08/06/2012: Now that the Jubilee bank holiday is over, it's time to think of what to get for the fathers. If you happen to know a geeky father who is into gadgets and technology, have a read through this guide, you might find something that will make them very happy!
25/05/2012:
Do you remember that it will be Fathers' Day soon (17th June,2012), or do you think it has been over-shadowed by the Queen's Diamond Jubilee? Nonetheless, here is a gift guide to give you some quick ideas for the more geekier fathers, so that you can get well prepared and celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee worry free!
CozyBot Desktop Smartphone holder
easyPhone (mobilephone)
FLU Card Pro (wireless SD card)
Hard Drive Sq (USB 3.0)
Motorbike Tyre Pressure Monitoring System
Pinball Master
Tetris Heat Change Mug
USB Whack It (New on the guide)
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-25 Gift Set (1:24 Model Kit)
Note: Links to the product's page are highlighted in blue below unless stated otherwise
CozyBot Desktop Smartphone holder
easyPhone (mobilephone)
FLU Card Pro (wireless SD card)
Hard Drive Sq (USB 3.0)
Motorbike Tyre Pressure Monitoring System
Pinball Master
Tetris Heat Change Mug
USB Whack It (New on the guide)
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-25 Gift Set (1:24 Model Kit)
Note: Links to the product's page are highlighted in blue below unless stated otherwise
CozyBot Desktop Smartphone Holder £4.99
An android icon smartphone holder for devices up to 7", which can be placed vertically or horizontally, and can be used as a charging dock with space to hide charger cable.
The android icon is really cute and will please the android lovers to have him guarding their phone! You can charge the phone on the holder and still be able to lift your phone up without unplugging the cable, so it is very handy. It is also great for watching something on the screen without tiring your arms out or breaking your neck (did you notice that your head drops lower after a while since your hands couldn't constantly hold the phone up?)
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| Names and number has been covered for privacy purpose |
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| Left: A light indicates the phone being switched on or off |
easyPhone £45.00 + monthly plan payment (between £7.50 to £15)
A customised mobilephone (7mm thick and weighs 40g only) that connects you to the people you need to talk to most by simply pressing one of the buttons that has their name on.
Mobilephones are getting smarter nowadays, but also more complicated to use with all the functions and settings. Sometimes people just want to simply dial a number without going into the address book, scrolling to the number and choosing to dial or to message.
easyPhone gives the option to do so. Their design is very simple (but with plenty of patterns to choose from), and all you have to do is to power it up and press the button with the name on that you need to connect to. It is fantastic, in my opinion, for emergency purpose. The phone itself doesn't use that much power so you can keep it switched on. I think it is great for the elder fathers (and mothers of course), and children as well. The connection is quite good, and you can turn the volume up or down from the front.
You can add up to 12 buttons, each connected with a number, and you can also opt in for having a 999 number to be included. The phone's number is on the back of the phone in case they have forgotten the number.
FLU Card Pro USD80.00 (Current sale price) 8GB
Now this is what I call innovative! A wireless SD card that once is placed in your camera, laptop or smartphone, etc, will turn your device into a wireless device without needing a wi-fi hotspot! Your device will be the hotspot should you choose to share it, or be like me, lock it up with a password and keep it to yourself *smirks*
At first I was a bit confused with the instruction, but it really is very easy to use. Just place it in your camera (for example), switch the camera on and you will start hearing a beeping noise. Go to preview and search for the above image ' Setting/ Review'. Then press your delete button to delete that image (yes!) and you will hear more beeping noises. Once it's stopped, your camera's wi-fi is up and running! You just need to access the wi-fi as you normally would and yourdevice will be connected to the camera's wi-fi.
The good thing about this is that when you take awesome pictures with say your DSLR, you either have to move the card from your camera to say your laptop to upload the pictures, or connect your camera with a cable to show it on your laptop, which can take some time. This, however, is wireless. No fiddly cables, no removing SD card, nor do you need a wi-fi hotspot, and you can instantly see or upload the pictures on your laptop. I have tested it with my Smartphone and it worked really fast!
The only problem is that the SD card can get very hot by switching the wi-fi on, and you must make sure that your camera stays on while transmitting. Nonetheless, it is still a very awesome gadget to have especially for the photography crazed people. I don't think there is anything like it on the market yet, and those that has a wireless connection embedded in their camera requires a wi-fi hotspot to connect to.
Another thing is, I can use it to do a quick download outside without using my 3G data *evil laughter*
Hard Drive Sq Desktop Hard Drive £149.00 rrp (2TB)
(Available from any good Computer and Appliance stores)
3.5" External Hard drive with USB 3.0 and USB TV connectivity. Its unique square design, which was collaborated with acclaimed industrial designer Arman Emami, has won a Reddot Design Award 2012. It is less susceptible to fingerprints and scratches, impact proof and lightweight.
Coming from a computing (and I don't just mean IT) background, we have a lot of external hard drives within the family. The Desktop Hard Drive Sq is one of those that I am happy to have lying on my desk as it is very neat.
The power button is in the front, so you don't have to point the cables at you just so that you can reach the power, which is the case in a lot of hard drives. It also doesn't have a flashing LED light to burn my eyes. It is very quiet and completely unnoticeable even when I'm sitting right next to it, unlike the one we currently have where you can hear the fan blasting its life away.
The good thing about this drive is that you can connect it to your SmartTV for USB recording and playback. With 2TB of space you can download all your favourite shows without missing any, nor do you need to buy a freeview kind of box.
The minor problem would be a short USB cable, which you can easily replace, and you will need to reformat the drive if you want to use it for a computer instead, meaning that you can't use the drive for both TV and computer at the same time. The file transfer wasn't reaching its maximum potential for us, but it was still faster than using USB 2.0.
Having said that, I still think that it is a very stylish drive, and I'm sure any geeky computing fathers or TV fanatics would love to receive this as a present.
Motorbike Tyre Pressure Monitoring System £99.00
An easy to install and simple to operate wireless tyre pressure system that monitors tyre pressure and temperature.
A must have gadget for the motorbike lovers! Monitor their tyre pressure and temperature in real time to ensure safety, enhancing the performance, save fuel and increase the life span of tyres. Simply fit the wireless sensor/ transmitter around the inside tyre to ensure accurate readings, and attach the monitor with in-built antenna to the dashboard.
If your husband or father (you'll never know!) is a motorcyclist, you will want to buy him this. If you can't stop them loving the bike more than you, the least you can do is to make their hobby safe!
Pinball Master £19.99 rrp (Currently on Sale for £13.99)
A tabletop version of the classic arcade game that has an automatic scoring board, sound and light display.
I was surprised (in a good way) with how big it was when it arrived, it's certainly not the small tabletop size I was expecting! This is a gadget to keep a group of gadget lovers entertained for hours, and you can do this at home (or in the office *ehem*) while enjoying a drink with your mates without spending a penny.
The light, sound and automatic scoring board really keep the mood high and you will just want to beat the high score over and over again! Just make sure they don't cheat (tilting it here and there, tsk tsk)
When not in use, you can pack it flat in the box without taking up a lot of space.
Tetris Heat Change Mug £5.99
Now this is what I call innovative! A wireless SD card that once is placed in your camera, laptop or smartphone, etc, will turn your device into a wireless device without needing a wi-fi hotspot! Your device will be the hotspot should you choose to share it, or be like me, lock it up with a password and keep it to yourself *smirks*
At first I was a bit confused with the instruction, but it really is very easy to use. Just place it in your camera (for example), switch the camera on and you will start hearing a beeping noise. Go to preview and search for the above image ' Setting/ Review'. Then press your delete button to delete that image (yes!) and you will hear more beeping noises. Once it's stopped, your camera's wi-fi is up and running! You just need to access the wi-fi as you normally would and yourdevice will be connected to the camera's wi-fi.
The good thing about this is that when you take awesome pictures with say your DSLR, you either have to move the card from your camera to say your laptop to upload the pictures, or connect your camera with a cable to show it on your laptop, which can take some time. This, however, is wireless. No fiddly cables, no removing SD card, nor do you need a wi-fi hotspot, and you can instantly see or upload the pictures on your laptop. I have tested it with my Smartphone and it worked really fast!
The only problem is that the SD card can get very hot by switching the wi-fi on, and you must make sure that your camera stays on while transmitting. Nonetheless, it is still a very awesome gadget to have especially for the photography crazed people. I don't think there is anything like it on the market yet, and those that has a wireless connection embedded in their camera requires a wi-fi hotspot to connect to.
Another thing is, I can use it to do a quick download outside without using my 3G data *evil laughter*
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| Image from Freecom |
Hard Drive Sq Desktop Hard Drive £149.00 rrp (2TB)
(Available from any good Computer and Appliance stores)
3.5" External Hard drive with USB 3.0 and USB TV connectivity. Its unique square design, which was collaborated with acclaimed industrial designer Arman Emami, has won a Reddot Design Award 2012. It is less susceptible to fingerprints and scratches, impact proof and lightweight.
Coming from a computing (and I don't just mean IT) background, we have a lot of external hard drives within the family. The Desktop Hard Drive Sq is one of those that I am happy to have lying on my desk as it is very neat.
The power button is in the front, so you don't have to point the cables at you just so that you can reach the power, which is the case in a lot of hard drives. It also doesn't have a flashing LED light to burn my eyes. It is very quiet and completely unnoticeable even when I'm sitting right next to it, unlike the one we currently have where you can hear the fan blasting its life away.
The good thing about this drive is that you can connect it to your SmartTV for USB recording and playback. With 2TB of space you can download all your favourite shows without missing any, nor do you need to buy a freeview kind of box.
The minor problem would be a short USB cable, which you can easily replace, and you will need to reformat the drive if you want to use it for a computer instead, meaning that you can't use the drive for both TV and computer at the same time. The file transfer wasn't reaching its maximum potential for us, but it was still faster than using USB 2.0.
Having said that, I still think that it is a very stylish drive, and I'm sure any geeky computing fathers or TV fanatics would love to receive this as a present.
Motorbike Tyre Pressure Monitoring System £99.00
An easy to install and simple to operate wireless tyre pressure system that monitors tyre pressure and temperature.
A must have gadget for the motorbike lovers! Monitor their tyre pressure and temperature in real time to ensure safety, enhancing the performance, save fuel and increase the life span of tyres. Simply fit the wireless sensor/ transmitter around the inside tyre to ensure accurate readings, and attach the monitor with in-built antenna to the dashboard.
If your husband or father (you'll never know!) is a motorcyclist, you will want to buy him this. If you can't stop them loving the bike more than you, the least you can do is to make their hobby safe!
Pinball Master £19.99 rrp (Currently on Sale for £13.99)
A tabletop version of the classic arcade game that has an automatic scoring board, sound and light display.
I was surprised (in a good way) with how big it was when it arrived, it's certainly not the small tabletop size I was expecting! This is a gadget to keep a group of gadget lovers entertained for hours, and you can do this at home (or in the office *ehem*) while enjoying a drink with your mates without spending a penny.
The light, sound and automatic scoring board really keep the mood high and you will just want to beat the high score over and over again! Just make sure they don't cheat (tilting it here and there, tsk tsk)
When not in use, you can pack it flat in the box without taking up a lot of space.
A Tetris novelty mug that changes colour when the mug becomes hot.
A mug for the Tetris lover! Watch the game begin when hot liquid is poured in the mug, and watch closely! I almost couldn't take the in between shot as it happens quite quickly. The heat change is fascinating and the colours are vibrant, making that cup of hot drink that much more interesting to drink!
USB Whack It £10.99
A smaller version of the classic Whack It arcade game that can be plugged into your PC. There is an option for a 30 seconds or 1 minute game play, and a LCD score board. Can be powered with batteries or USB cable
A fantastic replacement for the traditional stress balls, this 'mini' Whack It game can certainly release some stress from the hard working fathers. All they need is 30 seconds to 1 minute break from what they are doing to whack at the funny faces, which squirms and yelps, and then back to work with a fresh mind
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-25 Gift Set £34.99 rrp
(Stockist: all good toy stores, for more info see above blue link)
Model kit for Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button's racing cars (1:24), including glue, 5 paints and a brush.
This is THE gadget gift for the geeky fathers who love building model kits. You get 2 kits in the box and I think must be hours of fun for them! I tried building one myself but I just don't have the patience! According to my brother and hubby, you should be using a specific pen knife to slice the parts off the frame, and use a sand paper to sand the rough bits down. Then you paint each parts (perhaps a few times) before sticking them together. Once done, you might want to paint another coating on top, before sticking the stickers on. While listening to hubby going on about the process, I starred at him and shooked my head saying: geeks!
Ah, but then it could be good for you too! Buy this for your hubby and you can guarantee
Anyway. It's by Revell, THE model kit giant, so good quality is guaranteed and to the ratio. I tried building the what looked like part of the engine (please don't correct me if I'm wrong) and each piece fits perfectly well together. I love that glue, I remember it from my brothers' in the past. I love how the needle guide the glue to the smaller parts, and it sticks them together instantly. I would recommend buying your own paint brush though. The one provided works but it's nicer to have a softer, thinner brush.
Disclosure: I was given the above samples to review, compensated for the hard drive as it must be returned, and included the tyre pressure monitoring system out of personal interest; all opinions are honest and my own
Last Published: 25/05/2012
Re-Published: 08/06/2012
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