You would be forgiven for looking at the Sound Oasis Deluxe S5000 and assuming it is just a radio but it is actually a sleep therapy system that uses sound to relax the body and mind to help you get to sleep as well as improving your quality of sleep. It has been proven that sound machines (or white noise machines) work, by playing sounds that coax your brain into matching these frequencies and enter healthier states of sleep and relaxation.

I have really fond memories of power cuts when I was a kid, my dad would come out of the office, my teenage sister would creep out of her bedroom and mum would light lots of candles, make some hot chocolate on the stove and we would play cards, wonderful. Mum however remembers it rather differently, my dad tripping over his bag in the kitchen, my sister panicking because she hated the dark and wax melting all over the coffee table, not so wonderful.

Ever since I saw Fifteen Million Merits (A Black Mirror episode), a terrifying dystopian future produced by Charlie Brooker where everyone has to use exercise bikes to produce the countries energy, I have wondered how much energy one person could produce through pedal power. The Siva Cycle Atom is a clever little device created for this very purpose, to store clean kinetic energy and reuse to charge your iPhone, Android Phones, GoPro, bicycle lights, GPS, Bluetooth speakers basically any USB charging device.

The UK Pet Register reports 1 in 3 pets will go missing in it's lifetime and many pet owners can relate to the fear and anguish that come with their furry friend going for a walkabout. The Pod 2 promises to be the world's smallest, lightest pet GPS tracker and activity monitor on the market designed to fit on your pet's collar, track it's activity and give you it's location on demand. The Pod is a cylindrical shape with no corners, making it really comfortable for your pet to wear.

I am aware that these are made for children but my goodness are they addictive, the joy is in their simplicity, Magna Tiles are colourful, translucent, small hand friendly, plastic shapes with magnets along the sides that allow you to connect them together to produce 2D and 3D shapes. Suitable for children ages 3+ it encourages creativity as well as critical thinking and stimulates the right side of the brain, it can help children learn about shapes, numbers and colours whilst having fun.

We have friends, who shall remain nameless, that invite us over for a BBQ every summer, and every year without fail we all end up starving, we now prepare by having something to eat before we even leave ours. The issue is that they wait for everyone to arrive, make everyone drinks, sit down, have a catch up and then say, “should we start the BBQ?” Why isn’t it already lit? It then takes ages for the coals to light, burn down and then for the food to cook and EVERY year they will say, “we really should have started it sooner” but they never learn.

We have had similar products to this before with the CHIPOLO which at the time was a let down due to the app failing to connect with any consistency, so I started my test of the Lapa 2 with a degree of scepticism. I downloaded the app (compatible with iphone 4 +, ipad 3rd gen + and Android 4.3 +) synced the Lapa 2 and attached it to my keys without any difficulty, the free app provides a simple enough walkthrough.

As more and more activity trackers flood the market it is hard to know where to start, the iHealth Edge is offering all the tech for half the price but is it true that you get what you pay for? Let’s take a look at what you get with the iHealth Edge, as you would expect this activity monitor tracks your steps, sleep, calories and measures it against your personal goals, it also displays the time and can tell you how you have performed with feedback display.

At first look you may mistake this for just another activity monitor but the Gymwatch Sensor is like having a personal trainer attached to your body, it’s not about what you ate that day or how many steps you need to take this is aimed at a more serious workout in the gym, specifically using weights. The Sensor comes with two different sizes of Velcro straps to use on either your arm or leg and has a companion app that is necessary to work alongside the Sensor as there is no screen.

My first impression was, “this is how I will die”, my boyfriend being a skateboarder in his youth thought I was over reacting, until he stepped on and immediately wobbled straight off. The trick with the Freebord is to not try and ride it like anything you may be familiar with because you haven’t ridden anything like this before. Freeboards were first created in 1996 to replicate the ride of a snowboard where there is no snow and since their creation Freebord remains one of the largest producers of freeboards in the world.