A new craze in Europe, poken products pool all of your social networks into one high-end device. Appearing like a mixture of USB stick and a simple keychain accessory, it allows the exchange of online social networking data between two devices when one poken gives another poken a "high-four" (as opposed to five, due to its four-fingered logo.) Widely popular with younger people, some clubs have even started up poken nights and parties, jump-starting relationships that can continue online.

Web-streaming rented content to a TV or PC from a huge choice of Netflix options, via software such as Boxee (which also has other features), offers instant gratification for our City Correspondents. But for Hollywood, this poses a dominant brand-led challenge similar to that posed by iTunes to the music industry. Efforts by the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem to encourage consumers to purchase content for playback on multiple devices will have to contend with this trend to download affordably from a trusted brand source.

The Connected Car

Unveiled at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, social networking will now branch into automotives. The My Ford Touch system integrates Twitter’s Open Beak application and voice-activated text messaging, turning even the daily commute into an opportunity for interactive communication and entertainment - possibly even more dangerous than applying mascara at the wheel!

The YouTube Playing Microwave

Demonstrating the trend toward a convergence of media and appliances, the Japanese-designed CastOven microwave is designed to warm food and find a YouTube video of equal length to entertain you while you wait. The microwave door is replaced with a 10.4-inch LED screen and a set of quality speakers. Once it's released onto the market, all you'll need is a Mac to run it...