ARE you the kind of girl who thinks Bluetooth is what happens when you forget a dental appointment, or that Blackberries are only for pies? Don't despair! Gadgets and gizmos are no longer just for geeky guys. With apologies to feminists, here, male chauvinist pig DAVID THOMAS brings you the Blondes' Guide To Gadgets, while ELLA WILLIAMSON, the 'gadget girl' from TV's Something For The Weekend, gives her verdict..

PHILIPS AMBILIGHT TELEVISION

THIS is a TV except it glows round the sides. The colours change, to match what's on screen, so if you're watching Sex And The City the light could be the same colour as Carrie's dress.

ELLA'S VERDICT: When viewed with Ambilight which fills the room with ambient lighting corresponding to the image on screen this HD (high definition) TV creates a more vivid experience. From ?578

SMILE DETECTION CAMERA

I THINK the world would be much happier if we all smiled more. And with this camera you set it to 'smile', 'grin' or 'great' grin, point it at someone and then it waits till they smile to take a picture. And if they don't smile, serves them right if they don't get on your Facebook page. Yes, those clever clogs have finally invented a camera that would never take a picture of grumpy, old Victoria Beckham.

ELLA'S VERDICT: Sony brought us 'face recognition' technology, which identifies face shapes by analysing the light and colour in the image. Smile detection, its latest innovation, is the next logical step. It not only recognises a face, but it gauges the changes in a face's dimensions, which means it can tell when you're grinning because your cheeks appear wider. With so many digital cameras on the market, Sony is investing heavily in setting itself apart. ?185

FIAT 500 WITH BLUETOOTH

IT'S the sweetest, girliest little car ever!!! And the inside has cute controls, all in white. But the really great thing is it's got the best-ever Bluetooth thingy that's so easy. You just put a code-number in your phone and you can talk (and talk, and talk!) hands-free. So that means you can do your make-up as you talk, and drive, all at once. OK, not really, only joking, would never do that, but you can talk. And drive, if your brain can handle all that.

ELLA'S VERDICT: Volkswagen brought back the Beetle, BMW revived the good old Mini, but the new Fiat 500 is affordable, it looks great and it offers the kind of top-spec features you'd expect to find in top-of-the-range cars..

If you have a mobile with Bluetooth capability (which lets your phone transmit data wirelessly on a radio frequency), a chip built into the dashboard of the Fiat allows you to operate your phone using voice recognition or the radio controls on your steering wheel so hands-free is built in. From ?8,100

INTELLIGENT WINE COOLER

THIS is so-o-o embarrassing a wine-cooler that's cleverer than I am. But it's really handy, cos if you've got the girls coming round, you'll need lots and lots of Chardonnay, and this gets it all nice and at just the right temperature.

ELLA'S VERDICT: This is one use for technology we can all appreciate. When you select a setting Merlot, perhaps the intelligent cooler, which plugs into the mains, uses sensors to detect the bottle temperature and sets about warming or cooling it to perfection. ?69.95

IPOD MUSIC PILLOW

S'POSE you like listening to James Blunt late at night and your man doesn't (they all hate James Blunt!). Well, plug this pillow into your iPod and when you lie on it you hear the music, all gently, but only in the ear that's on the pillow.

ELLA'S VERDICT: As this gadget proves, there's no end to the ways technology can personalise our worlds these days. It's very simple. There is a tiny speaker deeply embedded in the pillow which connects to the headphone jack of your radio or iPod or MP3 player via the audio cable that comes with it. ?20

DESKTOP VACUUM

YOU know those Henry vacuum cleaners with a big smile and the hose where their noses should be? Well, Hetty is like that, only it fits in your hand. You can use it to get rid of biscuit crumbs and cake-bits from your desk. There goes the diet.

ELLA'S VERDICT: A battery-powered novelty item which is almost 4in tall with a serious purpose. In workaholic Britain we spend more time at our desks than our European neighbours. If the office has become our second home, is it any wonder we're getting a little desk-proud? ?9.99

CASETTE MEMORY STICFK

US BLONDES sometimes can't remember things. So we need a memory-stick that can remember a giga-wotsit of stuff for us. That's what this is, only it's more fun than usual because it looks like an old cassette. But don't try to play it, cos it's not a real cassette derrrr.

ELLA'S VERDICT: It's shaped like an oldfashioned cassette, but this is a 1GB USB memory stick you can plug into your computer, and on which you can store all kinds of files including text, music, photos and videos. ?19.99

360-DEGREE MIRROR

IT'S A mirror, which is always so-o-o important! Well actually it's seven mirrors and they all fold out, to 360 degrees, which I think is the same as all the way round, or maybe even a bit more than that. So you can see what your hair looks like at the back. Or you can see if your bum looks big in that. That's seriously so cool.

ELLA'S VERDICT: It may not be hightech but, like all the best gadgets, the mirror provides a solution to a problem that's been bugging us for ever. It's hard to believe no one thought of it sooner. ?18

RETRO IPOD ALARM

OLD-FASHIONED alarm clocks are sweet, specially if they're pink. And iPods are cool. Well, this is a pink alarm clock that you can plug an iPod into, and then it wakes you up with a playlist of all your favourite music! Setting the time is the tricky bit.

ELLA'S VERDICT: Your iPod already has a built-in alarm clock function. All you need to do is connect it to this speaker dock, shaped like an old-fashioned alarm clock and it'll wake you with whatever tune gets you out of bed. It's a clever way to fuse new technology with the rather comforting idea of an alarm clock. ?39.95

WIZARD Z PEN

IT'S A pen, that writes and everything. But it records every movement you make, then you plug it into a computer and suddenly there's all your writing on screen (with nice circles and hearts above the 'i's!) Or if you're boring, you can take notes in lectures, then put them in your computer. As if!

ELLA'S VERDICT: The Z Pen makes it possible to save and then send handwritten missives as digital documents. Just clip the receiver to the top of the page and it will store every pen stroke in its memory. When you plug the receiver straight into your PC, the preloaded software will convert your handwriting into (handwritten) text. ?99.99

DIGITAL VIDEOCAM THIS is the best videocamera EVER.

It's tiny, and pink, and you just turn it on, point it at whatever you want, press one big button that you can't miss & and that's it. Now pull out a little thing from the side, plug it into your PC and your film's on YouTube in seconds, practically!!!

ELLA'S VERDICT: The Flip is the ultimate in user-friendliness, plugging straight into your computer's USB port and uploading with no fuss. It has a 2GB memory and a capacity to store up to an hour of video footage, as well as stills. (?99.95)

STUDIO-STYLE WEB CAM

SUPPOSE you want to record a video for your internet diary, or talk to your friends, or boyfriend, online, yeah? Well you've probably got a camera in your PC, but it makes you look yucky! Just plug in this cool Hollywood Web Gear movie-camera and spotlight into your computer and suddenly action! you're ready for your close-up.

ELLA'S VERDICT: This webcam, which just for fun looks like an old-fashioned studio camera, offers surprisingly high picture quality. Use it with the studio-style spotlight and it's perfect for creating YouTube videos or just video chatting with friends around the world. ?9.99 and ?4.99

TOUCH-SCREEN MOBILE

TED BAKER Needle Mobile Phone. First, it's pretty and lilac coloured. And does all the stuff like going online, playing music, taking pix etc. Plus, it's touch screen. Also the screen is big enough to use as a mirror and check your lippy in emergencies!

ELLA'S VERDICT: The iPhone and the hightech touch phones that came in its wake were aimed squarely at the male market. But as the limited edition, Needle Phone goes on sale, it's clear it is not just geeks and businessmen who want a phone that can do it all. E-mails, weather reports, music, video, it's all available at the touch of a button. Its stylus function makes it possible to handwrite your texts. Free with Orange.

DIGITAL PHOTOFRAME KEYRING

MOST keyrings just have pictures of your dog or soppy poems on. That's not a keyring, that's bo-o-ring! But this one will let you look at 31 digital pics of your boyfriend.

ELLA'S VERDICT: Even the best cameras and camera-phones can have grainy digital viewing screens. But this little keyring turns your favourite photos (which you can upload simply from your computer) into a portable collection that you can show in perfect high-resolution on the 1.5-inch screen. ?44.95