The Spy who came in from the mall

Spy gadgets are cool and a great use for the latest minature technology. We report on all the latest spy stuff that we can find, including spy cameras, lock picks and other cool spy equipment.

As well the surveillance side of spy equipment we also find our fair share of of fun spy toys, we are big kids after all.

It is the stuff of childhood fantasies, when we played games like cowboys and crooks and spies and villains. And a little air guitar, of course.

The Bond-type gadgets we tend to covet the most, like spy-cameras and spy-camera detectors, are suddenly available in shops, in malls and even online. Cigarette lighters? Pens? Flash drives? Watches? Wall plug adaptors, for goodness sake? Yes, it looks like a diver's watch, with half a dozen buttons and information overload on the dial. Etienne asks. Etienne points at the corner of one of the triangles. There's a kink in the pattern.

"Camera. The pen is a sound recording and transmitting device.

The Bic-type lighter is a sound recorder. So is the flash drive ¨C with the added advantage that it really is a flash drive, so it automatically stores whatever it records.

Devices like camera-locators that detect spying devices in a room, handheld bug locators, shred-proof jackets and bullet proof business suits, emphasise the personal protection nature of your modern over-the-counter spy supplies.