We love our mobile phones - but technology changes so quickly. Despite phones generally having a lifespan of a good 7 years many of us get a new handset every couple of years. Why not? The upgrade to the latest and greatest is generally "free" - or at least we don't save anything on our contract by sticking with the old handset.

But... what happens to that old handset? The one that you just had to have only a couple years back? The one with the old-fashioned 2M pixel camera? The one with a huge 512Mbytes of memory?

The Recycling Factory has done some research. Now obviously this research has to be taken with a pinch of salt given they have a vested interest in recycling that old handset of yours! To me though the research does ring true. I should say guilty as charged - I am a "mobile phone squirrel".

Highlights from the survey:

• more than half of us (52%) hoard our unused phones at home in case our current handset is stolen, lost or broken
• 68% of us admit to having more than one mobile phone needlessly collecting dust at home
• 22% of respondents actively recycle their phones
• 21% opting instead to hand down old mobiles to friends and family.
• As many as 4% declare that they actually throw their mobile phones in the bin

With the exception though of the inexcusable 4% that throw their phone in the bin, is this particularly bad? I recently upgraded my phone to a Sony Ericsson W995. I was quite happy with my old K800i of course - but that shiny new phone was irresistible and didn't cost me a penny.

Orange of course wanted to sell me special insurance in case my shiny new gadget was indeed lost, stolen or damaged. I can't remember the cost but it wasn't insignificant. I said no - and I still have my K800i as 'free' insurance.

How about you? Are you a squirrel? In reality of course we're really better described as magpies!

Leave your comments below. How long have you had your handset? What did you do with the old one? And the one before that!

This is a really cool ad for Beatles Rock Band released today.

Available from Amazon from £29.99 for the RockBand game or £179.99 for a bundle with PS3 XBox or Wii

It seems to be a day for surveys.  Panasonic have been observing our TV viewing habits and claim that despite the popularity of games machines, the TV is still the gadget that lies at the heart of the home.

I was really interested to see that 17% of the population are what Panasonic calls TV Minimalists.  This group watches less than 10.5 hours a week of television.    I guess Panasonic would have to put me in this group, as  I've long since got rid of mine.  Even with the plethora of TV channels, I don't find there's enough to interest me.  And since ditching the square screen the kids have become much more active, talk to us more, sleep more effectively and have a generally more interesting life.  However, they do still love their laptops and MP3 players.

I'm fascinated to see that 21% of homes have more than 4 TVs in their homes and 75% of homes have 2 or more TVs.  What are we all watching?!!!  Of the people Panasonic surveyed, 16% are labelled Chatterboxes - families who gather around the TV to chill and chat - so perhaps these aren't really watching anything in particular.   This group have the widest TV watching habits and have the TV on for around 21 hours a week.  By far the largest group at 31% was the Go-to-bed Square Eyes who also watch for 21 hours but sit down specifically to watch their TV and choose their programmes more discerningly.

Now my favourite gadget by far is my PC - both a work tool and a source of entertainment, it's a brilliant machine to have at the heart of the home.  Although I accept I'm unusual.

Still whether it's PCs or TVs that are your most favourite gadget, it's nice to know that there's a good range of them here on Gadgetspeak to have a look through for a nice honest opinion of what's the best out there.

Check out the TV reviews and the extensive list of PC reviews on Gadgetspeak.

And if you'd like to see the range of Panasonic TVs on sale right now - check them out here.

Here's an interesting survey for anyone who wants to find Christmas presents for left-handed friends and family.

According to the survey by Anything Left-Handed here are the presents our left-handed friends will be looking for:

1. Non-smudge Pens
2. Left-handed Scissors
3. Stationery Sets
4. Leather Conference Folders
5. Books about Famous Left-handers
6. Bread/Carving Knife
7. Corkscrew
8. Ergonomic Pens
9. Backwards Clock
10. Left-handed Playing Cards

Anything Left-Handed is a great site.  It's brightly coloured, easy to navigate and is serving a real need.

We love our mobiles and most of us wouldn't be without them.  However, they can be very dangerous and everyone should treat texting and driving as a socially unacceptable behaviour.

Gwent police have released a disturbing to watch and realistic film about the dangers of texting and driving.  I'd urge you to watch this and send the link onto others.

http://www.gwent.police.uk/leadnews.php?a=2172

According to a survey out today by iome 20% of us have dropped our phone down the loo at some point in time.  Fully a third of us would feel lost without our phones and 25% of us would feel out of touch with our friends and family.  However, 12% of people would find loosing their mobile a positive experience, claiming it would make them feel free.

Phil Eames, CEO, iome said: “The survey demonstrates that many people now rely on their mobile devices to connect and interact with friends and contacts – whether via text, calling or even via mobile internet. The way

in which people communicate with one another has evolved over the years and the reliance we have on these devices is obvious. It is now seen as a multi-function device that enables conversation, social interaction and keeping up to speed with where your friends are and what they are doing, at any time.”

Personally I'd feel more lost without my PC and my yoga mat - I'm always being nagged for leaving my phone out of charge, off or at home!

What's the wierdest place you've left your phone and would you feel lost without it?

For further information on iome, visit http://www.io-me.com.

Way back when I worked in the mobile phone industry, when handheld mobiles were the latest thing, we used to dream of the time when mobile phones would take over the world.  Predicting when mobiles would eventually replace landlines was a daily pursuit as was the nirvana of one unit that would ' do it all'.  Now new research from www.rightmobilephone.co.uk tells us that our all singing all dancing mobiles are used by 1 in 5 Brits for internet usage, personal organisation, taking photos and even replacing the good old alarm clock.  Actually I'm surprised that it's not an even bigger number given the amount of functionality in phones these days

The research of 1,448 people found that 82% now own a mobile phone with 21% using their mobile phone to get them up in the morning, organise their day, take pictures of friends and family, use the internet and check their
emails.  A further 52% of Brits use their mobile phone as their alarm clock, of which 37% also use their mobile phones reminder facility to set alerts for meetings and days out with friends. In addition, 19% of respondents used their internet-enabled phone as their main or only source for internet access, including browsing the net,
interacting on social networking forums and dealing with emails; showing that for at least 1 in 4 people, the mobile phone has become their desired method of accessing the internet.

A little way to go then before the 'do it all' nirvana scenario but well on the way.

One for the girls!   We have mouse mats at our desks, now here's a heat protecting mat for your hair straighteners.  The mat is designed to protect your surfaces from the heat of straighteners and hair dryers.  The black (or pink) mat is a convenient size and what's more it changes colour when your straighteners are hot - a very handy safety feature.  My teenage daughter put it to the test and it was an instant hit.  No more standing them upright against the wall in her bedroom!  It's not a bad price either at under £10 and could prove a nice stocking pressie if you are thinking that far ahead.

The Gripeze is a heat resistant, non-slip silicone glitter mat designed for all hot hair tools and helps protect surfaces from heat damage up to 250C.  The mat is designed to grip most surfaces as well as the straighteners or tongs.  After use you can unplug your straighteners and leave them on the mat to cool down, or roll them up in the mat with the band provided.

It's a worthwhile investment to prevent damage to your carpet or dressing table - perhaps every mum should consider this mat an essential for teenage daughters!

Gripeze is available for £9.99 included P&P from  www.parmagray.com 

It's not totally surprising, but new research  from a leading videogame and console price compare website, www.PS3PriceCompare.co.uk, has revealed that just under two thirds of men own a games console and 22% of those men spend an absorbing 2.5 days a month in their virtual bubble.  The nationwide study of over 1000 man reveal that, on average, men spend more time playing console games than they do with their friends or partners.

An astonishing 1 in 5 men spend an average of 60 hours each month  on their games consoles - that's 15 hours a week, or almost as third as much again as a full working week.  Conversely only 4% spend the same amount of time wining and dining their partner.  Only 1% of mean spent that much time doing something interesting with their parents.

The majority of correspondents, 71%, admitted that their PlayStations and similar consoles took up more than a working day a week - over 8.5 hours!! 

Now imagine if those guys could spend that time on overtime - they'd be rich. And if they spent that time and money on their girlfriends they might have a better time in bed.  But given the economic environment just now, taking their console to bed looks like a comforting distraction from the woes of the world and the worries of 'er indoors!!

Mike Elsmore, head developer of PS3PriceCompare.co.uk commented on these findings:

O2 has today announced that O2 Litmus www.o2litmus.co.uk, the community dedicated to finding and nurturing the very best new mobile, wireless and internet-enabled applications and services, has launched a new competition, ‘’the O2 App Showdown’’.

With a prize of £10,000 for the winning entry, the O2 App Showdown is a hunt for the best new iPhone app and the iPhone user community will help select the winner. All O2 UK iPhone customers are eligible to apply to be a member of the judging panel.

Launching on Monday 20^th July and running for two months, the winning iPhone app will help build a lasting relationship between O2 and its iPhone customers. In addition to winning the £10,000 prize, the winning developer will have their app promoted to O2's iPhone customers in the UK.

Peter Rampling, O2’s Marketing Director said: “Since we launched Litmus last year, we’ve seen some fantastic innovation and I believe that working together with the world-wide Litmus community we can develop amazing applications for O2 customers, initially on iPhone and then all our devices – the beauty of Litmus is that we will have a community of O2 customers who will also vote for their favourite.”

To learn more about the O2 App Showdown, please visit www.o2litmus.co.uk/appshowdown