The iGo Pocket Projector UP-2020 was the second of this week’s Something for the Weekend gadgets. Projectors are getting smaller and smaller and this one from iGo is very compact. It can be used to share media, pictures, videos, business slides etc. This projector can project an image of up to 70 inches. It has 4GB of internal memory along with a whole host of connection points such as USB, memory card slots etc. Connect a PC, laptop, DVD player to the iGo Pocket Projector.

Click here to buy an iGo Pocket Projector as seen on Something for the Weekend

Dixons are the sponsors of the latest series of The Gadget Show, and they currently have some fantastic deals on Laptops, Netbooks and Desktop PCs. Treat yourself or your family this Christmas with some cracking deals from Dixons!

Laptops

For work, play or avoiding eye-contact on the train. If there’s one thing you want sitting on your lap, it’s a laptop. Dixons have got big ones for entertainment, little ones for web browsing and ultra-portable ones for when you’re on the move. Take your pick.

Netbooks

Netbooks are the latest craze and fast becoming an essential item if you spend a lot of time ‘on the move’. For such small packages, Dixons Netbooks pack a powerful punch – great for browsing, email, entertainment etc.

Desktop PCs

Dixons also stock a range of desktop PCs which are now slimmer, smaller, quieter and more stylish and powerful than ever before.

Click here to shop at Dixons.co.uk, sponsors of The Gadget Show

Probably the most left-field of this week’s Gadget Show gadgets was the 900 Global RC900 Remote Controlled Bowling Ball. Gadget Show presenter Pollyanna tested the product in a ten-pin bowling match against the UK’s best female ten-pin bowling champion Hayley White.

The radio controlled bowling ball is designed with a counter-weight inside, and it is this which allows you to control its direction using the remote control handset. Once the ball finds it’s balance position you simply sync it to the handset using the wireless connection, and you’re ready to cheat (er, bowl).

This remote control bowling ball is great fun, and really works. It’s aimed squarely at kids and designed to bridge the gap between the video game generation and bowling, but big kids will love this too.

Click here for more information about the RC900 Remote Controlled Bowling Ball as seen on The Gadget Show

The brilliant Samsung Galaxy Tablet was the second of this week’s Something for the Weekend gadgets. The first tablet from Samsung is a sleek and small entry into the multimedia tablet market. Ella Williamson said that this Galaxy Tablet was really giving the iPad a run for its money. It is smaller than the iPad, and has 4 killer features which make it an enticing prospect.

The Samsung Galaxy Tablet has an SD slot. It has an internal memory of 16 GB, but with the SD slot you can considerably extend the memory with a 32 Gig SD Card. It also functions as a phone thanks to it’s SIM-card slot. The operating system of the Samsung Galaxy Tablet is Android 2.2 which gives you access to Android Market and hundreds of thousands of apps. It has both a front-facing and a back-facing camera with video recording function in portrait or landscape. Finally it supports flash websites, putting it ahead of the iPad in web-browsing terms.

All in all, the Samsung Galaxy Tablet is a fantastic bit of kit, and at around £500 it is a real alternative to the iPad.

Something for the Weekend priced the Samsung Galaxy Tablet at £500 – £600, but we’ve found it much cheaper at £469.

Click here to buy the Samsung Galaxy Tablet as seen on Something for the Weekend for just £469 with free delivery

The Apple TV is a neat clever little device which allows you to connect iTunes wirelessly to your TV and watch content in HD or standard def. It was last but not least of the Something for the Weekend gadgets. In fact you can stream films, TV programmes, music and photos all to your TV using this little device. Apple TV allows you to rent new releases from the iTunes store for crisp and clear playback on your TV. If you have an iPhone or iPad, you can control Apple TV using the Remote App, or you can stream content wirelessly from your iPhone or iPad to your TV. Added to all this, the Apple TV is extremely energy efficient.

Click here to buy an Apple TV as seen on Something for the Weekend

On this week’s edition of The Gadget Show, Jon Bentley looked at no name brand TVs to figure out if any were worth parting with your hard earned cash for.

The Evotel TV was bottom of the pile with poor picture and barely audible sound. The e-motion 32″ TV fared slightly better, a pretty decent picture with quite a user-friendly menu. Top of the pile was the Technika 32-2000 32″ LCD TV. The Technika TV was the most expensive at £349, but it did deliver the best picture (720p). It also has a nice simple to use remote and decent sound quality – a reasonable buy was the final verdict of The Gadget Show.

You can pick up no name brand TVs like the Technika 32-2000 at your local supermarkets – Tesco, Morrisons, ASDA etc and also stores like Argos.

On this week’s Gadget Show Jason’s top 5 dealt with a number of ways you could enhance, advance and improve your tech life. Here were his top five tech tips:

5. Q-Waves Wireless USB AV Kit

The Q-Waves Wireless USB AV Kit costs around £85 and it sends a video stream of whatever your laptop or PC is showing you to your TV, essentially turning your TV into a wireless monitor. You can use it for watching things like Sky Player, BBC iPlayer and other media on your TV in high quality.

4. Vitamin D Video

This is free software which essentially allows you to turn your webcam into a home security system. It recognises when people come in or go out of a door for example, and emails you when they do.

3. Mobile Air Mouse Pro

This nifty little app for your iPhone or iPod Touch essentially turns your iPod into an advanced trackpad, or wireless mouse with which you can control your PC or Mac.

2. Earphone Cable Fold

Wrap the cord around your hand leaving the jack hanging a little. Pinch the middle to form a bow and wrap the remaining cord around, pushing the jack through the middle and pulling it tight. Hey Presto – no more annoyingly tangled earphones.

1. Tinfoil Wi-Fi Booster

Another free tip from Jason. There is nothing more annoying than losing your wi-fi signal halfway through an online gaming session, but you can use this tip to solve the problem. Get some tinfoil, Make it rectangular and place it next to your router, so that it can reflect signal from your wireless router towards the room with your wireless laptop, gaming console etc. You will find that the signal is automatically boosted. A great tip, and it’s free!

The Air Hogs Vectron Wave toy was the second of this week’s Something for the Weekend gadgets. It was described by the Something for the Weekend gadget expert as a ‘glorified frisbee’. It is a clever RC-style frisbee game, bringing the frisbee into the 21st century.

The Air Hogs Vectron wave has a propeller on the bottom and infra-red sensors on top. You can control it by placing your hand above it and allowing it to hover. The aim of the game is to make it fly to another person by waving your hand in their direction. It is a very clever and entertaining gadget – great for a summer day in the park.

Click here for more information on the Airhogs Vectron Wave toy as seen on Something for the Weekend

Discuss this gadget in our forum

The Sanyo Xacti VPC-CS1 HD Camcorder was the first of this week’s Something for the Weekend gadgets. The gadget guru explained that the Sanyo Xacti was the world’s smallest HD camcorder. It has 2 functions, the ability to record 1080i HD footage, and it will also take 8 megapixel still images, acting like a high-res HD camera. The Sanyo Xacti has a TFT screen which rotates 280 degrees allowing you to shoot footage of yourself aswell as the world around you.

The Sanyo Xacti VPC-CS1 is also useful because it records everything in MP4 format, which means you can easily upload your videos to YouTube, Facebook and other social networking and video sites. The camcorder is compatible with Eye-Fi wireless SD cards which allow you to upload wirelessly. It costs around £250.

Click here for more information on this and other Sanyo Xacti Camcorders as seen on Something for the Weekend

Discuss this gadget in our forum

The Smart Globe was the second of this week’s Something for the Weekend gadgets. It’s full name is the Oregon Scientific Smart Globe 3. It is essentially a fully interactive 3D globe complete with remote-control smart pen and pull out map. Use the pen to select a category, eg national anthems, then press the pen onto any country in the world to hear its national antthem. Other categories include amazing facts and language.

As well as being highly educational, the Smart Globe 3 is great fun, with over 30 games to play such as find the city. It is so clever that it even connects to a PC via USB port so you can download real time world news updates which are accesible by pressing the smart pen onto the relevant country.

This Oregon Scientific Smart Globe 3 would make an excellent educational and fun present for anyone young or old. It is available for around £100, £30 less than quoted on Something for the Weekend.

Click here to buy a Smart Globe as seen on Something for the Weekend

Discuss the Oregon Smart Globe 3 along with other Something for the Weekend gadgets in our forum