I promised you another dinosaur robot, and this is clearly the best toy ever made…….ever.

While pleo is loveable with his artificial intelligence and cheeky personality, he’s a bit small and, well, roboty. So move over pleo, I’m introducing Kota, a soft, triceratops robot, and he’s amazing

This thing is enormous. He’s a couple of feet tall and you can actually sit on him as he snuffles, roars, blinks and sneezes. Kota is like a Jim Henson puppet of a dinosaur, or like the dinos from ‘the land before time’. He’s got a special leaf that he chomps if you put it in his mouth, and stroke him under the chin and he’ll purr like a massive dinosaur cat.

He doesn’t actually walk about your room, but when you’re sitting on him he’s quite bouncy and you can bob up and down. If they made these when I was a kid, I would have pestered my mum for as long as it took to get me one. For years if necessary. This is the best toy of the year, of the decade, and possibly ever. Until they invent one that walks of course.

Bounce up and down and he’ll make stamping noises, or press music button so he dances to the jungle rhythm. As one for the boys, this toy will be at the top of every Christmas list. It’s a bit pricy at £300, but shop around and you can find offers for £250ish, but don’t forget about the delivery charge, because Kota is a big Christmas present!

He’s actually designed for under 10s, but will take the weight of a fully grown man. Not that I was riding him with a big grin on my face or anything. There are no photos to prove it so I’m denying everything.

Rob

Rated: from 1877 votes

© MGA Entertainment

It’s vital that all kids learn to swim at a very young age. The sooner the better is my view so you can rest easy knowing that they’ll always be safe around water.

That’s why I love this new toy tipped by the Toy Retailers Association as a sure fire hit this Christmas. If your young child doesn’t have it on their Christmas gift list, then it will make a great surprise Christmas present.

Swim to Me Puppy (see it in action on Youtube) is a lovable toy dog that walks on land, but when you put him in the water, he starts to swim. He comes complete with goggles, towel and a real certificate of adoption, and your child can officially adopt him online.

He’s sure to raise a laugh as he walks around your house on Christmas morning (battery powered of course). Then when you visit the swimming pool, imagine how thrilled your child will be as Swim to Me Puppy learns to swim alongside them.

This is one gadget that your shopping blog doesn’t hesitate to recommend as a Christmas present. It will provide endless fun for young children, but even better will make learning to swim so much more fun. And to my mind there’s no better Christmas gift than teaching your child to swim.

Rob

Rated: from 1828 votes

© Culinare

This is a fun little gadget you might have seen advertised on TV in the run up to Christmas. The Culinare one touch jar opener is an electronic gadget that opens jars with just one touch.

It’s obviously aimed at people with arthritis who are having trouble opening jars (and really lazy people) but it’s a fantastic gadget. Just line it up with the jar, press the button and it whirrs into life, gripping the jar and unscrewing it before your eyes.

I’ve been testing it by making lids really tight and using it on unusually shaped jars and it opens them all. It applies 11kg (25lb) of pressure, but admittedly I think it would struggle on really stubborn jars that you can’t open by hand. This is when you’ll need to corner a big strong man to open your stuck jars with a rubber glove for grip

So is it a good Christmas present? Certainly for people who have trouble opening jars - you can’t put a price on independence, and for £20 the one touch jar opener will certainly help that. You could even use it to open the jar of cranberry sauce on Christmas day.

It’ll help people cope with their daily lives and I think that’s how gadgets can really make a difference.

If you know someone who can’t open jars, get them one for Christmas, or just pop out and buy one now. But if you can open jars with no problem I wouldn’t bother getting one of these gadgets. It’s fun to watch it opening jars a few times, but seriously, how lazy are you?

Rob

Rated: from 1825 votes

© Firebox

These seem to have crept up on me over the last few years, going from absurd, expensive novelties to cheap, fun gadgets. Chocolate fountains are the modern equivalent to the fondue, but focusing on sweet side, with the deliciousness of melted chocolate rather than strange melted cheeses.

As a bloke, I don’t mind chocolate, but I don’t have the same relationship with it as my wife - I’d love to invent a gravy fountain to dip my chips into instead, but it’s Christmas and time to think of other people.

You can pick up a steel chocolate fountain from Russell Hobbs for around £15, and it does the job, warming the chocolate into a cascade of melted indulgence. With the cheaper models you’ll need to melt the chocolate in a pan first, so it’s maybe worth paying a bit more for one that does that too.

I’m definitely thinking of popping one into my wife’s Christmas stocking or picking one up for a bit of dessert after Christmas dinner. The only thing stopping me was cleaning it - imagine all the chocolate everywhere, it’d be a nightmare. Anyway, I needn’t have worried, because most chocolate fountains are machine washable so you can scoop out the remaining chocolate and pop it in the dish washer.

Watch out for the amount of chocolate they use too - you need to melt loads for a continuous cascade, so stock up when you’re Christmas shopping.

Rob

Rated: from 1372 votes

© Transformers

High on the “Dream List” of the Toy Retailers Association, and sure to go down well with younger Star Wars fans this Christmas is a replica helmet that actually makes them sound just like a clone trooper. Battery powered and covering the whole face to look just like the real thing, it’s every young clone trooper’s dream.

Have a look at it in action on Youtube and you’ll see what a great effect the Voice Changer Helmet has, and why the lucky young clone trooper who receives it will be wearing it day in and day out over the Christmas holidays, and probability driving you mad with it by Boxing Day.

Or if that’s not enough, you could try the Darth Vader voice changer helmet and become everybody’s favourite baddie. It would go well with the replica light sabre that most kids seem to have these days.

Another gadget on this theme is the Optimus Prime helmet voice changer from the Transformers film. It works in the same way as the other two, and has received excellent product reviews, so would be a great Christmas gift idea for the Transformers-mad youngster.

With these three great gift ideas to choose from, I’d be surprised if many young kids were talking in their own voices this Christmas day.

Rob

Rated: from 1660 votes

© Creative Labs

Creative Labs are well known for their top quality media players, and a Creative Zen Vision player would be this shopping blog’s recommendation for anyone wanting a personal media player for a Christmas present.

Zen vision players play music and films/video either through headphones and the built in screen, or connected to your TV or hifi system.

With a Creative Zen player, you source your music or video any way you like and organise it yourself. Plug the player into your PC and drag and drop the music or video files. No software to install, no program deciding how to organise your stuff for you.

The Zen Vision M player has been Creative Labs’ flagship player for a few years now but with its small screen is showing its age a bit. So enter the Zen Vision W, with 4.3 inch widescreen and weighing in at just 273 grams. Its 30GB hard disk has space for 15,000 songs or up to 120 hours of video, or if that’s not enough there’s a 60GB version available too.

Product reviews are always great for Creative Zen products and the Zen Vision W is no exception. Sound quality is awesome, and the screen so clear and detailed you’ll soon forget you’re watching a portable player.

This shopping blog recommends having a look at the Creative Zen Vision W and I can guarantee it will get pride of place on your Christmas gift list.

Rob

Rated: from 2270 votes

© Hair Tools

Have you seen the adverts for the vibe vibrating hair straighteners from Hair Tools? You will have done, it’s on all the time, while they are trying to sell them for the Christmas present market. I’ve been looking into them and I think they could be a real alternative to the GHD straighteners that girls go wild for.

I know it’s ironic, me talking about hair straighteners when I haven’t got the fullest head of hair, but I find that writing for this shopping blog gives me a good overview of what works and what doesn’t.

They’ve got the ceramic plates and variable heat you expect in even bog standard straighteners now, but the vibration totally eliminates any pulling or snagging, with the hair gliding through the plates without any tugging.

My wife is always on about GHD straighteners but I can’t see how they’re different from any others – except for the price which is way too steep. I’ve had a poke about with the Vibe ones at my local electrical shop too and they seem the business.

From what I’ve seen, and from having a chat with a few people in the know, I’m pretty sure the Vibe straighteners will beat GHDs in a straight hair playoff, and this is exactly the sort of thing I’ll be getting my wife for a Christmas present. She doesn’t read this shopping blog, so I can tell you and she’ll never know.

Do you like GHD hair straighteners? Am I right, or do you think they’re as good as people claim? Let me know.

Peter

Rated: from 2250 votes

© Powerball

All the rage this year and high on most Christmas present lists is the Powerball. If you haven’t already ordered one as a Christmas gift from Santa – or your favourite aunt – then you should. Or if you can’t wait, go shopping for one of these amazing gadgets yourself.

A Powerball looks like a sparkling tennis ball that fits in your hand, but has a gyroscope inside it. The makers say it’s a spin off from the NASA space programme. Move your wrist and get the gyroscope spinning faster and faster, with the force it generates exercising your wrist and arm.

The Powerball comes in a range of glitzy colours, some with glowing lights. Powerball Pro models have an electronic counter inside to show you your maximum speed, which can be over 16,000 rpm.
Look at this great Youtube video of a Powerball in action.

At under £20, this gadget is proving hugely popular and highly addictive. Get one and compete with your mates to see who can get their Powerball going fastest. And there are even organised Powerball competitions.

You’re too late to enter this year’s Powerball Championships, but if you get yours this Christmas, you could be winning prizes at next year’s. I’ll not see you there as I’ve not reached 10,000 with mine yet. What’s your record?

Rob

Rated: from 2051 votes

If you’ve got a bit of cash this Christmas, there’s a new robot on the scene, and it’s so good it makes me sad I’m not a kid anymore. It was on display in a toy shop that I popped into while I was waiting for my wife, and it took my breath away.

You’ll remember the Robosapien robot, famous for his artificial intelligence. He had a dinosaur cousin, but now they’ve both been outdone by a robot dinosaur that’s almost real, right down to its leathery skin. He’s called Pleo.

At first i thought it was just a static model. That’s until it walked up to me, looked up and yelped. This thing is crazy. It’s got voice recognition, and it learns stuff. It’s got all the artificial intelligence you expect now from a robot, but it seems to have a real personality too. It’s been out a while but there’s a real push to promote it as a Christmas present. And why not?

As you know, I love to read up on gadgets and product reviews, so soon as I got home I looked up some information on it and found this :

Pleo isn’t cheap at £200 and the pets certainly wouldn’t like it but I think it’s amazing. Get the kids an orange and some marbles, and keep Pleo for yourself.

And there’s an even more amazing robot dinosaur out this year – I’ll tell you about it soon!

Peter

Rated: from 1671 votes

© Sony

Top of my Christmas gift list this year is an e-book reader. The best way to describe this gadget, if you’ve not seen one, is like an iPod for books. You carry thousands of tunes round and listen to them on a tiny little iPod; so you carry thousands of books around and read them on an e-book reader smaller than a paperback book.

E-ink is what makes it all possible. Anybody who’s tried knows you can’t read for long on a PC monitor or other backlit device without some kind of eye strain. But an e-ink screen looks like real paper and relies on ambient light just like a normal book.

Amazon were among the pioneers with their Kindle device, still only available in the US, but the UK now has several to choose from as shown in this Wiki guide. The popular devices use the same 6 inch e-ink screen which is fine for most purposes, and my favourites are the Sony PRS-505 and the Bookeen Cybook Gen3 – both under £200.

On board memory can be increased with standard SD cards like those in digital cameras. And as your average novel takes up only one tenth of the space of a single on an iPod, it’s possible to carry well over 1000 books on your e-book reader.

You can buy e-books online (handy for gift ideas) and download them just like iTunes, or there’s a vast library of free works via a website called Project Gutenberg.

I’m a member of a great little forum called mobileread.com that anybody thinking of an e-book reader should visit. And if you read books at all, then you really should be putting one of these gadgets high on your Christmas gift list.
I’m using mine already.

Rob

Rated: from 2084 votes