USB Digital Bible

You know the problem. You’re away from home, sitting in front of a PC without an internet connection (there must still be places where this could happen) and suddenly you have an overwhelming need to read the Bible. Or check up on a biblical quote that’s just popped into your head. What do you do?

You reach into your pocket and you pull out the USB Digital Bible of course. This is a USB flash drive with a difference. Not only does it look like a miniature version of a bound leather Bible, but it contains the complete King James translation of the good book in text format.

Suddenly all sixty six books of the Bible are instantly available to you and the crisis has been averted. Thank God. No, seriously. Thank Him.

The device is only $29.99 but frankly you really can’t put a price tag on peace of mind like that. Hallelujah!

iPod alarm clock

Getting out of a warm bed on a cold winter morning is never easy, especially when you're rudely roused by a blaring buzzer or the latest Westlife opus. To start your day with a smile rather than a scowl, switch to the iHome iH26 alarm clock, which allows you to wake and sleep to the sound of your favourite tunes.

Just dock your iPod in the device and set the alarm and the player will come on or go off at the specified time, with the option of gently ascending volume for those hungover times. It also charges your iPod while you snooze, with additional ports for the iPod Shuffle and other MP3 players, and has a backup battery to guard against power failures.

The iH26's fold-down speakers and protective carry case make it wonderfully portable, and there's even a remote control for when you're feeling particularly lazy. Buy one now from All Stuff for a discount price (until Christmas Eve) of £64.99.

USB Warmer Slippers

In these freezing cold winter months there's a real danger of losing toes to frostbite while using your PC. You could rest your feet on an electric fire, but that carries certain perils with it. You could stick your feet in a bowl of hot water, but kick it over accidentally and you'll end up frying your PC. Strapping hot water bottles to each foot would do the job, but it's far from comfortable.

Hooray then, for whoever invented the idea of USB Warmer Slippers. These slip onto your feet and warm your toes via the power of your computer's USB port. Each slipper has an on/off switch and independent temperature controls.

For $33 dollars it's an essential buy for anyone worried about losing toes this winter. Oh and there's a set of USB Warmer Gloves available too which is fantastic news.

AA simple sat-nav system

In-car navigation systems are becoming cheaper and cleverer all the time, but this doesn't guarantee their reliability. Some devices have even been blamed for sending the drivers in a dangerously wrong direction.

If there's one company you can trust not to get you lost, make you late or lead you into a lake, it's the AA, whose Navigator Vive system prides itself on ease of use. This compact GPS gadget is pre-loaded with 2D and 3D maps of the UK - detailed with points of interest such as restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions - and can also deliver directions in text or spoken format. It offers both Full and Easy modes, with the latter guiding you to any destination - by postcode, town name or landmark - in just three simple steps.

Additionally you get six months of free speed camera alerts (it costs £99.95 for three years after this period), a built-in photo viewer and an MP3 player. The AA Navigator Vive is available for the bargain price of £149.99 (plus delivery) from the AA Navigator site.

Decomouse – ugly, but shiny

Ergonomics? Shergonomics. Bling’s the thing when it comes to mice. Why control your PC with a comfortable, hand-friendly plastic mouse (spit, spit) when you can use one of these jewelled orbs instead? Sure they’re ugly, ostentatious and awkward to use, but look how very shiny they are. Especially when combined with a sparkly laptop like the one in the picture.

The spherical stainless-steel mouse comes in three styles. The “warudekomausu” for the man (personalised with a single letter of the alphabet), the “kawadekomausu” for the woman (lots of sparkly Swarovski crystals) and the “nasuka” for people who like spiders (it has one on the side).

All three mice have four buttons positioned uncomfortably and unnaturally on top which are used for scrolling and clicking. Controlling your cursor is achieved, apparently, by wobbling the mouse about.

You would of course expect to pay hundreds, or perhaps thousands for such a device, but actually they are much cheaper – and therefore even tackier – than they look. The male and spider versions cost ¥12,600 (£55.86) while the female version is slightly more at ¥15,600 (£69.14).

Buy one today (or not) from Decokichi. If you like the idea but not the crystals, slightly plainer versions of the mouse are available here.

Palm's entry-level smartphone

If you're tempted to buy a smartphone, either for yourself or someone else, but are deterred by the high price or worried that the abundance of features will make it difficult to use, Palm has created the perfect solution. Its new Treo 680 handset is billed as an entry-level 'professional consumer' model that's both affordable and straightforward to operate.

The quad-band phone combines work and play functionality, meaning that as well as snapping pictures, surfing the web and listening to music, you can send and receive email, view and edit Microsoft Word and Excel documents on the move, and synchronise the device with your PC via Bluetooth or USB. There are also numerous organisation tools, enhanced SMS messaging and much more, all accessible from a single, simple interface.

Equipped with a 320 x 320 pixel colour screen, 64MB of storage and a full QWERTY keyboard, the Treo 680 is available in four different colours - red, orange, white and silver - for £299, contract-free. Order one now from the Palm online store.

Gold Ingot Hub

Looking to impress friends, neighbours, family members and/or women? Owning a large gold ingot which looks as if it’s been liberated directly from a bank vault should do it.

This isn’t a standard gold ingot of course. The ¥5,980 (£26.75) price tag tends to give it away, as do the eight USB 2.0 ports down one side. It is, quite simply, a fake gold ingot USB hub. But it looks great and it’s very, very shiny.

More pretty pictures here including an interesting couple featuring a man dressed up as a pirate for no apparent reason.

HYSO Doorknob Germ Killer

Simon Sassoon (one of Vidal's nephews) had a dream one night in bed. He was in a women's public toilet. And can you guess what he saw in there? That's right, a germ-killing spray positioned just above the door handle.

Rather than waking up annoyed at the waste of such a prime dream location (as we would have), he decided to spend two years and $250,000 of venture capital money on building the device he saw. The result is the HYSO, an apparatus that squirts industrial strength disinfectant onto doorknobs at different interval settings.

The HYSO is designed to be used on "any door where maintaining a disinfected handle is imperative." We guess that means a hospital, a restaurant or a public toilet, although if you're terrified of germs we're sure you'll be able to purchase one for use in your home as well.

It uses replaceable aerosol cartridges which last between one week and three months depending on how often you set the spray to go off. Which will probably be determined by how germy the handle in question gets.

Evesham web-enabled PVR

With its new personal video recorder, the iPlayer, Evesham has created the ideal media device for couch potatoes and mouse potatoes alike. As well as tuning into and recording digital TV and radio channels, the set-top box lets you access the internet; browsing your favourite websites, sending and receiving email, and listening to podcasts from the comfort of your sofa.

The iPlayer also boasts Media Centre functionality, allowing you to stream audio, video and photos from your PC, and uses real-time upscaling to adjust SD (Standard Definition) TV to HD (High Definition) when applicable. You can schedule recordings using the seven-day EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) and store around 70 hours of content on the PVR's 80GB hard drive.

Compatible with your existing broadband ISP and requiring no subscription fee, the iPlayer is a relative bargain (considering its range of features) at £299. For full details, visit Evesham Technology.

Tyukalov Custom Wireless Mice

We don’t know about you, but when we’re looking to buy computer peripherals we only ever consider ones which have been hand-crafted and come with a price tag to match. After all, who on Earth would want to use their computer with a plastic mouse? Ugh. Doesn’t bear thinking about.

That’s why we were so thrilled to discover Slava Tyukalov’s custom-built wireless mice.

Tyukalov is currently offering a choice of three different models - GoldenEye, Cold Steel and Black Pearl. Each mouse has been built from scratch using a material called matrix (a graphite/aluminium composite metal used by NASA) and topped with Italian leather. Each mouse is individually numbered and comes in a beautiful presentation box.

The price is a snip at $397, plus p&p.