MiniDarts earphones + microphone
Headphone/microphone combos for your iPhone or BlackBerry can look a little clunky, but not so these, from über-cool British headphone maker Atomic Floyd. Its £149 MiniDarts + Mic are notably shiny and metallic, with springy, tangle-resistant red cables and stylish buds. Beautifully made, and the audio quality is also excellent, especially for sharp, bassy modern music rather than classical, which the MiniDarts can handle, but is not their forte. atomicfloyd.com
Libratone Beat wireless speaker
If you're looking for a living room hifi with what technology heads naughtily call WAF — Wife Acceptance Factor — then this elegant little tower from Denmark, the Libratone Beat, may be it. It's a slim, unobtrusive single box covered in a woollen jacket, which radiates out extremely nice (although not true stereo) sound to every point in a room. You can plug an iPod etc in, but for neatness it's better to feed the Beat wirelessly from up to 100ft away. £559-599. libratone.com
Leica D-LUX 5 camera
You can get a superb compact camera for £200 these days, so why spend more than £1,000 with accessories for this latest from Leica, the D-Lux 5? The only answer is to try it out in store and look at the photos you get. A combination of German optics and Japanese electronics produces photos that truly stand out, with a sharpness and impact you rarely see other than on massive — and massively complicated — professional DSLR cameras. leica-camera.co.uk
Zomm wireless leash
If you are prone to walking away from restaurant tables - or home - sans phone, then this tiny keyring gadget from the States, the Zomm, will be worth its (actually puny) weight. A Zomm is a Bluetooth-powered 'wireless leash' that will let out a fearsome howl if you stray more than a set distance from your phone. The £80 pebble-sized blob also makes a fist of being a hands-free calling aid and has other telephonic tricks up its little sleeve, too. zomm.com
Jonathan Margolis's daily tech updates can be seen at twitter.com/SimplyBestTech
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