Olympus Tough 6010 camera
Reasons to buy This is a simple to use, 12-megapixel digital camera that can withstand being dropped from five feet and can take pictures underwater. It’s as close to indestructible as a gadget gets.
Reasons not to You demand more control over your images, and you have a very careful nature.
Verdict This is a brilliant bit of kit, as useful in the lecture theatre as on the beach.
Price Around £210
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www.olympus.co.uk
Macbook Pro 13-inch
Reasons to buy This is a fully featured computer in miniature, complete with DVD drive and all the usual Apple software for your music, video and work needs.
Reasons not to It’s not as light as you might like, so if you plan on carrying it all day, you might damage your shoulder less with a netbook.
Verdict It’s a great machine, fast enough to replace far bigger computers, but at a price. For an equally well built machine for less money (but with Windows and no DVD drive), take at look at the Toshiba NB200 mini notebook (around £330).
Price From £899
www.apple.com/uk
Blackberry Curve 8520
Reasons to buy The brand-new Curve 8520 is aimed at regular consumers rather than business types and comes loaded with social networking applications, at a very reasonable price.
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Reasons not to The BlackBerry interface does take some getting used to, and it lacks the status of an iPhone, even though it can do (almost) as many things.
Verdict If you need e-mail on the move, plus mobile internet access and a phone and organiser wrapped into one, then this is the perfect machine. It will dominate your life, though.
Price From £25 per month on contract
www.vodafone.co.uk
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Bose Computer Music Monitor
Reasons to buy You’ve got all your music stored on your computer, but its speakers are rubbish. These bring great quality sound in a small package.
Reasons not to Like all Bose products they’re pricy.
Verdict If you are saving space by not having a separate CD player or hi-fi, a pair of speakers like this is a near essential purchase. Cheaper options are available from the likes of Creative and Logitech.
Price Around £299
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www.bose.co.uk
FrancisFrancis X1 espresso machine
Reasons to buy It’s a design classic, possibly the most photographed coffee machine on the planet. Sooner or later you will have to stay up all night working on an assignment, and you will need to strong black espresso that this delivers perfectly.
Reasons not to It is a pricy investment. Then again, it can pay for itself on saved money at Starbucks.
Verdict Simple and elegant, the X1 is all but irresistible. Cheaper alternatives, from around £40, are made by the likes of Russell Hobbs. But they don’t look as nice.
Price From £395
www.ilovecoffee.co.uk
Olympus WS-210S Digital Voice Recorder
Reasons to buy Despite the best intentions, you can’t pay attention to every minute of every lecture. This records in great detail, and you can save the files to a PC or Mac for later listening or archiving.
Reasons not to In the unlikely even that all your lectures are thrilling and you can take copious notes, and read them while hungover, you won’t need it.
Verdict If you decide you need one of these, then the Olympus is the choice of the pros.
Price Around £70
www.olympus.co.uk