Decide what to buy | the Reevoo.com blog, featuring news on TVs, cameras, laptops, mp3 players & other gadgets, shopping tips and deals, reviews and more

Heading to a festival this year? Even if you’re not, the Orange Power Pump can be used for all manner of outdoor parties. It’s a foot pump that powers a tiny generator that will in-turn, charge all your gadgets. No electricity required and with a minute or so on the pump, you’ll have enough charge for a 5 minute call. All that and you’re helping out the environment too.

Watch this space for a price and release date but no doubt it will be available in time for all this summer’s festivals, just head towards the Orange stand.

[Orange]

Currently appearing in [Coolest Gadgets]

How annoying is changing phones and having to get all your contacts onto your new handset? Moving all your contacts onto your phone memory or SIM, taking phones apart, swapping SIMS (if your new handset’s not locked), yadda yadda. It’s got a lot quicker with the use of software and a computer but don’t you just wish it could be instant? Well now, thanks to this little gadget, it is. The Instant Cell Phone Backup just plugs into your old phone and at the touch of a button, all your contacts are stored, ready to be loaded onto your new handset.

Then just plug it into your new handset, use the aforementioned magic button and you’re done. In the words of Aleksandr the meerkat “simples”.

Pick one up for £34.00/$49.95

Now here’s a new way to use a phone – with your feet. Aussie inventor, Dr. Paul Gardner-Stephen has created a phone that sits in the heel of one of your shoes. So instead of fumbling around to find your phone in your bag, just slip off your shoe and flip the heel. Dr. Paul is frequently seen around his campus in Flinders University, Adalaide doing just that. And the phone has proved so popular that Dr. Paul is thinking of starting selling them online this year.

As soon as you attach a Bluetooth headset, it’ll be a whole lot more viable and a great place to hide a phone from thieves!

But apart from being a cool accessory, Dr Gardner-Stephen’s thought of how it can be used for the good of humankind.  He is confident that his phone in a shoe (I’m sure there’ll be a nice catchy name soon – perhaps a “shone” or a “phoo”?), could be used to monitor patients’ vital stats such as blood pressure and pulse via a bluetooth device which will sit in the other heel. The info can then be automatically sent through to doctors wiithout the patients having to come into hospital.

It will also be used to tell emergency workers when a patient has had a fall by monitoring shocks and orientation changes. The shoe will then automatically call emergency services and put the whole conversation on speakerphone so that the patient can communicate when they’re in trouble.

So why house this genius idea in a shoe?

“Shoes are well accepted by most people, and are simple to put on and take off.”

But that’s not all of it…they’re also ideal for charging the device as “our feet, and therefore our shoes, conduct large forces as we stand and walk, and energy can be harvested to charge the device during ordinary activity.”

So it can all be recharged by walking or even standing still – now that’s my kind of gadget!

Check out the doctor’s demo:

As the pressure to create a phone as popular as the iPhone continues, manufacturers are just getting it wrong when it comes to touchscreens.

There are a multitude of touchscreen mobiles out there but only a few are actually pushing the right buttons with consumers. We looked into 19,000 reviews for 226 phones in the last 12 months to find out how they’d been rated by shoppers. In the bottom 10, a whopping 50% were touchscreens.

In contrast, only 2 of the top ten were touchscreen models. The top-rated phone with a score of 8.8 out of ten is the Nokia 5220 XpressMusic with a conventional key pad. Apple’s iPhone is the highest scoring touchscreen phone with a score of 8.3 out of ten.

Here’s a look at the top 10 mobiles, launched in the last 12 months, as rated by consumers

1.      Nokia 5220 XpressMusic

2.      Nokia E71

3.      Sony Ericsson W595

4.      Nokia 2680

5.      Nokia 3110 Classic

6.      Samsung M150

7.      Apple iPhone 3G 16GB - touchscreen

8.      LG KC910 Renoir - touchscreen

9.      Nokia 6600 Slide

10.    Nokia 3600

And the bottom 10

1.        HTC Touch Diamond - touchscreen

2.        Sony Ericsson T303

3.        Samsung Armani - touchscreen

4.        Sony Ericsson C702

5.        Nokia 6124 Classic

6.        BlackBerry Storm 9500 - touchscreen

7.        Samsung i900 Omnia - touchscreen

8.        Nokia N96

9.        Samsung U600

10.      Samsung F490 - touchscreen

And here’s what some reviewers are saying about touchscreens:

“Touchscreen is a little hard to use if your fingers are not slender and pointy.”

“The ‘virtual’ keyboards are rubbish, takes ages to type anything…you could always employ a five year old with small fingers. They should have used a stylus.”

“Jerky software, not fluid. Crashes often.”

“If you have nails can be a bit tricky on the keypad as it is heat sensitive and so must be pressed with the finger tip as a nail will not make it work.”

“I found the touchscreen hard work and the physical ‘pressing’ was made more difficult by the fact that your finger, however slim or fat, tends to ’spread’ when you have to press.”

So if any manufacturers are listening, take a look at some of the touchscreen reviews and address the issues shoppers have with current models.

Dick Tracy, eat your heart out. LG has come up with a futuristic treat from the past with the GD910 – a wrist watch phone. But if you thought it was going to be a second-rate mobile, it’s actually packed full of features you wouldn’t expect. There’s a pretty low-grade camera but its 3G HSDPA compatibility, 1.43” touchscreen, MP3 player and text to speech functionality makes it a decent phone and a pretty hot watch.

It also packs in bluetooth (so you can look even more spy-like with a headset), MMS and it’s water resistant. Want one? They’re due to be released in Europe later on this year.

Check it out in action:

Currently appearing in Coolest-Gadgets’ comp

Did you realise that you can get money for you old mobile? Not just a little bit either- you would be surprised how much cash you can get back for your old phone, even if it’s not working! Reevoo have partnered with a number of recycling companies to offer you a choice of reasons for recycling or trading in your phone for cash and for a good cause.

The process is simple- you register your phone online, and get an instant quote for its value. Next you just send off your old handset, either in a pre-paid envelope, or to a freepost address, and then simply sit back and wait for a cheque or money transfer. You can even exchange your phone for nectar points or Tesco Clubcard points. It really is that easy!

So what happens to your old phone? Your phone is either refurbished and sold in developing economies, or it is ecologically disposed of. Gone are the days of endless phones in landfill sites, now the parts are re-used, or the handsets are smelted for energy production. The companies involved are all concerned with the environment, sustainable development and elevating poverty, so help others whilst getting some cash in your own pocket. Greener Solutions Group for example, a leading owner of various mobile recycling companies, are concerned with sustainable development.  Since its launch in 2001, more than £10 million has been raised by its charity partners.

It seems to us here at Reevoo, that it’s a no-brainer- just free post your old phone in, and get some more cash to go and spend on some Christmas presents! For example:

How much is my old phone worth?

Original iPhone - £125!

Nokia 5310 - £35

Samsung D900 - £20

Obviously you can’t expect to get cash back for a phone that is in pieces. The various companies have different guidelines on prices depending on the state of the phone, but here are a few outlines. Best prices will be paid for phones that are in one piece, have little cosmetic damage and switch on when charged up. Scratches and cracks are not big problems, but even phones that don’t work might be eligible for cash. Have a look at the individual website for more details, but even sending it off to them for a few quid in return is better for you and then environment!

So- don’t leave your old phones lying around gathering dust- they could be worth a lot, and could contribute to a great Christmas in this tough financial climate! Visit our Mobile Recycling Page and see how easy it is to get cash yourself!

Following on from our Christmas present guides, we’ve decided to focus on a popular gift - mobile phones. There are so many on the market these days that it can be a nightmare to read up on each one. But don’t worry, we’ve done it all for you.

We’ve read all the reviews for over 200 mobiles and picked out the most popular - the ones people are looking at in the run-up to Christmas, and the most highly rated phones of 2008 - focusing on what people think after they have bought and tried out their phones. We’ve also got our recommendation for the best value for money mobile.

So, I bet a lot of you will be thinking that the iPhone must be a key player in this year’s favourite mobiles but surprisingly, it’s not in the top 10. Problems with application crashes and battery life meant that people rated this year’s 3G iPhone lower than you might have expected. It gets a score of 8.2/10 which is even beaten by its predecessor, the original iPhone, which scores 8.3/10.

The UK’s favourite phone of 2008 is actually the BlackBerry Bold 9000. Here’s what some reviewers had to say:

+ Great keyboard for e-mailing and texting. Cracking screen which is nice and bright and videos look lovely on it. The sound from the internal speaker is really good. Just a great phone overall.

- Out of the box battery life is bad but gets better with regular charges.

+ The Bold is undoubtedly the most impressive Blackberry yet. One of its greatest advantages is that in spite of many new features, it feels very familiar. Web browsing is almost broadband speed.

But what about the most popular phone? The phone that everyone’s looking at in the run-up to Christmas this year is the Nokia N96. But although it’s created a lot of hype, it actually gets marked down by reviewers for poor battery life and software problems. It’s also a little expensive at around £500 for Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) customers, but it does do the business with its design and features. One reviewer writes “great picture and video quality, very easy to find your way around, fantastic features…looks good”.

So let’s take a look at the most popular phones, which are getting lots of atention, and those that actually get rated the highest when consumers take them home:

TOP TEN MOST POPULAR MOBILE PHONES IN LAST 30 DAYS:

1. Nokia N96

2. Samsung F480 Tocco

3. Blackberry Storm

4. Sony Ericsson C902

5. Samsung Omnia

6. Samsung J700

7. Samsung Soul U900

8. BlackBerry Bold 9000

9. Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

10. LG KF750 Secret

TOP TEN HIGHEST RATED MOBILE PHONES OF 2008:

1. BlackBerry Bold 9000

2. Sony Ericsson W980i

3. Apple iPhone 3G 8/16GB

4. Samsung F480 Tocco

5. Sony Ericsson K660i

6. Fly SL600

7. Sagem my411C

8. Samsung J700

9. Samsung Steel

10. Sagem my300C

If you had your heart set on buying someone, or yourself, a stylish yet affordable phone this Christmas, we think the Samsung F480 Tocco is the one to go for. Whilst other phones with similar features tend to get poor scores for battery life, the Tocco impresses with 7.7/10. Here’s what some other phones score for battery life:

Nokia N96 - 5.8

iPhone original - 6.8

iPhone 3G - 5.6

BlackBerry Bold 9000 - 6.3

The Tocco also impresses with its design and features and is £150 for PAYG customers or free on some contracts.

Have you ever felt so knackered after a night out or shopping trip that you felt your own legs didn’t have the energy to take you home? Did you wish that you could just magic yourself to your comfy sofa? Well, the boffins over at Honda have been dabbling in some robot magic and have produced these rather interesting looking robot legs.

They will reduce the load on your legs by supporting your weight as you walk. You just sit on the unicycle-type seat and the leg frames bend like knees. They run on two motors which are controlled by signals from the sensors inside the shoes. It all sounds great but I must say that when I first saw those pictures, I did wonder how the boys might fare…

The legs were initially intended for assembly line workers (to enable them to stay in crouched positions all day) and the elderly (the aging population in Japan - Honda’s mother ship - being another inspiration for the invention). But we could soon see these chained up outside pubs and shopping centres. However, a word of advice, since these legs haven’t been invented with GPS yet, you may also want to invest in a sat nav and make sure you always have a mobile phone at hand : )

It’s time for another installment in our What to buy series. We looked at What to buy Dads last week and this week it’s the turn of another tricky customer…the teenage boy.

If you need inspiration, just take a look at these:

For the music lover - Everyone loves music. Get them an MP3 player and they can take music with them wherever they go. The top rated MP3 player on Reevoo at the moment is the 8GB iPod Touch. It’s currently around £100. If you were looking to spend a little less than that, the second highest rated player is the £70 Sony NWZA816 4GB. And for a complete bargain buy, grab some CDs. Prices start from as little at £2.

For the gamer - Why not go for a games console like the PlayStation 3 (£289)? If they already have a console, they might like a gaming chair (£100). It’s comfortable for extended gaming sessions and you can feel the action through it. It can also be used to listen to music and watch films. There are also lots of console accessories, like this PS3 charging station for £15. For smaller gifts, you could go for a video game (prices start at £2).

For Mr Sociable - A mobile phone so that they can keep in contact with all their mates. For a phone packed full of features, how about the Nokia N95 or N96? Or for a more classy option, how about the Samsung Tocco or the new iPhone? (All phone prices vary according to contract)

For the sporty ones - Some tickets to a football or rugby match will make a great gift. For something more original, why not try this Garmin Forerunner 405 (£169) GPS-enabled sport watch, which tracks your training and sends the data to your computer or for trips to the coast this fishing starter kit (£32)?

For gadgety types - A Wind-Up Torch with Mobile Phone Charger (£7) or some travel speakers for your iPod (£9).

And for the boy that has everything? - Give them this Sonic Bomb Alarm Clock (£24) - guaranteed to wake the laziest of teenagers.

All done. Pretty painless, just as shopping should be.

If you’re purchasing online, follow our top tips for online shopping this Christmas.

We’ve been looking at what people like and what they don’t when it comes to their mobiles. We asked 31,000 people to rate their phone’s features and it turns out there’s not much hope for big, ugly phones.

15% of people love the way their phone looks above any other feature. One of the sexiest phones seems to be the LG KU990 Viewty – 31% of purchasers rated its look above all its other offerings. And fat phones are a no-go - 14% boasted about how their phone’s compact size was a winner.

The third most popular feature was the camera. A whopping 43% of Sony Ericsson K850i owners cited its 5 megapixel camera as their favourite feature.

But not all phones got off so lightly. With all these fancy frills and features, that age-old problem of battery life seems to be getting worse. It was the most disliked aspect of phones with clunky navigation and awkward keypads coming in second place. One of the worst offenders was the feature-packed Nokia N95. 35% of people rated battery life as its worst characteristic. And it seems looks aren’t everything for the LG KU990 Viewty. It may have come top in the sexy stakes but 25% of respondents said its worse feature was its navigation and keypad.

Check out the graphs below for all the stats on what people liked best and worst about their phones:

And here’s a look at what people thought were the best and worst bits of the top phones:

Lots of interesting things to think about when it comes to buying a mobile phone. Limit the risk of getting a dud by reading what other people say in mobile phone reviews first.