Although web cams were originally developed, and sold as devices for, video conferencing purposes, they were quickly taken up by consumers for more general videoing activities.  As a result, extra features, such as face decorating software and avatar personas, were often included as a standard part of the package.

The solution proposed by 3Dconnexion, a division of Logitech best known for their mice and keyboards, is the SpaceNavigator, described as a 3D mouse. We reviewed the SpaceNavigator back in September 2007 ( ). you can read that review here 3Dconnexion have now released a smaller, lighter Navigator - for notebooks. To recap - the SpaceNavigator in a single hand control allows you to : pan, zoom, tilt, spin, roll, move.

I have a theory that somewhere in the world, residing in a darken room, is somebody who has been set the task of dreaming up names for new products within the sphere of computing.  One of the latest offering to emerge from this room is that of Alto Cordless which brings together a notebook docking station and a wireless keyboard. Developed by Logitech, the Alto Cordless adopts a predominately black covering for both of its main elements.

There has been a great deal written about RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury) and the effect it can have on those tied to a computer for most of their working life.  Even the average computer user is estimated to type more than two million keystrokes in a year.

Logitech VX Nano This is a small (described as for a notebook) mouse, however the real surprise is the transmitter that fits in an USB port it's so small that it fits in the base of the mouse so you just plug it in when you wish to work. So the dimensions the mouse is a maximum of 9x6x3cm with the front edge reducing the 3cm thickness to only a single centimetre.

It is 4.5cm tall and the width and depth to the back of the clip are both 4cm. The lens itself is less than a centimetre across. The USB lead is 70cm again designed for use only on notebooks. I stress the notebook angle as even if you have a flat panel the jaw of the grip of the camera is unlikely to stretch to fit as it is only 1.5cm when fully open.

Like many others, over time I have built up a large collection of MP3 song titles stored on my computer.  I hasten to add that all the various tracks have been legally purchased.  While this is a convenient method of storing a music collection, it does place certain restrictions on the ability to listen to the music.

The Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 Laser product consists of a keyboard, mouse, USB RF receiver, software CD and the various batteries required to power the mouse and keyboard.  As I had been sent the product direct from , I was not too surprised to find that the keyboard layout followed the standard pattern of positioning some of the keys in locations that might cause confusion some users.

Joining Logitech's family of webcam devices is the .  With more than a passing resemblance to the earlier QuickCam Fusion, this new model is shaped like a stubby lollipop resting on its side with the camera at the bulbous end and the build-in microphone at the other end.  There is also a switch mounted alongside the camera for taking snapshots. QuickCam Pro 9000 This webcam's camera functionality is based on Carl Zeiss optics.

So apart from this being a full size keyboard it also comes with a stand to raise your notebooks screen so that in effect you have the same arrangement as you would get with a desktop, so you just put your laptop in the stand and forget it has a keyboard once you have tuned the cordless offering here to your notebook.

The camera is quite small it can sit on top of a monitor, clip over a panel or even clip over a note. However they do an either smaller model (with the same 2MP resolution) especially for notebooks that I hope to tell you about later in the year. It is 10cm long between 3cm and 4cm (at the lens end) wide and around 3cm deep if you ignore the gripping arm that swivels to different combinations to suit monitors, panels or notebooks. There is a 1.

For one thing you're periodically looking from the world to the controls to click on rotate, or zoom or move or whatever. SpaceNavigator, from 3Dconnexion (part of Logitech) can help with this. It gives you a single control that allows you to manipulate all the various aspects of navigating in three dimensions : pan, zoom, tilt, spin, roll, move. That's a lot from one control.

Logitech MX Air mouse Originally referred to as "The Mouse Company", Logitech has developed into a world leader in the development and manufacture of a range of personal computer peripherals that make use of the latest technology.

Microsoft LifeChat ZX-6000 This device was first created for use with a X-Box but have been given a new life to work with a PC. It is stated to work with all flavours of XP or Vista. The base station fits in any USB port it is 6.5x4x1.5cm and it has a 1.7metre lead. The earpiece is chunky by comparison to some but it is comfortable to wear.

While the various flavours of the iPod continue to dominate the personal listening arena, the product is also to make inroads into home and group listening circles.  The impetus for this incursion is being driven by several third-party companies who have developed different add-ons to take advantage of the iPod phenomena.  One such offering is the mm50 from Logitech.

The letter "X" is becoming increasingly popular when naming computer items.  Quickly checking around reveals that both software and hardware products have jumped onto this particular bandwagon.  We have operating systems using this letter; various applications use the "X" in their version number; and, of course, there is that popular game console from the giant of Redmond.

It was an easy call to select the next item for review.  Actually it was a that was to become the centre of attention.  The desktop element of this particular product's title refers to the keyboard and optical mouse while the EasyCall appendage relates to a module which combines a wireless receiver unit and speakerphone.  A headset and sixty minutes of free international calls via Skype are included in this package.

I used the with three different PC's and three notebooks, in five out of six cases I was more than happy with both the quantity and quality of sound they gave. Logitech V20 speakers Inside the box is a 25x18x6cm toughened zip up case and this contains the pair of speakers 16x8x4cm and a very small user guide, that's it, no CD nothing else.

Adding to its range of mice, Logitech has launched its LX5 Cordless Optical model.  As its title implies, this is a wireless mouse that use optical technology, rather than the ball method, for providing positioning information.  Tastefully coloured in black and matt grey, this two-buttoned, wheeled mouse connects to the computer via a wireless receiver that can be attached either to a USB or PS/2 port through the use of a supplied adapter.