Decide what to buy

Some gems from the reviews over on Reevoo

"Utterly hopeless instructions (imagine Ikea on steroids)" Vogels Projector Wall Solution

"Fashion-wise, they’re possibly a bit risky…I think I get away with it because I have wild hair and a convertible, but I could be fooling myself" Cowboy Glasses

"Encourages children to saw things - legs, trees, etc" Chad Valley JCB Chainsaw

"I can only go what my wife says, The dust collects easier and more visible, So I have bought her an anti static duster and told her to dust more ofter……Whiner" Samsung LE19R88BDX

"Fridge magnets doin’t stick - now what are we going to do with them all … !" LG GR419BSCA

With households around the land worrying that it’s time to tighten belts, we thought we’d help show you how you can get the most from your purchases and do your bit to save the planet at the same time – after all, who wants another summer like we’ve just had?

In addition to Reevoo’s normal job, of using real customer reviews to help you decide what to buy, Reevoo now allows you to search by which household products are the most energy efficient. With energy prices up by 20% this year, we thought this was pretty smart, as well as green.

So, what difference will this really make?

We took one of the market’s top energy rated fridge freezers, the Indesit BAAN134, which has an A* energy efficiency rating and carries the Energy Savings Trust Feature, and compared it to your average light bulb.

At roughly HALF the power usage of a 60 watt lightbulb, not only will the Indecit keep your beers chilled but it might tempt you to live by fridge-light during fast approaching autumnal months.

We wouldn’t expect you to compromise on quality either, the Indesit scored 9.2 out of 10 by those that bought it and 93% of buyers would recommend it.

So, if you’re interested in making your home as cost and energy efficient as possible, or just want to find out which washing machine uses less power than your iPhone, check out the home product reviews on Reevoo.

[Guest post by Matt]

The Nokia N-series has a couple more handsets to add to the family. The N85 and N79 are different to each other in looks but pretty similar in terms of features. 

The N85 is a two-way slider with a 2.6 inch OLED screen. OLED - Organic Light-Emitting Diode, which basically means it uses less power, responds faster and has a faster refresh rate than a traditional LCD. This makes it particularly good for gaming, which is a good thing because there are 10 games included with the N85, one of which you chose yourself.

The N79 is a candybar handset with a 2.4 inch screen and Xpress-on covers. In fact, on the N79, the back cover will even change the colour on your screen so that your whole phone matches – brings colour coordination to a whole new level.

Apart from style, the main difference is the memory that comes with each phone. The N85 comes with an 8GB SD card whereas the N79 has been palmed off with a 4GB SD card. But both phones come with a five megapixel camera, FM transmitter, GPS, geotagging for photos, Wi-Fi and 3G with HSDPA.

The N85 is due to be released in September and the N79 in October.

Price wise, you’re looking at:
N85 - £358 (€450)
N79 - £279 (€350)

Take a look below for the main specs.

Download table

For more info, check out the Nokia website.

"It doesn’t make me breakfast in bed. That’s disappointing. I’m not asking for much, just a cup of tea and maybe some toast and Marmite" Logik HDWTH FR EADAP

"nobody cares like you do, phoning me to say one pair might be delayed a day…and the no-quibble refund policy. I don’t know how you do it; come on, share the secret… child slave labour…? prison industries…? stolen goods…?" Judge Glasses

"Best screen i have ever seen, makes our 2 Vista based laptops and desktop PCs look like satchels of Yak dung" APPLE I-MAC 24

"much quicker than battering them to death or using fly spray. Ethically by far the best option for the flies who refuse the option of leaving a clean kitchen of their own free will" Shock Bug Zappa

"Well lets face it, there’s only so much fun that you can have with a
plastic boomerang! I cant promise that it will change your life, but
you’ll have a few minutes fun a day with it" Indoor Boomerang

There’s no need to worry about being music-less when you’re on the move again. These solar powered headphones with FM radio will run for up to 20 hours when fully charged. And one hour of sunlight will provide one-three hours listening. There are no wires to get in the way of walking, running, or whatever you fancy doing. Just music. The radio has a powerful internal antenna and extended base so you can keep everyone else entertained at the same time – sure to be popular on trains. And it recharges itself even when you’re listening to it, as long as you’re in the company of sun.

Heads big and small will love these headphones because the adjustable headband will accommodate all sizes. Plus you’re doing your bit for the environment at the same time. You can pick up a pair here for £19.95 with global shipping.

LG shocked the world of washing machines in 2006 with the launch of its proprietary Steam Direct Drive unit. The range has continued to evolve, and since May it has been possible to purchase one of the new F1402FDS5/6 machines capable of washing 9Kg of laundry.

While fantastic to be able to wash so much in a single go, it’s still the technology behind the machine that deserves the most attention. Like Dyson introducing the bagless vacuum cleaner to the world, LG decided to throw conventional washing machine design principles out of the window and try something new.  By converting the water into steam before mixing it with your laundry, these machines are able to achieve the same or even arguably better cleaning results, whilst saving on the amount of water and energy used. This is a huge plus point, in a time when energy and water costs are rocketing sky high, and saving resources is high on people’s agendas. Another fantastic feature of a steam powered washing machine is its ability to rid your clothes of creases, so no more ironing!

All this does come at a price though, with the range retailing at between £600 and £700 from places such as Boots, Sainsburys and Currys. In the long run however, the extra initial outlay could pay for itself further down the line. For those of you out there that might not want such an expensive and feature rich machine, there are cheaper ranges also available that use the same core steam technology. If you are hungry to delve further into the world of steam powered washing machines head over to the LG website.

[Guest post by Andy]

Not content with simple maps, Nokia have teamed up with Lonely Planet to create a mobile tourist map extravaganza.  Adventurers can download city guides to their mobiles for over 100 hot tourist destinations so that the “where shall we eat” question need never be uttered again. Among the restaurant recommendations, you can also find where to sleep, shop, visit and boogie. No more heavy books and highlighters to pack in with your toothbrush and sleeping bags.

There was mutual love-giving from Nokia and Lonely Planet with Maximilian Schierstadt, head of media partnerships, at Nokia context-based services, saying: "Lonely Planet is a well-known brand amongst travellers and stands for adventure and editorial independence.

"We are very excited to offer their expert local recommendations and itineraries to our Nokia Maps consumers, which will allow Nokia to continue to innovate and enable compelling location-aware experiences."

Stephen Palmer, CEO of Lonely Planet Publications, added: "This is a genuinely transformational deal, which makes Lonely Planet content available regardless of time or place… Together with Nokia we will help more travellers connect profoundly with their world, everyday."

You can get your hands on the city guides from today. They’re £5.99 / USD 13.99 / EUR 7.99, and can be found in the Guides section in the Extras menu. For more info, head to Nokia.

It seems that the iPhone has won even more fans in the shape of HSBC chiefs. The powers that be over at the global bank have decided to look into using iPhones as their executive weapon of choice. That would mean replacing their fleet of around 300,000 BlackBerry devices.

Now that the new iPhone 3G is compatible with Microsoft Exchange servers, it has become more attractive to business as well as consumers. Its larger screen and applications geared towards trading and accounting are adding to the iPhones capability to become a serious business competitor.

News from the BlackBerry camp is that the BlackBerry Thunder, equipped with a large touch screen, will be released later this year to go into direct competition with the iPhone. Watch this space for a smartphone stand-off…

It’s summer time! Well, it’s a little hotter than usual. Anyway, it’s definitely time for us to be reaching for our cameras and taking snaps of our holidays, family and friends. If your camera is about as useful as a chocolate teapot, chances are you’ll be looking around for a new one. We’ve taken all the stress out of the process by having a look at what consumers think about the cameras they’ve bought. After someone buys a camera through one of Reevoo’s partners, they get an email questionnaire to fill out about the product. They’re asked all about image quality, features, ease of use and so on.

We’ve taken these scores and comments and compiled a list of the top 10 compact digital cameras, as rated by consumers who have bought them.

So here are the results:
1.    Sony Cybershot DSC-W130
2.    Casio Exilim EX-Z1200
3.    Sony Cybershot DSC-T9
4.    Sony Cybershot DSC-T2
5.    Fujifilm Finepix F100
6.    Kodak Easyshare M1033
7.    Canon Digital IXUS 80IS
8.    Kodak Easyshare Z650
9.    Casio Exilim EX-S600
10.  Canon PowerShot A640

And here are the scores for all the categories:

Top of the bunch is the Sony Cybershot DSC-W130. It has great reviews and at £114, it seems to be the best all-rounder for the money. But if you want to pay a little extra, the Casio Exilim EX-Z1200 has top scores for both image and build quality and its 2.8 inch screen did prove very popular with owners.

The most expensive camera was the Kodak Easyshare Z650. Consumers loved that it looked like an SLR but they did say that the lens cap pops off all the time.

Every camera has good and bad points so have a look at the scores and then check out the reviews to see if you can find the best camera for you. You can find digital compact camera reviews, SLR reviews or simply just browse through all of the camera reviews over on Reevoo.

Here’s a gadget for those of you that need a little help in the kitchen department. This digital pasta timer spoon will make sure you produce a perfect plate of pasta, every time. You key in the type of pasta you’re cooking - from one of its 11 pre-programmed varieties - the weight of the pasta you’re cooking and even your preferred texture. An alarm will sound when your pasta is coked and then Bob’s your uncle - Perfect pasta! (well, in this case, Roberto’s your uncle, if we’re being authentically Italian ‘n all).

You can pick one up for £16.20 from Premier Cutlery, who ship globally.

If you think this is a cool gadget, you can vote for it in Coolest Gadgets’ weekly competition.