Gadget review: Summer Infant SecureSleep Handheld Digital Video Monitor

While we may be a few years away from robotic nannies, there is still a plethora of gadgets to make looking after your little one a lot easier. One such gadget is a baby monitor.

Anything that saves another trip up the stairs is surely a welcome addition to your baby apparatus. The SecureSleep Handheld combines a raft of the latest technology.

First of all - it includes a rechargeable handheld video monitor with a 5cm colour screen. I popped mine on the coffee table and plugged it into the wall, but the battery will last for about an hour untethered.

While my girlfriend tried to persuade me that an actual baby was essential, my dedication to in-depth gadget reviews has its limits. In its place, my pet sloth Dalby would have to do. His furry physique was displayed with impressive clarity on the colour screen.

The handheld also includes a handy digital temperature monitor which displays the exact temperature in the baby's room. This is a nice touch, and combined with the visual display of any noises in the room, gives you all of the reassurance you need that everything is ticketyboo.

The actual camera itself can be either wall mounted or popped on a table and includes a circle of LED lights around the lens. This allows a rather cunning black and white night-vision mode, which produces a picture which is a lot less grainy than baby monitors I've seen in the past.

While the SecureSleep Handheld may not be the most exciting of gadgets that I've reviewed, it's certainly one of the most useful.

Anything that saves a trip up the stairs is welcome

Summer Infant SecureSleep Handheld Digital Video Monitor

89.99, www.boots.com

This article was first published in The Scotsman on 2 October, 2010