From late June, Apple fans in search of the latest iPad 2 boutique accessory will be able to get their hands on a case made from Kangaroo leather. 

The iPad 2 Notebook Kangaroo Leather Case will go on sale at $199.95 (£122), and will be the first in a series of high-end tablet and smart-phone cases made from genuine K-Leather.

The creator is an Australian man, Arnold Aranez, who claims Kangaroos make great material for protecting devices. “The fiber structure of kangaroo leather is the strongest of any readily available leather,” says Aranez in a press release.

“As the smartphone and tablet markets continue to mature, people will naturally look for ways to protect or individualise their devices,” he adds.

“What we’re doing is providing consumers with a high-end choice.”

According to the press release, the case has a slim notebook design that affords easy access to charging ports, buttons and camera. It includes a business card holder and “a clever foldout lap-stand”, whatever that is.

Anticipating concerns from animal rights activists, Aranez explains kangaroos are not killed for leather. The Australian government controls the population of kangaroos because they are currently overpopulated and threaten numerous other species, says Aranez. "The skins are a byproduct in the same sense that cowhide leather is a byproduct of the meat industry.”

Now you can burn off those guilty carbs with your own personal trainer, while never missing another call.

T-Mobile is currently offering the ultimate get-fit smartphone package, bundling the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 with the CardioTrainer app, available on the Android 2.1 operating system, along with an arm strap for training on the go.

The app's voice notifications feedback about your distance, time, pace and calories burned. And it features GPS tracking and music integration so you can listen to your favourite workout mix using the Xperia’s MP3 player.

For an additional fee, you can also add an extra feature that allows you to set up and follow your own weight loss plan to turn those keep-fit resolutions into reality.

As well as the workout app, the Xperia X8 comes with a 3.2-megapixel camera, expandable memory up to 16GB and 3in LCD touchscreen with 320x480-pixel resolution.

T-Mobile is offering the workout bundle with the Xperia X8 on a two-year contract that includes 300 free minutes, 500MB internet allowance and unlimited texts from £15.32 per month, which of course – thanks to the merger that created Everything Everywhere – means you can use Orange’s signal too.

Lady Gaga signed up as Polaroid’s creative director in 2010 and recently unveiled the first prototypes from the resulting Grey Label by Haus of Gaga line at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

The gadgets included a Polaroid camera and mobile photo printer, alongside a pair of sunglasses with embedded camera and display.

The GL20 sunglasses originated from a pair of glasses the performer once used on her Fame tour, and can take both pictures and video, with removable storage embedded in one of the earpieces that can be transferred via USB or Bluetooth. A screen in front of each glasses lens also plays back recorded images.

The GL10 mobile photo printer is designed to pair with any Bluetooth-compatible mobile, except Apple’s iPhone, holds 10-sheet paper cartridges, and is due out in the US in March for $150.

The new Gaga Polaroid modernises the familiar instant format so it can not only print out photos instantly, but also store them digitally and view them back on a pop-up display.

While UK pricing and availability for any of the devices was not announced, the new GL30 Polaroid camera will be available at the end of 2011.

While we at Tech Boutique would be among the first to advocate equal rights, we would also defend the female right to like pink.

So, casting around for the best pink gadgets on the market today, we were surprised to find the Flip Ultra, first introduced in 2009, is still the best all-round pocket camcorder for the money – that comes in pink.

Granted, there is a plethora of pink digital cameras to choose from, some of which also shoot video – the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W320 for around £109 comes to mind. And there’s even an imaginatively named web site devoted to them, called pinkdigitalcamera.co.uk.

But the Flip Ultra shares the same big screen and the rechargeable/replaceable battery, as its Flip UltraHD big brother. It has a smaller 4GB of memory and of course only SD video-out, but offers easy one-touch recording of two hours worth of footage at 640×480 resolution, while saving on messy cables with its built-in USB connector. Best of all, you can get it in a combination of white and black, silver, yellow or pink, and you still can pick one up today from the likes of Tesco.com for £70 – bargain!

Suffering none of the problems that have hampered Apple’s iPhone 4, the BlackBerry Torch 9800 has now been released in white on a fourth network.

Following its launch on O2, Orange and Vodafone, the new white BlackBerry phone is now available free on some T-Mobile deals.

The free white Blackberry Torch deals on T-Mobile start from £25.53 line rental per month, which includes a generous monthly package of 1GB internet data, 500 text messages and 600 call minutes.

Going another step better than Apple’s monochrome design options, mobile operator Three is also now stocking the BlackBerry Torch 9800 in red.

BlackBerry’s latest white and red Torch models tout the same features as the original black version which offers apps, music and the ability to keep up with friends through social networks, email and BlackBerry Messenger. The Torch also features a TFT capacitive touchscreen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 16-million colours display at a pixel resolution of 360 x 480.

Also boosting Vodafone’s range of stylish mobiles beyond the smartphone is an exclusive Miss Sixty designed version of the Vodafone 543 handset. Available for £20 to pay as you go customers, the touchscreen device features an MP3 player, a built-in radio, an eye-catching cover and comes with an exclusive phone charm and white leather case.  

A new “piezoelectric” design that could capture the imagination of stressed techies everywhere caught the eye of Tech Boutique the other day.

It may sound ultra-technical, but the idea is a simple one, based on the principle that energy is never created or destroyed – only transformed from one state to another.

Indian freelance designer Saravanan Nagasundaram recently published his Stress Buster designs based on this principle for a punching bag, kicking column and squeeze ball that house lamps, which are powered by energy stored in a built-in rechargeable battery every time they are used.

Each gadget has been designed with a piezoelectric layer that has the ability to generate an electrical field or electric potential in response to applied mechanical strain. So, the more you kick, punch or squeeze them, the more energy you can store. They can all be used as small green power generators, as each has been designed with power outlet sockets.

All in all, an ingenious concept that could consign the humble rubber stress ball to the bin if it finds a route to market.

We here at V3’s Tech Boutique like to think we keep our finger on the pulse of popular tech and culture.

So we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spotlight a new gadget accessory that jumps on the bandwagon of hype surrounding the forthcoming royal wedding.

In honour of Kate Middleton and William Windsor’s nuptials, the gadget case and accessory manufacturer Proporta has added a new edition to its Union Jack Pouch smartphone range.

The universal pouch is truly a piece of gadget bling worthy of any royalist, as it is made from real leather in gold, and features a patent black leather-style Union Jack design on the front.

At £19.95, the Gold Union Jack Smartphone Pouch is designed to fit iPhone 4 and 3GS models, as well as the HTC Desire, Wildfire and Mozart. In fact, it will accommodate any gadget measuring up to 68x120x10mm. It has a luxurious protective lining, while an integrated slot allows room for business cards, credit cards or a train ticket, if you're planning on taking the train to London to take part in the festivities on 29 April. 

We don’t know about you, but when we saw the sixth and latest generation of Apple’s iPod Nano, we did wonder just how much size really matters.

At only 37.5x41x8.78mm in size, we though just how easy it would be to lose, even with its clip on the back. But now gadget accessory maker Griffin has come up with its own take on turning the latest Nano into a wristwatch by incorporating it into a slap bracelet.

Remember those flexible, spring-steel bands that lay flat and rigid until slapped onto your arm? They were all the rage in the 1980s. Griffin has covered the memory-metal wristbands of old with soft silicone and added a silicone frame to hold your Nano securely while on the move.

Using the Nano’s watch face display, you can have your very own timepiece that you can always keep track of, while protecting the gadget’s dock connector and volume controls, but leaving the headphone port open so you can plug in and listen any time. The sleep/wake button is still also accessible through the silicone frame.

The Griffin Slap Nano wristband is available now in a range of nine vibrant colours, direct from Griffin, for about £15.