Check out these photos/videos of some of the most famous celebrity gadget endorsements in recent years, and you’ll see how these celebrities are able to afford 5 houses on the beach, 10 cars in their garage, and all of the gadgets that they could ever want. Here are some of the funniest and most expensive endorsement deals in the gadget world to date.

1. Maria Sharapova [Canon]

The tennis star has recently signed an extension through 2010 with the popular digital camera manufacturer Canon to promote their PowerShot line of compacts. She also just inked a deal with Sony Ericsson to promote their mobile phones and line of accessories. It’s multi-million deals such as this that has helped to land this multi-talented celebrity on the Forbes 100 list with an estimated income of $23 million per year.

2. Kate Moss [Nikon]

Nikon teamed up with controversial supermodel Kate Moss back in 2006 to promote the release of the new Coolpix S6. Their aim was to emphasise the sleek curves of the S6, and by choosing Kate Moss as the celebrity endorser, they certainly got the sleek and sexy point across!

3. Shakira [Panasonic]

Electronics giant Panasonic signed Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter Shakira to a multi-million dollar endorsement deal in 2006 to promote Panasonic’s new line of Lumix digital cameras. The Latin singer ’shook her hips’ all the way to the bank in 2007 with an estimated stash of about $38 million from endorsements and album sales.

4. Catherine Zeta-Jones [T-Mobile]

As the face of T-Mobile, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones has made some serious dough promoting the mobile phone giant’s products. According to AdRants.com, she inked a deal with T-Mobile for about $20 million. That is one of the highest paying celebrity endorsement deals anywhere. I guess it really does pay to look good! Well, at least it did for Zeta-Jones until T-Mobile dropped her.

5. Ashton Kutcher [Nikon]

Nikon recently signed Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher to promote their Coolpix Style line of digital cameras. The first TV commercial in this campaign aired on March 25, 2008. Kutcher was quoted as saying, ‘”I am thrilled to work with Nikon on this campaign”. “I think technology today represents so much more than just function – it represents personal style and sophistication. I’m enjoying the opportunity to work with such a well respected brand and a group of highly creative individuals on a campaign that showcases the style, design and simplicity of the new COOLPIX cameras.” Right. That’s believable. And oh yeah, he’s also thrilled to get the ridiculous paychecks for promoting the cameras!

6. Dwayne Wade and Charles Barkley [T-Mobile]

These two NBA stars, of the past and the present, signed on with T-Mobile to help promote their ‘Fave 5’s’ ad campaign. Their humourous banter back-and-forth makes for a somewhat watchable commercial, and it’s costing T-Mobile a pretty penny to make it happen. Wade’s endorsement deals alone total close to $20 million (including other endorsement deals as well), with a big chunk of that money being put-up by T-Mobile.

7. Various [Hewlett Packard]

What do you do when consumers think your products are boring? Pay a celebrity to endorse them! A few years ago, HP decided they needed to invest in their branding so people would suddenly think HP print cartridges were the coolest thing on the planet. It was a lofty ambition, and it was going to cost them a pretty penny. Their new ad campaign would cost the company about $300 million, and would feature a slew of celebrity endorsers including Gwen Stefani, Jay-Z, Vera Wang, Serena Williams, Abigail Breslin, Pharrell, and the Orange County Choppers. It was a costly affair that probably boosted the profile of the celebrities more than the company bankrolling them!

8. David Beckham [Motorola Razr]

Motorola launched a campaign in 2006 to promote its new Razr2 in the Hollywood area, which is where the soccer star currently resides. The billboard campaign for the new super sleek mobile phone needed a celebrity who matched those same credentials, and David Beckham was a perfect fit for Motorola. Beckham’s multi-million dollar deal with Motorola expires in 2009. That’s quite fortunate given the rate at which the iPhone is taking marketshare.

9. Justin Long [Apple]

If you live in the US, Canada, UK, Spain, Australia, Japan, or New Zealand, then you’ve probably seen the ‘Mac vs. PC’ commercials on television. The ‘Get a Mac’ ad campaign for Apple has been running since 2006 and has featured actor Justin Long since the popular commercials first aired. So far, approximately 50 different commercials have been created for the North American audience alone, including a cool Christmas commercial featuring Mac, PC, and Santa Claus as animated characters, much like the classic Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer animated movie.

10. Lebron James [Microsoft]

NBA superstar Lebron James did a multi-million ad campaign for the big release of the Microsoft Vista operating system back in January of 2007. This was the first time that any athlete has endorsed an operating system of any kind. Did the ad campaign work? Maybe, but it didn’t help the Vista operating system from being an utter disaster.

It’s not the bear in cartoons but it’s called the Yoggie Gatekeeper Pro: protects your laptop and fits inside your pocket.

It’s a small plastic device but it gives you big security for your files, documents, and etc. The Yoggie Gatekeeper Pro is security for your laptop or your portable desktop when you travel.

It is hassle-free and has “Pentagon Level Security”. It enables you to connect your laptop to any Internet hot spot without worrying about someone trying to hack your system.  This is what you need especially when you’re always sharing an Internet connection with others around you.

The Yoggie firewall enables you to have security for 5 computers, too.  It employs a highly intelligent kind of security appliance, with Linux as its operating system, enabling your laptop to be protected from Internet threats .

It is an external device and you just simply connect it to your laptop. It is very portable and small so you definitely can just slip it inside your pocket when you travel. It also provides you with Anti Spam and is considered as the world’s first tiny and mobile gateway. And because it’s external, it acts as your first line of defense.

If you always bring your laptop wherever you travel then you have to have the Yoggie Gatekeeper so you can be totally sure no one gets access to your computer.  Although it looks like a small MP3 player than a reliable firewall hardware device for your computer, it gives with the best protection there is. Don’t judge it by the way it looks.

This is the DMP or the Dual Music Player, which is the smallest CD player that you can arry around when you travel. It is a media player that can play MP3s and CDs. Yes, there are other portable media players that can play MP3s, and of course Discmans that can play CDs, but this Dual Music Player can play both forms of media.

It is amazing because of how it looks. It doesn’t fully embrace or cover the CD while you are playing it, but, instead, you can see 90% of the CD playing. When folded up, it looks like an Ipod or any other designed PMP, but when you use it, the two sides sort of unclasp and when you place the CD, it looks more stylish than any other media players.

When I was on a plane heading to Bournemouth, heads turned to my DMP when I played my favorite CD. Three people even asked me what it was, and I just let them watch it with awe. I told them that it is a Dual Music Player that plays both CDs and MP3s, and they just can’t believe it. I was really proud of it then, I could not stop smiling on the entire flight.

If you have a huge collection of MP3s at home, then you can definitely take all of them with you when you travel. You can also enjoy all your favorite audio CDs and just watch the DMP play every disc with style. It is very portable and can even fit right inside your jeans or shirt pocket. When you travel, you can clip the Dual Music Player on your jeans, hang it around your neck, or slip it inside your pocket.

The Dual Music Player’s length is a little longer than the normal CD’s radius. You will definitely get a lot of attention while you play your CDs.

Okay it’s a song, but I just had to tell you about my backpack bicycle that I carry around when I travel. It weighs only twelve pounds and I can fold it to a volume of only one cubic foot. When I want to use it, it takes me just ten seconds to unfold the entire bicycle. The foldable bicycle has some really quick release clamps for that fast unfolding of the bike. It’s an automotive miracle!

It won’t only help you get to where you want to go, it will also keep you healthy. To me, wealth is all about great health, and traveling can be stressful sometimes. I ride this foldable bike everyday, which is part of my daily routine, wherever I may be. I cycle each and every day for thirty minutes to keep my cardiovascular system healthy.

If you’ll get one yourself, you don’t have to worry if it would last for a long time because it is very durable. Its dual-chain drive transmission can make the bike propel up to fifteen meters per hour. Its level of impact resistance is like the aircraft-grade aluminum.

For a quick stop, the backpack bicycle has some pneumatic brakes. When you are riding rough or riding through a rough road, your trouser cuffs will not get dirty because the chains of the backpack bicycle are entirely closed.

This is not only for travelers, like you and I but also for everybody with different bike needs. But for a traveler like myself, I like the idea that it is portable so I can carry it around wherever I am at. Whether I will just stay at home, or travel around the world, I can have my ultimate exercise everyday.

I also ride across town with style and confidence, because of its uniqueness and fascinating design. I just love this backpack bike, and I’m sure you will love it too, as it is already an improvised bike. Its portability is everything to me. So always travel with this bike in your luggage or backpack to make sure that your heart pumps two thousand gallons of blood, and beats a hundred thousand times each day.

If you always find yourself unable to get some decent shut eye when you’re jetsetting, you might want to try what I use.

I usually do not get enough sleep when traveling and I just don’t know why. Maybe it’s because of the many things that I think of like the time my flight will be, the things that I will do in my destination, the necessary things that I should never forget to pack, the excitement of meeting new people and discovering more cultures, and oh so many more.

Luckily, I have the ultimate gadget that I couldn’t start traveling without. The Dreamate sleep inducer helps me get enough sleep before I travel. I don’t want to have jet lags and feel groggy on the first day of traveling, so I always use the Dreamate sleep inducer one day ahead. When I arrive at my destination, I feel so lively and perked up, saying goodbye to eye bags.

It is so easy to use. Just wear it around your wrist 30 minutes before the bedtime that you want and try to relax. The Dreamate sleep inducer works by massaging the “sleeping golden triangle”, which is a set of acupressure points on your wrist, making you fall asleep and relax naturally. It automatically turns off after 30 minutes or sleeping. It does not react with any medication that you’re taking, and it is non-addictive, as well.

You can also use it if you want to sleep on the plane because the destination that you are heading to has a different time zone. So even if it’s daytime in Europe and you’re on a plane bound to Asia, the Dreamate sleep inducer will induce you to fall asleep on the plane. So when you wake up, you don’t have a jet lag even if it’s still daytime when you arrive in Asia.

It helped me a lot by making me get excellent mental focus and a very good outlook in life. I had become very productive in my work and travel and I know that I am healthy because I am getting the enough sleep that I should have. I also don’t feel stressed out when traveling and I always find myself smiling everyday.

I am pretty sure that you will agree with me when I throw you the cliche health is wealth. I always carry around my SteriPen water purifier whenever I travel to ensure that I will not be rushed to the hospital due to amoebiasis or other sickness.

Wherever I go, I drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration, and since that I can’t be too sure if I’m always served with clean water, then I just dip my SteriPen into the glass of water to make sure that it is safe to drink. It is especially important when you travel with your baby or children, since children are very prone to sickness.

Do not be too lax or confident that you can not get sick from just drinking non-purified water. Always carry a SteriPen with you especially when you travel. It is so easy and fun to use. You just have to push the button twice then dip the SteriPen to a half a liter of clear water until the indicator turns green. It automatically kills bacteria, protozoa like Cryptosporidium and Giardia, and viruses in just 48 seconds.

For 1 liter of water, it usually takes up to a minute, compared to other water purifiers like the chemical chlorine that purifies water for a very long 4 hours. The chemical iodine also takes so long to purify water, but the SteriPen purifies water so fast that you can drink the water almost immediately. It has also been tried and tested by several laboratories such as the University of Maine, University of Oregon, University of Arizona, and etc.

It is very suitable for traveling because it is very lightweight. It weighs less than 225 grams including the batteries already. Pump filters can purify water as well but one pump filter weighs a pound or two.

The SteriPen is very portable and handy. To purify clear water, it uses UV or ultraviolet light. The SteriPen determines the duration of exposure with its integrated microprocessor and temperature sensor. Compared to test strips or timers with ungtangling hoses and balancing bottles with pump filters or chemicals.

There are so many portable notebooks out there but the Sony Vaio SZ is the ultimate mobile laptop for your traveling needs.  It is super lightweight and very slim, with a 13.3” screen.

It is 1” thin and equipped with wireless connection capabilities to let you surf the Net wherever you are. Traveling is also made easier because of its long battery life. And its Hybrid Graphics System lets you regulate your image usage so that you can more efficiently manage your notebook activities and conserve battery life.

This 800MHz baby has a dual processor that gives you amazing performance speeds, especially for its size. It weighs 4 lbs, very convenient to lug around, and is made up of carbon-fiber or magnesium, making it very resilient against common travel-related wear. So if you’re hurrying to your next flight,  you don’t need to worry much about making sure the Vaio is very neatly fastened and tucked into place. Of course, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consciously take care of your unit.

The Vaio SZ has a built-in adapter that employs 802.11 n/b/g/a technology for all your wireless connections needs.  You can easily send or receive messages without having to get hooked on a cable; plus, you can put in on your lap conveniently and get set up for an afternoon of mail-checking and Web browsing wherever (provided, of course, that there’s a Wi-Fi connection available or you have an SDIO card).

And speaking of wireless usage, you don’t really need to be too scared of network threats as the Sony Vaio SZ has a built-in biometric fingerprint sensor and TPM (Trusted Platform Module) that protect you from computer invasions.

Another thing that’s great about the Vaio SZ is that you don’t need to wait an eternity to boot up your notebook. Some notebooks take forever to boot, but not this mini powerhouse. It’s perfect for those always on the go, because of its size and speed, and would make a great conversation piece, because of its design, for those who always travel off to somewhere. I’m a Mac user, but if I were to assess the Vaio, I’d probably find it a pleasant device to bring along.

Now, you can type on your notebook or laptop even during a power failure or when someone beside you is already sleeping. The USB computer light from Lewis N Clark is a very useful device while traveling and chronicling your experiences.

It illuminates your notebook keyboard in dark areas or in dimly lit places.  It has a clip that fastens onto your laptop frame so that wherever you place your laptop the light stays. You can also pivot the USB computer light to provide illumination wherever you need it. It does not require an external power source. You simply connect the USB connector to any available USB port on your laptop.

The Lewis N Clark computer light includes two very bright LED lights and promises to last for hours. And though this is commonly used with laptops, you can also use this for your desktops, as well, or even on any other activity that would necessitate private light in dark areas. So the next time the lights are turned off on the plane and you desperately want to continue with your work or read a book, just clip it on, hassle-free.

With the SELPHY ES1 from Canon, printing your photos while jetsetting is no longer a problem. You can unload your digicam immediately for fresh set of photos and have something to leave with new friends as a remembrance.

It would be really very convenient if you can print your photos on the go. There are times when you will meet a very friendly person beside you on the plane and you just have to take both of your pictures. With the Selphy ES1 as a great icebreaker, making friends on your travels is possible.

The printer is packed with a 2.5 inches color screen, wireless printing capabilities, 50-sheet capacity, media cassettes and all-in-one ink cassettes as well, optional battery pack, one-touch operation for unparalleled ease of use, and built-in enhancement and effects tools.

It is a compact photo printer that combines ink and paper in one cartridge, in which you just have to place the cartridge into the printer to print documents and photos easily. It is also fantastic because it enables you to print up to 50 glossy and smooth photos at once, allowing you to produce a full photo album without you overseeing the entire printing process.

There are seven packs to choose from, ranging from credit card to postcard sizes. It also prints in black and white and sepia for that artistic or aged effect.

The ES1 produces superior quality prints and enables you to start up the printer instantaneously and lets you to operate the printer faster than other printer models. It uses dye-sublimation technology and each dot has up to 256 intensity levels color after color. It also features a protective coating to prevent fingerprints, spills, and splashes.

It gives you more creative and playback options in which you can print directly from memory cards. You can also tilt the printer up and the 2.5” color LCD features viewing angle for more convenient image preview and selection. The new enhanced and improved LCD playback options feature thumbnail views, full screen display, Auto Rotated images, and slideshows.

You can trim or crop photos as well.  There’s a Creative Print button that enables you to have an instant access to a wide range of selection of design layouts, such as speech bubble templates, calendar, and albums. If you ask me, this is something I’d want to take with me when I’m on the go. The Selphy ES1 retails for around £115.

It is the first CDMA Blackberry smartphone that is capable of global roaming on GPRS/GSM networks so you can travel across the globe with a full data coverage and mobile voice without changing smartphones, email addresses or phone numbers.

Mobile At Its Finest

While traveling, the BlackBerry 8830 enables you to check your email, browse the internet, send text and instant messages, organize your travel, organize your life, and enables you to call anyone.  It has a built-in MP3 or media player for your music and video clips.  It has an expandable storage or memory to make sure you’ve got plenty of room to store your media files.

Its features include voice-activated dialing or VAD, advanced phone features, blackberry maps, tethered modem, high capacity battery, setup wizard, a trackball, and etc. The BlackBerry Maps is the feature that is totally made and included for travelers.  You can check the maps and have turn-by-turn directions from your smart phone more effectively and efficiently wherever you travel.

Just paste, click an address in your address book, or type in the address into your 8830 to launch the maps.  If you need to download or upload large files while traveling, you can use your smartphone as a high-speed, wireless modem for your laptop. You can exchange files browse the web at broadband speeds.

Hassle-Free File Handling

Transferring files to and from your smartphone and computer is really easy. You can use Bluetooth, or USB cable to move your files. Its trackball navigation system makes it easier for you to select items or icons by just using your thumb to scroll and click.  It has an innovative and high-capacity battery to make sure that you’ll have the power to make the most of it all. With the VAD or Voice-Activated Dialing on your smartphone, you can just simply make a call by telling your smartphone who you want to speak to.

The BlackBerry 8830 has an integrated address book wherein you can just place a call or send an email from your contacts list. You can input tasks and check them off as soon as you have completed them and you will be able to keep your appointments and meetings straight and you can update them while traveling.

The Traveller’s Ultimate Buddy

You can keep track of the time of your flights and the things you need to do, buy, and accomplish on your trips.  Find answers quickly by browsing the internet virtually whenever and wherever you choose

You can also make your smartphone really your own by customising your BlackBerry 8830 to match your traveling life.  You can download ringtones, games and applications, and wallpapers for fun and day to day productivity.  There are also perfect accessories for your 8830 which you can choose.

Your hectic traveling life will be a lot less hectic if you only have this smartphone. Enjoy your travels by not worrying about the ones you left behind because you can always reach them with the BlackBerry 8830.