Social networks are changing, what used to be a fun past time has now become a popular channel of communication and with increased bandwidth video offerings are becoming key. Facebook have teamed up with Skype and will soon have an icon that would allow users to have group video or a private video conversation all for free. With 750 million viewers this is a great platform to integrate into the social mix. The company is also changing the layout of their chat system so that users can decide the amount of people they want on chat so potentially the whole family could get involved from around the globe – or maybe all our customers at MadBid.com.
The extension of the communication channels have not gone unnoticed as Google has introduced their own social networking platform +circle project – with a video chat feature called ‘Hangout’ which has caused some controversy between the internet giants. With these extra add-ons MadBid.com’s popular auction product the new Dell Inspiron Duo Touchscreen would complement any social network user.
The new Dell Inspiron Duo Touchscreen can be used as a laptop or a notepad, both with a keyboard and touchscreen functions making it ideal for users on the go or in the comfort of their home. The last time we auctioned the Dell Inspiron Duo Touchscreen the ending price was an amazing bargain at £6.37! Allow yourself to enjoy Facebook’s free video chat service with this sought after stylish gadget. The notebook has been reviewed by Amazon users as ‘Innovative and well-made’ The auction will start 3pm on 22nd of July the RRP price is £449 but only the bids on the timer will show the end price. The Stuff have stated that it ‘has a “whoa” factor to it when you see it swivel’ so team it up with Facebook’s or Google’s new Video options and put it in action!
We have something brand new and exciting coming your way: the Scarlet Collection Voucher from Virgin Experience Days! With over a hundred different options to choose from, this might prove harder than it seems to choose just one activity. Ranging from Audi R8 Thrills to Ice Climbing, from Thai cookery courses to Poker lessons, the Scarlet Collection Voucher offers an exciting experience you’ll by dying to brag about to your friends. MadBid.com has selected a few favourites to share with you, but feel free to browse them all here!
1. Ice Climbing
Who wouldn’t like to learn how to go “Ice Climbing?” Set your sights high and the next thing you know you could be in Antarctica climbing glaciers. If you are an experienced mountaineer, or just interested in trying out a new challenge, ice climbing will provide you with that extra edge to a very “cool” sport. The concave is at a constant of -12°C and allows a real take on ice climbing.
It is a liberating experience when you are able to face your phobia of all things creepy crawly. “Face Your Phobia” will help you face your fears and handle the creatures of your nightmares (do not worry, it is under the supervision of friendly keepers). You could choose lizards, birds, non-venomous snakes and for those who can handle it; the tarantula. Imagine the incredible rush of adrenaline that you will get as you let a tarantula crawl down your arm!
3. For Your Eyes Only Photoshoot
Do you have a sexy sensual side that you would like to explore? Get ready to celebrate your curves or stunning figure with the “For Your Eyes Only Photoshoot”. Skin smoothing magazine quality photographs will show off your body with confidence and a gorgeous glow. The experience will leave you with a collection of portraits that even you will have trouble resisting yourself looking so sexy!
Sawasdee kha/krab! That’s how women and men greet in Thai; the local language of Thailand. Mr. MadBid loves Thai cuisine, as it is renowned for being fresh and full of natural flavour. Imagine learning from the master in the “Thai Cookery Course”. Afterwards you will be able to cook the delicious dishes using authentic Thai recipes. Som Tom is the delicious spicy green papaya salad that you will often find locals eating from street stalls, and you will have the opportunity to cook it in the comfort of your own home. Impress your family and friends with your newly born culinary skills!
5. Audi R8 Thrill
Envision yourself on a circuit in a race against the clock. You put the pedal to the metal and instantaneously, you’re in an amazing mechanical body, accelerating, your heart is racing and blood is pumping forcefully through your veins and you have never felt more alive. All this awaits you with the “Audi R8 Thrill” experience from Virgin Experience Days. As famous car racer Mario Andretti once said: “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough”.
These are just a few of the crazy adventures you can now bid on with Virgin Experience Days on MadBid.com, but hurry these vouchers are going as fast as the Audi R8 Thrill ride! These auctions are starting in the coming weeks.. Enjoy!
After 100 years of fine chocolate making, it seems that Thorntons, MadBid.com’s favourite chocolatiers are now closing up to 180 of their high street stores. Reading an online news piece left us somewhat bewildered: what happened in order for one of the U.K’s most popular chocolate brands to decide to close its doors on us?
In recession-recovery Britain, many household names and brands have gone under the chop as businesses struggle to generate the revenue they need to be able to keep afloat. This is not new news but old, serving as a reminder that we are still emerging from an economic crisis that has endured for much longer than anticipated. The closure of these shops is somewhat untimely: well-known clothing chain Jane Norman collapsed this week, while Oddbins recently suffered a loss of 52 shops and now Mothercare is the latest to be affected as it looks to close up to 110 of its stores.
Back in 2008, Woolworths was one of the first big High Street names to be hit by the recession, even after achieving a long successful track record as a retailer when it first opened its doors in Liverpool in 1909. JJB Sports, founded in 1971 by ex-footballer Dave Whelan narrowly avoided administration but has had to close stores. Now in the summer of 2011 as we prepare to take time off work and book last minute holidays, our beloved chocolate company is much more concerned about an economic meltdown than their chocolates melting in the heat.. Worse yet, the closure of its stores is predicted to set the business back £4.2m to £4.8m in sterling.
It may be unfortunate, but it is also far from surprising. Nowadays we are much more likely to favour comfort and convenience by staying within the confines of our homes than to make a trip to the shops, especially with the unpredictable British weather. Online shopping has become a huge market, which many brands have broken into in their attempts to ride the huge tidal wave that is E-commerce. Whether or not Thorntons are seeking to jump solely on this band wagon to pursue their business further is another matter, but the CEO of Thorntons reassures us of the following:
‘Our goal is to refocus the business across all channels and seek to deliver industry competitive returns over the next three to five years.’
Whatever the outcome MadBid will continue to source delicious chocolates for our customers to bid on for every occasion. And while we’re on the subject of delicious check out some of our Gourmet Voucher Restaurant Discount Cards going at amazing deals to treat yourself and a friend to dinner and desert out!
Sony is bringing gaming to life in their new portable gaming device the PSVita. PSVita is set to launch at the end of 2011 for £249 WiFi and £299 3G. MadBid.com are delighted to see several new built in features include front and rear camera, a microphone, front multi-touch screen and a rear multi-touch pad, motion sensors, a high definition 5 inch OLED display, and GPS location software.
The new features of the PSVita will bring handheld gaming to a new level with Augmented Reality (AR) Technology. Players will be able to interact like never before with new applications like “Near”, “Party”, and “Welcome Park”.
“Near” takes the PSVita ups social connectivity by allowing users to see what games others are playing nearby and gift virtual game related items through location-based gaming. By checking in at geographic locations players can share virtual content like character costumes, weapons, and treasures.
“Party” is an application available on the PSVita that allows users to text chat or voice chat not only while gaming online, but also while connected to the internet at any time. The PSVita will come in two models one with WiFi connectivity and a more expensive 3G model, which will be connected to the internet 24/7.
“Welcome Park” is a PSVita app designed to help players learn the new 3-dimension-like finger motions available on the device such as touch, grab, trace, push, and pull. With a touch screen on the front, a sensor pad on the back, dual analog sticks, and built in motion sensor, gyroscope, and accelerometer capabilities, the new PSVita brings hand held gaming to a new level of reality.
One of the most exciting features of the PSVita is its full backwards compatibility with all PlayStation Portable games. Check out the official video trailer from the E3 conference above to see some of the games that will be enhanced on the new device.
We at MadBid.com are excited about the launch of the PSVita and you can bet we will be one of the first to offer the product on our site when it comes out just in time for Xmas. Can’t wait till Christmas to get your gaming on? Check out some MAD deals on our site for gaming consoles like the Sony PS3 320GB that went for £5.82 or the Nintendo 3DS Console for just £1.17!
Get ready for a new world of gaming! Nintendo has just released the details of their Wii U at the E3 Conference this week. The Wii U is a gaming system like you have never seen before. It can be used with or without a TV and the feature packed controller will come with a motion sensor like the Wii remote and gyro sensor technology like the 3DS – the Wii U is most certainly a completely new kind of device.
All the talk has been about the Wii U controller, it has a built in accelerometer and gyroscope, rumble feature, camera, microphone, stereo speakers, sensor strip, and stylus. The touch screen controller allows the user to draw right on the screen and project to the TV. With the video camera and microphone the Wii U can also be used to make video calls to friends and fellow gamers. The controller adds a new dimension to the games with a second screen that can be used to supplement the TV screen to view maps and inventory, panoramic views in all directions, and even your golf ball stuck in a sand trap at your feet for Wii Golf.
Called the ‘Swiss Army Knife of controllers’ by Danny Bilson, Executive VP of Core Games, the Wii U gaming system with the new touch screen controller will create a more realistic gaming experience. You can use the controller as a second window to the gaming world, and for some games you can use the controller with the TV and play without ever touching any buttons.
The Wii U system will be backwards compatible with the other Wii software and will have internal flash memory. The system will also play optical discs and downloadable content and has 4 USB ports. Don’t worry if you’re the first of your friends to get your hands on this new technology, you will still be able to play with less tech savvy gamers because Wii U is designed for interplay with the old Wii-mote controllers.
With powerful graphics processing power the games will run in full HD through HDMI, but the touch screen on the controller will not be in HD. Nintendo says that the launch date for the Wii U will be in 2012 between 1 April and 31 December. No prices have been announced but the cost of the Wii U is estimated to be £300-£400.
Well worth the wait and the money, MadBid is very excited for the Wii U and you can be sure we will have it available on our site at MAD MAD prices as soon as it launches! Until then, check out some of our other games and consoles available right now like an Xbox 360 Console with Kinect that just went for £35.04 or a Sony PS3 that went for only £5.82!
Get ready for a new world of gaming! Nintendo has just released the details of their Wii U at the E3 Conference this week. The Wii U is a gaming system like you have never seen before. It can be used with or without a TV and the feature packed controller will come with a motion sensor like the Wii remote and gyro sensor technology like the 3DS – the Wii U is most certainly a completely new kind of device.
All the talk has been about the Wii U controller, it has a built in accelerometer and gyroscope, rumble feature, camera, microphone, stereo speakers, sensor strip, and stylus. The touch screen controller allows the user to draw right on the screen and project to the TV. With the video camera and microphone the Wii U can also be used to make video calls to friends and fellow gamers. The controller adds a new dimension to the games with a second screen that can be used to supplement the TV screen to view maps and inventory, panoramic views in all directions, and even your golf ball stuck in a sand trap at your feet for Wii Golf.
Called the ‘Swiss Army Knife of controllers’ by Danny Bilson, Executive VP of Core Games, the Wii U gaming system with the new touch screen controller will create a more realistic gaming experience. You can use the controller as a second window to the gaming world, and for some games you can use the controller with the TV and play without ever touching any buttons.
The Wii U system will be backwards compatible with the other Wii software and will have internal flash memory. The system will also play optical discs and downloadable content and has 4 USB ports. Don’t worry if you’re the first of your friends to get your hands on this new technology, you will still be able to play with less tech savvy gamers because Wii U is designed for interplay with the old Wii-mote controllers.
With powerful graphics processing power the games will run in full HD through HDMI, but the touch screen on the controller will not be in HD. Nintendo says that the launch date for the Wii U will be in 2012 between 1 April and 31 December. No prices have been announced but the cost of the Wii U is estimated to be £300-£400.
Well worth the wait and the money, MadBid is very excited for the Wii U and you can be sure we will have it available on our site at MAD MAD prices as soon as it launches! Until then, check out some of our other games and consoles available right now like an Xbox 360 Console with Kinect that just went for £35.04 or a Sony PS3 that went for only £5.82!
It’s hard not to notice that recently we have been auctioning off an infiltration of Gourmet Society Memberships. “What’s all this about?” you may well be asking! Well, in our exciting quest to find great products that of course include great savings; we stumbled upon 1 Year Membership cards from the Gourmet Society that offer great discounts in restaurants across the UK, proving that going out for gourmet food doesn’t have to cost you the earth!
Winning one of these vouchers, whether you are new to MadBid or a long time devotee, means that you are entitled to a range of savings, including 2 meals for the price of 1, 50% off food or 25% off food and drink at almost 4500 restaurants in the UK. For more eye popping statistics, here’s what Gourmet Society have to say:
“…on average Gourmet Society cardholders save £25 on each visit to a restaurant. If you eat out once a week that equates to over £1300 of Gourmet Society saving in a year! It’s quite possible to save your entire membership fee in one visit to a restaurant, after that it is pure profit all year”.
The bit we like best about these cards is that, in essence, the more you eat out the more you will save. Whereas before you may have been wincing at the sight of the bill after a special meal out, now you won’t have to bat an eyelid at the price you’ll be paying! Whether you are taking your partner out for a romantic dinner, giving it away as a gift, or just fancy treating yourself, we are certain that this voucher will provide you with many Kodak worthy memories as well as not doing any damage to your wallet.
In much the same way as a pay-as-you-go mobile tariff, you can decide how much you want to spend on a meal and which restaurant to go to and therefore how much you want to save – so to excuse a pun – the world is your oyster!
Furthermore, it is worth noting that these vouchers accommodate all tastes, appetites and diets. Whether you’d like to call yourself a carnivore or herbivore, Gourmet Society offers a wide variety of exquisite cuisine, catering for both of these and everything in between. In our previous news piece and on Facebook, you will have seen a range of top quality Vegetarian restaurants, all included in Gourmet Society’s portfolio, allowing you to be in control of where you want to eat!
So now not only are you a member of MadBid, but a member of a wider society of food lovers, in which you can dine to your heart’s content! Never has shopping on an auction site been more social; from bidding on the item, to winning and walking through the restaurant doors and sitting down to a table with your loved ones, Madbid makes online shopping more social, more interactive and definitely more luxurious than any other auction site around.
Google launches the Chromebook on June 15 and although it looks just like a regular laptop, that’s where the similarities stop.
The Chromebook is based on Cloud computing technology which is the on-demand provision of computer resources (data, software) via a computer network/internet. This enables computer users to store information off site and it gives the possibility of an almost infinite amount of storage.
Here at MadBid.com we’re excited to learn that the Goolge Chromebook will take full advantage of Cloud technology by being the first completely web based laptop – there are no files or programs stored on the computer (apart from the bare essentials) and even the software being used is online with no programmes to download.
This means that the computer will start up in about seven seconds, will never need a virus checker and if it gets damaged you won’t lose any of your files or software!
There are some downsides to this technology too, with everything being on the web it means that you constantly need to be connected to the web via Wi-Fi or some models even do 3G. Although this sounds good in principal, it does have some problems as although many places are now offering Wi-Fi and most people have it in their home, if you’re not near one of these then it’s down to 3G. 3G in the UK has pretty good coverage, but there are many black spots that the service doesn’t reach and in places like Central London where the mobile phone networks struggle with the amount of people accessing them. So this means that you won’t be able to do any work in any of these areas and unlike a standard computer there is no option to work offline.
Google are trying to get some developers to start making their online applications work offline too and they hope that the popularity of the Chromebook and the emergence of Cloud computing might encourage these developers to do so. It may mean the introduction of more subscription based software, so a user never owns the software but just pays a monthly/yearly fee to use it – this would also hopefully allow users to use the most up-to-date software available without having to pay for upgrades.
Along with all this the computers will be pretty user friendly as every time you turn it on the software will check online to see if there are updates, and it will always boot up with the latest version. Also even if there’s a catastrophic failure, for whatever reason, it will simply reinstall itself – with no risk to your files as they are all stored online and safe!
If you’re not sure if Cloud computing is for you or you’d rather not wait until June 15 MadBid offers a large variety of Laptops such as ‘eMachines 15.6” Laptop’ which is perfect for fulfilling your entertainment and work requirements at home or on the road or if you prefer a touchscreen we have the ‘Dell Inspiron Duo Touchscreen’ – it has the ease of a touchscreen with the added feature of a keyboard too.
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Were you one of our over 2,500 members to win a Gourmet Society 1 Year Membership Card this month on MadBid.com? This week is National Vegetarian’s Week so even if you’re not crazy for soy and tofu try out these restaurants where you can get a great meat-free meal for an even greater price with your membership card!
-Tibits
Westminster, Greater London
Food so fresh, super-healthy and absolutely delicious is on the menu at Tibits, London. Tibits, a fabulous restaurant serving food that loves you back, represents a fresh new concept in healthy eating. It’s as easy as 1,2,3 to get your five-a-day each nutritious meal contains your entire daily fruit and vegetable intake.
Every vegan and vegetarian in the North East worth their chick peas knows about Roots and Fruits in Leeds’s elegant Grand Arcade. Serving up healthy, hearty and wholesome dishes from belly busting vegetarian brekkas to yummy GM free cakes to accompany the wide range of teas, the choice is vast and varied.
A basement restaurant reaching down a traditional passageway exactly opposite Kings College Gates, Rainbow Café offers a warm welcome for Vegetarians, Vegans, anyone with Allergy problems or visitors who prefer to have no meat products for religious reasons.
L’Artichaut is about eating well, eating fresh, following the seasons with fresh, organic and local products and importing the best of the Europeans markets. L’Artichaut aim to delight and satisfy the needs of vegetarian diners as well as giving the traditional carnivore an alternative experience.
If you’ve not already got one of these vouchers then there are still plenty up for grabs, just head over to the website and look out for the vouchers in the Upcoming Auctions section.
One of the biggest weeks for inspirational gardening The Chelsea Flower Show begins Tuesday May 24 for five days of elaborate and elegant garden exhibits in the 11 acres of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London. Also known as the Great Spring Show, this red carpet event is the garden design equivalent of any haute couture fashion show.
Earlier this week VIP members of the Royal Horticultural Society attended the opening and preview shows. Among the 157,000 people who will visit the garden exhibit this week are distinguished guests including Her Majesty the Queen, Princess Beatrice, Helen Mirren, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vanessa Redgrave, and many other A-list celebrities and members of the Royal family.
Tickets to this event are already sold out, but you can see photos and video footage on the Royal Horticultural Society website http://www.rhs.org.uk/
So you can’t make it to the Chelsea Flower Show this year? B&Q asks “What could you do this weekend?” With a voucher from MadBid.com you can make your own garden look fabulous instead! B&Q has everything you need to you create your own garden to rival those in the Chelsea Flower Show – get started by choosing from their selection of over 1,000 different vegetable and flower seeds, fertilizer and compost or how about some gardening tools and you could get it for a bargain by bidding one B&Q vouchers from Madbid.com, the fun way to bid for a bargain!
And you never know maybe this time next year your garden will be featured at the show while you rub elbows with the rich and famous!
The Daily Telegraph Show Garden, designed by Cleve West, has been named Best Show Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
The latest Apple technology, the iPhone 5 is rumoured to be available to consumers in September 2011.
The new phone is expected to have a few cosmetic changes from the iPhone 4 including a metal back instead of the current glass backing which will reduce reception interference from the antenna, a larger screen boasting up to 4 inches with an edge to edge display, and a new LED camera flash moved to the right side of the phone opposite the lens to reduce redeye in photos.
But the new iPhone 5 isn’t just getting an external make-over, the inside of the phone is being upgraded too. Apple is expected to put their patented A5 Chip from the iPad 2 in the new iPhone giving it dual core processing power. It seems however still uncertain whether or not Apple will bring 4G LTE to this new iPhone, or if they plan to wait to include that in a future model.
We can expect the iPhone 5 to retail for somewhere between £510-612. The typical summer debut of new Apple products has been pushed back this year with the expected launch of the iPhone 5 in September due to the disaster in Japan earlier this year where the supplier of some key components of the phone was affected. More on the phone will likely be revealed at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 6 June 2011.
Some additional titbits MadBid.com have gleaned through the rumour mill include the inclusion of Near Field Communication (NFC) Technology in the newest iPhone, which essentially turns your phone into a credit/debit card.
Near Field Communication (NFC) Technology was founded by Nokia, Sony, and Royal Philips Electronics in 2004. This technology allows phones to transfer data from other devices at a close range, much like Bluetooth. If this technology is integrated as a part of the iPhone 5 as an e-Wallet app, as we expect it will be, your phone will then become your digital wallet with the ability to pay with your credit/debit cards, customer loyalty cards, and use coupons too. With this technology you may even be using your phone to get on the London Underground one day soon!
Also, the prototype of a smaller iPhone 5 model affectionately called the iPhone Nano is expected to launch this June as the least expensive iPhone model on the market. This smaller and budget friendly phone will have a shatter and scratch resistant screen, up to 14 hours of battery life, and Face Recognition Security making the iPhone Nano nigh impossible to steal.
With all this uncertainty surrounding Apple’s latest invention, one thing is certain: MadBid.com should be your first stop to getting your hands on the latest technology for up to 98% off recommended retail prices! Can’t wait until the end of the summer? We currently have the 16 GB iPhone 4 running live on our site.
So sign up to our newsletter that announces all the latest auctions and gadgets that we offer before they’re gone!
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MadBid.com is one of the UK's leading pay-to-bid auction sites with users saving up to 98% off top brand products such as iPods, iPhones, TVs, Laptop's, Car's, Games Consoles and much more all fall under the hammer at MadBid.com and can go for just pennies! Just a few great examples of the savings made for some of our users!
MacBook Air (RRP £1,299) - SOLD for just £3.38
iPhone 3Gs 16GB (RRP £449) - SOLD for just £26.88
Samsung 50" Plasma (RRP £975) - SOLD for just £13.50
So why not grab yourself a bargain today and visit MadBid.com
Social networks are changing, what used to be a fun past time has now become a popular channel of communication and with increased bandwidth video offerings are becoming key. Facebook have teamed up with Skype and will soon have an icon that would allow users to have group video or a private video conversation all for free. With 750 million viewers this is a great platform to integrate into the social mix. The company is also changing the layout of their chat system so that users can decide the amount of people they want on chat so potentially the whole family could get involved from around the globe – or maybe all our customers at MadBid.com.
“…on average Gourmet Society cardholders save £25 on each visit to a restaurant. If you eat out once a week that equates to over £1300 of Gourmet Society saving in a year! It’s quite possible to save your entire membership fee in one visit to a restaurant, after that it is pure profit all year”.
s the Chromebook on June 15 and although it looks just like a regular laptop, that’s where the similarities stop.
