Interestingly Brand Republic have shown that in the two months since the iPad launched in the UK, YouGov has found that 96% of the 713 iPad owners surveyed owned products such as an iPod, iPhone or Mac. Russell Feldman, YouGov’s technology and telecoms research manager, said: ‘By Christmas this is expected to be a much more crowded marketplace, with a number of consumer goods brands providing alternatives to the iPad.’

A total of 713 UK iPad owners were interviewed in the online study between 27 July and 2 August. BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion and Samsung are both expected to launch a rival to the iPad before Christmas. Acer and T-Mobile are also tipped to enter the tablet market in the next few months.

In Apple’s recent 2010 Q3 results, ending 26 June, it attributed a 77% increase in profit to sales of its Mac, iPhone and iPad. The company sold 3.47 million Macs, 8.4 million iPhones, 9.41 million iPods and 3.27 million iPads during the quarter.

Robbie Williams and Alexandra Burke are among the stars set to perform at a benefit concert for servicemen and women at Twickenham Stadium. The concert, which takes place on 12 September and will be shown on BBC One, will also feature comic talent including Bruce Forsyth and Jack Dee.

Describing Bruce Forsyth as a comic talent is pushing the boundaries of false advertising however this is what the promoters tell us. Some 60,000 fans and troops are expected to attend the event, with proceeds will go to the Help For Heroes charity, which raises funds for wounded service personnel and their families.

Bryn Parry, head of the Help For Heroes charity, said: “Our boys and girls, both those operating in the remote patrol bases and those recovering from life changing injuries, will hear this concert and know that they are in the forefront of our minds.

If you’re planning or sponsoring a large outdoor event then Gift Selection has a great range of low cost promotional products to get your brand recognised. Ask the friendly team of promotional experts who can put together a great promotions package based on your budget and target audience.

According to ComScore data, Facebook served 19.7bn ads in the UK during May 2010, up from 11.8bn a year before. Traditional brand advertising is driving growth, led by the likes of Virgin Group, Telefonica Europe and Quick Credit Score.

The figures cement Facebook’s position as the biggest online advertising platform in the country, serving almost four times more ads than second-placed Microsoft Sites (4.7bn). Google Sites, eBay and Yahoo Sites complete the top five, with 2.68bn, 2.71bn and 2.4bn ads in the month respectively.

The findings come as the world’s largest advertisers, including Procter & Gamble and Unilever, commit to increasing digital spend in general and on social media in particular. Facebook is preparing to launch a location-based app that will enable users to receive personalised information and advertising based on their current surroundings.

Speaking at the Cannes Ad Festival last month, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive of Facebook, said: “It’s a really important area, but it’s also a very sensitive one, so we want to make sure we get it right. We’re working on it. We’re pretty close, we’re happy with what we’re getting to.”

More than a billion mobile phone connections have been added to the global tally in just 18 months, according to Wireless Intelligence; bringing the world wide total to more than five billion connections.

In many regions, penetration exceeds 100%, where there is more than one connection per person in the country. Ben Wood, mobile phone analyst at CCS Insight said the mobile phone may be “the most prolific consumer device on the planet”.

“If you just take the UK in 1987, when the first mobile companies launched, an industry insider predicted a maximum of 10,000 phones…Now almost every adult, child and domestic pet seems to have one, given that 30 million phones are sold every year in the UK,” he said.

With so many of the things, using promotional mobile phone accessories as upmarket marketing tools may not be a bad idea. Gift Selection in conjunction with Gadgets2order can supply practically any personalised phone accessory you can think off.

In their new brochure you will find a branded iPhone case, this plastic hard case can have a full colour print, with a great print area to maximise your design. Another new product is the ‘G Dock’, which is manufactured from recycled cardboard and combines the functionality of a multi-purpose docking station or phone stand with a large 4 colour process for advertising space.

My favourite ‘up market’ gadget is a ‘grippy’ phone holder which is suitable for al mobiles; it has an integral card reader/USB hub and charging adapters for iPhone, Blackberry, Nokia and Sony Erikson phones.

Contact their friendly team for more information!

Are you one of those characters who get’s up at the crack of dawn, scouring beaches with their metal detectors, only to find loose change and a ring pull?

Well Dave Crisp, from Devizes in Wiltshire has found one of the largest ever finds of Roman coins in Britain has been made by a man using a metal detector. The hoard of more than 52,000 coins dating from the 3rd Century AD was found buried in a field near Frome in Somerset.

The coins were found in a huge jar just over a foot (30cm) below the surface by “I have made many finds over the years, but this is my first major coin hoard,” he said. After his metal detector gave a “funny signal”, Mr Crisp says he dug down 14in before he found what had caused it. “I put my hand in, pulled out a bit of clay and there was a little Radial, a little bronze Roman coin. Very, very small, about the size of my fingernail.”

Somerset County Council Heritage Service now hope the coroner will declare the find as treasure. That would allow the Museum of Somerset to acquire the coins at market value with the reward shared by Mr Crisp and the land owner.

If you feel a bit cheesed of because you haven’t found a hoard of treasure, you may appreciate some branded chocolate coins. Branded chocolate coins are a fun promotional idea, which can either be fully bespoke, or can be selected from a wide range of existing coin shapes.

Let the friendly team know over at Gift Selection and Sweets2order if you want more fun promotional confectionery ideas.

The full list of this year’s contenders:

• The last place you want to go - Dixons, M&C Saatchi
• Let’s colour - Dulux, Euro RSCG London
• Bursting with berryness - Ribena, M&C Saatchi
• Why Britain loves curry - Patak’s, JWT London
• Motion & Emotion - Peugeot, Euro RSCG Paris
• For ladies that crunch - Ryvita, Grey London
• I’d go Directgov - Directgov, MCBD
• The game is just the start - Sony PlayStation 3, TBWA London
• Every dessert deserves a squirt - Anchor, CHI & Partners
• Write the future - Nike, Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam
• Find the strength - Victim Support, MWO
• There’s method in the Magners - Magners, The Red Brick Road
• Be Stupid - Diesel, Anomaly
• We care because our name’s on it - Warburtons, RKCR/Y&R
• Power to you - Vodafone, Santos Argentina
• It’s great in the middle - Clover, Grey London
• Here for good - Standard Chartered, TBWA Singapore
• Let’s go - Shell, JWT London
• Smell like a man, man - Old Spice, Wieden & Kennedy Portland
• Quality you’d expect at prices you wouldn’t - Waitrose Essential, MCBD

The nominated slogans have to have appeared for the first time since 1 May 2009, and a panel of judges will determine the top three. The panel is made up of representatives from advertising and creative agencies throughout the UK.

Last year’s AdSlogan winner was VCCP’s catchphrase ‘Simples’ for Comparethemarket.com, followed by Lynx Bullett’s ‘Pocket pulling power’ by Bartle Bogle Hegarty New York. In third place was Wall’s ‘We only select the best bits’ by Beattie McGuinness Bungay.

Environmentalists had argued that there might be a risk of cross-pollination between genetically modified plants and neighbouring crops. They also argued over-use of the company’s weed-killer Roundup, the chemical treatment the alfalfa is modified to be resistant to, could cause pollution of ground water and lead to resistant “super-weeds”.

Monsanto make alfalfa, a grass like plant used as animal feed, which is the fourth most valuable crop in the US. Monsanto says claims its products were dangerous amounted to “bad science fiction with no support on the record”.

You may be wondering what the devil all this has to do with promotional products; well not a great deal, but you may not be aware that Ecoproducts2order offers branding bags of seeds (that are GM free). Branded bags of seeds, are a great low cost promotional item, that can be used as an innovative mailing idea.

Branded bags of seeds is just one unusual item that ecoproducts2order can offer, call their friendly team of promotion experts today to discuss your next promotional marketing campaign.

The Fruit-Pack from Sweets2order promises a great deal of summer freshness. The delicious fruit puree provides natural refreshment in the summer flavours strawberry, banana or passion fruit and creates likeable, high attention-grabbing value.

The promotional Fruit-Pack is approximately 20cm in length, and comes in a hygienic protection packet that can be opened easily, thanks to its optimised tear strip, which enables the fruit puree to be simply squeezed out of the aroma pack.

Whether enjoyed as sorbet straight out of the freezer or non-cooled, the fruity contents always taste delicious anywhere. The packets can be customised with a full colour digital print, for minimum orders of 1,050 pieces.

Sweets2order doesn’t just provide promotional confectionery, it has a great range of complimentary items, such as drinks and as well unusual promotional items like the Fruit-Pack.

If only I could guarantee the weather will be as summery…