Tech Goddess

By Shaun Parker

 We all love gadgets but when you control the purse strings you’ve got even more control over influencing your little ones. Children love all things Robot and it is a delight to watch the expressions of wonderment sweep across their stary eyed faces as the robot performs the many fold functions, then the screaming when it breaks after three minutes.

This article is a guide to avoid the aforementioned scene. i-SOBOT from Tomy is the smallest mass produced bipedal humanoid robot in the world and measures only 16cm and weighs in at 300 grams. The robot will come with 4 modes from performing fun and quirky scenes from western battes to playing air guitar. You will be able to control the robot either via a remote control, or up to 10 voice commands.

If that was not enough i-SOBOT has around 200 spoken phrases, including I do not understand and can do special moves like Yoga or get up when it falls over. Priced at 199.99 GBP the robot will be landing on UK shores in 2009. The U-Command WALL-E is a remote control robot that can be programmed with thousands of different movement combinations and will cost 39.99 GBP.

With the ability to perform 360 degree turns, move in every direction and do a figure of eight, the poseable robot figure also features light-up eyes, real moving treads and speech functionality. For 20 GBP, the iDance WALL-E dances in a funky, bio-robotic style to any music source. After waiting for over 3 years, Pleo the Robotic Cam Camarasaurus Dinosaur from the co-creator of the Furby has finally launched in the UK.

The one-week old infant Camarasaurus from the late Jurassic period created by UGOBE pronounced You Go Be is an autonomous Life Form that advances through life stages and develops a unique personality through user interaction. Like Aibo from Sony, if you treat him well and he will become friendly and outgoing, treat him badly and he will become timid or angry.

As with most autonomous robots, Pleo wants to explore his environment and learn as he grows. Capable of actual emotions including joy, aggression, sorrow and fear, Pleo can also yawn, sigh, sniff, sniffle, snore, cough, hiccup and sneeze. Initially cautious, Pleo will walk around slowly to absorb his surroundings but may cry when frightened or scared. He will stretch when waking up and he may even stomp his foot if he gets angry. He will cost 200 GBP.

Shaun Parker is an expert on robot toys and provides impartial advice on all aspects of toys for children.

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Has The Technology Of Batteries Moved On?
By Shaun Parker

 Batteries might not be the most exciting thing to mention when trying to chat up a girl at a party but as all gadget lovers know they are the life blood of our consumer electronics filled lives. Here are four batteries that will make sure you last that little bit longer.

Sanyo eneloop range

Sanyo has added a new bundle to its eneloop range of re-chargeable batteries. The new power pack contains 4 x AA cells, 2 x AAA cells , 2 x D-size adapters, 2 x C-size adapters and a quick charger - so everything you need to keep your gadgets juiced up.

Sanyo has also launched a USB charger which comes as standard with two AA or two AAA batteries. The eneloop range is claimed to be different because they do not discharge as much energy as conventional rechargeable batteries over time - losing 15 percent of their capacity over a year.

The eneloop range is available at Argos.

Energiser Advanced Lithium battery

Energizer has launched a new battery that promises to fuel gamers and gadget fans for longer. The new Energizer Advanced Lithium battery promises to use the latest battery tech (yawn) to increase your gadgets lifespan by up to 20 hours longer (yay).

And if your planning on playing in Siberia or the north pole they might be doubly helpful as according to Energizer they new batteries performs well in extreme temperatures from -40 degrees to 60 degrees C.

Energizer Advanced Lithium joins the existing Energizer Ultimate Lithium and Energizer Rechargeable range in the performance battery segment.

USBCell

The humble USB port is becoming more and more useful. First came the memory card with built-in USB plug, now comes the USB-charged battery.

Moixa Energy has developed the USBCELL as an environmentally-friendly alternative to normal AA batteries. The top of one side flips up to reveal a USB connector, and the battery simply plugs into an open port.

The first batteries available are AA sized, but Moixa plans to unveil a full range standard formats, as well as phone and camera batteries.

The convenience of the USBCELL means that you do not have to carry around a separate charger or cables, and can charge it in a game station, as well as in keyboards and monitors with USB sockets.

Uniross eco range

The new Uniross range includes 14 different types of batteries and 16 chargers and adding to those eco credentials, comes in 100 percent recycled and recyclable packaging and is fully endorsed by the WWF.

The new range offers sizes from AAA to D and 9V. It takes five hours to charge one of the cells if it was fully discharged; each battery has a capacity of 1300mAH.

Apparently more powerful and more convenient than ever, you can now use the batteries straight out of the packet, just like a throwaway battery, but when they run out you can juice them up, up to 1000 times.

Shaun Parker is an expert on batteries and provides impartial advice on all aspects of power technology.

Marketing Strategies: What’s In It For Me?
By Ramon Vela

 When I started working in the technology industry in the late 80’s to early 90’s, I had a great sales manager who used to say, “are your clients listening to radio WIIFM?”

At first I didn’t quite fully understand what this meant. In fact, it took a few years for me to completely wrap my head around it. I paid attention to the concept most of the time but, as we all do, I tended to let my ego get in the way and started showing people how much I knew about a product, about how much research I had done, instead of telling them about what my product could do for them.

That was 15 years ago and we could get away with it every once in a while back then. Now, however, the importance of keeping this principle in mind in sales and marketing activities is crucial. The market is so competitive and purchasing dollars are so closely guarded that we all have to remember what’s most important to the client: WIIFM, What’s In It For Me?

Here’s the concept in a nutshell. Your clients don’t care how good you say you are and they really don’t care what the horsepower is under the hood of the new program or piece of hardware. They only care about What’s In It For Me (WIIFM). In other words, how are you going to help them solve their problems, challenges, issues, etc? What can you do to make their company or home run smoother, easier, cheaper?

For example, does your web site talk about all the awards and certifications you get? Does your client really care? Probably not. What they DO care about is how you can help them implement a solution that can solve their problems and that you do it the way you say you can.

Position your website from the customers WIIFM standpoint. Whenever you plan to do anything in your business, think about WIIFM. Your clients or customers will be thinking about it. This way you can give them what they need to help make a decision without them having to either be a mind reader or taking the initiative to contact you to find out more information.

Create sales presentations the same way. What’s in it for your customers? Tell them before they have to ask you. It will come through clearer to them and make more sales for you and That’s What’s In It For YOU! See? Easy!

Ramon provides more marketing information, especially created for the IT VAR industry but also applies to everyone who wants to improve their sales. Stay up-to-date at StreetSmartVAR.com and while you’re there, don’t forget to sign up for Ramon’s popular, no-cost online marketing course!

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