Finally, technology delivers something you can really get your hands around--a pint at a time.

Computer-science researchers at England's Bristol University have developed a pub-detecting wristwatch. A global positioning system inside the timepiece locates the three nearest pubs, the distance to each, a description (such as "beer garden"), and the compass heading. The eSleeve watch beeps when the wearer arrives at the chosen pub.

The device was developed in collaboration with HP Research Laboratories in Europe. Its interface uses simple speech recognition, for phrases such as "Find pub."