Simon's Cat in "Off to the vet" with Indiegogo

Artwork © Simon's Cat Ltd 2008-2014

This is something special for all you cat and animal lovers out there. I just couldn't wait to share this with you all.
Im sure many of you have already heard of Simon's Cat; which is an animated web series on Youtube featuring the hilarious antics of a fat white cat and his side-kick kitten with their long suffering owner Simon.
The series was founded by Simon Tofield who had started animating at a young age using the a flickerbook. He got the idea from his own 4 cats Jess, Maisy Teddy and Huge and started to draw his ideas and Simon's Cat was born!

They now have over 3 million subscribers and over half a billion...yes I said a 
"half billion" video views!

Anyone with a cat will completely understand and see the funny side to this as Simon has the genius knack of picking up on natural cat behavior and turning them into the most fantastic hand drawn animations. What is even more genius is that he picks up on the finer points of cat behavior and making it side splittingly (is that a word) funny. It also shows us just how clever our feline friends are; I have cried with laughter many times over this cat's mischievous behavior.

We at Gadget Girl personally have been following Simon's Cat since he started in 2007 with his very first animation Cat Man do. If you haven't seen Simon's cat where on earth have you been...go right now and play the video below and tell me you didn't laugh outloud...!

 

 Artwork © Simon's Cat Ltd 2008-2014

If you loved this one now go and peek at 2 more of my personal faves
"Let me in" and "TV Dinner".
or choose your own favorite from HERE

Now the Simon's Cat team who genuinely love animals, animation and comedy want to make a special film that has actually been requested by their fans.
" A trip to the vet"; anyone with a cat knows what fun and games that is trying to capture our feline friend to put in the travel basket. So Im dying to see what Simon and the team will do with this extensive subject.
 They have a campaign on Indiegogo trying to raise funding for this special film which will be bigger, longer and in "colour", something that has not been done before.

So they are reaching out to the fans to help them create their first colour 11 minute film "Off to the vet"!

Please see the promo video below from the Indiegogo site to find out more.

Artwork © Simon's Cat Ltd 2008-2014
Indiegogo campaign HERE 

Why would an animation team need this amount of money I hear you say...well
Simon and his team have already invested in developing the script, storyboards and tested the introduction of the new colour. They now desperately need the funding to employ the right animators and artists to make the film.
 They also plan to produce this in the UK...YAY...so Simon can work closely with his animators!
They especially want to offer the fans high quality limited edition perks so you get great value for supporting them and to feel apart of the this special film making process.

Breakdown of the costs!

 Artwork © Simon's Cat Ltd 2008-2014
As you can see here Simon and team have put 32% into excellent perks for the fans; I think this just shows how much they value everyone who has supported them now and in the past.
Im also pleased to see that almost half the money is going straight into the animations woohoo!
If they are successful enough to reach their goal and more; they hope to develop even more 11 minute episodes for us all to enjoy at the same excellent quality films we've all grown to love.



 Artwork © Simon's Cat Ltd 2008-2014
Here is a quick teaser (above) of how far they have got and some brilliant images and a taster of whats to come.

They are offering some wonderful perks for becoming one of the special contributors.
Here are just some of the perks available starting from

• ONLY £5 to get an online preview and exclusive behind the scenes blog.
• £20 unsigned book + lots of brilliant extras.
• £45 Simon's Cat Crew T-shirt + lots of brilliant extras.
• £65/£85 a small signed art print, £120 medium and £180 large signed print + lots of extras...wow this is special.
• For £250 you can even get a drawing masterclass with Simon himself via Google hangout. This is an incredible opportunity for those wanting to work in animation; learn from the great man on a one to one. 
• Or you and your pet could be immortalized forever in the new book or an animation...wow..what a special gift this would be to a loved one or treat yourself and your pet!.

Plus lots more exciting offers and monetary options for all you Simon's Cat fans. Im sure there will be something for everyone and every pocket!

 Artwork © Simon's Cat Ltd 2008-2014

If you are not sure about contributing to this incredible new film then this will seal the deal.

Depending which contribution you decide to join; you could receive your very own Simon's Cat plushie "but without all the mischief" lol!

 How can you resist those eyes...no really...how can you...they re so mesmerizing...mesmerizing...mesmerizing....omg he's adorable...sigh...I'm...in love!!!

They wanted to raise £275,850 of which has been already smashed by you guys.
They have now reached an incredible
£307.487
Thank you readers for adding to the campaign and becoming a funder.

There is still time with ONLY 5 hours to go!!!

  Go on grab your chance to be part of this great opportunity and get yourself some really special perks.
 

 If you cant help this time, you can still support Simon and the team by liking and sharing the link to their campaign HERE

Artwork © Simon's Cat Ltd 2008-2014

 Also don't forget to checkout the Simon's Cat website and webshop for more information and lots of Simon's Cat gifts for you fans out there; plus see his very latest video Pawtrait .

I am so excited and I really want to see "Off to the vet" happen" and go live, I cannot begin to imagine what mischief this gorgeous fat cat will cause his poor long suffering owner Simon or the vet?

But one thing for sure you will be laughing out loud if not crying with laughter.

Spread the Simon's Cat Love right now!

Mieow...Mieow

 Artwork © Simon's Cat Ltd 2008-2014

Disclaimer: I have not in anyway been sponsored to write this post; just my love of this hilarious cat! 

Razor Red Knife Sharpener Review

Razor Red Knife sharpener

Heya people I have a little gadget new to Amazon UK that we all need in our kitchen drawer.

The lovely people at Razor Red offered to send me a knife sharpener to try for you all. This is actually a product we don't have at this time; we've had many sharpeners in the past; even an electric one which was so big and bulky it never got used.

This adorable little Razor Red is a compact portable sharpener with a power grip suction base which sharpens a variety of blades within the home from serrated knives, kitchen knives, scissors and DIY/garden blades.

See more of my photo review below

Packaging
The Razor Red arrives in a clamshell opening transparent packaging, with simplified modern imaging and easy explainable details of what it does.

 It comes with easy to understand instructions and clear images.

Description
This small compact knife sharpener is only 6cm in diameter and 6cm in height for easy storage and would easily fit in most cutlery and knife drawers. I love the modern red and black plastic design, but don't be put off by the plastic; the blades are made of long lasting tough tungsten carbide steel which sharpens any blade with diamond precision quickly and easily.

The Razor Red has a neat trick as well that it has a power grip suction base to secure it firmly onto kitchen worktops or smooth work benches.

The black lever is simply pressed down...as in the image above and the rubber suction base suckers on tightly to most shiny surfaces.

It has a lovely thick sucker base as you can see perfect for work benches, leaving your hands free to sharpen your blades. Great for those with manual dexterity problems or with arthritis etc.

 The top of the sharpener has easy to read embossed writing showing you the correct way to draw the knife down to sharpen it safely.

The 2 triangle cross-cross sharpening blades are made of long lasting tough tungsten carbide steel. It grips the knife correctly, so as you draw back it sharpens the blade.

 The other side shows a plastic red piece this keeps the knife in the correct position so it doesn't slip around maintaining an even sharpen across the blade.

The Instructions are easy to follow and the photo images are easy to understand.

What knives will it sharpen?

It will sharpen serrated knives, like fruit and bread knives.

Scissors
TIP; But angle the blade so its flat side is against one of the sharpeners as scissors only need 1 side of each of the two blades sharp, not both.

DIY and gardening blades.

Use

We have cutlery and knives that we've had for years and so many are really blunt so this was one product we found really useful. I chose these 2 knives as they wouldn't even cut meat a few days ago. It was like hacking through rubber.

 So following the instructions of placing the knife at the base of the handle, then slowly drawing it back we did this 3-4 times that was suggested.

 But for these knives they need quite a bit more. 15 strokes you could certainly feel a difference but 20 knife strokes gave us a perfectly razor sharp blade. 

It cut paper towel just by running it down the sheet, it could never have done this before it was sharpened.

You could see how much it had sharpened by the metal filings it left behind, this is why its best to use a work bench outside. Always make sure you brush the filings safely away into a bin and dispose correctly.They would hurt if you got them in your skin.

Finally 2 beautifully sharp "As new" knives woohoo!

So now to start working through my knife drawer...yay!

Opinion

A brilliant portable knife sharpener that is compact enough to store away into most drawers until needed. The suction grip really is secure and the whole design of the Razor Red keeps everything safe, right down to keeping the blades balanced.

This maybe little but it sharpens even the most hardened stainless steel knives like ours above so effortlessly. It took minutes to get super sharp blades and its like having new knives again; saving money and environment in the long term. 

This sharpener also worked well on our serrated knives and scissors after going round the house on a hunt the blunt blade rampage. We are a super sharp blade house from now on. Any excuse to use this adorable little sharpener.

Its an ideal gift for anyone, its affordable, lets face it fun to use and something you will be using for years to come at only a tenner you cant go wrong guys!

Pro's

• Compact and portable,
• Easy to use,
• Keeps hands away from the knife,
• Grippy suction pad,
• Long lasting tough tungsten carbide steel,
• Affordable,
• Fun to use,
• Patented,
• Lifetime guarantee.

 Con's

• None.

 Buy your Razor Red Sharpener from Amazon Uk

For ONLY

 £10.05

All my thanks goes to Razor Red for sending me this sharpener free of charge.

All my views and opinions are my own.

Travel Mobile Solar Charger Dual USB Review

Travel Mobile Solar Charger

By Mobile Solar Chargers

Hiya gadgetaholics Ive something today Im sure you will all need at some point and I'm so excited about....squeee!

How many times have you run out of charge on your phone or tablet; I bet its alot more than it used to be as we are becoming more and more reliant on our mobile devices, I know I am.

Our devices are becoming more hitech and requiring huge amounts of battery power; but manufacturers haven't been able to keep up with those battery needs; so we need a bit more help!

This is where Mobile Solar Chargers come in;

Mobile Solar Chargers are a Specialist UK retailer and "One stop shop" for all your charging needs, you seriously do not need to look anywhere else; take it from me.

 They have a charger to suit not only your device but suit you personally too; from busy everyday commuting lifestyles to traveling in the Himalayas. All of their portable power banks and travel chargers recharge from USB or mains and the solar ones have the extra addition of trickle charge in direct sunlight.

They have been kind enough to send me a selection of their power banks and solar chargers for me to review for you. I love getting my teeth into gadgets like these and I will be bringing you all my results and of course loadsa photos.

So today Im bringing you the Travel mobile Solar Charger

The Executive, The Travel mobile solar charger, The Banksy, AquaTrek.
Checkout Mobile Solar Chargers site for more information if you cant wait for my review.

I absolutely love anything solar I have had a fascination with solar technology as long as I can remember. Im a bit of a mother earth and I love the fact of harnessing the worlds natural energy without doing any damage to its environment.

So I cant wait to show this fantastic neat solar charger.

Front and back of the packaging

Packaging

This colourful solar charger comes in a transparent plastic box with a card insert explaining all its details.From just the packaging you can see what great quality it is.

In the box you get your solar charger and a bag of 6 adapters to fit most modern devices and your instruction manual.

With the 6 connectors your charging cable has a neat 19cm coil spring to keep it all tidy in your bag or pocket. It extends to to approx 40cm if it had to. Its also the same cable to charge the traveler as to charge your devices simply flipped around. But you can use your own if you wish.

Front and back
(You can tell I took these at different times, I was trying to decide if it looked better on wood or marble...you know me any excuse for a photoshoot lol)

Description

The Traveler is a premium robust dual USB solar charger, which has a simple 1 button operation and its clever multicharging capabilities uses mains, PC, car charger, USB and solar makes this charger your very best friend!
This plastic rubberized unit has a gorgeous bright orange accent edging which does always remind me of going camping. The matching back has details of the battery.

The Science Bit

• Solar energy transfer efficiency: 17% Solar panel 5v/100mA
• Polymer Lithium-ion Battery
• Output 2x USB 5V/1amp and 5v/2.1mA
• Capacity 6000mAh /22.2 wh
• Input : Micro micro usb DC5v/1000mA
• Working Temperature -10C to + 55C
• Charging time about 5 hours via USB mains
• Charging time from solar about 45 hours for full charge
• Multiple protection charge/discharge and overcharge/undercharge 
• Cycle Life >500 cycles 
• Weight 178g 
• Compatible with all mobile phones, iPhone, Blackberry™, Nokia™, iPad, Digital Cameras, PSP, ND, PDA, Mp3/Mp 4 player, GPS, E-Lites, electric cigarettes, Bluetooth , Garmin and all USB charged devices.

The Traveler is a slim portable size of 13cm x 7.6 x 1.6cm cm; the size of your average smartphone and will to fit easily into most bags and large pockets.

  On the base end you have 3 ports, the central micro USB to charge your Traveler inbetween 2 USB's to charge 2 devices at once if you want to. eg; an iphone or ipod. (Up to 2.1 amps simultaneously).

4 blue LEDs which show you in percentages how much charge you have left on your Traveler and will lightup when working and flash when charging. On the right you have another 2 smaller LED's; one is battery and the other is solar to tell you which part is charging your device...I love this.

 The 6 device adapters which will fit most mobile devices including iphone, Samsung, Nokia and all 5V tablets, including ipad and ANY USB charged device.
You can also use your own charging cable.
(You will however need a lightening adapter if you have the new iphone 5).

The great thing about the Traveler is that you have 2 main ways to charge your devices.

• The 6000mAh rechargeable battery recharges from mains USB, PC, Car USB.
• Trickle charge from its own 100mAh solar panel and will hold this charge for months till its needed.

I have to say I have never seen such a perfect looking solar panel, I cant stop looking at it. This panel is pristine and excellent quality with a great surface area to capture the light and sun of 8cm x 5.5cm.

This solar panel trickle charges when in direct sunlight, normal light and under lightbulbs; but can be boosted using its own rechargeable battery at anytime by being plugged into mains or PC USB. It doesn't get easier than this...simples!

Press the orange button once and it will show you how many bars you have left on your Traveler. You can see how bright blue these LED's are even in daylight.

Press and hold for 30 seconds and it will turn it on or off....easy-peasy!

Use
First of all I have to say I absolutely love the modern rugged design of the Traveler and you can see it next to my S4 above; a match made in gadget heaven.

It really feels excellent quality and a nice substantial weight in your hand.

Im so excited to share this with you all today as this clever little solar power bank enables me to power so many of my own gadgets and I honestly haven't stopped using this since it arrived; Ive become quite reliant on it.

Here are just some of my main devices I use on a daily basis and I usually need a topup on one or two of these in a day. From left to right is my little ladybird Buddy speaker, my Nexus 10, down to the purple case which is my Kindle Paperwhite 2 and my Galaxy S4.

I can be charging and topping up my S4 while having a coffee, its so easy to just plug and go!

Plus its a misnomer that you need bright sunlight to charge solar panels, you simply need any light even a light bulb will charge it...slightly slower of course and bright sun will be slightly faster but you don't need to be hanging out the car window to put the Traveler in the sun. The amount of times Ive seen people do this...don't do it people....you don't need to.

 Note; Windscreens cut out most UV light, other glass not as much.

I can even carry on reading my Kindle Paperwhite 2 when its battery is getting low outside without having to stop reading a brilliant book.
It powered my Kindle Paperwhite 2 from 1 bar to maximum in less than an hour...omg this is just amazing. This is because the Kindle Paperwhite 2 has a battery of 1420mAh and the Traveler's 6000mAh battery found it a breeze to charge.

Or I can simply trickle charge it while Im outside till Im ready to read. It would drive me nuts to have to wait a few hours to charge my Kindle to carry on reading eep!

I can also topup my speakers I use outside too;

Here are some of my mini portable speakers that I have charged using the Traveler. The Kinivo (review coming soon), the Deadmau5  Bassboomz and Kitsound buddy speakers Bee and ladybird as they don't last for longer than about an hour; this gains me an extra 30-45 minutes of music playtime without waiting an hour or so to charge them.

This Traveler is just made for these outside gadgets!

Put to the Test

Its all very well me sitting here saying its a great charger and normally you have to take my word on everything; which of course I hope you all do.....sheesh!
But now I can actually prove it, I will tell you, with an App called Battery HD which displays graph charts, time and date of all battery charges. So I can actually show you how good this charger is by offering you accurate visual data on my tests. Its sounds really posh but its fascinating to read results this accurate.

Charging the Samsung Galaxy S4
First I fully charged the Traveler via USB on my mains PC rather than solar as its faster.

It took approximately 4 hours to fully charge to 4 bars 100%.

Ive had several opportunities to test how long it takes to charge my Galaxy Samsung S4 as its so power hungry with a 2600mAh battery and I really make it work hard. I was actually planning to deliberately flatten it for this review but I didn't have to in the end.

 So here is my S4 is at 10% and you can see by the little plug icon its charging directly from the fully charged Traveler.
You can also see how easy it is to view in the dark,

Here is the chart for my S4 (from the Battery app) and it shows I started charging at approx 21.15 (The green colour) and it quickly finished by approx 23.45. This was such a surprise to me at just how fast this charged my S4 to 100% at only 2 1/2 hrs. To the point I didn't even check until after 4 hours and luckily the app saves all the data as Id missed when it reached 100% lol.

Charging my Nexus 10

I do want to state firstly that this tablet isnt fully compatible with the Traveler as it has a much higher battery power. My nexus 10 has a battery of 9,000mAh and the Traveler has 6000mAh. But I just want to show you you can give your tablet a top up, but dont expect it to get fully charged.

So I started by fully charging the Traveler first via mains USB.

Using the same Battery app you can see the data.
I started to charge my poor completely flat Nexus at approximately 16.40 it charged up until 18.40 to approx 24%. The first blue section says I cannot use video etc as not enough power, the green section says I can carry on doing anything on the tablet. The blue third section is just Nexus's own battery.

It took 2 hours until the Travelers battery itself died first. It really did a great job especially as I had all my updates on so they are continually working in the background making it slower charge time....! You will never get a full charge on the tablet; but you will most certainly gain enough to email, surf or game for a little while. You just need to fiddle with your settings to get the best out of charging a tablet like this. I will update this later on as I play with more of my settings for this.

 I could however trickle charge it in the sun too.
 

Ive even used it even on our ancient Tom Tom satnav which refuses to hold any charge at all. My other half needed the satnav one day for directions somewhere; so he took the Traveler out and it managed to keep the Tom Tom alive the whole day, he didn't get lost once...phewey!

Checkout what we can top-up without going back indoors, we can have a nice day out and take all my favorite devices with us. Plus it all fits into my handbag.

 USB LED Flexible light

Just as an extra...like this review isn't long enough already...opps sorry guys!

I couldn't resist buying this to use with these chargers to give us extra portable bright light when and where we need it. I just wanted to show you a quickie of this as it works so perfectly with the Traveler itself. (Full photo review coming soon).

Wow the 13 LED's are so bright and you simply plug it into your spare USB port where you can sit and read or have extra light for your crafting. 

Here it is in a pitch black room with no light and its easy to see just how bright this little gadget is. 

The Traveler makes the most perfect Kindle reading light for older versions of the Kindle or ereaders with no backlight and the fact you can have 2 devices plugged in at once. You can clearly see both devices working here.
The combination of these 2 gadgets is perfect!

Everyone NEEDS ones of these lights!

Opinion

Ive got to say guy's, I do love this little Traveler it looks amazing, it feels fantastic quality. I love the simplicity of the 1 button press and hold and the plug and play. Its perfect for those non techies as well as techie people. It looks great in your hand bag and Ive had so many comments as its a great conversation starter.

Its that festival/camping time of year and the Traveler is a perfect addition to your camping bag; especially with the option of charging 2 devices at once its invaluable. I highly recommend this gorgeous little gadget as you should get at least 3 charges on your average phone and for everyday use you will probably be charging from the mains like me so its always ready when you need it; the charge will last you for months.

 I love that I dont have to worry if I put it on the grass its rugged enough to take some knocks.
Its worth every penny as you have the variety of charging options and the dual USB. But beware your friends will be "borrowing " it to top up there phones too.

Pro's

• Rugged looking,
• Excellent quality,
• Affordable,
• Modern design,
• Dual USB outlet, charge 2 devices at once.

• Compatible with all mobile phones, iPhone, Blackberry™, Nokia™, iPad, Digital Cameras, PSP, ND, PDA, Mp3/Mp 4 player, GPS, E-Lites, electric cigarettes, Bluetooth , Garmin and all usb charged devices

Con's

• None,

You can buy your
Traveler Solar Charger from 

Mobile Solar Chargers

£34.95

Please see my other reviews of products from Mobile Solar Chargers

 QI Wireless Car Charger and Cradle

Premium Ultra Thin QI Wireless Phone Charging Pad
and Samsung Galaxy wireless reciever card.

 Reviews coming very soon from Mobile Solar Chargers are

or check them out first.

Banksy 7800mAh portable charger

MSC Executive Solar Charger plus

The Aquatech charger.

USB LED Flexible light

All my thanks goes to the lovely people from Mobile Solar Chargers for sending me this free of charge for this review.

Those of you asking about my Samsung S4 Phonecase shown in this review is
The Strawberry Bling case from Mobile Madhouse.
Its also in several colours and designs.