Tech check
Must-have gadgets for home and away
Casa Bugatti ‘Vera’ Kettle
The morning cuppa has never been so technologically advanced. Not only does the Vera do all that boiling-water stuff, but it can heat your H20 to any temperature you desire between 45º and 100º Celsius with remarkable accuracy. Move over, teasmade.
£185, www.casabugatti.it
Victorinox Swiss Army ‘Spirit’ Multi-Tool
We may go on about the size of our LCD TVs, but when it comes down to it, there’s nothing we men like better than a bit of Swiss Army engineering. And the Spirit is a fine example of this. Not only does it look great and come in a tasteful leather case, but it boasts four screwdrivers, pliers, saw, bottle opener, wire cutters, ruler, blades, can opener and chisel. This will help even metrosexuals ‘man up’. Grrr.
£129, www.victorinox.ch
Pijama Computer Cases
There is something utterly charming about Pijama’s range of cases for your laptops (both Macs and PCs) and iPods. Made in Italy from wool and cotton, the cases come in a range of retro-styled patterns, including tartans of many hues and 1960s-style checks that look like the seat covers your dad used to put in his Ford Escort. There’s even a Prince of Wales check for those who want that upmarket touch. Very chic.
Price on request, www.pijama.it
 
Five Things To Know About…
The X Series Walkman
1. The X Series is Sony’s newest contender in a field dominated by the Apple iPod Touch.
2. It has a beautiful OLED (organic, light-emitting diode) touchscreen which is intuitive and responsive when you navigate through it.
3. At 3.5in wide, it is half an inch smaller than the Touch. It’s also thicker. It’s available with either 16 or 32GB of memory.
4. It can play videos on YouTube and downloads from the BBC’s iPlayer, but the browser is slow and clunky compared to its Apple rival.
5. The X Series doesn’t automatically join a known Wi-Fi network when it detects it. This needs fixing.
From £175, www.sony.co.uk/walkman
