I’ve wanted an electric toothbrush for a while now and it seemed like a good time to get one seeing as there are all these sales about. It seems to me that they are much better at providing oral care that the traditional toothbrush. The one I chose was the Philips Sonicare Toothbrush.

I brush my teeth on a daily basis just because I dislike going to the dentist so much. I know I should brush them twice a day too, and some days I do, it all depends on how tired I am at night. Now you’re also meant to brush for 3 minutes too. I have to admit that I don’t do that. But with the Philips Sonicare Toothbrush I’ll be able to do that because it has a built in timer function.

There’s no better feeling than clean teeth and there’s no excuse for not looking after them. Spending 2 - 3 minutes in the morning (and evening) is a lot cheaper than visiting the dentist. Nobody likes visiting the dentist do they? The Philips Sonicare Toothbrush has a built in re-chargeable battery that will last you for 40 minutes. That’s 20 brushes before you have to recharge. The Philips Sonicare Toothbrush has 3 cleaning settings too: Zoom, Timed and Sensitive.

Brushing your teeth has never been so much fun and because it’s a gadget I’m sure that it’ll get much more attention than the traditional toothbrush I have. It feels good to be starting the year with healthy teeth and gums.

As 2008 draws to a close I’m going to take time out to look back at some of the best gadgets that the year had to give us. Without a doubt it was the year of the iPhone. The Smartphone from Apple was the most talked about device in 2008. I wonder what Apple have in store for us in 2009? We’ll find out soon enough because Macworld is just around the corner (I expect updates to the Mac Mini and the iMac range). There were other great gadgets in 2008 too, so let us take a look back.

Apple iPhone.
The must have gadget that had everyone talking. Apple introduced touch screen technology to the masses with the innovative iPhone. With it came the mobile iTunes and App stores. Access to thousands of albums and applications were a finger tap away. No doubt Apple has changed people’s expectations of what a mobile device should be.

Twitter
Not a gadget, but a micro-blogging and social networking website. Twitter really took off in 2008 allowing people to blog about what they were doing in 140 characters. Why 140? It’s to do with the amount of character that can fit in a single SMS message. It’s even got the starts twittering. Look out for Stephen Fry, Robert Llewelyn and John Cleese.

Netbooks.
Maybe one of the more surprising gadgets of 2008 were the netbooks that appeared. Sure they were around at the back end of 2007, but these nifty portable and small computers could be carried anywhere without much bother. Their ultra cheap price made sure that they would be popular with people wanting internet access wherever they were.

Blu-Ray.
The battle between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray finally came to an end with Blu-Ray becoming the champion. But will it be a success? There are already services that allow us to download high definition movies straight to our computers bypassing the need for a disc all together. Is it too late for Blu-Ray to even get off the ground?

There were many innovations during 2008 and I look forward to seeing what the big technology companies have to offer us in 2009. Thinner LCD TV’s will be big I think as well as the Nokia N97 (A possible rival to both the iPhone and G1).

My favourite gadget of 2008 has to be the iPod touch that I got. It’s been absolutely everywhere with me. A truly great gadget. I have nothing more to say to you this year. We’ll start the year off with a look at some exciting upcoming gadgets. Until then, I wish you all a Happy New Year!

I’ve always wanted a projector for some unknown reason, saying that, I do have a reason to want one these days. As some of you may know I’m doing a Special Effects degree and having the ability to see my work on the big screen is always a bonus. There are times when I can’t get to a big monitor or display, so a projector at home would be ideal.

The Acer PD 723P Projector is a great little buy in my opinion. As always I’ll list some of the specs in a minute, but I wanted to tell you why I thought it was a good buy first. Weighing in at 2.3Kg it’s not the lightest projector out there, but it can be transported if you need to. Another great selling point is that the Acer PD 723P Projector is available to buy today for less than £250. That’s amazing value. Now on to those specs:

• 2000 ANSI lumens
• 1 x VGA input - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
• 1 x composite video input - RCA
• 1 x S-video input - 4 PIN mini-DIN
• 800 x 600 Resolution
• 4000 hours bulb life cycle

As you can see there are no HDMI inputs on the Acer PD 723P Projector, but I am assured it can display HD images. Overall this is a great first time projector. You’re not going to break the bank buying the Acer PD 723P.

I know I said I was going to write about some great sales items today, but I saw this and just had to give it a mention here. The Acer Aspire One is a great little gadget to have. With an 8.9-inch Widescreen, the Acer Aspire One notebook is an ideal solution for portable, on the go, internet browsing.

Featuring the Linpus Linux Lite Version operating system and an Intel Atom 1.60 GHz Processor, the Acer Aspire One is not a lightweight machine by a long shot. It also has a range of other great specs:

• 512 MB onboard SDRAM - upgradeable to a maximum of 1.5Gb
• Intel 945GME Express integrated graphics
• 8Gb SSD HDD
• 5 in 1 card reader
• High Definition Audio
• Integrated Webcam
• WiFi

I bought a laptop a few months back, but would seriously consider getting one of the Acer Aspire One notebooks, simply because of the portability. Recently I had to go to Bolton on the train and decided to take the laptop with me. I wish I hadn’t bothered to be honest. The amount of trouble we had with the trains was unbelievable and getting any work done was nigh on impossible. An Acer Aspire One notebook would have been a much better option because of its small, portable size; it measures 24.9 x 17 x 2.9 cm. Not only is it small and portable, it also boasts a good range of expansion possibilities with its 3 high speed USB ports.

At under £200, you have to seriously consider getting an Acer Aspire One if only for using whilst travelling.

This morning I was testing my compact digital camera and found that it was broken. It always seems to be the case that things break just before Christmas in this house; it was the tumble dryer last week. So I had to get a new compact camera. The one I chose was the Sony W110 Digital Camera.

It’s only 7.2 Mega Pixels, but it’s sufficient for pictures up to A3 size which is fine by me. It’s a compact camera and one that I’ll be using as an everyday camera. I’m aiming for a Digital SLR camera for serious photography, maybe a Canon EOS or a Nikon?

Anyhow, the price was right on the Sony W110 Digital Camera at under £100. I’ve already spent far too much on gifts this Christmas and didn’t want to fork out a lot for a camera so this one looked like the ideal solution. Reviews I’ve read about the Sony W110 Digital Camera all give a positive impression.

The camera has some pretty good specs too:

• 3072 x 2304 resolution
• 2.5″ LCD screen
• 4x Optical Zoom
• 8x Digital Zoom
• HD output
• Focal distance: 5.35 - 21.4 mm
• f (35 mm equivalent): 32 - 128 mm
• BIONZ image processor
• Colour enhancement and noise reduction system
• Automatic face detection for children and adults
• Automatic smile detection

I’m pretty excited about some of the features in the Sony W110 Digital Camera and look forward to trying them out when I get the camera. This leads me to my only gripe. The Sony W110 Digital Camera will not arrive until the 24th December. I hope that I’ll have enough time to charge the batteries and figure out the controls of it.

It looks very likely that this year’s must have Christmas gift is the Wii Fit. It’s virtually sold out everywhere, or at least the Wii Fit without a Wii is. My sister has been trying in vain to get her hands on one. Sure, she can get one from eBay if she’s willing to pay over the odds for it.

I don’t see the appeal of the Wii Fit personally, but I suppose the kids will love it. Interaction at it’s best possibly?

I remember last year (and the year before) when everyone was trying to get hold of the Wii and it was out of stock. Nintendo are certainly doing well out of this. Is it good marketing or just lack of products? My money is on good marketing and hype generation.

Nintendo have certainly got it right with the Wii and the Wii Fit. There are better games consoles out there. Ones with better graphics and better games, but people seem to love the Wii…. I don’t know why that is. Simplicity of game play perhaps?

It’s certainly true that there will be a lot of disappointed kids all over the country come the morning of the 25th when Father Christmas fails to deliver the goods. I don’t understand why people don’t buy these things when there is plenty of stock in the summer. Oh well, you can bet that the same thing will happen next year too, but with a different gadget.
I’ve searched PriceGrabber for the Wii Fit, but alas to no avail. Even they can’t find any. They do have the actual Wii Console and other accessories though.

This is a handy little tool for any budding musicians. The USB Guitar Link will help you get your masterpiece in to your computer without any need for any extra amplifiers. There can be no simpler solution to the problem of getting your music in to a digital form where you can edit it easily.

I’m not a musician although I do have an electric guitar and acoustic guitar I can play neither of them. The problem I found was being left handed. My acoustic guitar is left handed though.

Anyhow, you’re not here to read about my non existent guitar playing skills. The USB Guitar Link is simple to use, you plug it in to a spare USB port, install the supplied software and you’re ready to go. Obviously you’ll also need an electric guitar to plug in to the USB Guitar Link - This, unfortunately is not supplied. The software you get with this gadget is pretty impressive too. Audacity is a well known piece of software, as is the Kristal 16 track production software.

Getting your hands on a USB Guitar Link could save you an absolute fortune too because you don’t need to buy those expensive effects pedals - it can all be done within the computer. You’ve got a whole recording studio at your disposal, and it’s all within your computer.

If I could play the guitar, I would definitely get one of these because; let’s face it, who wants to spend a fortune on studio time? Cut out the middle man and do it yourself.

This is a great stocking filler - Racing Grannies will bring out the competitive side in you. Many an hour will be spent racing against your competitors with these novelty gifts. They’re going to get you all wanting to race no matter who receives the Racing Grannies as a gift.

I remember when I was younger getting a game called Bedlam, and indeed it was when we played it. But we always wanted to play it because it was fun and passed the time. Then there are the classics, like Monopoly and Cluedo - they’re all great games that keep you entertained aren’t they.

What I’m trying to say is that the Racing Grannies are going to be a great laugh if you get them for someone, or receive them from someone. What could be better after a belly full of turkey dinner, than a race around the empty bottles of wine with these great little toys?

There’s always something that almost everyone forgets to buy over the Christmas period and that’s batteries, but fear not, the Racing Grannies don’t require batteries because they’re wind up. Which is always a good thing, right? They’re well within most people’s budgets too at under £15. Well worth forking out for the Racing Grannies, if only for a bit of peace from the usual Christmas arguments.

I don’t know why I haven’t written about the Leatherman Micra Multi Tool before. It is one of the few gadgets that are an absolute must have in any toolbox and indeed; any self respecting gadget nerd should not be without one. These used to cost hundreds of pounds, and indeed there are Leatherman tools out there that still do, but the Leatherman Micra Multi Tool costs under £25 and that make it an ideal Christmas gift.

It’s just like a Swiss Army Knife but better in my opinion and the Leatherman Micra Multi Tool has many exciting features that are handy in day to day situations:

• Scissors
• Clip-Point Knife
• Tweezers
• Nail File / Cleaner
• Flat Phillips Screwdriver
• Extra Small Screwdriver
• Medium Screwdriver
• Bottle Opener
• Ruler (Inch / Metric)
• Key Ring Attachment

The Leatherman Micra Multi Tool is one of those gadgets that you can easily overlook, like I did, but they are definitely worth getting. I wouldn’t leave home without mine and neither should you. Indeed, every household should have one of these in the kitchen drawer.

Now I don’t know about you but I was forever looking for a screwdriver and could never find one. The Leatherman Micra Multi Tool is too large to misplace easily so there’s no longer any searching. It is, as I said earlier a must have gadget.

Apple have a sale on today on their online store. I’d never heard of this one day event before, but it seems to happen every year. There are a lot of people Twittering about it, so I thought it would be a good idea to let all of you gadget lovers know about it.

The temptation to buy an iMac or MacBook today is quite intense. But, I know that in January there’s going to be an announcement by Apple which will include a new updated iMac becoming available. I could save £31 on a new 20″ iMac or nearly £61 on a new MacBook.

So if you fancy getting an Apple product for less, then today’s the day to do it.
Head over to the Apple website and grab yourself a bargain.