HD

Switched on Gifts for Tricky Teens

Teens can sometimes be tricky to buy for as you’re never quite sure what’s hot and what’s not. Check out John Lewis’ guide to getting some great pressies for your dahhhling teenagers.

Polaroid 300 Camera in Black – £79.95

This is a great gift especially if your kids are already playing Assasin a la Gossip Girl stylee. It has an automatic flash, four scene settings and just makes a nice change to get an instant classic photo – for once.  Perfect for parties and out and about too as it’s a whole lot less cumbersome than the old skool one!

Sony MHS-PM5K Bloggie HD Mobile Camcorder – £169

This pocket camcorder is super easy to use and shoots in HD and is SO simple to upload to YouTube with its built in USB arm.  The high quality lens can swivel over a 270 degree range for easy shooting from any angle including self-portraits. I’ve reviewed this on BBC2 Something for the Weekend and it’s fab!

 

XBOX 360 with Built in Wi-Fi and Kinect – £TBC

This new XBOX 360 will be at the top of any game loving teenagers wish list. With a sleek new design , 250 GB hard drive and built in Wi-Fi it delivers the ultimate gaming and entertainment experience. With built in Kinect, users will be able to play games without the need for a controller thanks to sensors and specially designed games.

Paul Frank Earbuds Ink’d Pink – £19.95

These fun looking quirky in ear headphones are great value for money and deliver great sound too.

Paul Frank Zoom Julius iPhone Case – £ 24.95

This funky Paul Frank case is made from durable rubber to keep your shiny iPhone looking lovely and new.

Gadget of the Week: Shoot in HD with KODAK Playsport

This sporty looking pocket size HD camcorder is perfect for all you sporty kids out there who fancy filming some of your action. The Kodak Playsport is waterproof up to 3 metres so is ideal if you have any summer holidays coming up.

It shoots in 1080p, as well as taking 16:9 widescreen stills at 5MP and you can get up close and personal with its 4 x digital zoom. It’s got a durable rubber casing so it won’t get damaged if even if your partaking in more rugged sports. You can even playback your most exciting of footage in slow motion on the high contrast 2″ LCD as well as connecting straight to your HD TV with the included HDMI cable. Perfect!

The vids are recorded to removable SD or SDHC cards, up to up to 32GB which to you and me is about 10 hours of filming. But don’t worry if you dont have a card lying around, you can start filming straight away on to the 128MB of internal memory.

Available online at Kodak Playsport   Price £129.00

What’s in the box

KODAK PLAYSPORT Video Camera
KODAK Li-Ion Rechargeable Digital Camera Battery KLIC-7004
HDMI and AV cables
Mains adapter
Wrist strap
User Guide
ARCSOFT MEDIA IMPRESSION Software for Kodak (PC only)

Dimensions

5.8cm × 11.25cm × 1.95 cm (2.3 × 4.4 × 0.8 in.)
Weight: 4.5 oz (128 g) without battery

Spec

Sensor type: 1 / 2.5-type 5 MP CMOS
Lens: 5.54 mm, 35 mm equivalent 48 mm @ 1080p 36 mm @ 720p 36 mm @ WVGA 36 mm still capture
Zoom: 4X digital
Image stabilization: electronic
Display size: 5.1 cm (2.0 in.)
Storage: 128 MB internal memory [1] , SD/SDHC card expansion slot
Focus modes: normal
Focus range: (39.4 in.) 100 cm -infinity
White balance: auto
File formats: video: H.264 (MOV), AAC LC still: JPEG
Capture mode: 1080p-1920 x 1080, 30 fps 720p / 60 fps-1280 x 720, 60 fps 720p-1280 x 720, 30 fps WVGA-848 x 480, 30 fps still-5.3 MP, 16:9 widescreen, interpolated
Microphone: 1
Speaker: yes
I/O interface: USB 2.0 (high speed), AV out, HDMI
Tripod mount: 1/4 in. standard
Power: KODAK Li-Ion Rechargeable Digital Camera Battery KLIC-7004, AC Adapter
N.B. Battery life approx. 2 hours. Once drained the re-charge time is around 2.5 hours. The Playsport will power down after 2 minutes on standby mode.

Teeny weeny HD pocket camcorder

 

This teeny weeny, high definition camcorder made by Veho is ultra-functional whilst the inclusion of 8 x digital zoom, stabilisation and motion detection features are really useful for those trickier shots.

You can also take stills, as well as storing your favourite tunes as it can be used as an MP3 player. Simply connect the camera via USB to your computer and watch it back or copy to DVD and share the fun with everyone else.

Charges via USB and has an internal memory of 64MB with the option of inserting an SD memory card for extra storage. This is a nifty little camcorder and a great stocking filler with Chrissy approaching.

Price £99.99

My BBC2 ‘Something for the Weekend’ gadgets

Here are my gadgets from ‘Something for the Weekend’ yesterday. I was quite pleased the Sodastream didn’t explode all over me!! woo hoo!

Sony PS3

The Playstation 3 Slim has arrived and it’s much lighter, cooler and quieter, but more importantly, it’s greener and more energy efficient than its predecessor as it uses about a third less power.
The new PS3 Slim weighs in approximately two-thirds the size of the first PS3, but packs a hard drive of twice the original’s size; a large 120GB. Thanks to revamped internal architecture (with Cell Broadband EngineTM processor) the PS3 Slim runs cooler and quieter than the original PS3.
The new PS3 continues to offer the features and functions of the previous models, such as the ability to enjoy high-definition Blu-ray disc (BD) movies and games, the ability to use wireless controllers, as well as various content and services downloadable through the network etc. Also like the previous model, you can’t play PS2 games on the PS3, but PS3 games have far superior graphics anyway.
PlayStation Network members can also now download free applications, such as PlayStation Home, a ground-breaking 3D social gaming community available on PS3 that allows users to interact, communicate and share gaming experiences.
It was released on 1st Sept 2009 and is available in stores and online for £249 (games sold separately)

 Chill Pill Portable Speaker

The Chill Pill is a pocket sized, self-contained capsule that easily changes into two powered portable speakers. It’s designed for people who enjoy listening to music out loud but on the go.
They are compatible with most devices that have a standard 1/8″ headphone port, including iPods, and portable CD players, iPhone 3G (original iPhone with adapter), most other digital audio players, laptops and desktop computers.
Some of the features that make these speakers different to their competitors include;
• They have three different modes – ‘Travel mode’ whereby the speakers magnetically click together for easier transport, ‘Speaker Mode 1′ whereby the speakers are separated but kept closed and ‘Speaker Mode 2′ which allows you to twist and pop the speakers up to enhance the bass and volume
• They run on a rechargeable lithium ion battery which provides six hours of playing time (can be charged a computer’s USB port or via optional AC adapter)
• They have a sound output of 4 Watts, which is fairly loud for such a small speaker.
They are available in Red, Silver & Black; online and in select high street stores for around £40

Soda Stream Pure Drinks Maker

SodaStreams are no longer a cola-producing cream plastic 70′s designed piece of kitchenware. The modern PURE range is more sophisticated and incorporates stainless steel and brushed steel. The new Pure machine includes a 60 litre aluminium gas cylinder (that gives your drink its fizz) and two carbonating bottles, one of which has a steel base and lid.
The new SodaStream simple, sleek and easy to use. All you need is tap water to make a sparkling drink in seconds.
The emphasis of the new machines are to help families be more eco-friendly and help the environment by saving the need to store or dispose of cans and bottles.
Unlike the limited drinks selection that was available with the SodaStream of old, the new range has a wide range of ‘regular’ and ‘sugar-free’ flavours to choose from. The regular flavours have two thirds less sugar than standard “non diet” drinks and the sugar-free range still tastes like a normal fizzy drink but without the calories.

Regular Flavours include Orange and Mango, Cola, Apple, Lemon-Lime and Ginger Ale. Sugar free flavours include Cranberry & Rasberry, Orange, Cola and Lemonade but there’s no iconic cream soda.

SodaStream is available online and price vary between £59 – £79

Flip Mino Camcorder now in HD

Following on from the succes of The Flip camcorder, Pure Digital have taken a big step into the world of HD and brought out the Flip Mino HD, shooting in 720p.

It’s dubbed the world’s smallest camcorder, weighing only 3.3 ounces and it is very cute looking. It comes in loads of funky designs and you can even customise it with your own images.

It comes with 4gb of internal memory for up to 60 minutes of high quality video. The built in FlipShare editing software has also been upgraded allowing you instant viewing, editing and one click emailing. And dont forget it has direct upload to You Tube and MySpace for sharing those emabarassing video moments with the world.

I think this is a great Christmas pressie idea, it’s available on line for around £200 at http://www.bitesizedeals.co.uk.

Product Specification:

  • Internal Memory:  4GB (60 minutes)
  • Screen Size:  1.5″ (transflective TFT)
  • Screen Resolution:  528 x 132 pixels
  • Video Resolution:  1280 x 720
  • Frame Rate:  30 frames per second (constant frame rate, progressive scan)
  • Video Bitrate:  8.8Mbps (average – auto adaptive algorithm)
  • Video Format:  H.264 video compression, AAC audio compression, saves as MP4 file
  • Lens Type:  Fixed Focus (1.5m to infinity)
  • Aperture:  f/2.4 (fast lens for great results in low-light environments)
  • Zoom:  Smooth multi-step 2x digital
  • Interface:  8 Touch-Sensitive Capacitive Buttons (Power, Play, Delete, Record and 4 way navigation)
  • Dimensions:  3.94″ x 1.97″ x 0.63″ (H x W x D)
  • PC Connection:  Built-in flip-out USB arm (up to 2.0 USB speed)
  • TV Out:  NTSC (cable included)
  • Battery Life:  Rechargeable lithium ion battery, charges using built-in USB arm
  • Tripod Mount:  Yes
  • Operating Systems:  Windows XP, Windows Vista Mac OSX
  • Min. Requirements:  (Windows) Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz processor, Windows XP SP2 with 512 MB of RAM or Windows Vista with 2 GB of RAM, display monitor and video card support for 1024×768/24-bit color, Windows Media Player 9.0, Microsoft DirectX 9.0, USB 2.0 port
    (Mac) 1.66 GHz Intel CoreDuo or faster processor, 1 GB of RAM, OS X Tiger 10.4 or Leopard 10.5, display monitor and video card support for 1024×768/24-bit color, QuickTime 7, USB 2.0 port
  • Software:  Built-in FlipShareTM software with upgraded features: 
    Browse, playback, organize and archive your videos
    Create movies with videos, music & titles
    Edit clips and save still photos from video
    Instantly upload to AOL, MySpace, YouTube and other video sites
    Share your videos using email or greetings cards (free and unlimited video sharing)