No craze is complete without its own gadgets. This new Sudoku aid looks just like another Japanese obsession — the "keitai" — with players using the number keypad to enter their sudoku answers. It costs ¥1,029, with more information available at item.rakuten.co.jp/wnd-minakuru/4582256_900052/. If nothing else it allows you to indulge your love of the numbers without giving the game away.
Multitasking watch: Watches are reportedly falling from grace in Japan, as people prefer to use the ubiquitous mobile phone as timepieces. These watches from Brando might not restore the specialist timekeepers to their position of favor but they at least do their own version of the multimedia game. The MP4 Watch functions as a music player, FM radio, voice recorder, photo album and e-book reader, with files downloaded via the great essential, USB. The flash memory options of 2 gigabytes and 4 gigabytes are generous enough but the 1.8-inch screen might be a little lacking for photos and e-books. It does, however, have the decency to perform as a digital watch. More information is available at usb.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=00335.
For the alien in you: Rather than taking the Swiss Army knife approach, Sea Hope is relying on pure entertainment in its bid to keep the watch alive. One of its models offers up some familiar symbols for radioactivity as its basic face, with the time offered as a side dish. The second takes imagination even a step further. The timepiece purports to tell you what proportion of your DNA is alien. One for the reality challenged. These and other creations of nimble minds can be checked out at http://seahope.com/.