I've just had an interesting call from Thomson telephone directories people. This year our parent company decided not to renew our advertising with Thomson - right now they have enough work and didn't actually have any calls through Thomson as a result of last years advertising.

We've just had a follow-up call to 'remind' us that the 118 118 directory enquires service only lists businesses that are advertised with Thomson!! If we don't renew our advertising to Thomson then our number will be shown in the 118 118 service as 'ex-directory'. To my mind that smacks of strong arm selling tactics.

Although technically there may be lots of phone books, I think the understanding of average Joe Public is that if you have a phone number it will appear in the directory unless you have decided to mark it as ex-directory.

This isn't a huge loss for us, but quite an eye-opener as someone that *might* have need of a directory enquiry service.

Knowing now that 118 118 doesn't offer anywhere like as comprehensive directory as the old BT 192 service is a bit of an eye opener. Why exactly was it that the 192 service was opened up to competition? Apparently not to improve the service to the customers.

I think most peoples assumption is that if they call directory enquiries on any of the available numbers then they will have access to the same underlying telephone list. That isn't so.

It would be interesting to know the percentage of business numbers listed by the various directory enquiries numbers. That would seem to be a good advertising idea for the services that offer close to a 100% listing.

So... if you want to find the number of a business, DON'T bother calling 118 118 - you'll be wasting your time unless they have paid Thomson for the privilege!

We're more used to giving out prizes than actually winning anything ourselves here at GadgetSpeak. With our monthly prize-draw, we're used to making one lucky member happy each month (and sometimes more than one!)

It was a little bit of a surprise then when a sparkling new iPod Touch arrived on the doorstep a couple of days back. My initial assumption was that someone had arranged a review sample - a quick check around the office however showed this not to be the case.

A hunt back through my emails found that I'd been entered into a prize-draw for completing a survey about a month ago. Entering competitions isn't something I do often and I'd completely missed this one somehow.

I now have a *very* smug grin on my face - and a shiny new toy that no doubt will see great service helping me review various iPod accessories over the coming months. I will of course post a full review of the iPod Touch itself once I've had a play :-)

Initial impressions are good - and my Sony PSP is looking positively clunky.

There are only a few of days in this months prize draw - so if you've not yet entered then you need to get your skates on! Members - you just have to log in. The rest of you just have to follow the instructions!

It's taken a little time to get this months competition up due to a hectic first week to the month.

First of all a reminder - to enter you have to be a member (free - just complete this form). If you are a member you have to login at least once during the month. Not logged in? Just click here!

I'm sure most of you have noticed all the stories about energy bills on the rise - we certainly have. With both gas and electricity prices on a steep upward trajectory we thought we'd focus this months competition on energy saving ideas.

We have three prizes this month - one for each of three lucky winners.

The first two prizes are OWL electricity monitors. We reviewed one of these here back in October last year (you can read the OWL review here). They give you a very clear display of how much electrical power you're using at any time - instantly. It can be a little scary at first when you turn on the oven!

It very quickly becomes second nature though to check the meter before bed to see what you've left on. In our case it's most usually the kids computer or Play Station. We're trying to train them! Placing the big LCD display panel somewhere visible quickly helps you see when you're using more power than you expect. You can also quickly see the effects of switching off high-power lights or replacing them with low-energy equivalents.

Our third prize is a "Bye-Bye Standby" starter kit. The kit includes three mains adaptors and a remote control. A very simple idea - when you go to bed (or away on holiday) simply press the control on the remote and power is removed from all the devices connected through the controlled sockets. Each socket can be connected to a multi-socket lead and control up to 1KW of devices.

If you're not a member then you can join here - it's free and can be fun :-)

If you are a member make sure you've logged in to be entered!

Brennan have just let us know of an exclusive special offer for GadgetSpeak readers. As you may have noticed we have a Brennan JB7 as our member prize this month - but... if you just can't wait to start organising your CD collection, then Brennan are offering a special £20 discount to GadgetSpeak readers.

The offer applies to all orders over £200. All you have to do is click on this link, make your selection and then enter the code  "gadget08" at the checkout.

The offer is available until the 31st of May.

Please do read the review - and of course if you do buy, then come back and tell us what you think!

For those of you that got the newsletter (if not please do sign up - it's not that bad!) you'll have noticed we have a rather good prize lined up for March. Well March is here - and the prize is : the excellent Humax LGB-19DZT 19" LCD TV. Humax have some great products - we were very impressed a few months ago when we reviewed their hard-disk video recorder, the PVR9200 so we were very happy to take a look at this 19" TV and were pleased with what we found. Do take a look at their web-site if you get a chance.

You can read our review here. As is becoming the custom nowadays with 'switch-over day' already reaching parts of the UK, the Humax includes a built in Digital Freeview tuner.

One lucky member (you are a member - aren't you, it is free) is going to walk away with one of these excellent televisions. It can only be you if you're a member and you log into GadgetSpeak in March. You can join here.

Oh - and if you haven't already please take our short survey!

If you want one NOW then Humax have a great offer, exclusive to GadgetSpeak readers - a third off the prize. Think how good it would be to have one of these in the kitchen or bedroom!

If you are looking for good ideas for children's Christmas gifts and toys, then today's announcement from the Toy Retailer's Association may help you along.  Gadgets and techno toys are expected to feature highly on every child's Christmas List - many inspired by the small and big screen such as the Transformers Movie and Dr Who. 

From their list we've already had a chance to review Eternity II and Flytech Dragonfly and we'll be bringing you more toy and game reviews in the run up to Christmas. 

From the Toy Retailer's Association predictions of this year's Christmas best-sellers, here are the gadgets and games that look most interesting:

• Are You Smarter Than a 10 Year Old? (Hasbro RRP £19.99) A board game based on the Noel Edmonds TV programme
• Doctor Who Dalek Sec Hybrid Voice Changer Mask (Character Options  RRP £29.95)
• Golden Balls  (Vivid Imaginations RRP £19.99) - board game
• Puppy Grows and Knows Your Name (Mattel RRP £44.99)
• Transformers Movie Leader: Optimus Prime (Hasbro RRP £39.99)
• Creator - Monster Dino (Lego RRP £69.95)
• Transformers Optimus Prime Voice Changer Mask (Hasbro RRP £29.99)
• Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee (Hasbro RRP £79.95)
• High School Muscial Mystery Date (Hasbro RRP £14.95)
• Monopoly Here & Now UK Edition (Hasbro RRP £19.99)
• Rubiks Revo (Drummond Park RRP £14.99)

Of course, the Toy Retailers Association don't have the last say on the best kids gadgets and games out there, so we'll be reviewing lots of others.

Absolutely among our favourite reviews so far are:

• Funkeys (Mattel) and
• Squawkers McCaw (so good we reviewed it twice here and here)

Have a look at more games and toys and games reviewed on Gadgetspeak and keep coming back for more. If you've registered for the Gadgetspeak newsletters and updates you'll keep up-to-date with all the latest news.