Orange's San Francisco handset brings an Android smartphone under £100

Orange have taken smartphones under the £100 mark this week with a new Android phone costing only £99 with no contract. Their own-branded San Francisco handset is on pay as you go and packs decent mid-range features. But the killer of course is the price. Orange say they're bringing apps to the masses. When will…

Video: 8m Hello Kitty shoots lasers over the Tokyo sky

A 8m inflatable Hello Kitty surveys the changing light over a Tokyo cityscape while shooting lasers and water jets and bobbing gently in the wind. This is a great video. The enormous Hello Kitty was placed in Tokyo Bay as part of a spectacle to encourage tree planting, of course. Don't know how we missed…

Invention of the Day: the spring out ReadySteady Tripod for video cameras

All the anti-shake camera technology in the world can't correct for a truly shaky hand. So there is a use for tripods, especially if you, the filmer/photographer want to be in your own films and photographs. Sure, you can always try sellotaping the camera to the wall (I've been there), but chances are a tripod…

It's a Fashion Buggy! Pictures of the Lacoste Citroen concept car

Fashion brand Lacoste - known for minimalist preppy sports-inspired fashion and their alligator logo - have collaborated with Citroen to make a car. It's a real fashion buggy. What with it being a concept car, it doesn't actually exist as a commercial product, but if it did, I fear it would be out of my…

Bottles to bags: GreenSmart turn coke bottles into laptop bags

That plastic bottle on your desk could have a second life as a bag. People have been able to make fabric out of recycling plastic bottles for a while, but Greensmart is one of the first companies making a consumer business out of it. Plastic bottles (PET #1) are a serious environmental issue - they…

Five fun things to do with Facebook Places

Facebook Places has arrived in the UK and we're pretty excited about it. It allows you to "check-in" at places you visit and share your location with your friends. It is only available to Facebook users with smartphones, it's native on the Facebook app on iPhone and can be accessed over a phone's browser by…

Fatepod: a dating site for following up on those chance encounters

At ShinyShiny we maintain a healthy interest in both online dating sites and things with silly names, so of course we were delighted to hear about new online dating site called "Fatepod", launching on Monday. I don't know where the "pod" bit comes from, but the "Fate" bit is there for a very good reason.…