Kodak PlaySport
Kodak, threatened by the near death of its core product — film — has risen impressively to the challenge of reinventing itself. Its printers are terrific and run on ink that costs considerably less than rival big-name printer makers. And it is keeping focused, as it has since the days of the Brownie 127 and the Instamatic, on also producing idiot-proof consumer cameras. Accordingly, if you are dumb enough to drop this little beauty into the sea, it probably won't matter. The PlaySport underwater video camera loves it. Don't let it go, though. The sea can be cruel. Priced at £129. shop.kodak.co.uk
Celsius leDIX
Is it a watch, is it a phone? Er, both, really. Celsius X VI II is a new French company trying to invent a genre of high-end phones with the sort of mechanical 'complications' that top-end watches boast. The LeDIX is its first creation, a phone merged with a tourbillon watch featuring a patented Remontage Papillon mechanism. They are certainly novel and eye-catching, but aren't a cheap commodity. The LeDIX costs, ahem, around £210,000. Plus VAT. celsius-x-vi-ii.com
Micromega WM-10 AIRSTREAM
Most of us keep a mass of music, often of remarkably high quality, on our PCs and laptops. Many of us have a rather nice hifi, often in another room. How to get that music on to your hifi without running wires and cables around the house? Well, you can buy a variety of streaming 'solutions', but most lose quality in the air. This, the WM-10 AirStream from a chic Parisian manufacturer, Micromega, is probably the best streaming system in the world. It comes at a price — £999 — but even a cloth ears should be able to hear the difference. And even if you can't, the AirStream looks implausibly beautiful. Couture hifi. en.micromega-hifi.com
Arcam rCube
The problem with a lot of iPod docks suitable for playing music on a patio or at the bottom of the garden where your barbecue is a grillin' is that they need plugging into the mains. Arcam is one of Britain's top high-end hifi makers, but has taken time out for some fun with this sumptuous cube of delight, its rCube. Not only does it manage to play fine quality, loud stereo from one point and without the need for extra speakers, you don't even need to plug your iPod in and disrupt the rCube's impeccable eight inches of cube-ishness. It comes with a dongle for your iPod, Pad or Phone to stream wirelessly from a 10-metre distance. Your computer can stream to the rCube from 50 metres away. And the rCube can play for over four hours between charges. arcam.co.uk
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