Challenging ..Not with this Fan

Product:

Challenge 5 Blade Pedestal Fan

Date: 02/02/10

Rating: 

Advantages: loads of different modes to suit

Disadvantages: Yet another remote ...but hey it keeps the hubby happy !

Do you remember how hot it was last summer ? phew !!! I was baking..being the typical stereotypical Brit I am ,I Absolutely hate the heat.I was looking for a good quality fan to cool me down,and my hubby being the bloke he is wanted one with a remote control...god there's so many remotes in my house!! its a nightmare I need instructions just to use some of them..anyway I decided to look on the Internet to see what bargains there were along with quality...I went to the Argos website and found this terrific fan , an even bigger shocker was the fact that they actually had one in stock at my local superstore , so I reserved one on line for collection in store the following day ( what a great innovation that is , nothing worse than making a trip specifically for something only to be told its out of stock.) Anyway....I bought this really stylish fan..

~~~~Challenge 5 blade pedestal fan ~~~~

The fan comes in a huge box with a weigh of roughly 17kg
On opening the box the first thing you notice are the fans cages these have been packed separately,the actual fan blade has five parts and is 16 inches in diameter , because of this you get a greater amount of circulated air, the stand for the unit is a bright brushed chrome and then there is the wire and display panel, the base of the unit is Black with chrome accents, after about twenty minutes of figuring out what goes where you manage to get it all together, and bonus it looks really stylish !Then its a case of plugging it in and finding out what wonders it performs...

In the middle of the upright pedestal there is an LED display unit which as well as showing you what setting the fan is currently on , also displays the room temperature, a brilliant feature (I always wanted an indoor thermometer but they usually look naff).This fan when up and running looks like a work of modern art, a must have edition to any modern home.

~~~~~ The remote control ~~~

The remote control for the fan is a small unit about 6 by 9 inches in the same black and brushed chrome finish comes with a total of nine function buttons these work as follows,it requires 2 AAA batteries for operation.

Speed*** it has four speed settings
on and off buttons
mode button ( explained in greater detail below )
timer
oscillation
program
set
and finally a display button..

~~~What the Buttons do~~~

The timer button allows you to set the amount of time you want the fan to run for, this goes up in one hour increments from one to eight hours.

The oscillation button allows you to programme the fans movement which can be used in conjunction with the program and set facilities.

The mode and display buttons offer you the opportunity of changing the way the fan works you have two basic settings , the first is the natural breeze setting ,then you have the sleep breeze setting.
The natural breeze mode cycles the fan randomly through the fans speed settings, while the sleep breeze mode cycles through the settings in order.


website www.argos.co.uk
~~~~~Summary~~~~

I have to say this fan is worth its weight in Gold, not only does it keep you cool and look good it's also good value for money at £59.99 most other pedestal fans with remotes aren't as ascetically pleasing and they usually cost a great deal more..oh and it keeps the hubby happy with yet another remote control to play with .

Summary: An eye pleasing Fan that looks like a piece of modern sculpture..buy it

I got the Solar Smarts

Product:

Leisure Traders Solar On Demand Outdoor Black Pewter Finished Cascade 4 Tier Fountain

Date: 19/03/10

Rating: 

Advantages: No running costs

Disadvantages: none at all

It's that time of year again, time to start planting and generally making the garden look wonderful, As you know I am a big fan of my garden, it gives me so much pleasure ,but there was something missing.

I must admit that I was dumbfounded over exactly what that something was, until I looked on amazon.co.uk, going through page after page seeking inspiration,I found this beautiful water feature.

I didn't want anything too big as my garden is on the small side , I felt that the sound of running water was my missing something.So I found this water feature,which not only was the right size, it also looked very modern.

Instead of being made out terracotta or resin the bowls in this water feature are a silvery pewter which will tarnish with use and age adding to its charm.This feature could be considered a little expensive, (being who I am decided to bite the bullet and order it anyway.)

The product is sold on amazon.co.uk by UK Water Features for £ 74.80 with a shipping fee of £4.95, I didn't pay this much though because I bought other products and used amazons super saver free delivery.

Product details

The water feature comes in a large box, which on opening has a total of 8 components, these are :

1.Solar Panel ( great no running costs )
2.pump with filter housing
3.Jug
4.small bowls
5.main bowl
6.solar panel mounting kit
7.hose with bung
8.stand.

Dimensions when all set up 63 cm high and 38 wide

Setting it up

When you unpack everything it does look a bit like a chinese puzzle, but, the instruction manual gives a comprehensive step by step guide to fit it all together.

After deciding where you want to place the water feature you start assembling it, firstly by setting up the metal stand, which have four connection points, once that is up and stable you place the large bowl in the bottom rack to stabilize the stand.Next place the three remaining bowls in their holders.

Attach the hose to the pump and then pull the hose through the top rung and insert it into the bung hole in the jug making sure that the hose pokes up inside the jug by at least 1 inch, Now place the Jug in the top rung and use clips provided to fix the hose to the metal frame, place the pump with the filter housing into the main bowl fill with water and align all the jugs and bowls.

Setting up time

That took just over twenty minutes to complete, which is reasonable considering I also mounted the solar panel on the wall.( there are three options for mounting the solar panel, wall mounting a stand that goes into the grass or a standing mount.)

It is recommended you use either distilled water or rain water to avoid scale build up in the pump.I had a few problems actually finding distilled water, the best place to buy it is in Halfords where it costs £3.99 for a 5 Litre bottle.

Benefits of smart solar power

The main benefit of using smart solar power is obviously not having an energy bill for usage.The best thing about this particular unit is that it also has a built in battery charged by the solar panel enabling the water feature to continue to run at night when there is no natural sunlight.

General effectiveness

The sound of running water trickling from the top jug down through the bowls is actually very relaxing, no need to go out and get expensive relaxation therapies with this little beauty !

Yes it maybe slightly expensive initially ,but I'm thinking of the savings in the long run.I am a great believer in Solar Power and try to incorporate it wherever possible. My Garden being the main benefactor to date.

My Summary

This is a great buy as far as I am concerned, If you are looking for something a bit 'different' to add beauty to your garden I would highly recommend this. A cascade that saves you cash. I rate it 5 stars.

Summary: A Cash Saving Cascade, brings beauty to your garden

http://www.1000waterfeatures.co.uk/pewter-solar-cascade-water-feature-p-3651.html?src=list_name&cPath=1_108#power=108&styles=&sizes=&brands=&materials=&accessories=&page=2

First Foray into Smartphone Technology

Product:

Acer beTouch E210

Date: 19/01/12

Rating: 

Advantages: smart technology at an affordable price

Disadvantages: battery life ?

I recently decided it was time to dip my toes into the smart phone technology pond , being, what could be deemed as a technological virgin ( no don't laugh ! ) I was quite impressed with my bravado. I didn't want to spend hundreds of pounds on the latest apple i-phone , as money conscience as I am ( my husband calls me tight ) all I could think of were the consequences of what I would do if I didn't get on with it .

So....

I trawled the internet looking for a decent alternative that wouldn't break the bank if it wasn't for me .Who would have thought there would be sooooo many to choose from , not me that's for sure !

After hours and a huge headache , I found one that I liked the look of , it suited my needs and more importantly my budget .

When you're reading the following please bear in mind , I am not a tech wizard and this is my first foray into smartphone technology , so I am writing purely from the idiots stand point .That means no tech specs , if you want them follow the link .

The Acer beTouch E210 is an android operated phone , it has both a physical qwerty keyboard and touch screen technology , in fact all of the items you would expect of a mobile , camera , camcorder etc...

I was looking forward to getting it with some trepidation...A few days later the phone arrived .

Inside the box you get the usual paperwork , warranty , quick set up guide and safety information booklets along with the phone itself an SD card, battery, usb charging cable and two pin adaptor , which converts the usb to a normal electrical socket , along with earphones .

The phone is,( I have on good authority.) a little wider than a Blackberry and the keys on the qwerty keyboard are rounded making typing slighty easier .It is black with a silver trim , which gives it an expensive look .

Setting up

My first mountain to climb was getting the back off of the phone , there is a small indentation you are supposed to put your fingernail into to push , lift and unclip it open . Maybe you could manage this if you were Thumbelina , or a weight lifting smurf , but my fingers were just too big and I couldn't get anywhere near opening it this way..Twenty minutes and a few $@!^$ expletives later the back was finally off.( I am hoping this is going to get easier as its a nightmare when everything is so tight ).

I placed the sim card in and then the Sd card ..why an sd card ? well apparently it has to be inserted if you want to use the camera , not sure why but you live and learn .Next the battery goes in ..dizzy mare put it in the right way round ,doh !! now plug it in using the usb cable in the mains and wait for the phone to charge ...

6 Hours later...yes only 6 the box said 8 but the red indicator light has gone out, which the paperwork says means the phone is fully charged , unplug from the mains and switch the phone on...Up pops the home screen an Acer logo with a little green android waving at me , then the screen moves on to android flashing across it , a little mp3 ditty to tell me that the phone is operational its time to get smart .

First things first .

I had to register the phone with Acer , doing this apparently gives you your warranty ..the wonders of technology .All I had to do was type in my name and address as simple as that . Registration complete it directed me back to the homepage where I had to sign in to google and accepts the T&C's to enable me to use the android market .At this point i was glad I had the forethought to top up my sim with enough credit beforehand as you have to access the internet for it . Google done I was returned to the homescreen , now it was time to explore !!

On the left of the home screen you see the time , date & your network provider to the right you have a speaker symbol and a green lock symbol ,on the far right browser menu and phone symbols , then , running along the bottom of the screen there are four more logos..Acer settings , market , email and messages. To open the phone and get into the menu you have to use the touchscreen to slide the green lock up to open the phone and see what else was included .In the rolling touch menu I gave myself a brainache..so many apps already on the phone facebook , microsoftword ,barcode reader , spinlets , talk , market , twidroid ,fooz ,places, voice recorder , youtube , gps ...and on and on.But , there was one missing .I needed to go to the market.

My First go downloading an app .

I wanted to make sure that I had Skype on my phone , as it wasn't one of the pre installed apps, I had to go to the android market and download it .I typed Skype into the searchbar and up it popped (wow that was fast ! I was impressed ).I pressed the download now button and expected a long wait , less than a minute later skype had been downloaded and installed .I pressed the menu button and was taken back to my homescreen went through the menu to see if it was showing and there it was .Success ! either I'm not as blonde as I thought or they have made downloading idiot proof ( please don't answer that lol ).

I had to make sure it was all working so I signed in with my details all of my contacts were there , just ready for me to press the button and talk ,so I skyped my hubby to see if the audio quality would be diminished on a mobile , no problems .It was clear as a bell , I ended the conversation and signed out of skype .On returning to the homescreen there was a helpful message from my little green android friend explaining that instead of scrolling through the main menu I could move regularly used applications to one of the six homescreens..6 Homescreens !!!I thought that it was just one , but on closer inspection quickly found myself surfing between them .To move skype to one of the main screens I touched and dragged the skype logo to the screen I wanted it on ...blimey i could be a meerkat this was SIMPLES tsk !!

My one problem now was that the touchscreen was far too sensitive ,scrolling was going mad shooting past everything I wanted to loo at , but after going into the phone settings I was able to find the adjustment , it took a few tries but I eventually got there .Now the touch screen is sensitive to my touch and I can scroll to my hearts content without missing anything .

I looked through the youtube app , there was a microphene symbol , I was intrigued so I pressed and it told me to speak .I gave the name of a band and a song and seconds later the video was there on my screen playing .The picture quality is astounding , bearing in mind how small the phones screen is I hadn't expected such clarity. I am CONVERTED .

The camera on the phone is only 3.2 megapixels but still gives a good picture , the camcorder is simple to operate , the only downside being that there is no flash so taking pictures in the dark won't give you a prize winner , however , the picture quality is fine for what I need , my Chihuahuas will pose all day every day they know what a camera is for .

Battery ; I was able to use the phone pretty much continuously for three days before I had to recharge the battery , which wasn't quite as long as I had hoped for , but then I have never accessed the internet via a mobile before and I had been playing with it constantly .Maybe after a few charges it will last a bit longer...I'll have to wait and see.

I always recommended Acer in the past for being a reliable PC manufacturer now I will be adding praise for their smartphones too . Until I am more savvy with Smart technology I am more than happy to stick with this fantastic little phone , it's like a mega portable computer , and with so many apps available in the marketplace I may never need to use a PC again...It has all the functionality of a Blackberry the touch screen of the i-phone , and all this at just over 100 quid , but the main reason I like it is because to me its a miracle of technology .Why ? I hear you say ...because they have made it idiot proof .If someone as dizzy as me can get to grips with it in just under a day then anyone can . All the bells and whistles of smartphone technology at the price of a good quality basic mobile phone ...Who needs an Apple when Acer have this ace ...not me that's for sure.

Sorry to have waffled on ...I am still giving myself a pat on the back for attempting to embark into the smartphone world ...now I'm in it I'm converted and most importantly I haven't drowned . I've beTouch ed

Summary: The smartest buy a simple step into smartphone technology

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-beTouch-E210-Free-Smartphone/dp/B004O0TSLE/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

Environmental Garden Lighting

Product:

SuperLED 60 LED Garden Fairy Light String

Date: 20/07/11, updated on 15/03/12 (28 review reads)

Rating: 

Advantages: No running costs , a great visual decoration for night

Disadvantages: none

As anyone who reads my reviews will be aware , I love my garden and buying new products for it that will not only add to its beauty , but also be environmentally friendly are my top considerations .I have in the past bought Solar lighting from money saving high street shops such as poundland they did the job for a while and were comfortable on my pocket .

My husband who is terminally ill , loves to sit in the garden during the day and often stares out of the window into our secret garden of a night , his eyesight is quite poor and he was complaining that he could no longer see the solar lighting .

Being in the care industry I am well aware of the benefits of light therapy for people who have vision problems and went on an internet search .

I finally found what I was looking for on amazon , not only solar lights but a coloured string of lights with multi effects . I decided to purchase 4 boxes ...sounds a lot but for my purpose I needed it to be really colourful . Each box of lights cost £ 12.99 plus £3.50 shipping and handling , luckily the store that was selling them via amazon had a special deal on where you get free delivery if you spend over £50.

The Lights

Early next morning DPD delivered the lights to my door and I set about exploring their set up.

Each box contained a 7.5 meter string of lights , a ground stake , a wall mount ( unfortunately without the screws ) and the solar panel .Each solar panel holds a AA rechargable battery and a full charge lasts up to 12 hours , they are Fully Automatic, charging during the day, switch on at dusk and off at dawn .there is a switch on the base of the solar panel with three positions off / constant / Multi functions

All of these items literally clicked together after drilling holes into the fence and attaching the wall mounts I was then able to get artistic , spreading the lights in arcs and arches across the fences , once that was done it was the simple matter of placing the solar panel which is at the end of the string onto the wall mount .

When using these lights you have two options , you can either have the lights static or use the multi effect which is much the same as a string of Christmas tree lights , Choosing the multi effect mode actually uses less of the energy than having them on static .

It wasn't particularly sunny the day that I set them up so i wasn't expecting much from the lights ...I was so surprised ! at dusk they switched on and the colours were flittering all over the fence , green ,yellow, red, blue and orange , it was like a Moths Disco .

My husband sat in the kitchen for the remainder of the night completely mesmerized by the fact that he could now see the lights with their multi effect working. I have also bought five more sets of lights and had them strung up in my fathers garden as he loves them too.

These lights have come on every night for the last four weeks despite the dismal British summer .We had three consecutive days of dark skies and downpours and still the lights were burning brightly.I am extremely impressed !!

I would recommend these lights to anyone that wants to brighten up their garden , or just give it that little bit of pazzazz , you could use these lights for all manner of occasions , BBQs garden parties etc . Worth every penny of their £12.99 with no running costs .These are a must have for anytime of the year .

I have now uploaded a video , it's a bit wobbly because I took it on my phone , but you can see what I mean about a Solar Disco :) 

Summary: Solar lighting with a twinkle for your garden , cheap to buy ,no cost to run .A must have .