Christmas gadget fest

The top Christmas gadgets as selected by vnunet.com's sister publication What PC?.

There is no sitting on the fence when it comes to Anne Robinson's straight talking approach to hosting The Weakest Link; you either love her or hate her. Therefore, the electronic version of the show will make your family's Christmas heaven or hell as it features her voice and personality. It can be enjoyed by up to eight players with over 2000 questions aimed at the whole family.

Tiger Electronics: 01423 501 151
www.tigertoys.co.uk
Price: £34.99

Hit Clips

Guaranteed to annoy the hell out of teachers and parents, Hit Clips could well become the next playground craze. The 'Clips' are postage stamp sized computer chips that contain 60 seconds of music from some of the chart's favourite artists, iIncluding Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys and Destiny's Child. Simply insert the clip into one of the players and you'll be humming the chorus for the rest of the day. The music samples can be played on a choice of a Personal Player for privacy or the Boom Box for public entertainment.

Tiger Electronics: 01423 501 151
www.tigertoys.co.uk
Price: £3.99 (Hit Clips), £7.99 (Personal Player), £9.99 (Boom Box).

Vivanco voice controlled keyboard

The humble keyboard may be one of the least sexy PC peripherals, but nowadays it can do a lot more than just type letters. This model from Vivanco has a built-in microphone and voice recognition chip for identifying 12 commands and can relate to the any of the 'hot' or standard keys. The keyboard includes Active Noise Cancellation to filter out background noise and ensure clear reception so that you avoid deleting files when you intended to save. If you are perfectly happy leaving the typing to your fingers then the microphone can also be used for internet telephone calls and video conferencing.

Vivanco: 01442 40 30 20
www.vivanco.com
Price: £40

iPod MP3 player

Apple always does it with style and its all new MP3 player is no exception. The incredibly stylish iPod can hold up to 1000 songs on its 5Gb hard disk, and a built-in FireWire port means data can be transferred in a flash - the company claims just 10 seconds for 650Mb. What's more, the battery apparently lasts for 10 hours. Now why can't they do that with notebook PCs, eh?

It's slightly expensive but tight integration with the iTunes application means it's a doddle to use. The only downer is that currently it's Mac compatible only.

Apple: 0800 783 4846
www.apple.com/uk
Price: £329

Sync 'n' Charge

While the iPaq's facility to quickly and easily synchronise data with your desktop PC in the office is to be commended, lugging a docking cradle back to the house everyday to do the same with your home machine can be a pain. What's more, forget to take the mains charger at the weekend and, should the battery go, so does your data.

One solution is to buy another cradle and charger; the other more sensible approach is Sync 'n' Charge from Expansis. It provides both data syncronisation and power via a single lead that plugs into your PC's USB port. Now why didn't Compaq think of that?

While your at it, the company also does the Chairman's Case, a leather cover for the iPaq complete with flip-up flap. But at £45.83 it's only for the serious Pocket PC poser.

Expansis: (0)161 868 0868
www.expansis.com
Price: £42.30 (cable), £45.83 (case)

AIBO ERS-220

A dog is for life, not just for Christmas and at this price you'd better be hanging on to it for a while if you are considering buying it. The robotic pet has a brand new appearance with 21 LEDs for more expressive communication and smoother body movements. With interactivity the key word, this is one toy that will keep you fascinated and amused for hours.

Sony: 020 7365 2938
www.eu.aibo.com
Price: £1,775

Heat-sensitive mouse and phone covers

These touch sensitive Nokia phone fascias and internet mouse add a little bit of spice to the world of the PC peripheral. But changing colour by body temperature is hardly something new and the lurid colours are unattractive at best. The quality of the mouse is good but the idea itself will cease to be stimulating after a few days.

Creative Expressions: 0113 244 0014
www.reaxionfx.com
Price: Mouse £19.99 Mobile Fascia £15.99.