Product Guides

Bras

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 18:15:23 BST

There are several different types of bras available today from a range of different manufacturers. Here is a list of the different types of bras available.

Balconette Bras

This type is mostly underwired and exposes the top half of the breasts making them suitable for low cut tops.

Bandeau Bras

The bandeau is a strapless band of fabric particularly good for wearing under strapless tops and dresses. Can be underwired or non wired.

Full Support Bras

Especially designed for the larger bust size and offering total support. Straps are generally wider and can sometimes have padding or gel in the straps for comfort.

Mastectomy Bras

For women who have had a mastectomy. They come with pockets in either each cup or one cup in order to put breast prosthesis in.

Minimiser Bras

Minimisers are designed in order to make the breasts look smaller by at least one cup size.

Multi-way Bras

This type of bra comes with straps which can be placed in different positions in order to create a strapless, halter-neck, racer back or standard bra. This allows the freedom of being able to wear different tops without bra straps showing. Clear straps are sometimes provided with this type of bra.

Nursing Bras

This style is for nursing mothers as it allows the cup to be removed in order to feed baby whilst still wearing the bra.

Push-up Bras

Push-up bras literally push your breasts upwards in order to create a cleavage. They can have extra padding or be gel or air filled in order to boost the size of the breasts.

Soft Cup Bras

Non-wired - often provide less support than the wired type. Some people prefer the comfort of non-wired bras.

Sports Bras

Wearing a well fitted sports bra will help to minimize possible long term damage to the ligaments in the breasts caused by the breasts moving around whilst exercising. This applies to all sizes and not just to those with a larger breast size. Wearing a sports bra will also be more comfortable whilst exercising.

T-shirt Bras

These are usually made seam free with thin fabric particularly useful for wearing under tight t-shirts in order to appear invisible.

Triangle Bras

Triangle shaped non wired cups particularly suited to those with a small bust size.

Underwire Bras

Wire is inserted under the cups of the bra in order to give full support to the breasts. This can be either metal or plastic.

Camcorders

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 22:09:19 BST

Video Cameras now commonly known as Camcorders are much smaller and lighter than they used to be. With the introduction of digital recording camcorders have become a very versatile device.

Digital Camcorder

The Camcorder is a digital device that offers three recording formats, MiniDV, DVD and Hard Disk Drive. Movies can be easily edited using low cost home editing software and your desktop computer.

MiniDV Camcorders

MiniDV Camcorders use a small tape to store digital video. MiniDV Camcorders offer the best value with prices starting from just 200 pounds. Each tape holds up to 1 hour of high quality digital video. The video can either be played back instantly through your Television or transferred to your PC.

DVD Camcorders

DVD Camcorders record digital video straight on to small digital video disks. You can simply take the disk out of the DVD Camcorder and play it on most DVD Players. You can also copy the digital video from the DV to your home computer. Recordable DVDs come in various formats, when purchasing disks you will need to ensure you purchase the correct type. The types available are DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM.

Hard Disk Drive Camcorders

A HDD Camcorder records digital video directly onto a hard disk. This allows high quality video to be recorded for much longer. Depending on the size of the hard disk drive and the quality you choose to record in you could record up to 40 hours of digital video. As the digital video is recorded directly onto the HDD Camcorder there is no need for additional tapes or disks. You can connect your HDD Camcorder directly to your TV or home computer. We recommend purchasing this type of Camcorder if you have a desktop computer. They are the ideal device for home video editing.

Optical Zoom

All camcorders have an optical zoom. This works by using lenses to make the picture look larger without any loss in the quality of the picture. Zoom is normally measured by the number of times bigger the lenses can make the picture. For example a 10x zoom will make the picture up to 10 times larger.

Digital Zoom

Camcorders, like Digital Cameras, will provide a zoom effect. The quality of the image is reduced but the image is made larger. The quality of the original image is so good that using digital zoom may not even be noticed when watching the movie back on a television.

LCD Screen

An LCD Screen will allow you to view recorded movies as well as see what you\'re recording. The larger the screen the easier you\'ll find the device to use.

High Definition

High Definition Camcorders will all filming HD quality digital video. This will allow playback with amazing quality on any HD Ready Television. Some Camcorders now support recording in true widescreen, this will allow your home movies to look just professional videos.

Desktop Computer

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 00:27:25 BST

Buying a desktop computer can seem complicated, there are so many options different specifications and so much jargon. Our desktop computer product guide will help make purchasing your new PC much easier.

Recommended Specification

Dual Core Processor (Intel Dual Core, Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD X2 Dual Core)
1024MB (1GB) Memory or more
80GB Hard Disk Drive or more
Windows Vista Operating System

Microprocessor

The Microprocessor is the central part of a desktop computer is the overall performance is largely based on the performance of the microprocessor. You\'ve probably heard references to microprocessors more in the brand names such as Intel, manufacturers of the well known Pentium processors. Intel\'s current microprocessor is the Core 2 Duo, we recommend purchasing a desktop computer with has the latest Core 2 Duo microprocessor or AMD\'s X2 microprocessor range.

Hard Disk Drive

Desktop computers have an integrated long term storage device called a hard disk drive. The hard disk drive is used to store all your files, photos, videos and music so the larger your hard disk drive the better. We recommend purchasing a hard drive of at least 80GB.

Memory

A computer requires memory for running programs and temporarily storing files. The more memory you desktop computer has the more programs you will be able to open at once. It\'s also worth considering that software is gradually staring to use more and more memory as it develops. We recommend your new desktop computer has at least 1024MB of memory (1GB).

Operating System

A desktop computer requires a primary software computer that manages the system and provides a graphical user interface. The latest operating system produced by Microsoft is known as Windows Vista. Windows Vista\'s predecessor is Windows XP. We recommend purchasing a Windows Vista desktop computer instead of Windows XP.

Digital Cameras

Sat, 09 Jun 2007 01:28:27 BST

Digital cameras have fast become the majority of peoples first choice choosing a new camera. The main advantage of digital cameras is they do not require films. The images are stored digitally on the camera, normally in a removable card called a memory card. The pictures taken on a digital camera can be transferred onto a computer. From there you can email the pictures to friends and family or print them on photo printers.

Megapixal

Digital images are built up from millions of tiny dots called pixals. A megapixal is a million pixels. A digital cameras image quality is measured in the amount of megapixels the camera can capture. The more pixals in an image the better the quality. For printing a 6\" x 4\" photo we recommend at least a 2 Megapixal camera. However the more megapixals the camera offers the better the image quality. It\'s fairly standard for the latest digital cameras to offer image qualities of 5 megapixels or more. A 5 megapixel camera is suitable for printing an A4 sized photo.

LCD Screen

Digital cameras have an LCD screen that allows you to view the images you\'ve taken. Modern digital cameras are starting to use the LCD screen as a replacement for the traditional view finder. The larger the screen the better, we recommend buying a digital camera with at least a 2\" screen.

Optical Zoom

An optical zoom enlarges the image using the lens. An optical zoom still enables a digital camera to capture the image without any loss in image quality. Typically a digital camera that provides optical zoom will have a 3x zoom.

Digital Zoom

Digital zoom is an artificial zoom effect. The quality of the image is reduced to create a zoom effect. It\'s like cropping the image and then enlarging the cropped image.

Memory Card

A memory card is used to store the images you take. The memory card is interchangeable between compatible cameras. Memory cards come in a variety of sizes to suit your budget. We recommend purchasing a memory card of at least 512MB. You should also check which type of memory card each camera takes as some can be much more expensive than others.

USB

USB is a means to connect your digital camera to your computer. All modern desktop computers and laptops support USB.

Digital SLR Cameras

Digital Cameras that also allow manual focusing are known as Digital SLR Cameras. Most will allow auto focus and manual focus. Digital SLR cameras provide a greater flexibility and as such are used by professional photographers.

DVD Players

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 12:06:04 BST

DVD Players have revolutionised the home movie industry. DVD Players offer far better picture and sound quality over VHS tapes. DVD disks are small and light and the picture and sound quality doesn\'t fade after playing the movie many times over. DVDs are pretty much the movie equivalent of CDs. The DVD Player is now an essential part of any home entertainment system. DVD Players are available from just 30 pounds and will play DVDs, Audio CDs and most have supported for Video CDs.

DVD Regions

To control the distribution of movies around the world DVDs have a region coding system. There are 6 different regions all around the world, each region has it\'s own number. Here in the UK all DVD Players and DVDs sold in the UK are region 2. If you purchased a region 1 disk it would not play on a region 2 DVD player. There are a limited number of multi region players available that allow disks of any region to be played on a single player. There are only a few multi region DVD Players on the market because the system is designed to aid the global distribution of movies, the larger manufacturers therefore don\'t sell multi region DVD players.

HDMI

DVD Players are do not provide high definition pictures, the quality of the movie on DVDs is not good enough for high definition. Recently Sony have launched a high definition player called Blu-Ray and Toshiba have launched a high definition player called HD-DVD. At the moment these devices are quite expensive and there are not many movies available that support the devices. Most new DVD Players now support HDMI - High Definition Multimedia Interface. HDMI is a High Definition connector, which is found on all HD televisions. DVD Players can now upscale the DVD quality movie in to an improved quality suitable for high definition. The actual quality is not as good as real high definition images but it does offer an improvement over standard SCART connections.

Scart Sockets

The standard connection for DVD Players for many years is the Scart socket. DVD Players will have at least 1 scart socket. Some DVD players will feature 2 scart sockets, this allows for looping of multiple devices for televisions, which only have a single scart socket.

Surround Sound

The quality of the audio on DVDs is good enough to produce cinema quality sound. DVD Players will have additional sound outputs for connecting it to surround sound speaker system.

Laptops

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 19:55:04 BST

Laptops are more popular than ever. Laptops are now more affordable which has meant more and more people have purchased a laptop instead of a desktop computer. Our guide to laptop computers will explain what all the jargon means and also recommend a minimum laptop specification.

Recommended Specification

Dual Core Processor (Intel Dual Core, Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD X2 Dual Core)
1024MB (1GB) RAM or more
80GB HDD or more
Wireless enabled
Bluetooth enabled
Widescreen display 12\" - 15.4\"
Battery Life 3 hours plus

CPU

The CPU, Central Processing Unit, is the main part of a laptop computer. The CPU handles all the calculations and overseas all parts of the laptop computer. Ultimately their overall performance largely depends on the performance of the CPU. The latest CPU technology features Dual Core technology. Dual core is pretty much 2 processors within one CPU unit. This improves the computers performance because the load on the CPU is shared.

RAM

Random Access Memory is a temporary storage area, which is used to operate the current running programs. The more RAM a laptop computer has the more programs you can run at the same time. As technology develops programs require more and more RAM.

HDD - Hard Disk Drive

The hard disk drive is used for long term storage. When you save a document it is saved onto the HDD. The larger the hard disk drive the more files you will be able to save.

Screen Size

The most common screen size is 15.4 inches. It\'s become common to have widescreen displays as a preferred shape to standard 4:3 displays. Larger screens allow you to display more on the screen at any one time. However the larger the screen the larger and heavier the laptop is in general. Screen sizes range from 10\" to 17\".

Laptop Battery Life

Depending on the use of your laptop the battery live could be one of the most important things. Be careful with budget laptops, the battery life is normally much lower than what you would expect, it\'s a great way for the manufacturers to save money because the customer doesn\'t normally consider the battery life as being part of the specification. Battery life is normally over rated in the laptop specifications. You would have to have the screen on very dim, run simple programs and have the wireless turned off to achieve the quoted maximum battery life. We recommend that if you half the quoted battery life you should be able to expect your laptops battery to last at least half.

Wireless

The main advantage of a laptop is that they are portable. Wireless allows Internet or network access without having to plug a cable into your laptop. There are many wireless hotspots in public areas, which you can connect to for a fee. If you want to use wireless in your home or office it will require purchasing additional hardware to provide a wireless service to your laptop.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a simple short range version of wireless. Bluetooth was developed so that devices near to each other can communicate wirelessly. You can connect to a bluetooth enabled mobile phone, which could be used to connect you to the Internet while you\'re out and about.

Mobile Phones

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 21:19:02 BST

Since mobile phones were launched in the 1990s they\'ve come a long way. They provide so much more than just the ability to make a phone call or send a text message. The modern day phone is described as a multimedia computer by some manufacturers with features such as Internet browsing, cameras and satellite navigation.

Mobile Phone Specifications

Guideme Shopping has put together a detailed guide to each piece of technology found on the modern day mobile phone.

Dualband, Triband and Quadband

Mobile phones around the world us different radio frequencies to operate. A Dual band service is provided in Europe to give better coverage. A Triband phone will allow you to use your phone in Europe and USA. A Quadband will allow you to use your phone all over the world, Europe, USA and Asia./p>

Memory

All phones need to have a certain amount of memory to store things such as contact details, ring tones, text messages, photos and music. The more memory you have the better. Guideme Shopping recommends having at least 10MB of phone memory.

Memory Slot

Newer phones now support swappable memory cards. This allows for you to upgrade the memory capacity of your phone by installing a memory card in to the memory slot. Memory cards of 2GB can be installed into most phones allowing you to hold hundreds of photos or MP3 tracks.

GPRS

GPRS, General Packet Radio Service, allows you to connect to the Internet. Most other services such as MMS (Multimedia Messaging) also use a GPRS service to send and receive. If you want to browse the web it\'s essential that your phone supports GPRS.

3G

3G means 3rd Generation Network, it\'s like having broadband on your mobile phone. 3G makes browsing the Internet much quicker then a phone without 3G. Due to the higher data throughput that 3G offers it\'s also possible to use 3G for video calling and watching live video or TV on your phone.

WiFi

Mobile Phones are now available with WiFi. WiFi is wireless computer network technology. WiFi will allow you to connect to your home wireless network or WiFi hotspots when you\'re out and about. Having WiFi will allow you to browse the Internet on your phone or use voice over IP phone technology such as Skype.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth allows you to connect to other Bluetooth enabled devices. Using Bluetooth you can transfer images, videos, ring tones or sound clips. Bluetooth can also be used with wireless headsets, satnav systems or in car hands free.

USB

USB is a relatively new addition to mobile phones. It allows you to connect your mobile phone to your computer using the USB port. This means you can transfer files to the memory card on the phone.

MP3 Player

An increasing number of mobile phones are providing MP3 Players. An MP3 player will allow you to play compressed music files called MP3. MP3 tracks can be purchased on the Internet or free software is available on the Internet to convert your existing CD\'s in to MP3s. iTunes is an example of a free software tool that allows you to do this.

Camera

The essential part of the modern day mobile phone is the camera. It\'s very handy to be able to take pictures on your phone. The quality of cameras on mobile phones is not as good as a standard alone picture but they are improving. Look for a camera that has auto-focus and a flash. The Sony Cybershot phones have a particularly good camera.

Printers

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 19:40:19 BST

Printers are an essential part of home and office computing. There are so many printers on the market it\'s hard to know which printer to buy. Our guide to printers should provide you with everything you need to assist you in buying a printer.

Ink Jet Printer

The ink jet printer fast became the most popular printer for the home. They are small and affordable with a good print quality. Ink jet printers can be used for printing anything from black and white documents to full colour glossy photos. There are many ink jet printers on the market, however it\'s important that you not only look at the price of the printer, you should also look at the price of replacement ink cartridges. Some manufacturers sell the actual printer quite cheap but their replacement ink cartridges cost more than average.

Laser Printer

Laser printers are the ideal solution if you need to print in high volume. The laser printer is often the first choice for offices, they\'re normally faster than ink jet printers especially if numerous copies of the same page need to be printed. Laser printers are normally much larger than ink jet printers so would not normally be the first choice for homes. The price of the printer is normally higher than ink jet printers. However the cost per sheet is the lowest. We recommend that if you will be printing high volumes (2000 sheets or more per month) go for a laser printer.

All in One Printers

Printers have evolved to provide more than just printing. An all in one printer will provide prining, copying, scanning and faxing capabilities. This means you can save loads of space by buying an all in one printer. All in one printers are available as laser printers or ink jet printers so are ideal for home, home office or office. They are a little larger than the normal printer but they save so much more space.

Mono or Colour Printing

Printers, especially laser printers, are available as mono only or mono and colour printing. Mono printers will often be much cheaper and faster than a colour printer but the obvious downside is that they cannot print in colour. A mono printer can print in greyscale and for most office duties printing in colour is not necessary.

Printing Speed

A printers speed is normally measured in pages per minute. This is quite simply the number of pages that can be printed in one minute. The higher the pages the faster the printer is.

Print Quality

Print quality is measured in dots per inch. This is the number of printable dots that can be printed within a one inch space. The dots per inch (DPI) is normally represented as a two directional figure such as 1200 x 600. That shows that the printer can print 1200 dots horizontally and 600 dots vertically. Standard print quality is 300 DPI and photo quality is considered to be 1200 DPI.

Televisions

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 11:21:25 BST

Televisions have 3 different technologies, CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and Plasma.

CRT Televisions

The oldest technology available and are becoming less common now. CRT technology was used on the very first televisions. Some great deals can be found on CRT televisions with 32\" televisions costing just £300.

LCD Televisions

The latest televisions available. LCD has fast become the most popular choice in televisions. They have a slim design, and take up much less space than CRT televisions. With the introduction of LCD televisions screen sizes have become much larger. It\'s quite common for the average family home to have a large 40\" television.

Plasma Televisions

Plasma technology was the original slim television technology. It\'s quickly being overtaken by LCD televisions as the television of choice for a large flat screen. The picture quality of a plasma television is better than both LCD televisions and CRT televisions but plasma televisions a recommended to have the gas replaced once per year.

HD - High Definition

HD offers much greater picture quality over standard televisions. Most of the modern televisions will support HD but at the moment there are limited HD broadcasts available. Sky and Virgin Media provide limited HD broadcasts but Freeview does not provide any. It\'s thought that HD will be the thing of the future and we recommend buying a television that has HD so that you don\'t miss out when HD becomes widely available.

Freeview Digital Television

By 2012 all television broadcasts will be digital. If the television you buy does not support freeview it will mean you need will need an additional set to box to view future television broadcasts. Most new televisions support freeview, we recommend buying a television that does support it.

PC Input

Many new televisions support PC input, this will allow you to connect your computer to your television using a standard VGA monitor cable.

HDMI

The high definition version of the SCART socket. HDMI will support high definition devices such as HD DVD or BlueRay DVD. Most HD televisions will have at least 1 HDMI input.

Womens Jeans

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 19:49:50 BST

Jeans come in a variety of styles, fittings, cuts and colours.

Jean Sizes

Womens jeans can be sized by dress size and leg length. Dress sizes 4,6,8,10,12 etc and leg length short/petite (30 inches), regular (32 inches) and long (34 inches). Some jeans are sized by waist measurement and inside leg measurement combined.

Jeans Colour Choices

Jeans mainly come in different shades of blue denim. Jeans can range from pale blue, light grey, stonewashed to darker indigo shades up to black. Other colours such as yellow, red and green are currently fashionable for skinny jeans.

Stonewashed stonewashed blue jeans are light in colour, washed with stones to achieve a worn appearance. Dark Deep blue/indigo colour, ideal for a smart look.

Jeans Fits and Styles

Low rise Jeans Made to fit low on the waist or on the hips. Very flattering fit for most shapes and sizes.

Bootcut Jeans Wider at the bottom of the leg in order to fit comfortable over a boot. Very flattering fit for most shapes and sizes.

Boyfriend Jeans Loose fit and low on the hips, designed to look like boys jeans for girls.

Carpenter Jeans Casual fit often with large pockets and other adornment in order to resemble carpenters jeans.

Relaxed Fit Comfortable, loose fit, usually with a low waist.

Skinny Jeans A tight and slim fit all the way down to the ankles, a flattering look for slim body types.

Flares or Bell Bottoms Jeans Fitted at the top and wider from the knees downwards. Flares became popular in the late 1960s to early 1970s.

Distressed Jeans These jeans can have rips, tears, holes etc in order to achieve a worn appearance.

Straight Leg Jeans These jeans fit straight down the leg without being as tight as the Skinny jeans.

Cropped Jeans Cut below the knee and can have turned up ends, perfect for the summer.

Maternity Jeans Specially designed for pregnant women with over or under the belly waist bands to allow for the pregnancy bump.

Stretch Jeans Stretchy denim material which adjusts to your body shape.