The trouble with technological objects of desire is that they have a dreadful habit of going missing at that awful point when someone else’s desire exceeds your own. And the next humiliating moments are when your true value of that object is swiftly realised - too late. Sadly, that was my experience with Apple’s iPod MP3 player - it went walkabout.

It’s probably the most stylish personal stereo on the planet. It can hold up to 1,000 songs, so with judicious selections (its capacity is a massive 5Gb) the iPod should also become your personal favourite.

A triumph of design and engineering, it manages to be palm-sized, easy to use and surprisingly tough, housed in a solid metal case. You can sift through your tracks by song name, artist or song collection by using a “finger-wheel” with an action button at the centre (that you click like a mouse) surrounded by four directional buttons familiar to anyone who has used a video. A small LCD screen is your visual guide.

You get your music on to the iPod from a Macintosh computer with iTunes software via a firewire lead, which is also how you recharge its battery. Probably as a nod to copyright protection, you can’t take your iPod round to friends’ homes and copy your tracks back on to their Macs - the software will not allow it (but expect software writers to swiftly find ways around this).

Technology for teachers? On the face of it, yes, until you encounter the pound;349 price tag. However, for advisers and teachers handling media (particularly music) it is also a highly versatile data carrier that can be used as a mobile hard disk. More than one English teacher was knocked out by the Dylan Thomas poetry samples on my test machine, which stimulated ideas for all sorts of other uses.

So, the iPod proves itself to be more than just a boy’s toy. It’s excellent technology that will hopefully become cheaper, and soon. Actually, the highest praise for my iPod was from women, which unfortunately doubles the number of envious admirers. If you can get your hands on one, hold on tight.

Merlin John

Apple iPod

MP3 player from Apple Computer available from Apple resellers pound;349, optional mains adaptor pound;39.

Upgraded 10Gb version with 2,000-song capacity now available for pound;429 www.apple.com