Decide what to buy

Brandchannel’s Brandjunkie awards take a look at brand impact and how brands influence consumer perception and behaviour. This year’s poll of 2,000 people in 107 countries clearly positioned Apple at the top of their game. Consistent wins with questions like "Which brand inspires you the most?", "If you were to describe yourself as being a brand, what brand would you be?" and "What brand can you not live without?" show that they’re definitely doing something right at Apple HQ.  Although some comments did contain words of caution for the future. One respondent  stated, "I don’t like the fact that Apple seems to be getting a little more of an ego of late. That will eventually bite them in the a$$." Worryingly they also came second in the poll of "Which brand do you want to argue with?".  Users accused the giant of "exploiting their customers’ good will to extremes" and introducing new products too frequently.

Other brands that seem to be ticking the right boxes are Virgin, Nike, Coca Cola and Google. Richard Branson can rest easy with Virgin producing comments such as "The brand completely shines and radiates youth, fun and happiness."

At the other end of the spectrum, Microsoft fared pretty poorly being the company that most people want to argue with and also coming top in the "If you could rebrand any brand, what brand would it be?" category.

You can check out our reviewers’ opinions on Apple and Microsoft products on www.reevoo.com.

We’ve had a funny old week trawling through some of the reviews on Reevoo. Here are a few that made us smile…

"Setting up is a bit technical especially for someone like myself who thinks a woofer is a dog" Sony DAVDZ531W

"Great pick up qualities - Like Miss World in a bikini at Wembley after the Fa Cup Final!!!!Moves around better than John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever!!!!" Dyson DC16

"My only problem with it is the navigation button on the keypad. One false move, and you’ve sent the text meant for your boyfriend to your Dad" K750I 

"There’s a BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP when it ends a cycle. I should read the manual, I think you can stop that…" Bosch WAE 2416

"I wish the phone would ring more than 3 times before the fax/answer phone cuts in, maybe there is a way of changing this but we can’t find it, I have learnt to run faster!" Brother Fax-T106

It’s Easter holiday time again and as today showed us a slither of summer sunshine, we thought we’d take advantage and post about the ultimate outside fun - bouncy castles! Kids love them but not only do they provide hours of fun, they’re also a great way to get little ones exercising…with the added benefit that grown-ups might get a bit of peace once they’re all tired out.

We’ve looked at the top five bouncy castles and ranked them in order of their scores from Reevoo real customer reviews.

1. First place goes to the Woolworths 8FT X 8FT Jumbo Bouncy Castle with a score of 9/10 from 82 impartial reviews. Most people commented on its value for money and how easy it was to set up and take down. A few people did note that the netting on the sides could be a little stronger.

2. Fifi and The Flowertots Bouncy Castle comes in second with it’s safety features and bright colours, scoring 8.4/10 from 8 impartial reviews.

3. Coming in third with 7.3/10 from 36 impartial reviews is the Chad Valley Tiger Bouncy Castle which was highly rated for its value for money but lost marks for safety and durability with one reviewer saying its "sides are tied on which makes it a little unsafe, would be good if came equiped with a mat to help towards safty and prevent puncturing".

4. Fourth is the Plum Large Bouncy Castle with a score of 7.2/10 from 3 impartial reviews. Reviewers praised its easy set up but there were mixed reviews surrounding durability.

5. Fifth place goes to the Barbie Bouncy Castle with 5.2/10 from 4 impartial reviews. Although 75% of reviewers would recommend it, the castle loses out on design with one reviewer saying it was "ridiculously small".

So there we have it, five castles to choose from. Happy bouncing!

We all know that we should be doing more to help ease our effects on the environment so we’ve decided to bring you Green Piece - a look at the latest green gadgets around.

This week we’ve stumbled upon the "Wash Up", courtesy of GadgetLite. Ever wondered how all of that water from your washing machine could be put to good use? Wonder no more because Sevin Coskun has designed this unique washing machine/toilet combo.

The washing machine is stacked on top of your toilet so not only is it easier to load but it also stores all of the water used to clean your clothes in a reservoir that can then be used to flush the toilet.

We use up to 120 litres of water when we wash the average load of washing and 9.5 litres when flushing the toilet so this is a great green gadget. Opinions are pretty mixed on this so let us know what you think!

Those who find the concept a little disturbing can still do their bit by investing in an energy efficient washing machine.

We tend to think that when we buy life’s less exciting products, like vacuum cleaners, we want a trusted brand, quality build and aren’t terribly worried what it looks like. That being true, it is hard to explain how the Numatic Hetty with its vibrant pink colour and smily face is currently the most highly rated of 340 vacuum cleaners on Reevoo.

As Horst pointed out on his delightfully eccentric ‘The Aardvark Speaks’ blog back in January, the designers at Numatic have clearly put a great deal of thought into the aesthetic appeal of the ‘female’ version of Numatic’s Henry, a vacuum cleaner available in the UK for many years.

The pink colour and unusual design certainly seem to appeal to many, but the Numatic Hetty also scores well for ease of use and performance. Reviewers comments about their Hetty include: ‘Had 3 Dysons and this beats them all’, ’simple, back to basics, powerful and reliable’ and my favourite comment from Jayne in Truro, proving that we don’t all buy products by brand and reliability ‘Prettier than Henry!!’

It’s a sad day for fans of Pioneer’s award-winning Kuro range of plasma screens, as the company finally confirmed today that they will stop making plasma panels in-house, due to the inability to compete profitably with larger manufacturers.

Pioneer will continue to produce televisions, selling plasma and LCD sets containing screens made by other manufacturers (probably Panasonic and Sharp respectively). And for fans of Pioneer’s existing range, all is not quite lost, since the company is exploring having some of the technologies from the Kuro screens included in the 3rd party panels.

Still, if a Kuro screen is top of your wishlist, now is the time to get one, as Pioneer will discontinue the range after 2008.

AV Zombie is reporting that Pioneer are poised to stop making plasma screens. We previously posted the Asahi newspapers’ speculation about this, but a Pioneer statement put the matter to bed for a while:

"On February 28, 2008 the Asahi newspaper carried an article regarding Pioneer’s plasma display business.

"This article was not based on a Pioneer announcement or interviews
from the Asahi, but just on the basis of the journalist’s speculation.

"At the third quarter financial announcement on January 31,
2008, President Sudo announced that Pioneer is reviewing our display
business and preparing the mid-term business plan aiming to generate a
stable revenue for the business. The review is now underway, and no
details have been decided as yet. We will announce the details as soon
as they have been confirmed." (source: What HiFi)

The results of that review are due to be announced on Friday, but leaks are already circulating round the web that Pioneer plan to pull the plug on their Kuro screens, and buy plasma panels in from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, the makers of Panasonic televisions. Other sources are indicating that Pioneer will also start selling LCD televisions with panels sourced from Sharp.

It looks like we’ll have to wait until tomorrow for the full details, but if you want a Kuro (and they are good), you may need to get one sooner rather than later.

£2,750 an episode sounds pretty steep for a screen actor’s fees, let alone a download charge! It’s been announced that the unfortunate wife of a city executive cost the poor fellow over £11k by queueing up four Friends episodes for download.  Talk about being in the doghouse!

Little did the businessman know when he happened to leave the UK, where the downloads are free, on a flight to Germany, where roaming fees kicked in. Now we all know the real reason they tell you to turn off your mobiles during flights! More money flew straight out the plane window than his air-miles are likely to ever cover.

I guess you’re probably asking two questions right now…

1. So who’s to blame?
a. Phone operators for charging astronomical roaming fees even after the September 2007 EuroTariffs
b. The wife for downloading a programme that’s been on 24-hour loop on various channels for the last 10 years
c. The husband for letting her use his business phone for TV shows

2. How can I stop this happening to me?
Well it all depends on your stance on the first question…
If a. You want to get savvy on the right mobile phone tariff for you so it’s probably best you check out our Mobile Phone Buyer’s Guide
If b. Have you thought about DVDs? They’re very handy because you can watch them on big screens meant for films and they don’t have to be downloaded
If c. It might be time to fork out for a second handset. Customers have recently voted the Sony Ericsson T650I the best web-browsing phone (that’s right, above the iPhone!).