Top stories from Shiny Shiny and our pals

Your ultimate tech Christmas guide

Air Stewardesses behaving badly

Great CCTV footage of people doing stupid things in stations

Five aspirational cars from the 90s now going cheap-ish

The most under rated British indie bands of the 90s

Eight Christmas gifts for music lovers

The phone of the future tested - we spend a month going 4G

Stocking fillers - 21 ace gadgets for under £200

The Arsenal squad - who do you keep and who do you sell?

Magnificent vintage football stickers

How Carrots won World War Two

Over the last few weeks the team at our sibling site Tech Digest has been working with the mob at Brandish to come up with what believe are the 21 best gadgets of 2012.

All the gadgets you might expect are on the list (coughs) iPads, Galaxy phones, Smart TV, plus a whole lot of surprises.

If you are buying consumer electronics this Christmas this is the place to start.

The full list is here.

What have we missed?

If you've got a geeky guy to buy for this year but you're struggling for present ideas then take a look at our list for Christmas 2012, complete with tech DIY kits, Herschel accessories, Marshall speakers and the iPad Mini.

Let us know in the comments below what you've got on your Christmas list this year...

Check out some of our other Christmas 2012 gift guides: Top UK high street cameras for beginners, retro geeks & social media addicts and The 10 best fitness gadgets, apps & accessories

Over the last few weeks we have been ultra busy putting together a series of guides which may prove very useful if you are buying presents. Here then is the full list

Gadgets

Top weirdest gadgets and gifts

Best gadgets for under £200

The ultimate tech Xmas present

Retro gadgets that are actually very cool

Best Android phones

Best PC games

Best mini tablets - iPad mini, Nexus, Kindle Fire HD

Best ereaders

Style

Best classic jumpers

Best trophy jumpers

Best under £30 jumpers

Cashmere jumpers on the cheap

Best scarves

Five party shirts

Velvet party jackets

Iconic rock band t shirts

Cool Chambray shirts

Music

Top debut albums

Top psychedelic albums

Random gifts

Best Blu-ray movies

Bikes, scarves, accessories etc

We have tech with us wherever we go and probably spend 80% of the day checking emails, texting, stalking, reading and generally just procrastinating, so it's no surprise that we're a nation of gadget destroyers. However, according to a recent study, it's not just that we're clumsy or careless, but messy (and most likely alcohol-fuelled) nights out are to blame for our shattered phones and crumpled Kindles.

The insightful (yet hardly that surprising) survey, commisisoned by www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, polled 1,865 men and women from around the UK and found that 32% of those who admitted to breaking gadgets over the past year did so during a night out.

Those polled were then asked how they managed to kill their overpriced tech products, with 48% admitting they'd simply dropped (read:thrown) their phones on a hard surface and 33% revealing their mobiles drowned in water-related incidents, including spilling drinks all over them, dropping them in a toilet.... and.... wait for it.... throwing up on them. STAY CLASSY UK.

The study was commisisoned by www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk and polled 1,865 men and women from around the UK.

[Image via jurvetson's Flickr]

If you've got a geeky girl to buy for this year but you're struggling for present ideas then take a look at our flashy expensive list for Christmas 2012, complete with the coolest USB turntable, a luxury leather tote for laptops, a gold-plated vibrator and Nintendo's Wii U.

We've divided our gift guides up this year to cater for those who don't want to break the bank (our under £50 guide) and this one is specially created for those who have a money tree in their back garden. You lucky little things.

Admittedly gift guides geared up for girls may seem a bit outdated and we know both sexes can enjoy the same kind of tech (do we really need to go over this AGAIN?), but come on guys, it's the 5th of December and we're already full of mince pies and mulled wine, so couldn't think of any smarter way to divide up the ideas.

Let us know in the comments below what you've got on your Christmas list this year...

Check out some of our other Christmas 2012 gift guides: Top 5 stylish Windows 8 tablet/laptop convertibles & Top 5 UK eReaders for all budgets

If you've got a geeky girl to buy for this year but you're struggling for present ideas then take a look at our list for Christmas 2012, complete with must-have accessories, a bright new fitness tracker, a teeny tiny sex toy and of course a real life (kinda) Boo the dog.

We've divided our gift guides up this year to cater for those who don't want to break the bank (this under £50 guide) and those who have a money tree in their back garden (take a look at 10 Cool gadgets & accessories for girls over £100).

Admittedly gift guides geared up for girls may seem a bit outdated and we know both sexes can enjoy the same kind of tech (do we really need to go over this AGAIN?), but come on guys, it's the 5th of December and we're already full of mince pies and mulled wine, so couldn't think of any smarter way to divide up the ideas.

Let us know in the comments below what you've got on your Christmas list this year...

Check out some of our other Christmas 2012 gift guides: Top 5 stylish Windows 8 tablet/laptop convertibles & Top 5 UK eReaders for all budgets

Over at our sibling site Brandish they have been compiling the 21 best gadgets for under £200. There are some that will be very familiar to Shiny readers, plus a few surpises (like Bluetooth gloves) and some cool retro type things.

You can check out the list here.

Other features on our men's lifestyle site include

The retro gadgets that you might actually want to own.

The 10 fashion items your bloke secretly hates

The 12 most iconic band T shirts ever

The Unmissables - the top 10 debut albums of 2012

Cashmere Jumpers, Classic Jumpers and Christmas Jumpers

A very cool Lomo camera

No one gets as crazily excited about Christmas time as little people, so make sure you buy your kids or teeny tiny relatives only the most fun, quirky and disruptive of presents this year.

As much as you may love your little cat or puppy or hamster-y thing it can be a real pain in the ass to remember to feed them. But unfortunately, like most living things, they need those overpriced bone-shaped treats regularly. So that's why the Pintofeed is pretty revolutionary when it comes to household gadgets, because it's a wi-fi connected pet feeding device that'll allow you to use your phone and not your limbs to feed your pets.

You can fill the Pintofeed with up to 10lbs of food and then press the button to release half-cup servings whenever you please. If you're using the gadget when you go away there are all kinds of safeguards to ensure it doesn't let you down, like battery backup, different motors and an alert system if something goes horribly wrong.

But it gets even better, because it doesn't even rely on you remembering that your animals need to be fed, you can get notifications about feeding times, the size of portion your pet will need and all kinds of other updates via email, text, Twitter and Facebook. Wow, it's like you can buy a living thing and then put absolutely no effort into keeping it alive and kicking yourself, isn't it?

We can see how the Pintofeed would be incredibly handy if you're going away for a day or two and don't have anyone to look after Twinkle or Rover. However, we don't want some lazy losers to be relying on it to feed their pets day in and day out, which we fear will definitely be the case. There's also a problem for those (crazy) cat people with tonnes of animals, if one's a little bit greedy and podgy it's totally going to bully the others ones :(:(:(.

The Pintofeed gadget is currently raising funds over on Indiegogo in the US.

[Via Cnet]

If you've seen Prometheus you'll know that the movie is full of crazy sci-fi tech, but according to an article over on New Scientist today it might not all be that far fetched. Wait, don't get too carried away, although we'd love to bring you news of a Michael Fassbender robot or a crazy cryogenic dream pod thing, it's the little red cameras that get thrown up into the air and fly around that might soon be a reality, which are still admittedly pretty damn cool.

Boston-based startup Bounce Imaging has collected together a number of cameras, electronic sensors and LEDs protected by a rubber shell into the size of a tennis ball, which could be used to help soldiers and firefighters scope out a new environment for threats before they go charging in.

The futuristic gadget contains six different cameras and when it's thrown into the air each takes two photos per second, sending a full 360° image back to a computer or smartphone. The infrared LEDs also work to build a better understanding of any scene too, even if there's no light. Unfortunately the device is set to bounce through different environments at the moment, not fly like the gizmos in Prometheus. Shame.

According to the Founder of Bounce Imaging, Francisco Aguilar, the idea for the device came after the Haiti earthquake in 2010 when emergency services needed to get an idea of potential risk factors in different environments. However, we can totally see it being useful next time we embark on a crazy mission across space and need a better understanding of alien terrain.

The device is currently still a prototype, but Aguilar hopes it'll be tested by SWAT teams in the US as soon as January.

[Via New Scientist Image via Gizmodo]

Today Logitech unveiled a sleek new device for Mac owners, the Broadcaster Wi-Fi Webcam, which instantly makes the webcam a cool, must-have computer peripheral again.

As the name of the webcam suggests, it's got Wi-Fi capabilities, allowing Mac, iPad or iPhone users to stream videos directly to UStream, using the accompanying Broadcaster app.

The Broadcaster Webcam can also be used to supplement your Apple device's built-in camera and works with FaceTime, iChat and Skype for Mac. There's a button on top of the broadcaster that toggles between the Logitech wireless stream and the FaceTime camera, which is ideal for making quick cuts between two views in calls or videos.

You can record wirelessly through the QuickTime and Photo Booth applications, with integrations with iMovie and Final Cut Pro for quick edits. All video captured is in 720P HD resolution, with audio coming out as mono H.264 files.

The camera also has 3x digital zoom, external mic input and a case that also doubles up as a magnetic stand. Anything else you want to tell us Logitech? We can't keep up...

The Logitech Broadcaster is set to retail at a price of £159.99, direct from Logitech.com.

[Via Tech Digest]

The fitness gadget specialists over at Fitbit have had a busy day today as they've launched two devices, the Zip, which is a more basic option than the brand's previous gizmos and the One, an improved version of the popular Ultra.

Zip

This cute little gizmo (in the photo above) has been created for those who just want to count steps, keep track of the calories they've burned and take a closer look at their daily data via the company's comprehensive online dashboard with sharing and gaming features.

It's slightly smaller than Fitbit's Ultra but wider and more like a traditional pedometer. It's sweat and waterproof and hooks directly onto your clothes. From what we can tell it's probably a much better shape than the Fitbit Ultra and more practical too. Its accelerometer will display the steps you've taken, distance covered and calories burned (based on your personal stats) throughout the day and it's so simple to use, just tap the screen to change the data on the display.

It comes with a USB dongle, but your data can be synced wirelessly to your iPhone through Bluetooth 4.0 and it runs solely off watch batteries too (that last about 4 to 6 months before they need to be replaced), so it takes away the need for complicated cables and lots of charging if you'd rather not mess around.

You can choose between blue, magenta, lime green, grey and white options and we imagine it'll be a brilliant option for those who want a gadget to track their daily activity, but don't want something as high end as the Ultra.

Oh and also did we mention it smiles at you when you take a lot of steps? IT SMILES AT YOU.

As you'd expect, the Zip is cheaper than previous Fitbit devices at £49.99 and you can order it from the Fitbit store now.

One

Just like the Fitbit Ultra, the Fitbit One is a wireless activity and sleep tracker, allowing you to collect data about the steps you've taken, the calories you've burned, the distance you've travelled, the floors you've climbed and the amount of rest you got last night. However the One now allows you to sync data wirelessly with Bluetooth 4.0, eliminating the need to mess around with docks and cables.

It's also had a major improvement to the casing, which is now completely rain, sweat and splash proof, making it much more gym-friendly than the Ultra.

The One comes in black and magenta and you can pre-order yours from the Fitbit store now for £79.99.

[Via Connected Health Store]

You might not have come across Garmin much before in the past, but take a look at its portfolio of products and you'll see it's a really interesting brand, creating all kinds of devices from in-car GPS systems to sports gadgets.

Up until now Garmin's health and fitness products have proved to be some of the best on the market, but are built specially for those seriously committed to fitness who need a state of the art device with a hefty price tag. Until now that is. This week Garmin has announced a much more simple and most importantly affordable new sports watch device, called the Forerunner 10.

The watch is the latest GPS-enabled sports device from Garmin, which is super lightweight and allows you to track your time, the distance you've covered, the calories you've burned and your pace throughout the workout. You can also log all of your data over at GarminConnect.com so you can monitor how you've been doing over time.

The Forerunner 10 is set to be launched in the next few months and will cost around $129.99. For those who like their accessories bright and bold it'll come in a range of different colours, including pink, green and black.

Find out more at Garmin Forerunner 10.

As sun starved Brits, when we're on holiday we're often tempted to sit outside for far too long in the sunshine before realising that our skin is burnt and we're really dehydrated.

There are a few different apps, gadgets and even basic calculations that you can use to tell you whether you've had your fair share of Vitamin D for the day, but who wants to be getting out a big sun monitor, constantly checking their phone or doing sums on the beach?

Well now researchers at the University of Strathclyde have been working with Swedish-based Intellego Technologies to develop a way of alerting people that they've been in the sun too long that requires absolutely no effort and it seems the answer is a range of colourful wristbands.

They look like the kind of bands you get when you enter an event or a festival, but the difference is that when they've been exposed to a certain amount of UV radiation the chemicals within the bracelet change colour from yellow to pink.

Fiona Strang, the Commercialisation Manager at the University of Strathclyde's Research Department, said:

"The sunburn monitor will make a significant contribution to public health as an affordable, fashionable device which enables people to enjoy the benefits of the sun while at the same time keeping them alert to the risks of over- exposure."

Of course wristbands like this have existed before, in fact I remember being given something similar when I was on holiday as a kid, but these latest devices are meant to be much more accurate than anything that's ever been developed in the past.

The main problem with this new wristband concept is they only last one day, which means they'll need to be super cheap for anyone to purchase them and can't be used again if you plan on spending all day by the beach.

[Via Connected Health Via Daily Mail]

As a nation we've collectively whined about the London 2012 Olympics now for what feels like decades, but whether you're still throwing a tantrum about the fact you couldn't get tickets or have a mild anxiety attack every time TFL sends you one of those handy (read really goddam annoying) update emails, they're happening.

There's nothing you or I can do to stop them now. So let's embrace the Olympics the only way we know how, with cool apps, useful gadgets and a tonne of cheesy accessories we're sure you'll never use again.

Everyday at 3pm (OK, more like 3.30pm) we'll be bringing you our top three Olympic-themed gadgets, apps and other techy tat from the day, which we've called the Shiny Shiny triathalon (GEDDIT?). Ready... Set... Sorry.

As a nation we've collectively whined about the London 2012 Olympics now for what feels like decades, but whether you're still throwing a tantrum about the fact you couldn't get tickets or have a mild anxiety attack every time TFL sends you one of those handy (read really goddam annoying) update emails, they're happening.

There's nothing you or I can do to stop them now. So let's embrace the Olympics the only way we know how, with cool apps, useful gadgets and a tonne of cheesy accessories we're sure you'll never use again.

Everyday at 3pm (OK, more like 3.30pm) we'll be bringing you our top three Olympic-themed gadgets, apps and other techy tat from the day, which we've called the Shiny Shiny triathalon (GEDDIT?). Ready... Set... Sorry.

As a nation we've collectively whined about the London 2012 Olympics now for what feels like decades, but whether you're still throwing a tantrum about the fact you couldn't get tickets or have a mild anxiety attack every time TFL sends you one of those handy (read really goddam annoying) update emails, they're happening.

There's nothing you or I can do to stop them now. So let's embrace the Olympics the only way we know how, with cool apps, useful gadgets and a tonne of cheesy accessories we're sure you'll never use again.

Everyday at 3pm (OK, more like 3.30pm) we'll be bringing you our top three Olympic-themed gadgets, apps and other techy tat from the day, which we've called the Shiny Shiny triathalon (GEDDIT?). Ready... Set... Sorry.

As a nation we've collectively whined about the London 2012 Olympics now for what feels like decades, but whether you're still throwing a tantrum about the fact you couldn't get tickets or have a mild anxiety attack every time TFL sends you one of those handy (read really goddam annoying) update emails, they're happening.

There's nothing you or I can do to stop them now. So let's embrace the Olympics the only way we know how, with cool apps, useful gadgets and a tonne of cheesy accessories we're sure you'll never use again.

Everyday at 3pm (OK, more like 3.30pm) we'll be bringing you our top three Olympic-themed gadgets, apps and other techy tat from the day, which we've called the Shiny Shiny triathalon (GEDDIT?). Ready... Set... Sorry.

As a nation we've collectively whined about the London 2012 Olympics now for what feels like decades, but whether you're still throwing a tantrum about the fact you couldn't get tickets or have a mild anxiety attack every time TFL sends you one of those handy (read really goddam annoying) update emails, they're happening.

There's nothing you or I can do to stop them now. So let's embrace the Olympics the only way we know how, with cool apps, useful gadgets and a tonne of cheesy accessories we're sure you'll never use again.

Everyday at 3pm (OK, more like 3.30pm) we'll be bringing you our top three Olympic-themed gadgets, apps and other techy tat from the day, which we've called the Shiny Shiny triathalon (GEDDIT?). Ready... Set... Sorry.