Here we have a standalone games console which operates on its own batteries and with no need for a television or hand held controllers. The Swinxs is modelled around good old fashioned party games such as Hide and Seek and Tag. Swinxs has a central console and comes with four wristbands which are worn by the players. The wristbands are individually recognised, so Swinxs knows who is winning at any point in time. Swinxs comes preloaded with seven games.

You can tell it's the run up to Christmas when more toys start arriving at Gadgetspeak. We were pleased this week to try out the new Magnext iCoaster. If you have kids that enjoyed marble runs when they were younger, this could be the next step up - a roller-coaster marble run with magnetic technology. There are 17 pieces of track and 10 towers of 3 different heights which can be configured in at least 10 different ways to make an exciting ride for the marbles.

photos were all filed in virtual albums on the Photobox in a the passworded account I created earlier. click to enlarge On-line Digital Photo Printing from Photobox You know the story.

I've never met a Kenwood product I didn't like (not so far anyway).  The latest product we've tried is the Kenwood Smoothie 2Go. We've tried Kenwood smoothie makers before and this one is just as easy and effective to use.   So what is the difference?  Well mainly it's down to size and a few neat little features which make the smoothie easy to take out with you on picnics.

Boot's Compact Epilator Epilators look a bit like shavers, but are actually lots of little tweezers that pull the hair out at the roots. This should result in smoother hair than shaving. The manufacturers tell us that with repeated use the hairs grow back softer and finer - so you don't get the stubble effect of shaving. The smooth result is said to last for some weeks.

We liked some of these products so much,we've been able to get hold of some to put in our in December 07 - Gadgetspeak's largest ever prize draw. Heres a peak at what we think is going to be hot this Christmas - maybe you have your own thoughts? If so just .

Funkix is described as a technology filled Sports Sack. Derived from an 80's craze, the multi-million selling "Hacky Sack" the Funkix takes this concept and moves it into the twenty-first century. There are three different types, all shaped like a mini football with a different 'technology centre'. All of them are designed to be thrown, kicked or juggled and aimed squarely at the 'kid' in all of us - big or small.

The Deal or No Deal electronic table top game is for four players. The first thing I liked about this board game is there are no pieces to loose! The lack of individual pieces makes this an easy game to play on the settee, in the car or to take around to the relatives on Boxing Day. Like other TV tie-in games, it does help if you've watched the TV show.

When I received four different hair straighteners I wondered what could be different about each. Most straighteners these days have ceramic plates, held to be better for your hair, and swivel leads to stop the wire from tangling up (a good invention).

Boots are a firm favourite with shoppers at Christmas so we asked Boots for a selection of their gadgets for the girls this Christmas.  They sent us some of their popular products: The Boots Compact Epilator, Lee's Box of Tricks and the No 7 Rechargeable Manicure Set. We also received the Mini-Massager on the Go, by Homedics, which you can also buy from Boots. For girls who want smooth legs for Christmas and New Year - a nice little epilator - affordable and simple to understand.

Just when I thought that was the perfect game, along came it's big brother - Krusade - a board game for 2-4 players. I liked Kaleidoscope Classic, the original game, so much that it was awarded the Gadgetspeak 5*5 award a few weeks ago. Kaleidoscope Classic In brief, Kaleidoscope Classic is a brainteasing puzzle of 18 pieces which cover 64 squares and can placed in at least 101 ways to give different patterns.

You can't actually go out and buy 'Mobiclip'. It's one of those things to be aware of and look out for when buying a mobile phone. You'll find some Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola phones that come with Mobiclip technology and, if you want to be able to watch full length movies on your phone, this may end up being one of the reasons why you choose one phone over another.

1. - by Braingym (UK) Ltd, from £14.95 - Gadgetspeak 5*5 Award Kaleidoscope A fascinating game with a myriad of possibilities for kids and adults. With eighteen pieces which cover 64 squares to make up a chequerboard, this game is part strategy and part puzzle.

In the UK a shocking 5.2 million adults and 1.1 million children receive treatment for Asthma and someone is admitted to hospital in England once every 8 minutes because of the condition. Asthma is on the increase and is potentially life threatening. At very least it can make life uncomfortable and many activities difficult to take part in.

There are some great board games out there this Christmas, and we just love this one.  Like many family board games there are players, question cards and a dice. But be prepared to get physical, in Chalenj! there is also a mega mobility mat (think Twister) and a Target Mat (think huge darts board on the floor) with discs to throw instead of darts and a ball for doing various circus like tricks.

Six pieces actually means 3 pans (wok, saucepan and frying pan), two lids and a handle which interchanges between the three pans. All the pieces slot nicely into like Russian dolls. Made by Tefal, they have a lovely non-stick surface and are very easy to use. Each pan has the Tefal thermostat red dot in the middle to tell you when they are hot enough to fry in.

The OT-C701 is a Pay as You Go slim clamshell. As with any decent mobile these days, the OT-C701 has all the gubbins, music player, video, camera, directory, SMS, MMS, WAP, calendar, alarm, etc. So here's a quick run down of the differentiating features. The look of this phone is very nice - a clamshell with a brushed metallic finish and smooth and light to hold. The one I reviewed was a stylish grey-blue.

The Kaleidscope Classic is part puzzle, part strategy game, and can be played by an individual or up to 3 people. It has taken 20 man-years to develop and is the work of two Australians: Inventor / psychologist, Dr. Mark T Wood and mathematician / physicist, Frank H Dyksterhuis. When you unwrap it, the Kaleidoscope Classic looks like a chequerboard of black and red squares.

Tamagotchi JinSei Plus The new (connection version 4) by Bandai. These tiny electronic pets are a firm favourite with the kids, and Tamagotchi keep updating it so we want to buy more. This pocket sized virtual pet lives inside a small plastic case. It needs love and attention - playing games with it will make it happy and reward you for your time.

This is a good phone for a small or home office, or even a family of 4. You can have up to four handsets on the Siemens Gigaset E365, each of which can be used as your own personalised telephone on the same incoming telephone number (although of course only one of you can make or receive a call on an ordinary line at any one time).

The Moulinex Vitacompact is designed to take up minimum space in the kitchen and achieves this by incorporating the major functions you would expect - without all the frills. There are only two major units to store away from the countertop machine - the liquidiser and the citrus juicer. For practical people with little space, this is a major consideration.

This review is about the Tech air range of laptop bags. There are two unique features of Tech Air bags, one is the Tech Air technology and the second is the i-TRACK (tm) tracking system. Both features are about protection for your laptop bag and it's contents. The Tech air technology, is briefly a series of pressurised air tubes which surround the laptop compartment of the case/bag.

Today I tested the / .  It comes with two separate juicing attachments - citrus and the centrifrugal.  As you'd expect the citrus juicer is there for oranges, grapefruits, limes, and the like.  On top of the brushed crome electrical unit sits a bowl, sieve and a citrus squeezer which is just the same shape as those you use by hand.

Extending our look at gadgets for your kitchen, this week I tested the Kenwood Multipro Food Processor ( ).  Another excuse to donn the pinnie and get cooking!  The Multipro has an extensive range of uses, combining as it does the jobs of separate mixer, whisk, smoothie maker, juicer and liquidiser.

The lastest of our toaster reviews is the toaster - and my pain au chocolat is warming up in it right now.  When I first started to review this toaster, I thought 'oh no, not another specialist toaster' - one for paninis this time!  Do I really need a different gadget for every type of food I can think of!   However, as I've got to grips with using this one, I see that it's actually quite versatile.

Smoothies are a fantastic way of staying healthy.  They are quick and easy to make and a much faster way to get your 5 a day in.  If you mix fruit, juice and yoghurt together, you have a nutritionally sound breakfast packed with vitamins to bump start your day.  Even better, the kids love them and you can get really creative with the ingredients. I tried out this and was impressed with the results.

When  I set about reviewing this iron, I thought, "now what on earth do you find to look for in an iron"?!  And then I realised that actually the most important thing is that it does what it is meant to, and that is produce neatly ironed clothes.  So I tried it out on my small pile of ironing and I realised why I had stopped using my own old one.

In amongst the coffee machines we are reviewing this month, we came across this Giles & Posner Chocolate Cocktail Drinks Maker.  As a dedicated chocoholic, this made me smile. The chocolate drinks maker looks a lot like a liquidiser with a heating element.  And really that is broadly what it is - except it doesn't chop anything, it mixes and heats.  The idea is very, very simple.

I've been extremely lucky in reviewing products I like recently. And with Gadgetspeak concentrating on kitchens this month, it was a pleasure to test the Crock Pot Countdown slow cooker on my unsuspecting family - who were actually hoping I'd get around to the Chocolate Cocktail Maker (more on this later). What a breeze it was to use this slow cooker.