Which came first, the gadgets or the content? If you are a believer in the Steve Jobs theory of how to make a bundle, then it's the gadget.

The Steve Jobs theory of design over content is outlined quite well in the April issue of Vanity Fair magazine. This theory says Jobs is successful because he first gets the design for new devices, such as the Apple Mac, and now the iPod, without really bothering about the content. People will create the content around the devices. This theory is backed up in a way by a new KPMG global survey on convergence. The survey found consumers are already hip to a lot of cool devices and are now ready to receive the content. Knowledge about services such as Web surfing, instant messaging and even interactive gaming over cell phones is already high. As consumers grow more dependent on an array of digital devices, the multimedia content and services they will have at their fingertips will grow accordingly, KPMG believes.

KPMG found that consumers worldwide overwhelmingly stated a preference for a single service provider and a single, consolidated bill. More critically, the convergence of content is going through Internet-ification ? meaning people are generally not willing to pay much of a premium over their current service bill to access multimedia.

So to allow companies to bring you the content and still make a buck, you're going to have to accept advertising. On the whole, Asian consumers possess a higher level of familiarity and comfort with the notion of using cell phones as entertainment devices, as compared to surveyed consumers in either Europe or North America.

By contrast European and North American consumers seek more information-related services via their cellphones. Feedback from surveyed respondents suggests that on an average day, anywhere in the world, the average consumer will spend at least a third of his or her waking day on the Internet. This online time includes the use of a cellular phone, or watching television.

Canadian Kyle MacDonald is a demonstration of how one can get famous on the Internet through shameless self-promotion and a willingness not to take yourself seriously. He started by offering to exchange a red paper clip over the Internet so he could trade up for a house. Beginning on July 12 last year, he traded up, and has so far received a one-year free rent at an apartment in Phoenix, which is now on the trading bloc for something else.

MacDonald first traded the clip for a fish-shaped pen, that for a clay doorknob with a funny face on it. He then traded the doorknob for a camping stove, the stove for a generator, the generator for an "instant party", the instant party for a snowmobile, then for an all all-expenses-paid trip to Yahk, British Columbia. With the trip he was able to get a panel van, the van for a recording contract and the music deal for the year of free rent. Go to www.oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com to make an offer he can't refuse.

Researchers at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have invented a hearing aid disguised as a pair of glasses. The 'Varibel' has four microphones on each arm. These separately enhancing conversations,while dampening ambient noise. The Varibel will cost you about $799 to look good. Go to www.varibel.nl if you need them.Those little flash memory drives that plug into any USB port and let you carry your files around on your key chain are very useful ? but so small they can often slip through your fingers. Another advance you might want to try is a credit-card-shaped USB drive. Walletex says its WalletFlash is the skinniest USB drive on the market. It pops into your wallet allowing you to hang on to it more easily, the company claims.The drive is only 1.9 millimetres thick (less than a tenth of an inch), about equivalent to two credit cards on top of each other. It weighs 12 grams (0.4ounce) and is waterproof. It is also heat-tolerant, so you can drop it in a cup of coffee, if you want to shock friends.

The device has a double-sided USB connecter sticking out from one side, so it doesn't matter which way up the drive is plugged into the USB port. It is available in sizes from 64 Mb up to 2Gb for between$25 to $120. Check it out at www.walletex.com.