Tired of your uninspired and unimpressive computer keyboard? Why not brighten it up with a particularly fine spot of veneer? The staff here at Wired has taken a real shine to the stunning new range of Artifact wood vener keyboards. We'd strongly recommend the walnut, but you can also go for a deeply un-PC rare hardwood special edition. And hey! Why not? John Major doesn't have the copyright on being wooden and grey, right?Artifact wood veneer keyboards, various models and finishes: £199 to £499. Artifact: (01689) 823406.
Under this crisp, glossy walnut shell lies a delightful sugar-sweet centre, packed with enough hi-tech comms goodness to satisfy even the most discerning advertising type. The cover of this Nokia 2110 Accent mobile phone is actually made from cleverly coloured plastic, but you'd have to look long and hard at the glossy woodgrain to guess the fact. Perfect for retro yuppies experiencing twinges of environmental angst.Nokia 2110 "Accent" coloured cover: £25. Nokia 2110 mobile phone: around £175. Nokia (0990) 002110.
In a market replete with palmtops, the Psion Series 3 still holds its own; in fact, one could even argue that the little PDA is something of a design classic. But not content to rest on their laurels (or indeed their walnuts) Psion have given their baby a face lift. Yes, you can now get a faux-walnut PDA all of your very own, a possibility that vastly overshadows the release of London Underground map software and various email packages for the pocket wonder.Psion Series 3a Limited Edition: £450. Psion: (0990) 143061.
Marantz claim that the form of their sleek new Arch 1.0 hi-fi was inspired by "the heart-lifting natural arc of green boughs over a country lane." How they got from there to here is anybody's guess (one hopes that the aforementioned boughs were not chopped down to form the Arch's stylish walnut casing), but the finished product looks great anyway. And with a six-disc CD player, a three-band tuner and a top-spec stereo amplifier built in, it probably sounds pretty damn good, too.The Arch 1.0: £1,499. Marantz Hi-Fi UK: (01753) 680868.
With the SuperSonic Ear from Wild Planet Toys, every kid can have Bionic Woman's superpower hearing. The SuperSonic Ear picks up sounds via the satellite-dish acoustic antenna, amplifies the signal and then outputs it to a pair of headphones. Wild Planet thinks the Ear will let kids listen to the sounds of birds and other animals without disturbing them in their natural habitat. Dreamers, it's just the job for undercover sibling surveillance.SuperSonic Ear: £19.99. Available this September from Hamleys: (0171) 734 3161.
Bored of sitting outside on a summer's eve listening to the tweet of birds? Fret no more - bring your living room to your garden with these totally naturalistic speaker housings from OWI Inc. Manufactured in Compton, California, and designed to house OWI's weatherproof speakers, the "L.A. Rockers" are made from genuine concrete, weigh hundreds of pounds apiece and are UV-resistant as well as bug, puppy and lawn-mower proof. You can even hide in them during riots.L.A. Rockers: $US300 to $800 per rock. Speakers not included. OWI Inc.: +1 (310) 638 4732, email owi@ix.netcom.com.
Snowboarders are an independent lot, only truly happy when surfing around the ski slopes at high speed, pissing off the more gentlemanly skiers or disappearing over the edge of some near-vertical drop covered in virgin powder. Now they can piss skiers off even more by never having to queue for ski lifts and by being able to get to even more inaccessible places - if they have a Powerboard. When gravity can't help you out, this little baby will get you around at a tidy 56km/h. The price? An equally tidy £1,500.Cristi Collection: (01647) 433591.
"Hi honey, it's me. I've just got in from aerobics, but I'm too tired to come over. Think I'm gonna go straight to bed. See you tomorrow night." Ever had a sneaking suspicion your partner's pulling a fast one on you? With this truth phone, there's no longer any need to build that traditional relationship based on trust. If your phone's got a built in Voice Stress Analyser, it's easy to tell whether or not someone's pulling the wool over your ears.The Truth Phone: £2,700. Available exclusively from Communication Control Systems Ltd.: (0171) 408 0287.