Top 10 Christmas gadgets

Santa would be proud to kit out his sleigh with one of these. There's no CD or tape deck in the Parrot RK8200 car stereo (£149.99), which frees up space for a handy recess behind the faceplate for stashing sunglasses, mobile or carrots (for the reindeer). Instead of all that 20th century technology, the RK8200 sports a USB port, SD card reader, line-in jack, iPod connector and A2DP Bluetooth. Photograph: PR

Unlike other portable games consoles you might find under the Christmas tree, the Nintendo DS Lite (from around £100) is unlikely to get you into trouble in the new year. It’s much sleeker and lighter than the original DS, so you can slip it into your pocket when your boss approaches. Wi-fi allows players to interact with each other online or in the office. Photograph: Public domain

For parents who can't face cleaning up after a real pet, Pleo could be a big hit this Christmas. The baby robotic dinosaur (£250) is stuffed with high-tech wizardry, including pressure sensors beneath its polymer skin, infrared in its head, force-feedback sensors in its toes and 14 servo motors. Pleo can express joy and aggression, apparently. It can also yawn, sigh, sniff, sniffle, snore and sneeze. One question for the vet: is Pleo a boy or a girl? Photograph: PR

The Archos 605 WiFi portable media player, which was launched in September (from £136), has a touchscreen and can wirelessly download movies, TV and music. PMPs have been getting smaller and easier to use, which may be just the excuse you've been waiting for to take a hammer to your piggy bank. Photograph: PR

"Galaxy is pure pleasure from start to finish: it's surreal, cute but never twee, endlessly inventive and distinctly psychedelic," wrote Steve Boxer in The Guardian in November. As ever, Mario must rescue Princess Peach from Bowser's clutches, but this time it involves being catapulted into outer space. Sounds like a great way to pass the time on Boxing Day. Photograph: PR

Big is back. Bucking the trend towards miniaturisation, the new iPod touch (£199 or £269) sports a widescreen designed to tempt more people into watching films and TV on their iPod. Other selling points are the touch-sensitive display and wireless internet capability, which allows you to download music without synchronising to iTunes on a computer. Photograph: PR

Buying a cute little laptop will usually burn a hole in your pocket, but Santa could pick up this Asus Eee PC for $199 (sold in the UK as the MiniBook at £169 plus VAT). There's no hard drive - everything is stored on a 4GB memory chip. Great for communicating or writing on the hoof. On the minus side for those with big hands, the keys are diddly. But at this price who's complaining? Photograph: PR

November 9: The iPhone, the most hyped gadget of the year, launches in Britain to a rapturous reception. Read the article Photograph: PR

If you know someone who keeps calling you to ask for directions, this is the perfect gift. With Nokia's latest Internet Tablet - essentially an electronic Filofax - they won't even have to connect to the net to find their way around. The N810 has built-in maps integrated with GPS. Unveiled in October, it also has a sleeker look than its ancestors, a slide-out keyboard and longer battery life. Isn't evolution wonderful? Photograph: PR

If someone invites you to a “wee party” on new year’s eve, the chances are the entertainment will centre around Nintendo’s Wii rather than chunks of coal and Auld Land Syne. You don’t need to be a games geek to pick up the Wii's wireless remote and start playing Donkey Kong or Super Swing Golf. For anyone who wants to buy one as a present, though, the challenge will be getting your hands on one before Christmas... Photograph: PR