I love tech toys, quite clearly (I haven't let go of the iPhone since last Friday), but very rarely are they simple. Even with my resistance to instructions, I usually have to dig out the manual once or twice, and even then, many functions remain mysteries forever. Not so with the the U-mate dot creator, a tiny gadget with a 16 x 16 ultra mini screen, which does just one thing- lets you jot little pixel drawings. A push of the "animate button" will give your drawing life (well, you know, make it look like a foot is moving, or something along those lines). I had something sort of like this many years ago, only it was huge, and I spent many hours drawing unindentifiable, moving images and it was so much fun. Yes, you can get simple programs like this for your PDA or cell phone, but then it's a diversion for the the real things you're supposed to be doing on the phone- the whole point of the U-mate is to have fun. No manual necessary.

U-mate dot creator is available only in Japan, but can be ordered worldwide, for $35, from Audiocubes.