LIFE WITH GADGETS

THE Apple iPhone has been voted the coolest gadget of the year, despite not being launched in Britain until next month.
The revolutionary phone, expected to fly off the shelves with a £330-plus price tag, came first in a top ten must-have list.

The judges, from technology magazine Stuff, said: "It's the coolest gadget of the year by a country mile."

They added that its gesture-sensitive touch screen was a big step forward in technology.

"It remains the most impressive piece of technology we've seen this decade - it really must be seen to be believed."

Tom Dunsmore, Stuff editor-in-chief, said the winners were selected on their "stand-out" quality rather than sales success, functionality or value for money. He added: "Gadgets are getting more stylish and more desirable every year. This year's list is packed with must-have Christmas gifts so beautifully designed and such a joy to use that they'll appeal to technophobes as well as gadget- lovers."

Second place was taken by the Leica M8 camera, described by the judging panel as "a 20th-century classic with a 21st-century makeover" and which is priced at a cool £3,999.

The Tonium Pacemaker - an iPod-style gadget for DJs which allows them to mix music without turntables - came third. The tiny Sony Vaio UX1 PC was fourth. Then came the smash-hit Nintendo Wii games console, which reacts to the movements of the user, allowing realistic games of sports like tennis to be played out on screen.

A mobile phone, the Sony Ericcson W880 phone - a "superslim phone with an unequalled wow factor" - was sixth. The final four positions were taken up by the Shanling MC-30 Amp Valve, described as "hi-fi for the MP3 player age"; the Wattson energy calculator, which works out household energy consumption in cost or watts; the Sony Ericsson MBW Bluetooth watch, which controls mobile phone functions from a wristwatch; and the already-legendary iPod Nano MP3 player.

The Scotsman Magazine technology writer Nick Clayton said the iPhone deserved to top the list as it was revolutionary, while the others were mostly developments of previous technology.

He added: "They also share the expense factor - these aren't really gadgets for the masses, with the exception of the iPod Nano and the Wii.

"But one thing they all have in common is that they are relatively easy to use and would look good in your living room.

"And a large proportion of them would be as popular with women as with men, which is an increasing trend."

He said the iPod Nano was "a classic example" where the market was at least as big with women as with men.

He added: "Similarly, with the Wii, a lot of games are equally suitable for men and women."

If he had the pick of the list, he would choose the Wii as "it's re- latively cheap, it looks nice, and does what it does very well".