The World’s Smallest Gadgets for 2008

or certain fields of consumer gadgets, technological advancement seems to be synonymous with making gadgets smaller: thinner laptops and lighter phones, as well as miniature MP3 players and the matchbox-sized television screens with which they can be equipped.

Smarter, smaller electronics combined with a consumer thirst for lighter, more portable gadgets is the major driving force behind the trend for tinier technologies. There is also the aspect of the small gadget as the status symbol; a smaller gadget signifies for some a more advanced, more expensive piece of kit.

Here we’ve collected a selection of the smallest gadgets around - for the time being. With technology getting more compact everyday, it is only a matter of time before one tiny gadget is outdone by an even tinier one.

The lightest mobile phone: Modu

The Guinness Book of World Records recently named the Modu mini phone as the lightest mobile phone in the world. It’s just over 7.5 mm thick and, as the image shows, it weighs a mere 40.1g.

Smallest plasma television: LG 32PC5RV

A bit of a cheat, this one: LG claim that theirs is the “smallest” plasma screen HD TV in the world, measuring a mere 32 inches across. The idea is that the smallest plasma televisions previously available in the UK have been 37 inch models.

It might be that the majority of buyers in the market for a flashy television generally think bigger is better…

The smallest screen: MicroEmissive Displays

“[MicroEmissive Displays] has created the world’s smallest television screen.” So said the Guinness Book of World records a few years back, and indeed it is hard to imagine a screen tinier than those of Scottish microelectronics firm MicroEmissive Displays.

Miniature mouse: MicroNav

Claiming to be “the electronic industry’’s most compact and advanced OEM pointing device”, the MicroNav certainly is micro. At less than 1 cm square in area, this could well be the world’s smallest mouse.

Thinnest laptop: MacBook Air

Not necessarily the smallest laptop in terms of breadth and height, but the ultrathin MacBook Air beats the competition in terms of depth: it’s less than 20 mm across at its thickest point, tapering to a mere 4 mm at its thinnest.

Tiniest MP3 player: Ultimate Smallest MP3 Player

A descriptively titled gadget, the Ultimate Smallest MP3 player claims to be not just the tiniest MP3 player in the world, but “in the universe”. Who are we to argue against an electronics maker with extraterrestrial knowledge? Its dimensions are given as 24 mm x 24 mm x 24 mm.

Smallest iPod: iPod shuffle

Apple branded their iPod shuffle as the “world’s smallest MP3 player” back in 2006. At 27 mm high, 41 mm wide and 11 mm thick, it’s certainly still a contender in the field, and the smallest iPod by a fairly wide margin.

Smallest digital video camera: Digital Cowboy DVR-SP

Exhibited at CES 2008, the Digital Cowboy DVR-SP is the smallest consumer digital video camera. It is about the same size as a cigarette lighter but does sacrifice quality for compactness: the video resolution is 176 x 144 pixels

Gadget Advisor Gives Smart Counsels

Advertisers and salespeople will tell you that their products or services are the best in the market today. Believe not. Nothing is more reliable than the reviews of the people who used the products themselves or the people who subscribed to the services offered by them. If you are looking for a universal remote control or a network media player, get informed first about the products you’re planning to purchase, lest you feel discontented upon using them. In need of  online backup services, read the instructive reviews of your online gadget partner in the web—Gadget Advisor.

Think twice before you buy, consult gadgetadvisor.com