Consumer Advice December 2009
Post comments, questions and answers in the Consumer
advice section of Candis Chat
Great gadgets
for Christmas
Our gift ideas are great value for money and have come out top in
Internet reviews.
- The Breville JE24 Juicer gets all the juice out of the whole fruit - not citrus fruit, though. It's good and sturdy and easy to use, £53.66 from Amazon.
- If you're after a good breadmaker at a good price, the Morphy Richards 48245 Compact Breadmaker gets the thumbs up. It produces lovely bread with a perfect crust - £45 from Asda Direct
- The DeLonghi EC330S coffee machine works with ground coffee and coffee pods, giving excellent results and that lovely espresso aroma! It's £84.95 from Co-Op Electrical
Beauty and the beast
- Some hair straighteners four times the price don't give as good results as the BabyLiss Pro 230 Elegance. Buy for £29.35 from Argos
- The Braun Oral-B range is the one most dentists recommend and this electric toothbrush has enough heads for four. The Braun Oral-B Professional Care Deep Clean & Sensitive 8500 Rechargeable Toothbrush is £34.99 from Amazon
- The Panasonic ES8101 Linea Self-Clean Shaver seems to be a miracle worker among men's electric shavers, getting top marks all over the place. It's £73.39 from Argos
Getting techy
- Twitchers are sure to love these O l y m p u s 8 x 2 5 P C I binoculars. They're compact but have excellent clarity and contrast - they're £59 from Microglobe - www.microglobe.co.uk
- The Canon PowerShot A470 Digital Camera is only £59.99 from Dixons. A great price for a really nifty little 7.1mp camera. Go to www.dixons.co.uk
- While the iPod is still going great guns, everyone who's tried it loves the really neat Philips Go Gear MP3 music player. It's £24 from Pixmania
- Cordless phones have come a long way and this Siemens C475 cordless phone twin set with answerphone is the designer version. It's £74.99 from Ligo www.cordless-phones.uk.com
PLEASE NOTE: THESE PRICES WERE CORRECT AT TIME OF WRITING
Q&As
Size matters!
Q: Please can you explain how the size of the Christmas
card makes a difference to the cost of the postage? I'm still
confused about how Royal Mail works out this pricing - that is if
they'll be delivering anything at all!
A: Within the UK the postage options are as follows: a Letter is a maximum 240mm long, 165mm wide and 5mm deep with a max weight of 100g; with the Large Letter, it's up to 353mm long, 250mm wide and 25mm deep, the weight will affect the pricing - see below. If it exceeds any of the measurements it goes into the next category. And the item becomes a packet if weights and measurements exceed these.
Delivery should be the next working day for First Class and within three working days for Second. But make sure you stick to the last posting days, which, in the UK this year are 20th December for the former and 18th December for the latter.
Letter weight up to 100g
First Class: 39p
Second Class: 30p
Large Letter weight up to 100g
First Class: 61p
Second Class: 47p
Large Letter weight up to 250g
First Class: 90p
Second Class: 76p
Large Letter weight up to 500g
First Class: £1.24
Second Class: £1.04
Large Letter weight up to 750g
First Class: £1.77
Second Class: £1.51
Don't worry if you do miss the last posting days though. If your recipient has a computer, why not email them a free card. Try http://www.hallmark.co.uk/
Computer
TV
Q: We're having family to stay this Christmas and I
want to use the computer as a TV and watch some programmes and
films on it, so that we don't all have to watch the same thing.
Is there anything I need to consider?
A: There are now all sorts of sites offering live TV and TV recordings - some you subscribe to and some are free - though these usually round up the options and simply provide links to them. Try www.tvchannelsfree.com and click on the UK to get the current programme line up. Or you could go through the TV channel's own website to see what they offer.
You need a good broadband connection with minimum speeds of 2bps, although you may find 5+ smoother and clearer. Too low and you'll get very slow or broken up broadcasts. Check your speed at www.broadbandchoices.co.uk
You also need to keep an eye on how much content you're using as most packages have a limit. Check with your broadband provider what this is, then download a free monitor to keep any eye on it from Broadband Choices, as above. If you go over, you'll have to pay extra of a couple of pounds, depending on the total used.
Don't forget, if you're watching TV that's being streamed, that is it's being broadcast now, then you need a TV licence. Obviously, you'll have one if you have a family TV anyway.
Post Your Comment
You must be logged in to submit a comment.
If you are not yet a Candis member and want to find out more about the benefits of joining Candis Magazine...
We're confident that our travel insurance will provide you with peace of mind, allowing you the freedom to sit back, relax and get the most out of your holiday. Whether you're off on a short break or venturing further afield, our policies will keep you covered. Save up to £22.58 with Candis Travel Insurance More
Comments:
There are currently no comments for this article, be the first by using the box below.