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I like my gadgets. I've got a mobile phone, which my friends complain I never answer. I've got a Blackberry so I can nag my colleagues round the clock. There's an MP4 player in the bag somewhere, though that's mostly for Terry Wogan's weekly podcast.

I don't buy gadgets for the sake of having a new toy. My mobile is battered and scratched and old, but it still works perfectly well; so instead of an upgrade, I just bought a new cover. The PDA is new-ish, but only because the old one smashed and I got it replaced on the insurance.

So I like them, but only because they're useful and make life easier. They're must-haves, not want-to-haves.

Which is why I'm treating this thing on my desk with some suspicion.

It's a portable reader system, or as it's more usefully known, an electronic book. And apparently it's going to be the next big thing in your bedroom and your office.

This one has been loaded up with 14 different books, but can hold as many as 150 in its internal memory and many more on memory cards. That's one of its big selling points - it's certainly a lot more portable than 150 bound volumes.

But is it more convenient? I don't like the way the screen flickers, and if I have to have one more charger at home I may have to seek planning permission for my own power station in the garden.

See what you think yourself when we give it a road test on the programme.

Tuesday is our day for looking at gadgets. I've got a shed - my tech shed - and Naga is banned from entering it.

Oh, in your bedroom and your office? This technology isn't just for Barbara Cartland novels. Businesses that use a lot of paper, or process a lot of documents, are looking at it keenly. It could save them a lot of paper - particularly the small green slips that say "I promise to pay the bearer on demand ..."

What else have we got?

See you at 1230.