Gadget Zone

January 2008

BT Group principal research scientist Jonathan Mitchener looks at the latest offerings in the devices market

So what gadgets were in your Christmas stocking? There were plenty to choose from this year, with product innovation showing no sign of slowing down. Probably many if not most of the electronic products you received also increased your reliance on batteries, or at least need plugging in to recharge them?

So I begin with the so-called "Eco-Media Player" (£150) from the inventor of the wind-up radio, Trevor Baylis. It plays video, music and lets you view photos, as well as store data and charge your mobile phone. It’s"also a torch and an FM radio, all without having to fit batteries to it. It connects to your PC via USB and will also charge from there if you get tired from winding it up with the handle on the back. Apparently one minute of winding will give you around 40 minutes of audio playback.

While on the Eco topic, Wetekom makes an interesting little gadget which you plug any mains appliance into. It monitors the power used and displays how much the electricity it uses is costing. It’s called the Energy Consumption Monitor and costs around £10. I’ve also come across the IntelliPlug from OneClick which is a gadget built into a mains multi-way power adapter which turns peripheral equipment (such as printers and screens) on or off automatically when one master device (such as a PC) is switched on or off. This saves time but also some stand-by power costs.

The Apple iPhone will have undoubtedly filled a number of Christmas stockings, having been launched in the UK on 9 November. It may be prudent to accessorise this not insignificantly priced gadget with some sort of protective case, given that it’s your iPod, internet browser and email device and photo viewer as well as your phone. Having used one, I would urge any iPhone newbies to persevere when getting used to typing using the on-screen keyboard, as the device does learn your typing habits and it soon becomes second nature. Another tip is to turn the phone landscape. The keyboard displayed this way is bigger!

Finally, BT Broadband and Home Hub users may wish to register for BT Fon, (btfon.com) especially if you have a wi-fi enabled gadget (such as an iPhone!), which is a service that allows its members to share internet hotspot access around the world. Happy New Year and lets look forward to a gadget-filled 2008!

Note: While we make every effort to ensure accuracy, BT accepts no responsibility for any information contained in Jonathan’s article, nor does the company endorse any product or service mentioned.