The Netflix app is to be rolled out to all 2012 BRAVIA, Blu-ray and Blu-ray Home Theatre models featuring the Sony Entertainment Network.

Netflix will sit alongside other popular third party services on the Sony Entertainment Network including YouTube and BBC News, as well as Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited.

"We're very excited about the addition of Netflix to our SEN portfolio" said Edd Uzzell, Sony category development manager.

"All of our consumer products - whether that is a BRAVIA, VAIO, Tablet or Xperia - are designed to provide the best quality content possible, and having great content providers offers consumers greater choice for their home cinema experience."

"Adding Netflix to the Sony Entertainment Network, gives consumers an even broader choice of devices to instantly watch unlimited TV programmes and films streamed over the Internet," said Greg Peters, vice president of product development at Netflix.

"We're always looking to provide people with new ways to enjoy Netflix."

For more details please visit sony.co.uk or netflix.com/netflixreadydevices

FilmOn.Com have today revealed the FilmOn Air for iPhone and Android smartphones, a new tuner add-on that lets users view live TV on their handsets.

The company, which already offer a subscription-based TV streaming solution for Mac and PC, are looking to make streaming your favourite shows to a mobile handset even easier.

The device plugs into the bottom of your smartphone and gives access to legal on the go TV streaming as well as 120 online channels, including BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

While the FilmOn AIR, is free with an annual UK and world TV based subscription to FilmOn (with packages starting at £149.95) the FilmOn AIR itself retails at £95.95.

The next generation of the accompanying FilmOn App will include support for the FilmOn AIR tuner application and will be available later this month as a free download from the Apple App Store and Android Market Place.

NIKE have added a new gadget to their range of digital fitness products today. The NIKE+FuelBand sits on a user's wrist, and is designed to track everyday movements that could encourage people to live more active lives.

Pairing up with the NIKE+ website or a free iOS app over Bluetooth, the NIKE+FuelBand uses an incentive system called NikeFuel. A normalized score that awards equal points for the same activity regardless of physical makeup, users can set a daily goal of how much NikeFuel they want to earn through being active during the day.

Whereas previous NIKE fitness systems have required users to set aside time for a workout, the FuelBand instead uses four slightly more passive metrics (Time, Calories, Steps and NikeFuel) that can be tracked throughout an entire day, letting users gradually adapt their days to make them a little more active.

The wristband itself lets you track how close you've come to reaching your target goals over a day through a series of 20 LED lights, gradually building from red to green as you approach your set achievements.

"The NIKE+ FuelBand is a way for Nike to further evolve the exciting possibilities of merging the physical and digital worlds," said NIKE, Inc. President & CEO Mark Parker.

"Nike has always been about inspiring athletes, and the NIKE+ FuelBand will help motivate them in a simple, fun and intuitive way."

The NIKE+ FuelBand already has the backing of some major names in the world of sport too, including seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstong, Oklahoma City scoring champion Kevin Durant and 2011 IAAF women's 100 metres World Champion Carmelita Jeter.

"What's great about the idea of NikeFuel and the FuelBand is the way it provides real information and numbers to show how much people are doing all day, every day," said Armstrong.

"That's what will get people challenging themselves to do more and better their own scores. It's a tool to get people more active."

The Nike+ FuelBand will be available in the UK from the 1st May, priced at £139.

Tech Digest are teaming up with the O2 Recycle team this Christmas in order to raise some money for a pair of great causes.

Collecting all our old tech gear from the Shiny Media towers, the O2 Recycling gurus are going to re-sell the items, and ethically dispose of the ones that have no value, pushing all profits made to two separate charities.

The Tech Digest/Shiny Shiny profits will be going towards the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, who work tirelessly to help our little loved ones battle illness. O2 will be giving their share to Think Big, their initiative which empowers youngsters up and down the country, giving them funding to run their own community projects

But we can't do it alone! We need your help to raise as much cash as we possibly can for these two great causes.

According to the O2 Recycle team's research, we throw away 17.5 million perfectly usable gadgets every year, with a potential value of £750 million!

We're asking if you can pool together any unwanted gadgets lying around your house to put towards the fund raising effort. Just pop them into the post, to the address found at this link, and we'll do the rest. We'll make sure that the owner of each profitable item sent gets credited on the site, so that you're hard work is recognised.

O2 offer a full price-match service on your recyclable gadgets too, meaning if you're offered a better price for the item elsewhere, they'll match it to the penny.

The recycling scheme can of course also be used personally if you've got a charity you'd like to support, or just need a little extra cash of your own. But you'd be helping out a great cause by teaming up with the Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny teams!

For more info, check out the video above, and then head over to www.o2recycle.co.uk to get started!

Bah, humbug! It's just one big money-spinner, the Christmas thing, isn't it? Same old thing every year; packed shops, expensive wrapping paper that just gets torn to pieces anyway, and what do we get in return? Socks.

Well slap a night cap on us and call us all Scrooges, but Tech Digest are doing Christmas this year on the cheap. If you're planning your own festive austerity measures, check out our top tips below for stocking fillers for under a tenner.

When you're done here, be sure to check out the rest of Tech Digest's 2011 Christmas wishlists too.

iPad this and 3DTV that! Who said Christmas had to be all about high-tech gadgetry?

Well, us probably! But that doesn't mean we don't have a soft spot for simpler times. So why not jump in the back of Tech Digest's Delorean and take a trip down memory lane, as we pick ten of our favourite retro (and retro inspired) gifts to pop on your Christmas wishlist.

When you're done here, be sure to check out the rest of Tech Digest's 2011 Christmas wishlists too.

Mrs Branson, Mrs Gates, Mrs Buffet; this Christmas Gift Guide is tailor-made for you. Christmas is just around the corner, your mega-rich spouse is expecting something extra-special, but he's already snagged that island, the custom built jet with swimming pool and solid gold golf set that you planned on getting him.

Just don't forget to slip a tenner (or ten thousand) in the post to us for all our hard work once you've browsed our suggestions.

When you're done here, be sure to check out the rest of Tech Digest's 2011 Christmas wishlists too.

The relatives are chatting non-stop, the kids are running around like E'ed up mentalists and Nan's suffering the inevitably stinky after effects of a sprout-filled roast. It can only mean one thing: it's Christmas Day.

If you're lucky enough to have a spare room to get away from all the madness, why not kit it out with some of these gadgets and furnishings? Add these gifts to the top of your Christmas wishlist and you'll be relaxing in the ultimate "Man Cave" come the holidays.

When you're done here, be sure to check out the rest of Tech Digest's 2011 Christmas wishlists too.

Despite having their budget cut to the bare bones NASA is still determined to go where no man has gone before, or in this case send a rover where no rover has gone before.

November 25th will see NASA launch their new rover mission to Mars. The new car sized robot called Curiosity will launch with an eye to land in August 2012. At 10 metres long and weighing in at 1 tonne this is the largest rover ever to go up into space as part of the mars missions.

Onboard the rover will be a 7ft mast which will carry cameras and laser firing equipment which will enable the robot to carry out a variety of tasks, or for a more personal approach it has a 7ft fitted arm to examine soil and rock samples.

It is being sent to Mars to further investigate the possibility of Mars one day being habitable. The sorts of experiments it will carry out while on the surface of the red planet will include studying soil and rock composition, gather weather information and test the radiation levels of the surface.

This experiment will lead the way to a manned mission to Mars in the future but also try to answer questions scientists have always wanted to know, the main one being whether life every existed on Mars.

Three is the magic number, says Twitter-founder Jack Dorsey. Using the appropriately succinct medium that is Twitter, @jack said: "Nokia: you make too many phones. Focus on 3."

This comes as Nokia introduces its new "basic smartphones", called Asha, and its higher end Windows phones, the Lumia. At least these ones have proper names so we can try and remember them, but look at the Lumia: there's the 710 and the 800, both launched at the same time. That's just one example but it's safe to say that overall, there's a lot going on over at Nokia. Meaning it feels like a bit of a ... project, to choose which phone is right for you.

Because Jack Dorsey's camp is where the cool kids are at: minimalism, and sleek, simple design. Just look at Apple, with its phone, singular. It's the iPhone, end of story. There's all sorts of research that shows that given too much choice, people get overwhelmed and walk away with nothing.

Let's wait and see how Nokia does with its new phone family, but if it doesn't turn around soon, it may be time to get one of those cheeky newcomers in to shake it up. Annoying as it would be for Nokia executives to take advice from boys so freshly out of puberty, but still.

BOO!

Not as scary over the internet is it? OK, so we may not be able to give you a fright with words quite as well as Poe or Lovecraft, but we can definitely point you in the right direction of some gory, gruesome gifts to make this Halloween the most horrifically horrible yet!

From Thumbs Up, Red 5, IWantOneOfThose, Amazon, Find-Me-A-Gift and Firebox, we've scoured the web for the scourge of the spirit world, the zombie Zeitgeist and the most perfect paranormal paraphernalia the internet has got to offer.

Scroll down to have ghastly gander:

Magellan have revealed the eXplorist 310 handheld GPS device. An entry-level model, Magellan are hoping to make the pursuits of hiking, climbing, backpacking, geocaching, hunting, fishing, mountain biking and sailing a little easier, and little cheaper to enjoy too.

With a GPS accuracy of 3-5 metres, the 2.2inch touchscreen device lets you check 1,000 Waypoints, 10,000 Geocaches, 50 Track Logs and 10,000 Track Points.

It's also sturdy too, with IPX-7 waterproof certification, and the ability to withstand temperature ranges between 14° to 140° F or 10° to 60° C.

The eXplorist 310 also comes pre-loaded with World Edition maps, offering a complete road network for the U.S., Canada, Western Europe and Australia.

Other fun features include a hunting and fishing calendar, helping you plan out the best times for your trips, as well as Sun and Moon information, making sure you aren't stuck on a cliffside as the sun begins to set.

18 hours of battery life from two AA batteries should be enough for even the most adventurous of days out.

Click here for full specs.

"We've seen fantastic demand for the eXplorist range from the UK's outdoor enthusiasts since its launch, and hot on the heels of this success we're releasing the eXplorist 310" says Natasha Bartlett-Twivey, Marketing Manager UK & Ireland, Magellan.

"The eXplorist 310 has been designed for all levels of outdoor explorer, from the experienced hiker to the novice geocacher which combined with its lower price point makes the 310 appealing to all. With social networks bringing society closer than ever, the device is a great way to plan exciting adventures and to record and share experiences with friends, family and the wide online world."

As Magellan's entry-level model, expect to pay around £179.99.

Here's a tech gadget you probably wouldn't want to take down the park on a Sunday - not unless you wanted terrified kids fleeing for their lives.

Described as the 'ultimate boy's toy' it's a full-sized London Black Cab with one big difference. It's controlled by a handheld remote.

For a 'gadget' weighing just shy of two tonnes and capable of hitting 80mph, click-happy controllers will have a remarkable level of authority over steering control, forward and reverse gearing, a sensitive braking system and a fully proportional throttle.

And Londoners were given a glimpse of the vehicle when it pulled up outside the O2 arena, alongside its driver! The brainchild of engineering wizard Dr. James Brighton, it marks the launch of Driving Wars, a brand new extreme driving show due to hit Dave on Wednesday, October 19th. Dr Brighton and the Driving Wars team - including presenter Colin Murray - spent two months working on the cab which is controlled via a hand held control console.

Driving Wars invites members of the public to take to the remote controls of a series of specially customised real cars in order to recreate moments of motoring magic from TV and cinema. According to Dave, it promieses to be a heady cocktail of burnt rubber, squealing tyres and spectacular pyrotechnics.

Via TVScoop.tv

The Ideal Home Show is launching a new Christmas show with a Live Technology and Gadget Zone. Running from November 16 to November 20th at London's Earls Court, the show's tech zone promises the opportunity for consumers to touch, test, and play with a huge variety of gadgets, home cinema equipment, mobile and 3D technology.

A central 3D Viewing Gallery will showcase a cinema style setup allowing a large number of visitors to view a range of 3D content, including sport, movies, animation and the arts. This will be supported by a further 3D Zone, showcasing the latest camera, projectors, televisions and much more.

The Gaming zone will also house the very latest in cutting-edge gaming technology, giving visitors the chance to sample all of the top consoles and games. There's also a Toy Zone, featuring a wide range of executive and grown-up toys, alongside the hottest picks for the kids this Christmas.

Fronting the tech zone will be The Gadget Show's Suzi Perry. Suzi will be on hand guiding people on the best gadget and gizmo purchases for the season ahead including those ideal Christmas gifts for loved ones.

The Ideal Home Show at Christmas is aimed at people who are keen to see, try and buy the latest must have home, interior and technology products, whilst gaining expert advice from over 500 exhibitors bringing together every element of the home under one roof. The new Christmas home event is expected to attract over 60,000 visitors across five days.

It will open its doors for 5 days from 16th -20th November 2011, at London's Earls Court. Open daily from 10am-6pm, Late Night Thursdays open until 9pm. Tickets can be either booked online or by calling the Ticket Hotline on 0844 209 7330, or for further information visit the website . 50p per ticket sold goes to the Ideal Homes For Heroes appeal supporting ABF The Soldiers' Charity.

Name: iRobot Roomba 780

Type: Robotic Vacuum Cleaner

Specs: Click here for full specs

Price: £499 direct from iRobot

The future promised a lot, and while robot butlers and hovercars are still pipe-dreams, robot vacuum cleaners are very much a reality. Hot on the heels of its IFA 2011 unveiling, Tech Digest got to spend some quality time with our very own clean-freak R2D2, the iRobot Roomba 780 vacuum cleaner. Read on to see whether or not it's time to send the Dyson to the dumpster.

I'm a "cat man". I've had more of the furry felines as pets than hot dinners, and am currently the ward of two moulting black cats. I also live in a mostly-carpeted house, and often have my crumb-dropping toddler nephews over to visit. This would make me (if I do say so myself) something of a "grubby-carpet" expert. So obviously I was delighted to find that I could not only hand over my hoovering duties to iRobot's latest top-end robot vacuum cleaner (the Roomba 780), but that it did a damn fine job of cleaning up after my messy mates too.

Part of the new 700 Series line that iRobot launched over the weekend at the IFA 2011 tech show, the 780 system has a few notable improvements over its predecessors. There's new touch-sensitive controls, new iAdapt Responsive Cleaning Technology for helping the Roomba better navigate your home and better dirt-spotting sensors and cleaning routines for isolating and clearing away different types of mess. Though you'd assume a robot would be a nightmare to set up, the Roomba 780 is actually very simple; it's just a matter of taking out a battery tab and the wheel and brush stoppers, popping the clear bin unit into the bot and leaving the Roomba 780 to charge overnight. From here on in you could potentially leave the Roomba 780 to go about its business automatically, but there are multiple ways of scheduling clean ups, which we'll go into more detail on in a sec.

First though, the matters of size and style. At roughly 50 cm in diameter and about 10cm high, the circular Roomba 780 is relatively small in comparison to the majority of vacuum cleaners. Even it's Home base (the charging unit that the Roomba returns to when it's finished cleaning your house or is running low on power) is discrete. It may not have the bells and whistles of R2D2, but the Roomba is sensibly styled with black and grey mixtures of gloss and matte plastics, with a carry handle to help you move it about the house when necessary. LED displays on the top of the cleaner easily let you view programme cycles and spot when the bin needs emptying, with strong, colourful glows of red, blue and orange displayed depending on the circumstances. There's a big central "Clean" button if you want to send the Roomba about its business immediately, and practically all functionality can be carried out with a supplied IR remote too.

Using the onboard clock, you can set up any cleaning schedule that suits your home's needs, sending the Roomba skirting around the floor at a surprisingly fast pace. All actions are accompanied by voice notifications too, which charmingly reminded us of our favourite educational toy from the late 80s/early 90s, the Speak and Spell. The new cleaning sensors seem to have worked very well too; though we haven't had a previous model with which to compare the 780, we had no real complaints with how the Roomba 780 cleaned both our carpets and wooden flooring areas. iRobot, like all vacuum cleaner manufacturers, do encourage you to avoid hoovering up wet or mushy substances though.

Other than that, be they large chunks of popcorn or fine animal hairs, the Roomba 780 grabbed them all...eventually. It's hard to argue with the thoroughness of the clean this Robot vacuum cleaner manages, but do expect it to be darting around for quite some time per cycle. The bin onboard is also a little bit on the small side, so expect to empty it more-or-less after each average clean cycle.

If however you just need to sort out a quick crumb drop or or particularly messy post-party area, the Roomba 780 also features a "Spot" clean mode, which will set the robot off for a hardcore cleaning session in its immediate one-metre diameter surroundings. It's a great feature if you've got an intense spillage to clean up in a short amount of time.

Another excellent feature is the ability to set up Lighthouses and Virtual Walls to help the Roomba navigate areas that it's finding hard to get around, or block off areas that don't need cleaning. You get two units that can act as either Walls or Lighthouses, each sending out a signal telling the Roomba where it should and shouldn't be heading. While the circular design means the Roomba will always struggle to clean room corners, the Lighthouse features let it weave around chair and table legs with ease.

Once the Roomba 780 starts cleaning you can pretty much leave it unattended, though there are a handful of things it doesn't like. Wires and rug tassels can hold the Roomba 780 up, causing it to spin brushes in reverse for quite some time until it's convinced it's clear of any tangles. The environmental sensors also don't pick up black surfaces very well, which meant the Roomba 780 would bash into my glossy black home cinema subwoofer quite regularly.

Last but not least; stairs. The Roomba 780 has a cliff sensor that means it won't throw itself down steep drops, but that also means that it won't be able to go up and down stairs cleaning them if need be. That cliff sensor works perfectly, but is arguably almost too smart; we could swear the Roomba 780 was teasing us like HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey as it darted towards the top drop from the stairs, only to stop and reverse at the very last second. Terrifying stuff considering I had to send back the review sample a week later.

Verdict:

It's a bit of a stretch to call a vacuum cleaner fun, but we have to admit the iRobot Roomba 780 did raise a fair few smiles. From its charming robot voice and nifty touch-sensitive control panel to its ability to drag stubborn cat fur out of our carpet, it was a pleasure to have a new robot pal around the house. It's a fair bit slower than doing the work manually, but when you're sipping an icy cool beer with your feet up while the Roomba does the dirty work, who's going to complain?

Sony have announced the launch of the world's first pairs of digital binoculars to feature HD video recording. Two models will be available, the DEV-5 and the less expensive DEV-3.

Tech heavy binoculars for bird watchers and peeping Toms alike, the binoculars can record full 1080p video with stereo sound, and even features a 3D recording mode.

G Lens optics with Exmor R CMOS is the sensor of choice, with a 10x Optical Zoom on both models and 10x digital zoom on the DEV-5. 7MP still photos can be captured too.

HDMI-out to a big screen TV is supported, as well as an optional 5-inch LCD screen add-on. 3 hours of 2D recording will be possible from a single battery charge.

Available from November, the DEV-5 will set you back £2,300.

The cheaper DEV-3 ditches features like GPS, geo-tagging and the 10x digital zoom for a more affordable price of £1,700.

As soon as we saw them though, all we could think of was Luke Skywalker's sci-fi binoculars from the original Star Wars film. Click here to see what we mean.

Name: Griffin Beacon

Type: Universal remote control with iOS app

Specs: Click here for full specs

Price: £57 from Amazon

One device to rule them all? That's the idea behind the Griffin Beacon, a universal remote control kit that works in tandem with your iOS device to control all the gadgets in your house that use a remote control. But is the Beacon a shining light in a murky sea of universal remotes, or is your best bet to dig under the sofa for that dusty lost zapper? Read on to find out.

The Griffin Beacon is quite the looker. Best described as a similar size to a black Apple TV box with a shiny black pebble placed on top, it'll sit comfortably and stylishly alongside most AV set-ups. Powered by four AA batteries, it syncs with your iOS device via a Bluetooth connection and, when used alongside the Dijit controller app, lets you control as many as 200,000 home entertainment devices from your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch straight out of the box.

Set up was incredibly simple. Once the batteries are placed in the bottom of the Beacon, you push down on its curved top till you hear a "Frustration" style click, which sends out a Bluetooth signal. It's then just a case of syncing the device with your iOS gadget through the Bluetooth device menu of your Apple phone, mp3 player or tablet. Rather than an actual remote control, the Beacon actually works to convert Bluetooth signals from your iOS device into infra-red ones that your entertainment devices can understand. Therefore line of sight thankfully isn't needed to control the Beacon's many functions (though you'll still have to carry it around if you want to use it in multiple rooms). There are no control buttons on the Beacon; this is left up to the free Dijit app, which is very good indeed.

Upon firing up the Dijit app (which syncs and recognises the Beacon very simply) you'll be presented with a quick set-up screen which lets you select all manner of AV gear, from TVs to home cinema receivers, games consoles to stereos. Everyone from the big name brands like Samsung and Sony right down to the sort of budget brands you'd find in a supermarket bargain bin are supported, which is a great achievement. There are inevitably gaps in the device list (Roberts DAB radios weren't supported for instance) but the majority of gear is there. App software updates will continually update the device list, so it's worth checking back later, and the Beacon can also be "taught" other unsupported devices too, though that's not worth the complicated set-up it needs.

The Dijit app is simple to navigate and select different units to control, but perhaps its best feature is the level of customisation it offers. You can add tens of buttons for each device you want to control through the app, resizing buttons to fit what's comfortable for you, add custom buttons to run controls not found on your regular remote, or even remove buttons that you find no use for. The days of squinting at remote controls for a hard to find tiny button are long gone, and you can even use it to invent touchscreen gesture controls, like a two-finger swipe to adjust TV volume for instance.

Another great touch is the Activities feature. This lets you program the Beacon to perform numerous buttons at the press of a single button. For instance, you might set up an activity that turns on your TV, Digital TV box and home cinema speaker system all at once. It's a great time saver, and one that once set up would suit to a tee a technophobe who finds multiple controllers confusing.

As you can probably guess, we were very impressed by the Beacon. But it's not without its faults.

Firstly, the decision to run off of regular batteries rather than a rechargeable built-in one seems an archaic one. Two months worth of battery life is considerably less than I squeeze out of my remote controls. Though the wire-free set up is handy, it would have been nice to have had the option of using an AC adapter for those not planning on moving the Beacon about.

The lack of Android support is understandable for a device that's launching as "Made for Apple", and though there is an app in the works, it's disappointing not to see it ready at launch. Even more disappointing is the lack of native iPad app support; using that big screen to house multiple remotes at once would have been a superb addition over a blown up, stretched iPhone one.

Lastly, the Beacon lacks some functionality in the UK that its US versions have. In the US, users can check TV listings and share them via social networking sites with their pals; in the UK you cant. Likewise Netflix accounts can be browsed and managed in the US with the Beacon and Dijit app, and while Netflix may not be available in the UK, no suitable alternative (like Lovefilm) has been added to fill the gap.

Verdict:

Despite some quibbles, the Beacon remains a superb solution to having tens of chunky remote controls laying around your living room. iPad support and a rechargeable battery are the main issues holding it back from top marks, but the amount of customisation easily lets us see past the Beacon's few faults.

Google's Android OS is in everything from fridges to microwaves , so seeing it touch down in a wristwatch isn't all that peculiar. Blue Sky have squeezed Android version 1.6 into a 1.54 inch touchscreen wristwatch for their new I'm Watch range, giving you the chance to live out all your James Bond spy watch fantasies.

4GB of internal storage will let you squeeze a fair few apps and MP3 tracks onto the watch (which can be listened to with headphones through a 3.5mm headphone jack connection). A Freescale IMX233 CPU and 64MB of memory run the show, while a Li-Po 350 mAh battery offers 30 hours of wrist-based Android action per charge.

The watch however has no network capabilities, so phone calls will have to be made by pairing with a smartphone over Bluetooth.

Available for pre-order now by clicking here, you can grab the watch in a wide variety of colours by clicking here.249 Euros will bag you the standard version, though those looking to bling out can get a diamond-encrusted white gold I'm Watch for 14,999 Euros too.

The US Navy is about to go a bit Star Wars, after signing an agreement with Boeing and military suppliers BAE Systems to start work on a seafaring version of the Mk 38 Mod 2 Tactical Laser System.

Yep, laser machine guns will be the must-have feature at your nearest battleship showroom. It'll be attached to the existing Mk 38 Machine Gun System, equipped with an M242 Bushmaster Chain gun that can unload a whole magazine of 25mm shells in less that a minute. You do not want to be skinny-dipping anywhere near this thing when it pulls in to port.

"The addition of the laser weapon module brings high-precision accuracy against surface and air targets such as small boats and unmanned aerial vehicles. The system also provides the ability to deliver different levels of laser energy, depending on the target and mission objectives," according to Boeing.

The US recently tested a similar 15-kilowatt unit on a small boat. The boat is now a pile of ashes.

Fingers crossed for a Death Star in my lifetime (so long as its pointed at Alderaan and not Earth...)

Photographers professional and casual alike have another tool they can add to their arsenal of picture snapping gadgets today in the shape of Triggertrap.

Designed by writer and photographer Haje Jan Kamps, Triggertrap is a brand new concept that allows photos to be taken automatically by any number of triggers, and is compatible with many camera systems, DSLR or compact.

A device that comes with a light sensor, Triggertrap can be programmed to be activated by a laser pointer, or when a laser light beam is broken by something passing through it.

Based on an open-source Arduino platform, Triggertrap is flexible enough to be programmed to activate your shutter by a multitude of external means, be that a loud sound like a clap, or even the opening of cookie jar if you're wondering which member of the family is dipping their hand in for a secret midnight feast. An auaxiliary port allows for any number of hardware triggers to be added too.

Triggertrap also allows for non-linear time lapses to be shot, configured to increase or decrease the interval between the shot and giving the impression that a photographed scene is speeding up or slowing down.

Having already crowd-sourced $60,000 worth of investment, Triggertrap's Jan Kamps is now pushing for $100,000 to take the product to the masses.

You can pre-order the Triggertrap now however to ensure you're among those to bag one of the first production batch. Shipping in October, pre-ordered now for $75 + $5 shipping via Kickstarter until 31 July 2011. After that, the price increases to $125.

For more info, visit the Triggertrap website here.