Sony Reader
08705 111 999 www.sony.com/reader $350 (US only)

Electronic books are not new — thousands of titles are available for download — but few people bother because reading novels on a palmtop or laptop is about as appealing as an optician’s eye chart. However, Sony aims to energise this market with its Reader, which goes on sale shortly in the US (a European launch has yet to be announced). The Reader is paperback-sized (5in x 7in) and half an inch thick. Sony claims its 6in screen looks “almost paper-like” due to its E Ink technology, which means the screen has no flicker or backlight. In practice the effect is said to be more akin to a photocopy than razor-sharp print. Sony says the Reader copes with an impressive 7,500 page turns between battery charges and the 64MB of storage holds up to 80 eBooks. However, the Reader is pricey, as are the novels at Sony’s US-based Connect store (ebooks.connect.com). Sony also has a poor record on usage restrictions. Still, you can read your electronic book with one hand and hold a latte in the other.

Plugged in

iPod dock
Monitor Audio i-Deck Compact
01268 740 580 www.i-deck.co.uk £150

The original i-Deck shone out from the pack of iPod speakers thanks to superb sound quality. This version is smaller and at 3kg more portable too, but remains tethered to the mains. Sound is good but comes from one twin-speaker unit, rather than separate stereo drivers. The dock handles every model of iPod and has a remote control. An updated full-size version called the i-Deck Plus with a built-in DAB radio is due next month.

Hot shots

Light SLR
Olympus E-400 digital SLR
0800 072 0070 www.olympus.co.uk £850

Olympus claims this is the smallest SLR camera on the market — a mixed blessing since while it is easy to carry it can be fiddly to use. However, it is reassuringly solid. As with most digital SLRs, you can’t frame your shot using the LCD screen, but in brief tests the viewfinder was bright and sharp. The 32 automatic settings or “scene modes” will be familiar to those trading up from simpler cameras. These help you to refine the shots you are taking in the same way as with compact cameras. In tests, the 10-megapixel sensor delivered detailed pictures and the clever anti-dust system shakes the sensor to remove dirt. An interesting, if unexceptional, choice.

Bytes, action

Xbox webcam
Xbox 360 Live Vision camera
0800 587 1102 www.xbox.com £35

This webcam will film your face as you are playing some Xbox Live online games and project it onto the screen. So, for example, if you are playing the card game Uno your face appears live on the screen as will your opponents’ (provided they have the gadget too), helping you to call their bluff if they look nervous. The webcam works only with the Xbox 360 (not the original Xbox) and Microsoft says that on future adventure games the technology will enable players to map their faces on characters they are playing. The video and audio quality are sharp and the fast refresh rates ensure lips synchronise when you speak. However, when four players played Uno during our tests, some break-up or delay was noticeable. The price includes one month’s subscription to Xbox Live Gold, normally £40 a year.

Silent night

Headphones
Philips SHN9500 noise cancelling headphones
0906 1010 016 www.philips.co.uk £150

These clever headphones substantially reduce outside noise, meaning you don’t have to have your MP3 player set at maximum volume. Previously these types of headphones mostly varied from the not very good to the super expensive, but this set is reasonably priced and works well. There are two neat touches: a mute button enables you to hear the outside world without removing your headset, and you can disconnect them from your music player while keeping the noise dampening and so convert them into earplugs. Ugly but impressive.