My eldest son was 19 a few weeks back and he told me that he wanted an Amazon Kindle. I went online, but there was a two-three week waiting list as everyone wanted one. I ordered one and told him he'd have to wait. Then, last Thursday it turned up and Sam came down from Oxford, where he is at university, to collect it and see me and Claire and his brother Felix.

It was a good day, but what really made it special from a design perspective is how beautiful the Kindle actually is. It is slim as a cream cracker, the screen is unbelievable contrasty, the battery lasts a month, it allows you to sync where you are in the book you are reading between it, your iPhone, your iPad, and your Mac or PC.

It is truly a lovely piece of kit. 

I have asked my wife to buy me one for Christmas.