Christmas Gifts: Let's inspect the gadgets

Steve Homer gets excited by the range of electronic wizardry available for hi-tech types

If you have ever scrabbled around on the floor desperately trying to find the right video tape, the Sony SLV F900UX video recorder is for you. If you have wondered how to set the clock on your VCR, then the 900UX is for you. If you spent hours tuning in the channels, then the 900UX is for you. In a word, it is fantastic.

The best thing is Smartfile. It tells you exactly what is on each tape, automatically. It is so clever it makes you eyes water.

The recorder comes with five special labels for you to stick along the spine of blank tapes. The label contains a micro chip and when you bring it close to the VCR it reads the information in the chip.

In the early version I saw, it simply recorded that the first half hour on the tape was recorded on 1 Dec at 8pm and the channel was BBC2. A click of a button and the tape moved to the start of the recording. Pretty impressive.

The final version that has just started going on sale is even better. It not only say 1 Dec 8pm and BBC2, it actually tells you that the programme was University Challenge!

The 900UX revolutionises your use of video tapes. You can simply scroll down the list of programmes and chose the one you want to watch. If you have watched a programme you can slot another programme into the space.

Smartfile has one extra trick up its sleeve - you don't even have to insert the tape in the machine to find out what is one it. The machine has a detector built into the front.

Add to all of this a completely automatic set up system that finds the channels and sets the clock (and changes when the clocks go forward) you have a pretty impressive machine.

Even though it has a really stupidly designed remote control, this still has to be one of the best video recorders ever. The Sony 900UX costs around pounds 450. Call Sony on 0990 111999 for stockists.

The sleek silver Nokia 8810 is simply one of the sexiest phones out. What most people don't realise is that it is also one of the cleverest. With built-in communications and infrared link you can connect your phone to any computer with infrared capabilities (that is almost all portables and an increasing number of desktop machines), and send e-mails and connect to the Internet without any cables. Sound quality is not quite as good as it should be but still a wonderful phone. The bad news is they are in short supply and cost pounds 350 with connection. Some have gone for a lot more!

Having people's numbers in your mobile phone's memory is a godsend. You can store at least 100 numbers on the SIM, the little plastic smartcard in the back of your phone. The problem is if you were to input 100 numbers using the silly little number keys on the phone, you would go crazy and it would take you hours.

Step forward Fonesync, Smartlynx from Paragon software. This system consists of a SIM reader that plugs into your computer and is a simple piece of software. The software is anything but perfect BUT it makes life SO much easier. You can sit at your PC with a cup of coffee and type in contact details or you can import contact lists from a computer organiser.

Other people can send you lists for you to add to your phone or you can have different lists to use at different times - a work list and a play list, for example. A really useful present for the mobile owner who has everything. It costs pounds 49.99. Call 0800 7838574 for stockists.

Digital cameras have improved in leaps and bounds since last Christmas.

There are lots of excellent ones out there. One of the best is the Kodak DC210 Plus. Not only does it take great pictures, the viewing functionality on the camera is a joy to use.

Like most cameras you can view the images on the back of the camera, but the DC210 Plus lets you zoom the image and check that every part of the picture looks great.

So if great uncle Arthur is asleep at the back of the family group you can delete the picture and take another one.

The DC210, like all digital cameras, has one problem - it eats batteries but at least it has the saving grace that it can be connected to the mains while you are downloading images from the camera to your computer.

The DC210 Plus costs around pounds 400 and is widely available. A great present for someone very special.

Force feedback has been around for a year or two now. The idea is that as you push your joystick to control your aircraft you should feel it push back at you. To be honest it seemed a bit of a daft idea.

But try out a force feedback joystick with Microsoft's New Flight Simulator and you realise what a brilliant idea it is. As you bank your Hurricane to try and shoot down a nasty Messerchmitt 109, your aircraft strains against you and you have to pull hard on the stick. As you fire on the poor unsuspecting soul in the aircraft in front, the joystick recoils with each bullet fired. But most alarming of all, as you are flying along minding your own business, you are suddenly shocked awake as the stick jerks in your hand. The shocks are bullets pouring into your wing. The Luftwaffe has the last laugh.

In a post Seeking Private Ryan World, the reality is disturbingly worrying.

Combat Flight Simulator costs around pounds 50 is available everywhere and Side Winder Force Feedback Pro costs around pounds 120.

The gadget for this Christmas has to be the DVD player. Ranging in price from pounds 300 - pounds 800, they are pretty much all marvellous. You can even get portable players.

DVD discs are the video equivalents of CDs. Each disc can store around four hours of high quality video on each side with excellent sound and usually with subtitles in three or four languages. DVD is not really a replacement for the video recorder, as they DVDs cannot record, but if you rent movies you will be amazed at the picture quality. Films cost between pounds 14 and pounds 25 so they are not cheap, but for the man or woman who has everything they are wonderful.

For a real luxury present how about the Philips ProScreen 4750. This will let you create your own home cinema. All you need is a big blank wall (you can paint it light blue, green or yellow if you like - you won't notice the difference with the light out and the pictures running). Sadly, these machines are still pretty expensive, but if you have the cash, great. The Philips ProScreen 4750 produces an excellent picture. It cost pounds 3,900. For more information call 0181 689 4444.

Traffic Line is a great way of avoiding the queues but sadly it's only available on the Cellnet network.

You have a little box on your dashboard which flashes when the traffic is congested ahead. A quick call to 1,200 contacts your local area message and it tells you what the problem is. Clever and easy to use. Cellnet has a hand's free phone and Traffic Line retailing box retailing from pounds 26.99.

Call Cellnet on 0800 214000.