No real surprise that the Apple iPhone was named Gadget of the Decade on last night’s The Gadget Show. The iPhone has been a massive success across the world and is a seriously advanced bit of kit. The tactile, innovative touchscreen, the millions of downloadable apps from the App Store, the built in GPS, internet browser, email, organiser, ipod, picture viewer, camera, video player, video camera - did we mention it also functions as a phone. The iPhone was championed by most of The Gadget Show presenters and it managed to beat off competition from Sky Plus, the Nintendo Wii, Adobe Photoshop and other great gadgets that have made this past decade great in terms of tech.

The Apple iPhone as seen on The Gadget Show: Gadget of the Decade is available on O2 and now Orange, PAYG or contract, from The Carphone Warehouse, Amazon, or the official Apple, O2 or Orange websites.

Click here to buy an Apple iPhone 3Gs as seen on The Gadget Show Gadget of the Decade

Discuss the Apple iPhone, Gadget of the Decade as seen on The Gadget Show in our forum

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Yesterday Working Lunch looked at government helplines which could make your money troubles worse if you call them on a mobile. Calls to 0870 and 0845 numbers can cost up to 20 pence a minute and if you’re left holding for half an hour which is often the case, it all adds up to a nasty phone bill.

Working Lunch presenter Declan pointed out that a number of Working Lunch viewers had recommended a website, www.saynoto0870.com. This website lists a directory of local code numbers which can be called as an alternative to expensive 0870 or 0845 numbers, helping you save money on calls.

Visit the Say No To 0870 website as seen on Working Lunch

Discuss cheaper phone calls in our forum

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118800 is a new directory enquiries company which has a database of millions of personal mobile phone numbers. Using 118 800 you can easily track down somebody’s mobile phone number by simply providing their full name and address. The 118 800.com service is bound to be highly popular and useful to many but it is not without its critics who worry about the possibility of children being targeted and contacted through the service. It also raises questions about data protection. Shona Forster appeared on Working Lunch to allay people’s fears about the new service and to tell Working Lunch presenters Declan and Naga of the many benefits of the service.

Visit 118 800 as seen on Working Lunch here

Data exploitation or useful service? Let us know what you think in our forum

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The Griffin Aircurve was the last of this week’s Something for the Weekend gadgets, and unusual for the show in that it uses no electricity or batteries to make it work. The Griffin Aircurve, Seema Palmer explained, is an acoustic amplifier for your iPhone.

The Aircurve turns your iPhone into a mini soundsystem using air plastic and a very clever design to amplify the sound. Great for a small party, barbeque etc. It won’t eat into your iPhone battery life and it needs no power of its own to work. A very clever gadget, and reasonably priced we think. Something for the Weekend priced the Aircurve at £26, but we’ve found it on Amazon for £12.24 

A cool piece of kit? Discuss in our forum

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The LG Renoir KC910 was given a 4 ‘G’ Rating making it the highest rated 8 megapixel camera phone on this week’s episode of The Gadget Show. The LG camera phone was deemed marginally the best with a decent flash and good quality video. You can get your hands on one here

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In this week’s Gadget Show challenge Jon and Suzi tried to sell some old gadgets for as much money as possible. Apparently there is 23 billion pounds worth of unused tech sitting unused in UK homes hat can be boxed up and sold for cash. But how do you go about selling gadgets you don’t use anymore?

Online is certainly one method of selling your old gadgets, and the biggest online auction site enabling you to do this is of course eBay. Ebay has over 14 million users in the UK alone, which means a quarter of the population could be potential buyers. 10 million items are up for sale on eBay at any one time. Tips for selling things on eBay are: make sure your photos are sharp and uncluttered, make your description as detailed as possible and sell at the right time - you want your auction to end on either Thursday lunchtime or Sunday afternoon, because statistically that’s when you’re most likely to sell for the best price. Gadget Show presenter Suzi Perry managed to get good returns from eBay for her Pentax Optio W60 camera, Sony Camcorder and Sony Cybershot.

If you don’t want the hassle of the auction, taking photos of your stuff and packaging and posting it once sold, you could use an eBay broker. There are many eBay broker shops in the UK. You simply take your stuff to them, then they will sell it for you and take around 20% commission on the sale. There is virtually no work involved for you, meaning that eBay brokers may be a good option if you’re short of time. eBay brokers also tend to get high prices for your old gadgets.

CQ out, cqout.com is the second largest online auction site in the UK. Launched in 1999 it has no initial listing fees and lower commission charges than eBay. However CQout’s payment system means that they keep hold of the money, only releasing it to you once the buyer has received their goods.  Click here to visit CQ Out

Cash Converters is another offline method of selling your old gadgets. You can take your stuff to a Cash Converters store and depending on the quality of the items and their own stock of them, Cash Converters will offer you money for them. Click here to visit Cash Converters

Apparently searches for second-hand items has gone up by 22%, not surprising given the recession we are in. This has given a huge boost to classified websites like Gumtree and Preloved. These are websites where you list what you’re selling for sale locally. Gadget Show presenter Suzi sold a 10 year old Apple laptop on there.

If you’re looking to sell old mobile phones there are quite a few websites offering this service.  Fonebank, Gazelle, Buy My Tronics and envirophone were among the ones mentioned on The Gadget Show.

CeX was another offline option - they have stores across the UK and they will subject your old gadgets to a series of rigorous tests, buying them for cash if they pass. You can visit the CeX website here.

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A couple of interesting and fun Iphone applications were featured on this week’s Something for the Weekend gadget round up. First up was the Mouthoff Iphone application. Simply pick a cartoon mouth, hold the Iphone in front of your own mouth facing out and start talking - the cartoon mouth moves in sync with your words. Mouthoff is a very funny Iphone app, and it only costs around 56p.

Secondly was the Urban Spoon app, one of Something for the Weekend gadget presenter Ella Williamson’s favourite apps. Urban Spoon is great if you’re out and about and you can’t decide where you want to eat. The GPS inside the Iphone will locate your exact position, or alternatively you can select your city from a list. Then set your price range, literally shake the Iphone and the Urban Spoon app’s fruit machine-style display randomly selects a restaurant for you. Urban Spoon also gives you the address and phone details of the chosen restaurant so you can make a booking quickly and easily from your Iphone. Urban Spoon is a completely free Iphone app.

Iphone applications like the ones seen on Something for the Weekend range from free to £3.

Click here for more information on Ipod applications as seen on Something for the Weekend

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The Dell Netbook with Mobile Broadband, available free from Vodafone on contracts of around £25 per month, was the first of this week’s Something for the Weekend gadgets. Gadget guru Ella Williamson explained to presenter Tim Lovejoy that a netbook is basically a smaller, cheaper, lighter version of a laptop. The Dell Netbook Inspiron Mini is the first Netbook that has integrated mobile broadband - a sim card simply slots into the netbook. Download speeds for the Dell Inspiron Mini Netbook are pretty quick, and because it’s mobile broadband you can surf the net wherever there is a mobile signal.

The Dell Inspiron Mini Netbook has a 9 inch screen and is available exclusively from Vodafone, free with a 2 year contract of £25 per month.

Click here for more info on the Dell Netbook with Mobile Broadband as seen on Something for the Weekend

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The sWaP Mobile Phone Watch was the first of the Something for the Weekend gadgets featured this week. Gadget guru Ella Williamson explained that the sWaP was a watch and a mobile phone in one. Tim Lovejoy said that the sWaP mobile phone watch was what we all dreamed of when we were kids, a watch that was also a phone. You simply pop your SIM card into the back of the sWaP and it will take sim cards from any UK network with the exception of Three.

There is a little stylus pen hidden away into the strap of the watch which can be used to navigate the small 1.5 inch touch-screen on the watch face. The great thing about the sWaP mobile phone watch is that it does more than just tell the time and make and receive phone calls - you can also store MP3 music tracks and MP4 videos on there to be listened to and viewed on the go. The sWaP comes with bluetooth headphones, so no wires required.

The sWap Mobile Phone Watch is around £250 to buy and available online.

Click here to buy a sWaP Mobile Phone Watch as seen on Something for the Weekend

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The Bluetooth enabled Rear-View Mirror Hands-Free Car Kit was the second gadget seen on Something for the Weekend. Gadget guru Ella Williamson explained to Something for the Weekend presenter Tim Lovejoy that the bluetooth rearview mirror simply clips over your standard rearview mirror. With the bluetooth technology you can wirelessly connect your mobile phone to the device, so that when somebody calls you in the car you can answer it safely.

The number of the person who is calling you pops up on the bluetooth rearview mirror, and with its built in speaker you can have a safe hands free conversation. Another cool feature is a small headset inside the device which can be removed and used as a standard bluetooth headset when you’re on foot.

We think the model they featured on Something for the Weekend was the RXS BRM3003 Bluetooth Rear-View Mirror, but there are a few on the market.

Click here to browse some other bluetooth rearview mirror hands-free car kits

(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)

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