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.

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.

The All New Deluxe Wonder Wheeler WWC6 fits in everything you ever wanted to carry to the beach. It is easy to maneuver because of its front swivel wheels that can be pushed or pulled smoothly. The cart can carry up to 100 lbs.

I’d say this is primarily targeted at the family market where they have a lot of toys and accessories for their children. Young singles would never ever be seen pushing a cart down the beach, unless you are selling bananas, donuts and cold drinks.

While it is handy that this sleeve is waterproofed, I would be more interested in protecting my stuff from sand. There isn’t anything much more annoying or inconvenient than taking your new iPod to the beach and getting it scratched by sand.

Now that’s quite a backpack indeed. If you’re looking for something a bit more traditional but with a geeky slant, try the H3 Series Campack from O’Neill.

Foam mouldings act as shock absorbers and prevent the gadgets from damage when you rough it out. The buttons for controlling the camera are on the straps of the backpack. The volume and track searching functions of the iPod can also be manipulated with the help of buttons on the strap. There is even a Bluetooth module for hands-free calling.

Pick yours up for your next trip for ~$315 / £150.  Cheap?  No.  Worth it?  Yep!