That gadgets have become “a girl's best friend” was confirmed in 2006 when Oxygen Media, a US cable TV network, released its Women’s Watch: Girls Gone Wired survey. The results of the study confirm that women are not so different from men after all, at least when it comes to gadgets.

The majority of the women surveyed – 78 percent – said they would rather have a new, top-of-the-line mobile phone than a new pair of designer shoes. They also said that they preferred digital cameras and iPods to shoes and clothes. But perhaps even more surprisingly, almost 80 percent of them said they felt comfortable with technology.

“Fashion and technology are converging rapidly,” Joanne Illingworth, brand marketing manager of electrical retail chain Dixons, told UK newspaper The Observer back in 2005.

“Look at the number of adverts devoted to gadgets. They are taking up space and time slots that were previously occupied by fashion or make-up. Technology is a fashion statement. What’s the first thing anyone does when they get to a pub or a restaurant? They get their phone out of their bag and put it on the table – partly in case they get a call or a text, but partly because they are showing off. Women need their mobiles, and their gadgets generally, to make a statement.”

Katie Lee, journalist and editor of Shiny Shiny, an online guide to gadgets for girls, was quoted in the same article, saying: “As things have got smaller, women have got more interested because, physically, these laptops, phones, whatever, are easier to carry around. There’s a straightforward appeal in things being pink or sparkling or cute, but if they don’t do what we need them to do, or if they are too big, we don’t care.”

The gadgets on Lee’s weblog range from the BlackBerry Pearl, a smartphone that its maker, Canadian company Research In Motion, says combines style with “the gold standard in wireless email,” to Samsung’s NV3 camera, which not only takes photos, but also acts as a media player. In other words, the gadgets are not very different from what you see on other gadget sites.

Not surprisingly, children are also becoming “gadget obsessed,” as Cartoon Network Australia discovered. A survey commissioned by the TV channel revealed that the majority of children who participated in the study own a range of attractive gadgets, from mobile phones and video games to iPods and mp3 players.

This is good news for companies such as Sony, which has launched a gadget directed at young people. Mylo, short for my life online, is a web browser, messaging program, wireless phone and digital music player, all in one handheld device. And another new gadget that might get young people flocking is the MusicDock, from Swedish company PopCatcher. The gadget allows users to legally download music from the radio while removing all the talking and commercials.

Quoted by morning newspaper Metro in Sweden, Jakob Berg, CEO of PopCatcher, said: “All you have to do is select your favorite station, let it run for a little while, and then you’ll have a complete set of songs on your mp3 player.”

This year also saw the release of several other special gadgets. The new devices range from Sony Ericsson’s Bluetooth watch, which displays the names of those who call your mobile, to Mio A701, a device created by Mio Technology Limited that combines a phone, hand-held computer and GPS navigator.

Upcoming gadgets include the “FingerWhisper,” from Japanese phone firm NTT DoCoMo, which the company describes as a wristband “that utilizes the human hand as part of the receiver.” The launch date has yet to be finalized but the company says it is going to be “one of the new paradigms in ubiquitous computing.” Only time will tell, but we can safely say that 2007 is going to be yet another gadget-crazy year.

Torunn Hansen-Tangen