Tech Talk: Seasonal inventiveness

1. Smart Gloves (£10, iwantoneofthose.com): A big, thick pair of gloves can make winter weather that bit more bearable – that is, until you have take them off every five minutes to operate your mobile phone’s touch screen. The problem has been solved with “Smart Gloves”, which contain conductive material woven into the forefinger, middle finger and thumb tips enabling you to prod away at your phone without exposing your hand to the cold. They’re compatible with iPhone, Android and other touch screen devices.

2. Amazon Kindle (£89, amazon.co.uk): Amazon’s redesigned ebook reader is also its lightest and cheapest yet. This new Wi-Fi-only version features a five button interface instead of a keyboard, resulting in a bigger screen and pleasantly simple operation. With over a quarter of a million ebooks available to buy from Amazon, the Kindle can store up to 1,400 of them on its internal memory and lasts up to a month on a single charge, making it the perfect travel companion for bookworms.

3. USB Cup/Mug Warmer (£5, paramountzone.com): Perfect for keeping hot chocolate warm on those winter days or for ensuring that coffee you made in the office doesn’t turn cold, this is the cheapest cup warmer out there. Simply plugging it into a spare USB port and placing your mug on top will keep your drink warm for another 30 minutes, which can make all the difference between enjoying a decent cup and throwing it out to make another one.

4. Mutewatch (£185, milkconceptboutique.eu): A lesson in Swedish minimalism, the Mutewatch is a luxury timekeeping device for both gadget fans and those who prefer to look good while wearing the time. The watch features a capacitive touch screen that appears blank until a flick of your wrist (or a tap of the screen) reveals a digital clock. A useful device for anyone who sleeps wearing earplugs, it also features a vibrating alarm clock that varies in intensity depending on how much you’re moving when it goes off.

5. Lightblade Umbrella (£16, zavvi.com): Love sci-fi? Hate getting wet? If so, the Lightblade Umbrella just may appeal to you. Powered by three AAA batteries, pressing a button on the umbrella’s light sabre-shaped central handle makes it illuminate. Apart from making you stand-out from the crowd on the way to work, it is practical – giving you light when you’re scrabbling with keys at a door at night.