While iPhone users might be a cut above the rest of the tech community due to their ability to fork out insane amounts of dough at the initial release (remember last June’s iPhone that went for $599?), they certainly are human as we are, requiring sustenance to keep on going. Being hungry is a universal feeling that everyone experiences at some point in time, but iPhone users have the advantage of sniffing down some of the best eats in town thanks to the TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor has recently announced a version of its Local Picks restaurant finder at Apple’s recently opened App Store, and it will be available for free. The Local Picks application will take advantage of the iPhone’s location-based capabilities so that folks can track down the best restaurants rated by locals, enabling one to throw a so-called (biased) “guidebook” out of the window.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kodak, a household name when it comes to photography, has just announced a brand new wireless digital photo frame line that will come in both 8″ and 10″ versions, capable of hooking up to photo-sharing sites such as KODAK Gallery and Flickr without the hassle of wires or the need for a computer to act as the middleman. Among the Kodak Easyshare wireless digital frame partners include Flickr, FrameChannel and Kodak Gallery as mentioned earlier. I find FrameChannel to be rather interesting as it provides users with access to the latest news, weather, traffic, sports scores and more with a single touch. In addition, FrameChannel doubles up as a portal enabling access to images from popular photo-sharing and social networking web sites.

Read the rest of this entry »

I must say, while kids are like a sponge with an endless appetite for learning, they do need to toe the line at times, learning that the right time and the right questions is the optimal mix. With the Teach Me Time! Clock, you will be able to let your little ones know just what a clock means.

It has a 5-stage, talking “game” to help your little ones learn what the clock means (with analog and digital displays to make sure they really know). But also, there is a secret control panel where you can set the revolutionary “Ok to Wake” alarm. This will cause the clock to glow yellow during the night (this nightlight feature can be disabled) and turn green when the kids are allowed to get out of bed – making make sure you have enough alone time (or couple time) in your own bed. And when the kids get older, the clock is fully functional as a “grown up” alarm clock, complete with snooze. Technology that adapts through time – amazing!

The Teach Me Time! Clock would make for a great present to parents at $39.99 a pop.

Don’t you just love solar power? It not only is free, it doesn’t affect our environment negatively as well. The Solar Fairy Lights helps decorate your home without compromising on the environment.

Thanks to ultra bright LEDs, any outdoor space will be transformed into an enchanting grotto of twinkliness. The effect is utterly captivating. Use them to decorate branches, doorways, trellises, shrubs, parasols, statues of Bill Oddie – whatever. Squint and you could be in Neverland (fictional dream world, not Jacko’s gaff). There are six different modes to choose from, including constant, fast flash, slow flash, fast flicker, chasing and combo. There’s even a built-in automatic dusk sensor plus various timer settings so you can program your lights to switch off once you’ve gone to beddy byes.

Being solar powered, you get up to eight hours of continuous power based on a five hour charge, which is more than adequate unless your party lasts from the night until breakfast tomorrow. You can pick up the Solar Fairy Lights for £24.95 a set.

Get your game on with the HORI Real Arcade Pro.EX for the Xbox 360 console. After all, there is nothing quite like a dedicated joystick when it comes to fighting games. Complete with eight oversized buttons to ensure you don’t miss a beat while punching your opponent into a bleeding pulp (on screen anyways), the rounded knob of a joystick works much better than your standard Xbox 360 controller. Hopefully when you are on the ropes, you won’t lose your temper and smash the HORI Real Arcade Pro.EX – after all, you paid good money for it, didn’t you? All the pre-ordered allocation is already out of stock at the moment, so do check back with Play-Asia from time to time if you’re desperately in need of one.

Product Page

You can never do with too many USB ports, just like how a woman can never have enough handbags and shoes. With the USB Super 16-port Hub, I can safely conclude that most of your USB port woes are solved. It comes with its own 22.5W power supply, so there is no need to worry about a lack of juice to power all your gadgets connected. Perfect for sticking in a bunch of USB flash drives, a memory card reader, charge your phone and MP3 player, and connect a printer simultaneously, with room for more. You will be able to choose from US, UK, Australia or Europe models, each retailing for $139.

Most of us leave the PC turn on even when we’re not using it, and this bad habit, when compounded by the fact that plenty of other people also do the same, would result in a massive waste of energy that indirectly affects the environment around us. The ecobutton aims to fight back by offering a friendly reminder whenever we’re going to leave our desks for a moment.

ecobutton is a discreet USB device that acts as a reminder and a prompt for you to press the ecobutton at every opportunity whenever your computer is going to be left idle, helping you save money and the environment. This could be from taking a phone call or break, to doing paperwork or going to lunch and meetings where otherwise the computer would normally be left on. When the ecobutton is pressed your computer enters energy saving ‘ecomode’ – that’s the most efficient, lowest power mode available, which actually draws only the same nominal power as when the computer and monitor are turned off! When you need to use the computer again, simply press any key to instantly return to where you left off. Easy!

Go on, do your bit for the world and soothe that conscience of yours with the £15.95 ecobutton, never mind the fact that you drive a Hummer to work.

Forget about bottle-juggling the next time you host a party at your home. With the Chugalug Drinks Factory, making cocktails will never be the same again.

Making the average glass-twirling bar monkey seem about as wacky as Tim Henman, this bizarre contraption makes creating cocktails a highly amusing experience – and we should know because we’ve made thousandsh shinsh our shamples arrived. The idea is to stick this strange, Wonka-esque collection of translucent pods, vortex funnels and chambers to any flat surface (fridge, filing cabinet, window, boss’s door, you name it) via the included suction cups. Next, pour your drinks into the funnels at the top (booze in one, mixer in the other) and watch in wonder as your concoction gives in to gravity, whooshing around the Chugalug’s various bits and bobs. At the end of its journey your tipple will be waiting in the special ice chamber, perfectly mixed and ready to be dispensed into a glass. Cool!

The Chugalug Drinks Factory should get more fun to use every time, and the more drunk you are, the more interesting things become. Bring this home today for £24.95.