Some items start off as gadgets, but then become sufficiently mass-market that they no longer really qualify for the term.

For example, digital cameras were gadgets many years ago but are everyday items now.

As I still get asked for my recommendations on these, this page provides a quick summary of my recommended models.

Pocket digicam

Mine: Fuji F30

I look for three things in a pocket camera. First, image quality in good light. The main use mine gets is for the trip reports on my Nurburgring website, where I don't want a DSLR rattling around inside a track car, nor do I want to spend time taking anything other than snapshots. The F30 does a great job there.

Second, image quality in low-light. People often don't think about this, but the majority of digital snapshots are taken indoors: at parties, in pubs, in restaurants, etc. A camera that is fantastic in bright sunlight is no use if it's hopeless in low light. The F30 gives better results at ISO400 than most pocket cameras do at ISO100, gives very good results at ISO800 and acceptable results even at ISO1600.

Third, some degree of manual control. If I want to take proper photos rather than snapshots, I'll take an SLR with me, but I still want to be able to choose my settings, and the F30 allows me to do that. It lacks a full manual mode (despite the misleading M on the mode dial), but offers aperture and shutter priority, exposure-compensation and manual control of ISO.

Camcorder

I don't use one often enough to justify upgrading my old Canon MV600i, but if I were in the market for one today, I'd buy one of the JVC hard-drive models. The only weakness seems to be battery life, but most video footage is short, and for in-car use, you can power it from the car.

mp3 player

Mine: 160Gb iPod Classic

iPods may be a fashion statement for some, but to my mind no-one has yet created a better mp3 player on the pure gadget level. The user-interface is totally instinctive, it's really fast to navigate and there is just an amazing number of accessories available.

In my living room, I have the iPod dock connected to my hifi system. For use in other rooms, I have an iBass dock/speaker - this really gives impressive quality and volume for such a small unit.

I started with the 30Gb iPod (bought on the day it came out) and now have the 160Gb classic iPod. Capacity is key to me as I hold my entire music collection on my iPod, hence going for that rather than one of the touchscreen models.

Phone

Mine: O2 XDA Trion

My first combined phone & PDA was the Treo 180. This was revolutionary for its time, and I'd long been a fan of the Palm operating system. I later replaced it with a Treo 600, and then waited patiently for a 3G version. And waited, and waited, and waited.

Eventually, I gave in and bought an O2 XDA Exec (in Orange SPV M5000 colours). Windows Mobile is nothing like as slick as PalmOS, but it was a decent pocket PC - and a terrible phone.

I replaced it with an O2 XDA Trion. This offers all the functionality of the XDA Exec, but is faster, smaller and is actually a decent phone. Although the keyboard is significantly smaller, it is very well designed and I can type on it at close to XDA Exec speeds.

I recommend adding SPV Pocket Plus software - this provides a range of useful enhancements, most notably the ability to create your own desktop - the apps, documents and indicators you want, with the icons you want, in the layout you want.