Apple iPod Touch
Price: 8GB model, HK$2,400; 16GB model, HK$3,200
This is without question the sexiest iPod (or MP3 player) out there. It has just about everything the iPhone has but without the phone part. (The iPhone is meant to arrive next year in Hong Kong). Play with the screen for just a little bit and you will be hooked. There is only one button and it takes you back to a home screen - everything else is by touch. Put two fingers together on the screen and spread them apart and the screen zooms. The entire interface is very intuitive and clever. Turn the device on its side and the screen changes from portrait to landscape. Those who use it say it handles e-mail better than any other device on the market. Also, there are new 'Widgets' - the name for iPod Touch and iPhone applications - coming out on a regular basis. This is certainly something worth putting in somebody's stocking this Christmas.
Philips Lock Out
Price: HK$1,530
According to executives from Philips, women are increasingly buying IT gadgets. With that in mind, the Dutch electronics giant decided to make a deal with Swarovski, the Austrian jeweller. It is bringing out fine jewellery that 'comes apart' to reveal a USB drive that holds one gigabyte of data. If your significant other uses a computer and never has room for her files in her handbag, this could be the perfect gift. Never did the expression 'taking your work home with you' have quite the same meaning. As the name implies, Lock Out is the shape of a padlock. How successful this will be may well depend on what it really looks and feels like in your hand. Jewellery may be a good gift for some but not for all. Although these items look fine and reports from those who have seen them say they do indeed live up to their looks, it would probably be prudent to hold one of these before buying it.