The Complete Guide to Online Shopping: Technology & Gadgets

Apple Store

www.apple.com/ukstore

Everything you could want for your Mac or iPod on one site, the Apple store backs up its sleek range of products with top-notch information.

08000 391 010

Blacks

www.blacks.co.uk

If you like your adventures al fresco, this is the site to come to for GPS devices, survival equipment, tools, hi-tech clothing and the latest camping gear.

0800 665 410

Boys' Stuff

www.boysstuff.co.uk

This is gadget heaven for both sexes. Stock ranges from daft toys such as USB hotplates to sensible electronics.

08707 452 000

Dabs

www.dabs.com

PC hardware, components, software, digital cameras and MP3 players are par for the course at this BT-owned online superstore. If you want big-name brands, this is a good place to start.

Ebuyer

www.ebuyer.com

Ebuyer is techie heaven. If you can't find your camera, TV, DVD player here, it probably hasn't been made yet.

08715 213 300

Firebox

www.firebox.com

From USB turntables and "Jellephish" lamps to Skype phones, it has all the gizmos you never knew you needed on one easy-to-use site.

08702 414 289

Gadgets

www.gadgets.co.uk

This site edges towards items with a function. Like the Utili-Key, a Swiss multi-tool in the shape of a key, and an electronic weather station.

08700 806 666

Gadget Shop

www.gadgetshop.com

This sells everything from microwaveable foot-warmers (don't try to eat them) to wind-up phone chargers. Grown-up boys should head straight to the techno toys section.

08708 501 965

The Green Shop

www.greenshop.co.uk

Proving that technology can be environmentally friendly too, this site is old-fashioned but it sells a good range of green toys. Its current stock ranges from wind-up torches and log-makers to solar-powered door chimes.

01452 770 629

I Want One Of Those

www.iwantoneofthose.com

Possibly the UK's best-known online gadget shop, this one covers a broad spectrum, from colour-changing mood clocks to minuscule folding barbecues and coat hooks shaped like steel darts.

08702 411 066

John Lewis

www.johnlewis.com

An old friend to most British shoppers, this high-street store wins extra brownie points for its good online range of TVs, computers, cameras and other electronics. You won't always find the cheapest prices here but you will find a no-nonsense range of the latest best-sellers, usually with a generous two-year guarantee.

08456 049 049

Pod Zone

www.podzone.co.uk

Internet porn for iPod (and some other MP3) users, this site doesn't sell iPods (or Apple products), but it has a vast range of speakers, headphones, skins, remote controls and cables to go with them - including the gorgeous Speck Tone Retro Speaker.

Red 5

www.red5.co.uk

Set up by one of the founders of the Gadget Shop, this online store focuses on "design, innovation and fun", which sounds good to us. Products range from fingerprint flash-drives and pixel clocks to Sir Clive Sinclair's A-Bike.

01322 423 308

Richer Sounds

www.richersounds.co.uk

It might still be owned by one man (Julian Richer) but this is one of the country's biggest home cinema, stereo and flat-panel TV specialists - most of them cheap as chips (well, almost). If you can't find what you're looking for here, there are 43 high-street branches.

08459 001 230

Unlocked Mobiles

www.unlocked-mobiles.com

If you don't want to be tied in to a UK phone company, this online store sells an excellent range of "unlocked" mobiles, along with Skype phones, SIM cards and accessories.

08707 565 314