Review | Cozmo by Anki

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Meet Cozmo.  Cozmo is the cutest little robot that we have ever seen.  Anki offered us the chance to review Cozmo, meaning we could get to know him and he could get to know us.

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Review | Thunderbirds Are Go International Rescue

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Thunderbirds Are Go - International Rescue is a new free game from Kuato games, who you may have heard of with their range of Dino Tales Storytelling and literacy skills apps for children. Thunderbirds has been around for ever, however is still really popular with children and with this game, you can become the hero and stop a disaster from destroying the arctic.

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Closed Giveaway | Win An Amazon Echo

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We have a fantastic giveaway for you on our blog - we are giving away an Amazon Echo.  The Amazon Echo connects to Alexa-a cloud-based voice service-to play music, make calls, set alarms and timers, ask questions, check your calendar, weather, traffic and sports scores, manage to-do and shopping lists, control compatible smart home devices, and more.

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Oregon Scientific Smart Globe Adventure

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Disclosure - We were sent the products below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our unless stated. This post contains affiliate links. 

I'm not sure who was more excited about receiving the Oregon Smart Globe Adventure a few weeks ago, little J or John and I. I absolutely love anything to do with maps, countries, capitals but have never actually owned a globe so this was very exciting. The Smart Globe Adventure is an interactive globe giving you the chance to explore and learn about 220 countries, interesting facts, play games and even unlock a 3D Augmented Reality feature using an app on your smartphone.

The Smart Globe comes with a smart pen so this took little J a while to get used to. He is only really familiar with touch screen on his iPad and our phones but once we showed him how he could easily use it. 

We explained to little J that The Smart Globe was a map of the world and the first thing he wanted to do was spin it. It is so much fun spinning a globe around,  it does spin left and right but it does not spin up or down. This can be annoying if you are playing a game and it asks you to find Antarctica and the pen doesn't quite reach it. 

Once he had finished spinning he asked where we are on the globe. We showed him the UK and he used his smart pen to touch it. It played a little song but to find out more about the UK or other countries we would have to go to the base of the globe and choose an activity. If you leave the globe idle for a few moments it will ask you what you would like to do. 

First we chose a 'find' game. You can choose from Continents, Capitals, Countries and our personal favourite The Ultimate Challenge. 

Once you have chosen what 'find' game you would like to play the Smart Globe will ask you to find and touch as many of your chosen topic as possible. It does tell you what to look for and plays music while you try and find it, the music will go faster as your time starts to run out. 

The Ultimate Challenge is our favourite and is a time challenge were you have to find as many places as you can in the time provided. We are very competitive when it comes to this game as so far we can't seem to get more than 10 on Level 1 however we are still trying. 

Next you can choose a 'touch' activity. There are lots to choose from including Continent, Name, Capital, Population, Area, Currency, History, Features, Geography, Language, Highest Point, National Anthem and Amazing Facts. 

The touch activities are jam packed with lots of different facts about the countries you touch with your smart pen. Our personal favourite is listening to all the different National Anthems from around the world. 

Within the 'touch' activities there are 6 that can also be played in French.

Next you can choose the 'compare' activities. You choose 2 different countries and the Smart Globe will compare the area or the population of both countries. 

On the base of the globe there is a more detailed map of Britain and Ireland. Here you can do all the activities that are mentioned above but for cities too. 

As we live in Liverpool it was nice to hear some facts about where we live. 

The base also has a pause, repeat and volume button which you will need as it is very loud. 

What We Loved

Great Quality

Makes learning fun with lots of games and fun facts

220 countries to explore

6 French activities

Detailed map of Britain and Ireland which allows us to find out more about cities we are close to.

Love hearing little J playing with the Globe and then shouting to us 'Where's Japan Mum?"

Will be a perfect learning tool throughout Little J's school journey.

What Could Improve

There are some places, mainly on the bottom of the globe which the pen doesn't quite reach and it takes quite a while for the globe to detect the pen. 

When playing some of the games you have to be quite precise with pen, this can get a little frustrating especially if you are playing the Ultimate Challenge and trying to beat your score. 

At the moment we haven't quite grasped the AR side of the globe yet as there are just so many features to get to grips with we are just having fun exploring at the moment. 

Little J has just started reception so I know from a learning point of view the globe will be a perfect tool throughout his school journey. for now we are enjoying finding out facts, exploring the globe and playing games.

The Smart Globe Adventure is recommended for age 5+ however little J is still only 4 and he really enjoys it.

You can find out more about the Smart Globe Adventure by visiting Oregon Scientific Store and it is also available to buy over on Amazon

Michelle

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Preview - Xbox One X

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It hasn’t been that long since I reviewed the Xbox One S, the 4K slimmed down version of the Xbox One. However, Microsoft have now announced that pre-orders are available for the next version of Xbox, the Xbox One X. Released on 7th November 2017, Microsoft are challenging the PS4 Pro for power. 

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The App Map Of Britain

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We all use apps every day.  Lots of apps, on lots of different devices doing lots of different things. Carphone Warehouse have compiled an app map of Great Britain, shortlisting the most used apps in 2016 with lots of different variables from location, age, sex, earnings and lots of others including the top used apps in the entire British Isles. 

The map really does give an interesting insight into the usage of apps and shows how many of the 2 million plus apps that are available on the App Store and for Android are actually used. I wasn't hugely surprised by the top 10 overall, but once you add the extra dimension of location or age the results really did surprise me. 

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Kaspersky Kids Safe App

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I have to admit that both boys are regular online users. It's the world we live in now and with so many devices around our hime having instant access to the world wide web it is impossible to stop them. Little J is a big fan of You Tube Kids and it's perfect for little ones as it has videos and adverts that are designed just for children. Big J however is a teenager and is able to access all sorts of information online which sometimes can be quite worrying.  In a recent European study* of 5040 children aged 10-15 conducted by global cyber security company, Kaspersky, discovered some alarming stats about how children are using the internet, and how they may not be protecting themselves as they should. 

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Tech Tuesday - Nintendo Switch : Do We Need Another Console?

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The Nintendo Switch is being released on 3rd March in the UK.  With a price tag of £279.99 for the basic package it will be interesting to see how this fares with gamers. I remember buying the original Wii console not long after release.  It was expensive at the time, I can’t remember how expensive, but expensive enough for us not to have bought at initial release.  Honestly, with Wii for us did bring us years of enjoyment, mostly on Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort, but also with Wii party, played almost exclusively at Christmas - but so much fun.  Wii Fit was also a firm favourite - even it was just to tell me I have put another pound on.

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Tech Tuesday - 4K Definition The Future Of Streaming

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You may have recently read my review of the Xbox One S in which I talk about the difference I have seen with 4K and HDR definitions.  One of the features is the ability to stream HDR and 4K definition through the Xbox One S with 4K compatible providers like Netflix. As part of the StreamTeam, I have written recently about Stranger Things - the superb TV series with a retro feel to it. We watched that in 1080p through Netflix and the quality was brilliant. If I had waited a few months until we got the new 4K TV then we could have watched it in 4K definition on Netflix. 

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Tech Tuesday - August Bluetooth Wireless Headphones Review

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We already own a number of August products, most recently we reviewed Augusts WS300 and WS150 Multiroom Wireless Airplay speakers.  We use these a lot throughout the home as they are portable and easy to use.  When I was asked to try a set of wireless headphones I was happy to give them a try. We were sent a pair of EP636R wireless stereo headphones

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Tech Tuesday - Xbox One S Review

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I am a Xbox owner after converting from the PS2 to the original Xbox a long time ago.  I still have PS consoles, but the Xbox has been my favourite for some time. I bought the Xbox One on initial release date in 2013 - the Day One edition. I have had no problems with it at all, other than running out of storage space. Luckily the Xbox allows external hard drives to be connected in a plug and play style to improve the capacity overall. 

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Review - Droidbox PlayOn

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I recently bought the Droidbox PlayOn handheld console.  For years I have looked for and bought a number of units with the intention of being able to play emulated games from computers and consoles long gone, in a simple format with easy to use controls. 

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Our Top Five Takeaway Apps

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*collaboration

Its nearly time to decorate our home ready for the Christmas celebrations. We have a tradition that every year on decoration day, we will tidy up, then get the decorations from the loft. After that the usual ornaments and pictures take their turn up in the loft for a month or so, and then the decorating begins. At about the time we are sorting the teddies and ornaments, we will usually order a takeaway meal to be delivered. Now I remember when we first started the tradition of decoration day we would go out for something to eat, but we would find ourselves short of time and rushed. Over the years that we have been ordering in I think that Pizza has been the most popular choice, but then is that because until recently Pizza was one of the only things you could get delivered?

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TechSavvyDad Tuesday - S+ by ResMed Review

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Sleep. Does anyone ever get enough these days? I know that being a dad to two boys, one a toddler and one a teen, there is a huge differential in the times that they sleep. Little J is often asleep by 6pm and up again ready for the next day at 5am whereas Big J will be in bed by 10pm on a school night and much later at weekends. I get to sleep in-between these times but generally I have some ‘Dad’ time that means actually I think I average around 6 hours each night. I know that's not enough, but how can we monitor and improve our sleep? I have tried a few apps from the google play store over the years, with mixed results. I have never stuck to one app to try to improve my sleep as I haven’t yet been convinced that any of them actually work. I have been trying the S+ by ResMed to try and improve my sleep.

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TechSavvyDad Tuesday - August Multiroom Wireless Airplay Speakers Review

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Recently we got the chance to review some wireless airplay speakers from August. We have purchased August products before including headphones and a TV box and they were both really good so we were very excited to test out the speakers. As I am useless with technology I asked Daddy and he has kindly reviewed them so I will hand you over to Daddy now.

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Peppa Pig's Alphaphonics Campervan Review

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Little J has loved Peppa Pig for as long as I can remember so when we were asked to try out the new Peppa Pig Alphaphonics Campervan I knew little J would love it. Little J loves learning and although he knows his letters and numbers there will be a time soon that he needs to learn his phonics.

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We Are Part Of The Netflix Stream Team

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When we were contacted by Netflix to ask us to be part of the Netflix Stream Team I was so excited. Mummy and I absolutely love watching movies and tv programmes but like most people we find everyday life takes over and it’s just impossible to sit down and watch live tv. We would rather watch movies at a time that suits us and we also love to watch tv programmes as boxsets so there is no long wait in-between episodes.

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Daddy Gets Handy In The Kitchen

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Daddy has been making himself useful in the kitchen recently making us some yummy meals and treats. He's actually really good at cooking and I know its something he really wants to start making more of an effort on. Keep an eye out for some yummy posts showing off Daddy's talents but for now I'll pass you over to Daddy who is keen to tell you about what he is up to next.

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JML Phoenix Gold Iron

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I have to admit that I don't do much ironing, Daddy does the majority of it. It's not that I don't want to its just I am so slow so it's easier and quicker if Daddy does it. When I told Daddy we were receiving a JML Phoenix Gold Iron he was quite excited as our old iron has seen better days.

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5 Reasons To Get A Dehumidifier For Your Home

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Daddy and I have been thinking about giving our home a makeover. It's in desperate need of a  Spring  Autumn clean. There are a few items we want to get too including a fan. Our home gets so warm during the evenings and I suspect we may have an Indian Summer so I am expecting it to be warm in September. Also we want a Dehumidifier. I actually didn't even know these excited until recently but after reading the benefits we want one. They are a cheap but excellent addition to your home. They come in different sizes and can stop many problems.

Here are five reasons to get a dehumidifier for your home.

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