Amazon UK, slightly improved

In the past I've always had to purchase £15 worth of products to qualify for their free shipping offer. This usually means buying in advance 3-4 books (though I guess it does not matter since I am a fast reader). But now that Amazon UK has reduced the minimum purchase threshold to just a fiver (£5) for customers to qualify for super saver delivery, I can be a bit more flexible in shopping for low priced goods. I guess they are starting to feel the pressure from Play.com (they have free shipping regardless of minimum order).

Below is a list of books that qualifies for free shipping. Yes these are books by Christopher Moore, the genius writer whom you should all kow tow before.

Practical Demonkeeping
Coyote Blue
Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story
Island of the Sequinned Love Nun (review)
The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove
Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings
You Suck: A Love Story (review)

WMF 1 coffee pad machine review

Jennifer had her eyes on this smart little coffee maker since last year ever since we did some Christmas window shopping at John Lewis, Oxford Street. But at £79.95, it was just a bit too much for a coffee maker that is only capable of making one cup of coffee, even if the design won a prestigious red dot award. Well this evening while browsing through another John Lewis, we found that they were on clearance for only £19.95.

The WMF 1 coffee pad machine is an integrated filter coffee maker with a built-in water boiler. It has a tank that can hold the exact amount of water for one (included porcelain) cup. It takes standard size coffee pads which is installed in the coffee pad holder just above the cup holder. Just fill in the water reservoir below the 'max' mark and press the huge button. Less than a minute later, the coffee is ready to be drank at a comfortable temperature.

To be honest I am not much of a coffee guy, but this coffee maker is perfect for Jennifer. The minimalist and contemporary design slots in perfectly in the kitchen, or even the bedroom. There is just one downside to this product - if you break the cup it would be rendered useless. Fortunately John Lewis sells spare cups, so you better grab some if you decide to get this before it gets discontinued. Overall the design is lovely and it isn't as hideous as the majority of coffee makers. It boils quickly and like I mentioned earlier, readies the coffee at a drinkable temperature. There were also no spills.

The WMF 1 coffee pad machine is now available for only £19.95 in John Lewis and comes in a variety of colours. Hell, we may even get another.

Update: January Sale

25/12:

Micro Anvika's has a sale flyer for download at their site. Pretty crappy sale I must add, though it isn't surprising as they horribly overprice their products. Still their shop down in Selfridges is good place to visit tomorrow to gawk at gadgets, just don't buy there.

24/12:

Sales at GAME and Gamestation is now on. I did remember seeing Assassin's Creed for £30 and God of War II for £25 at GameStation. At GAME: Virtua Fighter 5 (PS3) is now £20 and Eye of Judgement (with camera bundle) for a very cheap £35. Their online offers seems to be different to the sale at their brick and mortar store.

Plenty of parents were still out shopping for presents this noon. DS Lites and Wii are as ever still popular, but I can imagine plenty of disappointment tomorrow as I noticed shovelwares like Bratz and "the game where you can pet things" seems to have a high attach rate with those consoles. Another game that seems popular is SingStar, which is awesome news. Apologies to the many insecure gamers out there but SingStar is a great party series and deserves the title of best none game/party game, yes, even more so than Brain Age or Monkey Ball.

The January Sale has begun. Online at least.

First up Amazon UK. Remember free delivery on orders above £15.

Video Games:
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (PS2) £18 <- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Bioshock (PC) £10
Bioshock (360) £25
Gunpey (DS) £9
CIVILIZATION IV (PC) £10
Gitaroo Man (PS2) £10
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC) £10
The Witcher (PC) £18 <- RECOMMENDED
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii) £28
Pokemon Diamond & Pearl (DS) £20

Electronics:
Creative ZEN 8GB £100
Sony NWZA818 8GB £100 <- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Sony NWZA816B 4GB £77
Sandisk Sansa E260 Live Lounge 4GB £60
Sandisk Cruzer Micro U3 4GB £15 <- VALUE FOR MONEY
Casio EX-Z75 7.2 Megapixel with 3x optical zoom digicam £80
Canon IXUS 950 IS 8 Megapixel with 4x optical zoom digicam £170
Freecom 250GB 2.5" ToughDrive external USB hardrive £100

DVDs:
Battlestar Galactica: Complete Season 1-3 boxset £40 <- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
The West Wing: Complete Season 1-7 boxset £90

Now, Play.com's January sale with free delivery.

Video Games:
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (Wii) £28 <- RECOMMENDED
Lumines II (PSP) £10
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth (PSP) £10 <- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (PSP) £10
Final Fantasy XII (Platinum - PS2) £10 <- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Rogue Galaxy (PS2) £15
Dragon Quest VIII (Platinum - PS2) £10 <- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Rainbow Six Vegas (PS3) £18
Ghost Recon Advance Warfighter 2 (PS3) £18
Call of Duty 4 Limited Editon (360) £35

DVDs:
Six Feet Under season 3, 4 and 5 boxset for £25 each
Six Feet Under season 1 and 2 boxset for £18 each
Nokia 6300 Vodafone Pre-Pay £70 <- GOOD VALUE

Go ahead, spend your money. Forget about the pending economy doom and gloom.

Review: Carhartt Kickflip camo arrow black backpack

My 15 year old Eastpak backpack has finally broken down. What a great 15 year it was, but it was finally time to move on. I still remember sewing an Obituary logo patch on it (since removed). I will try to repair it, but for the time being I found this to be a great excuse to acquire a new backpack.



This nice little Carhartt Kickflip backpack in 'camo arrow black' colour seems great, especially at the price I got from Moist (closing down sale). It is sturdier and a lot tougher than the ol' Eastpak. I particularly like the Snake Eater-like camoflague. The Kickflip seems to go well with my Carhartt branded hoodies too. Hopefully it will serve me well for 15 years!!

Tesco ain't so bad

Just had the opportunity to check out the newly opened Tesco Metro yesterday. Because our dinky part of London had no proper mid sized supermarket since Safeway/Morrisons closed shop 8 months ago, it was a relief when I found out that a tenant has finally been found to occupy the previously empty plot. No need to purchase groceries from the local but expensive Marks & Spencers any longer.

Already the cashier I found the be a lot more friendlier than the Morrisons one (the one where they harassed a scruffy twenty something guy for an ID because he looked "too young" to buy booze). Apparently they have been handing out vouchers with up to four quid off purchases, which I didn't have (nor did I know of), but she was kind enough to obtain a spare voucher and took £4 off my tiny £8 groceries, without me asking! That is what I call excellent customer service. Seeing that they also sell games, that £4 voucher would certainly come in handy.