Compiled by CIARA O'BRIEN

Sony Bloggie Touch

Sony has gone minimalist with its new MP4 video camera. The sleek Bloggie Touch, encased in metal, has only a three-inch touchscreen and a record button. Other functions are carried out via the touchscreen, including scrolling.

The Bloggie is built to be simple. Simply point, shoot video in high definition and upload it to the internet if you want to share it with friends. Like other cameras of this type, the USB connection is built-in, with the necessary software contained on the camera so you can use it on almost any computer.

Available in 4GB and 8GB, the Bloggie Touch can record one to two hours at the highest-quality settings. You can take still images too, with a resolution of 12 megapixels. www.sony.ie

Koostic ($85-$90)

Probably one of the least high-tech gadgets, the Koostik is nevertheless one of the most intriguing. It looks exactly like an iPod dock made out of wood. And that’s pretty much what it is.

Designed with the iPhone in mind, the handmade solid wooden device acts as a natural amplifier for your music. It uses the iPhone’s own built-in speaker and acoustically amplifies the sound by two to four times.

There’s nothing to plug in. There are no solar panels. It just uses natural principles you would see at work in a guitar.

The Koostik has a cradle for your iPhone and sound chambers, and is available in a variety of woods, with a mix of cherry, walnut and birdseye maple.

www.koostik.com

Nokia N8

The Nokia N8 is part of the mobile phone maker’s push against Apple and Google in the smartphone stakes. While it remains to be seen if it will claw back some ground from its challengers, the N8 appears to be trying to replace a number of gadgets. You can take high-definition video and edit it on the go, then play it on your HDTV directly from the handset. For still images, it has a 12 megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens and Xenon flash.

The ability to connect any USB key to the phone via an adapter is one function that could come in very handy, allowing you to access files directly from a USB stick without ever having to touch your PC. It’s entertainment and business rolled into one. www.nokia.ie