorthodox uses as well as some more primary ones.

So overall, I believe these to be subtly brilliant. As I mentioned earlier, they are not too different to normal pair of gloves. Of course the fingerless glove is nothing new. However, these Etre Touchy Gloves are slightly different and that slight difference mean they can be very useful and perhaps become extremely popular. The gloves ship worldwide and retail individually at £19.99 from the official site.

Alternatively check out some of our other sites - Gadgets For Men - Tech-Styling - Cheap Bargains - Zath TV

Etre Touchy Gloves – Use Your iPhone Touchscreen Out In The Cold!

Zath’s Technology & Gadget Roundup (20/02/2010)

Simon Barker — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:12:00 +0000

It’s the end of another week in the online world of hi-tech gadgets and technology blogging and as usual there’s been a lot happening out there, so here’s a quick roundup of some of the stuff that we’ve found particularly interesting this week, let us know what you think to them too!

Linux Training Week on Zath – I’m sure we’ve all heard of Linux, but for me personally it’s not something I’ve ever seriously looked at because I always assumed it wasn’t worth the hassle of installation for something that wasn’t that worthwhile, well clearly I was wrong on that one! As you can see from this useful series of articles about the Ubuntu distribution of Linux – it’s easy to setup Ubuntu, it’s an easy to use the Ubuntu interface and there’s lots of software available for Linux.

Heineken Beer-Serving Robot of the Future – oh yes that’s right, in the future we won’t need to get up from the comfort of the sofa, instead the robots will bring the beer to us! This particular robot makes for a great novelty, but it does make you wonder about the potential of robots in the future.

Buy Walkie Talkie Watches? – admittedly walkie talkies aren’t exactly hi-tech these days or even that wanted by people now we all have modern mobile phones such as the iPhone 3GS and Nexus One, but these particular ones can be strapped on your wrist and would make for great free-to-use communication devices if you like to be out in the great outdoors or perhaps having a multi-car roadtrip given they have a range of up to 5km. I just wish I had some of these back when I was a kid!

Coolest Gadgets New Look! – we’ve been fans of Coolest Gadgets for a long time now, in fact we’ve had some of our gadgets voted as Coolest Gadget of the Week by their readers. In addition to that they’ve always been a great source of information on the latest and greatest gadgets, but now they’ve had a facelift and their new modern, streamlined design is live on the site and it’s looking very good indeed! I’d suggest you go take a look at the site as it’s now better than ever!

Google Buzz Being Sued For Privacy Issues? – well it would appear that the Internet-giant that is Google might well get sued over its implementation of their new attempt at social networking because they turned it on by default for all GMail users and then auto-followed the people you most email – but obviously, just because you email someone a lot, that doesn’t mean to say you want to socialise with them or let them know what you’re up to, for instance, after a relationship break-up – in those cases people are not happy with Google, if you’re not familar with this new service, then you can find out more about Google Buzz over at Jason Slater’s technology blog.

Amazon Launches Kindle Blackberry Application – it looks like Amazon are trying to grab even more of the e-book market with the launch of another mobile app, this time for the Blackberry platform which has a huge user base, especially among business and people in the US. Similarly to their Kindle iPhone app, with this mobile application you’ll be able to read your e-books on your mobile phone and then it will synchronise and the next time you use your Kindle 2 or Kindle DX, you can continue reading exactly where you left off…although obviously with the upcoming launch of the Apple iPad, will it be a kindle (& netbook) replacement, in fact it makes you wonder what will happen to the whole e-book market!

iPhone Icon Felt Keychain for iPhone Lovers – do you love your iPhone? Do you need a new keyring? If so, then this might be the ideal gift for you! These soft, plush-like icons look just like the distinctive icons from your favourite smartphone!

Project Natal Shows Up in Smallville – it looks like the TV show of Smallville have been blessed with everyone’s much anticipated Xbox 360 motion controller, clearly this must have been brought back from the future given the show’s recent time-travelling exploits given that Project Natal Release Date isn’t until late 2010.

Top 42 Gadget Blogs – the Guide to Computer Training website has compiled a list of their favourite 42 gadget blogs and Zath has been included along with many other high quality websites, so if you’re looking for a good resource of the Top 42 Gadget Blogs out there, then you should go take a look at this well put together list.

Not the Facebook Login Page – what happens when people become so reliant on using Google (and typing “facebook login”) to take them to their favourite social networking website instead of typing “facebook.com” into their browser address bar? Obviously they assume there’s been a radical Facebook redesign and start complaining because they can’t login…when the webpage in question is actually just a blog article about the Facebook Login system?!?!?

Anyway, I’ll assume you as a Zath reader can log into Facebook with no problems, so that being the case, feel free to become a fan of Zath on Facebook while you’re there!

Have a great weekend!

Alternatively check out some of our other sites - Gadgets For Men - Tech-Styling - Cheap Bargains - Zath TV

Zath’s Technology & Gadget Roundup (20/02/2010)

Zath’s Technology & Gadget Roundup (12/02/2010)

Simon Barker — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:06:12 +0000

Well it’s the end of another week and as always there’s been a lot going on in the world of technology and hi-tech gadgets, luckily some of our favourite websites have not let us down as they’ve covered some of them this week, here’s some of the stories that we liked most, along with a few of our favourites from Zath and the thoughts that come to mind from reading them!

O2 Testing 4G Mobile Broadband Network in the UK – the one thing that puts me off buying a mobile broadband device right now is the fact that I see such variable coverage and often poor download speeds when using my mobile phone, so news that we could be approaching a time of 4G mobile broadband coverage which would see much faster browsing and download speeds is a very promising thing, although I’m guessing it’s still a few years off just yet, so I’ll probably end up using the 3 Mobile Broadband voucher code to save £54 afterall, but there’s hope for the future!

Top Valentines Gifts for Women 2010 – yes it’s that time of year again when the guys often need all the idea they can get for their loved one at Valentines, so take a look at some of these gift ideas, including the Double Slanket, how could you go wrong with that one?

Retro Slushie Iced Drink Maker – when I was a kid, one of the things that I’d often treat myself to after a tough day at school (especially in summer) would be a Slushie iced drink, it was a great way to cool down and now I can make my own at home anytime I want to now – I’m thinking this will be great for when the barbeques start! If you’re enjoying the thought of that kind of nostalgia, you might also want to take a look at the Peanut Butter Maker, a rather cool idea for a gadget with which you can make your own peanut butter sandwiches with for work…perhaps just like you had back when you had packed lunches at school!

iPhone 4G Rumour: Is the iPhone 4G likely to be bigger than the iPhone 3GS? – well that has been one of the questions people are asking ahead of the announcement of the next generation iPhone, will Apple stick with the currently design or will the 4th generation iPhone be more revolutionary than the iPhone 3GS was?

Canon EOS Rebel T2i Ready for Pre-Order – digital photography is something that I’m interested in, but before embarking on it properly I’m waiting until I can afford to buy a really good digital SLR camera (preferably one that also shoots 1080p high definition video), now this camera certainly looks as though it could become my new object of desire, I think I’d prefer it to the Sony DSLR-A450 digital SLR camera, perhaps my new digital photography hobby could soon be taking off?

Sony PS3 3D Firmware Update Coming Within Next Few Months – it’s not that long ago that it was announced that the at CES 2010 that the Sony PS3 would get a 3D gaming software update to allow all the existing PS3 games to be 3D compatible, well it would appear that it’s not that far away and as well as that the PS3 Blu-Ray player will also be able to play the forthcoming Blu-Ray 3D movie format!

Opera Mini: Soon to arrive on the iPhone – ever since the iPhone was released one of its real strengths was its Safari mobile internet browser which made viewing standard websites more bearable on a mobile device, well now it looks like there could soon be another option on the iPhone with Opera Mini browser (much like they have a Opera Mobile for Windows Mobile phones). Whether this will prove to be any real improvement on what we’ve already got remains to be seen, but hopefully this competition will mean Apple keeps developing their Safari browser for the benefit of all iPhone users.

Resident Evil Monopoly Board Game – a few us here at Zath are big Monopoly fans and some of us even have the Monopoly iPhone game app, but this edition now combines the Monopoly board game along with the theme of a well known video game, that of Resident Evil! If you like the look of this and it’s given you an idea for your own version of this classic board game, then why not take a look at Make Your Own Monopoly!

Buy Amazon Kindle DX in the UK & Europe – yes you can now buy the Amazon Kindle DX outside Amercica now and while the Apple iPad might be on the horizon, the Kindle still has its strong reasons to bought. The iPad maybe wanting to be the do-all media consumption device (including being an e-book reader), but there are many people out there who are far from impressed with the iPad’s backlit screen and would prefer the reading experience of the Kindle’s e-ink display and the overall Amazon book/newspaper purchasing and subscription system, for more details check out Kieron Donoghue’s Amazon Kindle DX versus Apple iPad thoughts on his blog.

Alternatively check out some of our other sites - Gadgets For Men - Tech-Styling - Cheap Bargains - Zath TV

Zath’s Technology & Gadget Roundup (12/02/2010)