Communications

With the recession in full swing and now 7.6 percent of the UK's population unemployed, it's no wonder that the purse strings are tightening on luxuries such as new mobile phones. There are still some gems that shine through that even the most skint of magpies can't resist, for example, the Sony Ericsson W995.

Out of the Sony Ericsson Walkman series, this is perhaps the best yet. The W995 is a slick looking slide phone that comes equipped with a built-in YouTube application and support for the BBC iPlayer, in addition to a fantastic music player, which is perfect for the music and entertainment lovers out there - If all that wasn't enough to whet your appetite, it also comes with an 8.1 megapixel camera with auto-focus and LED flash, which is perfect to capture your daily life on. It also boasts a large touchscreen and preloaded 3D games for when you are stuck on a long journey.

With all of these features, you'd expect the Sony Ericsson to come with a whopping price tag, but if you look around, you'll find you can get the handset for free on a contract for around ?30 a month. With a phone that jam-packed with features, going for a similar price to the more basic handsets that can only text and make calls, it's no wonder that the cautious spenders of today are considering these technological developments in the mobile world as worthwhile investments. It just goes to show that you don't need to spend a fortune to get the best handset.