I've just been hob-nobbing down Liverpool Street way with a chap from US Robotics, who introduced me to the catchily-named USR9610. (Mercifully, it also goes by the name of 'US Robotics USB Internet Speakerphone').

It looks like something that landed near Roswell and may cause confusion for short-sighted smokers who need to offload some ash, but it's actually a Skype-certified phone. Plug the £45 gadget into your computer's USB port, and you can make Skype calls to you heart's content.

The UFO speakerphone, as I shall now be calling it, is a brilliant idea for those of us who hate being tethered to a headset - or for the more sociable among you, who might want to chat en masse to some lucky recipient. The unit is powered through your USB with no need for a clunky AC adaptor, so it's eminently portable.

Just don't let anyone stub out their ciggie in it.