Decide what to buy

This week’s Gadget Watch is all about trees. Metal trees, that is. This fab looking sculpture will not only be an interesting addition to any room but it will also be your one stop shop (or tree), for charging MP3s, mobile phones, cameras and other small, battery operated devices.

How? Well, each of the leaves is actually a solar panel. These 54 solar panels or photovoltaic panels, to be exact, will store energy that can then be used to charge you favourite gadgets.

Pretty different, hey? Each piece is also movable so you can make it even more original by creating your own shapes.

A fun and great looking product that will save you money and give you that nice warm feeling to know that you’re helping to save the planet too.

It was designed by French genius, Vivien Muller and is not yet on the market but we’ll keep you posted.

I know it’s all a bit doom and gloom at the moment in the money department but what happens when you actually need to buy something?

Laptops may seem like an unaffordable luxury but if you’re a student or you run your own business or you just need soemthing that you can carry around with you, laptops are your best bet and you can get one for cheaper than you think.

We’ve set the bar at £300 and found some great deals. Here are the top ten most highly rated laptops under £300, rated by people who have actually bought them:

1. Asus EEE PC 4GB INT - £170

2. Advent 4211 - £230

3. Packard Bell MX37 T003 - £300

4. Toshiba Equium L350-10L - £300

5. Compaq CQ50100EM SI40 - £300

6. Toshiba Equium L300-146 - £300

7. Asus EEE PC 701 4G - £205

8. Asus EEE PC 701 8G - £205

9. EI Systems 1201 T23701G - £250

10. Acer As5633 - £300

So there we go. With prices as low as £170, you’re sure to find something. Asus EEE PCs are great to take anywhere because they’re so tiny, and I especially like all of the new colours they come in but they may take a bit of getting used to. A couple of the reviews from guys mention that the keys are a little difficult for them to type with. If they don’t sound like they’re for you, an extra 50 or so will get you the Advent 4211. It’s got some great reviews. Nuala from County Louth says:

“It’s just fantastic. The best money I ever spent. You can use it anywhere. I would’nt be without it”

And if online gaming’s your thing, Fiona from Wales says:

“Very small and lightweight. Speedy processor means not matter how many screens you’ve got open it doesnt slow. Would higly recommend for anyone looking for an internet laptop. I find it good for online gaming as the applications do not slow the computer even if palying several sites at once.”

If you’re after something stylish, go for the Compaq CQ50100EM SI40. Everyone raves about its design. But if you ask me, the Toshiba Equium L350-10L packs a whole lot into £300 and looks to be well worth the money.

So lots of bargains there and lots of different laptops to choose from. If you’ve come across any others, let us know.

We?ve been looking into design here at Reevoo. Good product design is becoming more and more important and clever and innovative designs are what consumers look for to save time and make their lives a little easier.

So we looked into which brands were coming up with the best designs. When a shopper buys something from one of Reevoo?s 55 retail partners, they are sent an email asking them to rate it. One of the categories they rate is the design of the product.

Looking at 22,000 products, with over 15 reviews, we took these design scores and ranked all of the products in terms of their score for design ? the product with the highest score at the top.

What we found was pretty impressive for one brand in particular. In the top 100 products for design, a whopping 51 of them are from Samsung! It?s a real result for the brand that has put a strong focus on design in recent years.

LG in second place and Sony and Apple in joint third made up the top 3.

If you?re a regular reader of Decide What to Buy, I?m sure you can guess at which product Numatic had in the top 100? Hetty! She?s had a stonking 2008, already topping the best vacuum cleaner list back in June and in March.

But we wanted to look deeper into the data so we split the products up into categories. We looked at Home Entertainment, Mobile Phones, White Goods, Computing and Home and DIY in more detail to see which brand?s products performed the best for design in each category.

And here are the results:

Home Entertainment:
1. Toshiba 46XF355D (television)
2. Samsung LE37A656 (television)
3. Toshiba 40XF355D (television)
4. Samsung LE37A436T (television)
5. Samsung YP-K3JAB 4GB (MP3 player)
6. Samsung YP-P2JCB 8GB (MP3 player)
7. LG 32LG5010 (television)
8. Sony Bravia KDL32W4000U (television)
9. Pioneer Kuro PDP5080XD (television)
10. Samsung PS50Q97HD (television)

Mobile Phones:
1. Samsung F480 Tocco
2. Apple iPhone 8/16GB
3. Nokia 8600
4. Motorola PEBL U6
5. Samsung P520 Armani
6. Motorola W375
7. Sony Ericsson W890i
8. Sony Ericsson T650i
9. Motorola ROKR U9
10. Nokia 7500

White Goods:
1. Bosch KTR18P20GB (fridge)
2. Miele GT 316 ES (freezer)
3. AEG-Electrolux Santo 75348KG (fridge-freezer)
4. Baumatic BF207SLM (fridge-freezer)
5. Kenwood GT/AL17 (microwave)
6. Samsung RSA1DHMH (fridge-freezer)
7. Daewoo ERF336MB (fridge-freezer)
8. Samsung RSH1DTMH (fridge-freezer)
9. Miele KFN 8762 SDed (fridge-freezer)
10. Samsung RSH1DBBP (fridge-freezer)

Computing:
1. Apple MacBook MB403
2. SONY Vaio VGN CR31Z
3. HP DV9646EM RECON
4. ACER M1100
5. Dell Inspiron 1525
6. HP DV9702EA
7. Compaq Presario V6642EM
8. HP V6630EM
9. HP DV9705
10. Toshiba Equium P200-1ED

Home & DIY:
1. Numatic Hetty (vacuum cleaner)
2. Neff B1442NO (oven)
3. Neff B1442S0 (oven)
4. Neff U1322N1GB (oven)
5. Electrolux Insight EKT6045X (oven)
6. Bosch HBN1315 (oven)
7. Prestige 47433 (steam cooker)
8. Bosch HBN131251 (oven)
9. Aeg B41014 (oven)
10. Neff B1422 (oven)

If you want to be cool, drive an Aston Martin, play Nintendo and wear Agent Provocateur…not necessarily all at the same time. These are some of the coolest brands around according to the annual Coolbrands survey.

Voted for by the Coolbrands council and 2,500 members of the public, Aston Martin receives the award for the coolest brand for third year running - certainly aided slightly by a certain Mr Bond who is rather partial to their vehicles.

Relative newcomer, the iPhone is in at second place, preceding the mother ship ? Apple, in third.

There?s no doubt that brands and celebrity go hand in hand. With Bond helping out in the car department and constantly-in-the-press Daisy Lowe being the face of Agent Provocateur, there?s a healthy little partnership of which somebody can be very proud.

But it?s not all down to the celebs.  With brands like Apple, Nintendo and Bang & Olufsen it shows that brands who constantly lead their field in design and innovation are worthy recipients of the accolade.

Congratulations should also go to the Tate Modern who have managed to get onto the list at number 10 - pretty impressive with all those super-brands on there.

You can check out the top 10 coolest brands below:

Top 10 Coolest Brands
1.    Aston Martin
2.    iPhone
3.    Apple
4.    Bang & Olufsen
5.    YouTube
6.    Google
7.    Nintendo
8.    Agent Provocateur
9.    Rolex
10.  Tate Modern

Following on from our fun iPod docks post, we’ve got a cracking set of iPod skins and cases for you today.

I had to start with the iFrogz Tadpole iPod Case, which is meant to be for children but I was semi-tempted. It’s bright and extra shock absorbent so that you don’t have to worry about little ones (or slightly larger ones), dropping them. It also means that you’ll never lose it in your handbag…It’s 100% coated silicon so that it repels dust and lint.  This is compatible with 30, 60 or 80GB iPod Classics and will set you back £24.99.

If you’re a more stylish individual, may I suggest this leather case for your Classic? Toro’s Treo leather case has a clear plastic screen protector so that you never lose sight of your music and a rotating belt clip that (I didn’t write this bit) “lets you experiment the best fit to look as snazzy as possible”.  They’re £12.99 and come in pink and brown leather.

If you like a patterned case, there’s bunch of cool cases called Gelaskins. They come in different sizes for different types of iPod. This one is the Red Robot design but you can be as bold or as understated as you like because there are loads of different designs. This 2nd Generation Nano case is £9.99 and available over at iPod World.

For flashy types, the Griffin Technology disko is the case for you. As well as the protective, tough polycarbonate shell, the LEDs flash and swirl away in motion-activated light sequences. Forget disco balls, this can control a party all on its own. They’re £16.95 from MacHeaven.

For the cautious amongst you, why not keep your iPod from thieves by disguising it as a…hymn book? The case is designed for 30, 60 and 80GB Classics but if you have any other make that’s about the same size, it should work for them too.  For £15,’cherishing’ your music has never been so easy. (sorry).

If you’re debating over whether or not to get an iPod or another brand of player, you can read the MP3 player reviews to help you decide. If you’re set on getting an iPod, check out all of the iPod reviews so that you can find the best one for you.

Have you ever considered that all of the appliances in your home may have been designed by people who have never had to use them? For example, that your fridge was designed by someone who still kept things underground to keep them cold? It would certainly seem so, going by some of the reviews we’ve been reading.

As we’re on the subject of fridges, we’ll start there. The Bosch KGU30605 fridge has been designed by a genius who thought an egg tray with space for five eggs was revolutionary. The unfortunate sixth egg that almost certainly is included when you buy a standard pack of half a dozen eggs, will have to find its own home amongst the jungle of jars and leftovers.

How about the Elba C96DF 90 gas oven that gets nice and hot on the inside but feels the need to heat up its surrounding area by getting dangerously hot on the outside too? I guess we could all start frying our eggs on oven doors to save energy. Maybe that’s what the designer had in mind here.

We talked about the amount of energy you can save by not leaving your appliances on standby last week but what if your TV wouldn’t turn off at all? The LG 37LF66 can only be turned off by switching it off at the mains. And there’s even a washing machine that insists on washing cotton and synthetics at 60 degrees - all in all, just great for your energy bills.

If you feel your life isn’t inconvenient enough, why not purchase a couple of dishwashers? One won’t fit standard sized cups on the top shelf and one won’t fit standard sized plates on the bottom but by buying them both, you can be sure that your crockery will be squeaky clean…one way or another.

And for those of you looking for something to amuse the kids over the summer, you might want to check out the reviews for the Easy Store Large Slide. It seems to be multipurpose - a slide and a bug collector. It’s all kitted out in bright yellow so that hundreds of insects are attracted to it as soon as you set it up. I wouldn’t advise sliding on it but it could be great for a wildlife project.

These are just a few of the dodgy designs we found by reading through reviews. We’ve compiled a list of the top ten so that you can take a look. If you’ve got something that you think must have been designed by wild monkeys, let me know and we’ll add it to the list.

1. Bosch KGU30605 Fridge - the egg tray which only holds five eggs instead of the standard six.
2. Zanussi ZWF14581 Washing Machine - The default temperature when you choose cotton or synthetics is always 60 degrees. But almost all synthetics are labelled 40 degrees or less.
3. LG 37LF66 Television - that doesn’t turn off. You have to pull the plug out of the wall to turn the TV off.
4. Easy Store Large Slide - the bright yellow colour attracts thousands of bugs in summertime.
5. Kenwood DW12CFE Dishwasher - Normal sized plates stacked as design suggests in the bottom tray stop the spray arm spinning, and thus the top layer does not get washed. Trays are non removable so the dishwasher won’t run without the top tray in. Hard to fit standard sized dinner plates.
6. LM Tech Battery Powered Heated Gloves - the heating element doesn’t get warm, and doesn’t cover the fingers.
7. Carlton CTD1W Table Top Dishwasher - doesn’t fit standard mugs on the shelf
8. Elba C96DF 90 Gas Oven - the knobs heat up when the grill is turned on
9. Hotpoint RLA21 4.6 Cu.ft. Larder Fridge - there is no light inside so it is impossible to see all the food at the back.
10. UNI MEDIA 22/1 IDTVDVD 22” HD Ready digital television - It is impossible to adjust the picture when the picture adjustment box pops up in the middle of the screen and covers most of the picture.