Well, my friends, it is time for me to hang my Dadget bag on the door and leave my rechargeable batteries at reception. Dadgets.info was only ever going to be a 12 month project and here we are, 12 months on.

It has been a fun time – combining my old passions of writing and gadgets with my new passion of fatherhood. Henry and I have reviewed an £8 toy car and a £1,500 pushchair. You’ve learnt about Henry’s sandy balls and his love of strip clubs. And all the while you’ve seen my little boy develop from a cheeky little boy into a grown man. Well, a grown 17 month old.

Thank you so much for your support over the year.  I would also like to pass on a very special thank you to my wife, Dawn, for being Dadgets.info’s chief photographer, and to Stefan Korn and all the folks at DIYFather.com for their continued encouragement. Please join my mailing list if you want to hear what I get up to next!

Complete archive

Reviews

X-MI X-Mini Capsule Speaker

Y-Cam Knight Video Baby Monitor

HeartString Baby’s Companion

Coleman Sundome Beach Shelter

Taga convertible bike/pushchair

Playtray clip-on tray for the Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair

Brother Max 3-in-1 Digital Thermometer

Wife approval

Tip 1 – All gadgets revolve around your children

Tip 2 – Discuss prices in foreign currency

Tip 3 – Be a woman about it

Tip 4 – Use her cycle

Tip 5 – Her illness, your opportunity

Tip 6 – Use eBay, but very carefully

Buying guides

Pocket money portable speakers

Video baby monitors

Family beach sun shelters and sun tents

Clip-on trays for the Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair

Child thermometers

Cool dadgets

Dadgets for steamy hotel rooms

Slingbox – you need one but you don’t know it yet

Prove your paternal love – buy a hard disk

Dadgets in action – Henry’s first tooth

The arousing LED Lenser P7 torch

Enjoy a bit of nipple? Try some tube seal!

Cheeky Henry defeats the Y-Cam Knight

Daddy’s Casio GW-056E-3VER watch saves the world!

Taga, the strip club facilitator

Taga is here!

Legalised baby racing

iPhone apps

iPhone Baby Apps – Pre-Conception

iPhone Baby Apps – During Conception

iPhone Baby Apps – Post-conception

iPhone Baby Apps - During labour

iPhone Baby Apps - Post-labour

Ideas

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If it’s your child’s first Christmas, or even second for that matter, you’ll currently be wondering what to buy him/her for Santa’s big day. Family and friends will be showering your little prince/princess with toys, clothes, things that make a mess, things that make a noise, so how can you top that? If you’re a practical scrooge then you might be so brave as to not buy anything at all – after all, what does a 1 year old know about receiving Christmas presents anyway – but if you take this route you risk feeling guilty for the rest of your life. And if your child ever discovers that you never bought anything for his/her first Christmas, then I am sure you can imagine the repercussions. Luckily, I am here to help you avoid such pain and suffering.

My top tip is that you pay a visit to the Royal Mint website where you can buy your child a lovely gift that will be treasured for decades (or until your ungrateful brat needs to raise some money to buy a new pair of trainers). There are some cracking ideas to suit all budgets, and coins are shiny and metallic so they just happen to fit most Dadget criteria (apart from the lack of batteries).

£5 will buy you a presentation-cased £5 coin for the London 2012 Olympics, while £9.99 will buy a presentation set of UK coins from 1 p to £1 in perfect 2009 condition. £19.99 adds a few special £2 coins to the 2009 collection together with a special baby-themed folder. For larger budgets there is the £65 baby-themed gold bullion quarter sovereign, the £112.50 half sovereign and the £199 sovereign.

So there is clearly a gleaming coin for every pocket, and they also make great Christening and birthday gifts too – either for your own child or somebody else’s. On second thoughts, you need to buy other people’s kids those messy and noisy presents, so keep the cool coins to yourself.

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£35 from JoJo Maman Bebe

Stick it in your baby’s ear without any fear

Tell yourself that this futuristic thermometer will look cool in your baby’s nursery and will take his temperature in style.

Tell your wife that this hi-tech infrared thermometer will ensure the minimum of distress when used on your precious child.

After several ill-fated attempts to use our strip thermometer on Henry’s little forehead we simply had to find something more effective. The Brother Max 3-in-1 Digital Thermometer fit the bill perfectly – it is a smooth looking device that can take temperatures quickly via ear or forehead, whilst also being usable as a room thermometer. It comes with a neat stand for your nursery so that it is always on hand when you need it, and it also has a close-fitting hard-plastic case that is ideal for travel.

Wriggling is no longer niggling

Having used the Brother Max over a few months I can confirm that it is quick and effective even against the most unwilling and wriggly of targets. Henry doesn’t mind the little tip pressing gently against his forehead and he is similarly unfazed by having it shoved in his ear. Key to this is the fact that it only takes 2 or 3 seconds for the reading to be taken, signified by a nice little beep. The resulting temperature is then displayed in big, bold digits on the bright display.

Flip it ‘n clip it

Once you have taken the temperature you can fold the tip back down and close the protective cover over it, which switches the device into its room temperature mode. There is even an orientation sensor in the device that flips the digits when you turn it upside down to clip into the stand – very simple, yet very effective.

Almost super, but not up the pooper

I have just two criticisms of the Brother Max thermometer. Firstly, the manual has a complex table of ‘normal’ temperature readings for different age groups. This is all very good, but it would be far more useful to have this printed on the device itself or even have the device tell you if your child’s temperature is in the normal range. My final gripe is that there is no rectal temperature option. How am I supposed to test how ill Henry really is when he’s trying to avoid going to school in 5 years’ time?

Dadgets.info says that the Brother Max thermometer is quick and painless for both father and child. And it also looks pretty damn cool.

Grin like a child at the clear and bright display, the lightning quick reading and the smart travel case.

Cry like a baby at the lack of ‘normal’ temperature confirmation and the absence of a rectal option.

Dadgets.info rating: 9 out of 10

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I just wanted to share a great gift idea for your child’s grandparents, or perhaps even for yourself. Zumyn allows you to create a mosaic photo of your child using your entire collection of baby photos. The web site’s photo upload tool compresses your pictures before uploading (saving you plenty of time), and the clever Zumyn software will then arrange your photos to represent any particular picture you choose. It’s free to use, but you can pay for prints on photo paper or canvas if you like the results.

For Henry’s 1^st birthday we took a photo of him and then used Zumyn to turn it into a mosaic using every single one of the 2,400 photos we have taken of him since he was born. We treated ourselves to a canvas print and the result really is stunning. Sat in our lounge we can see the overall image of Henry with his cute little cheeks, but close up we can pore over all the great memories from his first year.

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eBay is useful for many things – first edition Michael Jackson LPs, antique emerald earrings, and rare North Korean lesbian porn DVDs. Of course, eBay is also great for selling your own unwanted stuff to generate much needed cash for Dadget purchases. But, my friend, here is where you must be very, very careful.

Amateur Dadget buyer: “Darling, I thought I would sell my old golf clubs on eBay.”

Trouser-wearing wife: “Oh, great! We’ll put the money towards little Johnny’s college fund.”

Now, do you see what happened there? With the mere sniff of some extra money, your wife has saved it before you can even spit out that little Johnny would actually love a PlayStation 3. You’ll have to be a little cleverer than that:

“Darling, I was thinking that Henry would really love a PlayStation 3.”

“But we can’t afford that.  And he’s only 1.”

“I know, I know, but I thought if I sold my old golf clubs on eBay, and a couple of your old designer handbags, between us we could pool that money together to make Henry’s little dreams come true. Imagine his cute smile while we’re all playing SingStar together, as a family.”

“You’re so thoughtful!  Oh, go on then.  And if there’s any change you should buy yourself one of those credit card torches.”

“My eyes are welling up in admiration of your beauteousness.”

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All Dads need a thermometer for checking up on their children’s various illnesses, so why not make it a Dadget thermometer? Admittedly, I am quite drawn to using an old-fashioned mercury thermometer – there’s something about the threat of a rectal temperature reading that keeps kids from feigning illness – but a modern father needs a modern thermometer.

Mothercare Forehead Thermometer (£3.99 from Mothercare)

Cheap, cheerful, and completely impractical is this offering from Mothercare. It is a heat sensitive strip that you press against your child’s forehead like a crazed gunman for about 7 hours before it finally changes colour to indicate the appropriate temperature. If you’ve ever tried using this on a real-life, wriggling, screaming baby then you’ll soon realise that your £4 would have been much better spent on some Whisky miniatures.

Braun Thermoscan 4520 (£29.34 from Amazon.co.uk)

This is more like it. The Braun Thermoscan is digital, it takes temperatures within only a few seconds, and is the tool of choice for doctors which is reassuring. My only gripe with the Braun is that it uses single-use covers for the ear sensor. I’m all for hygiene, but the hassle and expense of buying disposable covers for the rest of my life just seems like a bit of a ball ache. So while it might be the natural choice for doctors, it ain’t mine.

Brother Max 3-in-1 Thermometer
(£35 from JoJo Maman Bebe)

The Brother Max has it all – a digital display, the ability to read temperatures from forehead or ear, a room temperature option, and a neat plastic travel case. Furthermore, it doesn’t require any disposable covers. The perfect thermometer then? Find out in my full review in a few weeks.

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Having your wife under the weather can be quite a chore, especially if you have to look after the kids as well. Fetch me this, go get me that, wipe my nose, scratch my feet – it can all get a little tiring. However, the wise Dadget-lovers amongst you will sense a fantabulous Dadget purchasing opportunity.

A sick wife is a helpless wife, and any temporary illness is a perfect time to ask approval for the Dadget that would ordinarily be out of your reach. I especially recommend selecting the ‘drowsy’ variant of any medication so that she’ll be even more amenable to your request.

BONUS TIP: Pregnancy is the golden period for Dadget authorisation as you’ll have 9 months of weakness and vulnerability.

“Here’s another Lemsip, darling.”

“I love you so much. You’re taking such wonderful care of me, and our baby boy. I’m so pathetic when I’m ill.”

“Don’t be silly. I’m just happy that I can be here to help…and I’m also happy that you’ll be at home all day tomorrow for my package. Our new HD camcorder is due to be delivered.”

“Oh, you ordered one of those? Well, you deserve it after everything you’ve been doing for us both. You should get yourself that new military torch you’ve been wanting, too.”

“Even with a string of snot hanging from your delicate nose, you are still the most beautiful flower in the whole wide world.”

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With a new arrival in your house, time with your iPhone will become ever more precious. Therefore you really need a new app that will fully legitimise your iPhone usage over the coming months, even when there are bottles to feed and bottoms to wipe.

The most useful iPhone application you can own after your child is born is one that you can use to track your child’s 3 main activities – drinking, sleeping and filling nappies. It is important to monitor these functions carefully as your newborn develops, and the iPhone provides an elegant and useful alternative to paper and pen.

My top two picks are Baby Geek (59p) and Baby Brain (£2.99).

Baby Geek (59p) is a great value application that is simple to use and has some really great timeline graphs to analyse feeding/sleeping/changing patterns. As well as the standard activity recording and tracking of which boob was used last, you can also record other events such as trimming nails or eating a meal. There is also the very useful ability to record and graph your baby’s height and weight. Coming in the next version will be the ability to synchronise data between two devices – this should be a great feature when both parents have iPhones/iPod Touches. My only gripes about Baby Geek are that events entered out of order mess-up the ability to display graphs until you go in and re-sort them (why isn’t that done automatically?), and the interface is a little sluggish at times. But otherwise it is keenly priced, performs well, and the author provides top notch support to any queries.

Baby Brain (£2.99) is at the higher price end of the market and actually does less than Baby Geek. However, the interface is simple and uncluttered, the app is ultra intuitive to use, and it also runs as quick and as smooth as baby diarrhoea. Again you can record sleeping, feeding and nappy changing, but this time there are no extra events, no fancy graphs, and not even the ability to record meals. This limits the use as a complete feeding diary to whenever you begin weaning your baby, which I feel is something that needs to be addressed in a future update. However, the basic functions of Baby Brain work extremely well and there is even a lovely icon of a pair of breasts that will never fail to amuse. If the authors could add a few graphing options, add meals to the logger, and also add the ability to synchronise between different devices, then Baby Brain would truly be the ultimate logging tool.

The following is a list of every single baby logging app available. You should note that to be eligible for my list an app had to cover all 3 activities (drinking, sleeping, changing), not be a ‘lite’ version with limitations, and it had to be available in the UK app store.

• Baby Geek (59p) – Dadgets.info top choice
• Baby Watch (59p)
• KiddyBase (£1.19)
• Nimble Baby (£1.19)
• Baby Activity Logger (£1.79)
• Baby Super Tracker (£1.79)
• Baby Time (£2.39)
• Baby Brain (£2.99) – Dadgets.info top choice
• Baby Daily Log (£2.99)
• Baby Log (£2.99)
• Baby Timer (£2.99)
• Total Baby (£2.99)
• TurtleTOUCH Infant Log – HOME (£11.99)

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£49 from Playtray.co.uk

Defy those stuck-up Stokke evangelists!

Tell yourself that you’re saving yourself from the agony of having to redecorate your dining room. You’re also stickin’ it to the man.

Tell your wife that buying the Playtray is cheaper than buying a new shagpile.

You’re the worst parent in the world if you allow your child to eat from a tray attached to a highchair. Or at least, that’s what Stokke will make you believe if you read their preachy web site:

“children who eat dinner with their families are exposed to a greatly reduced risk of developing social problems in later life”

“a highchair that enables your child to sit with you at the table…provides your child with a secure platform for growth and development.”

Back on planet earth . . .

No question, Stokke do produce a really attractive highchair that is very flexible and adaptable throughout your child’s youth. But they refuse to provide an attachable tray, which is just not practical in the real world until your child is more mature in his eating habits. Therefore you’ll need an attachable tray. Therefore you’ll need the Playtray.

Thick and girthy

The Playtray is a see-through plastic tray that attaches simply and securely by hooking over the back of the Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair. It is impressively thick (around 1 cm) which makes it feel extremely sturdy. Furthermore, it has a very thick lip that is 2 cm deep and looks like it would hold a gallon of drool and milk if it had to. All surfaces are rounded and smooth which means safety for your baby and easy cleaning for you. The Playtray comes with a crotch strap, but is also fully compatible with the Stokke Baby Set and harness that provide a bit more security for your child.

Henry eats a fish finger

The Playtray has truly been a revelation since we bought it. We’ve had the courage to give Henry a whole new world of messy finger-foods that we wouldn’t have let him near if he were sat at our dining table. The Playtray is plenty large enough for Henry to enjoy squishing his food around, in and amongst the odd bit that makes it to his mouth. Henry also likes to bash the tray and I can report that it stays rock solid under all kinds of pressure.

Despite its solidity, the Playtray is still very quick and easy to remove for cleaning. After Henry’s mealtime we usually remove the tray before wiping it down, and you could clean it in the sink or even the dishwasher if you had one large enough. Simplicity itself.

Dadgets.info says that if you own a Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair, then you really must own a Playtray for weaning your baby. It’s difficult to see how any design could improve on the Playtray.

Grin like a child at the thick, smooth plastic, and the smile on your baby’s face as he smears peanut butter on his head.

Cry like a baby at the expense of a lump of plastic, and the fact that Stokke might send the boys round if they find out that you’re defying their ethos.

Dadgets.info rating: 8 out of 10

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Even the fittest of dads can get tired when running around after the kids. So what should you do when you can’t hack the pace? As ever, some high-tech Dadgetry will solve the problem, and I’ve found just the thing to keep Henry amused while I have a hard earned rest on the sofa.

Henry has been crawling for a good few months now, but it’s difficult to get him to venture around the house without leading him everywhere like a very cute little puffy-cheeked lap dog. So I stepped into Argos, handed over my £7.79, and left with a radio controlled Mazda RX-8. It was the best £7.79 I’ve spent since he was born.

After popping in the batteries I took Henry on an extensive tour of our downstairs. And then I took him around again…and again…and again. The poor little lad did so many laps following the Mazda that he was dizzy, but the puddles of drool and the big smile on his face at least indicated that he was having a good time.

My only word of caution is that these radio controlled cars are most definitely not designed for babies, and so you need to keep an eye out for any dismantling by little fingers. Both my rear wheels have already come off, so make sure you have some super glue at the ready as well. But all-in-all, the car has been terrific value and has given me a superb idea for a new Olympic sport – anyone for baby racing?

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