New gadgets to phase out mouse

New technologies like those seen in the Apple iPhone and the Nintendo Wii are likely to replace the mouse, an analyst at Gartner has predicted to the BBC.

The tilting mechanism in the iPhone and the two-way communication nature of the Wii remote are also tipped to be signs of the future.

According to Steve Prentice facial recognition systems and touch screens will also become commonplace but the mouse is definitely on its way out.

He told the BBC: "The mouse works fine in the desktop environment but for home entertainment or working on a notebook it's over."

The keyboard is here to stay for the foreseeable future though, as "nothing is easily going to replace it".

His prediction was based on the amount of effort he feels electronics firms are putting into new interactive interfaces.

He feels that the gaming world has been a huge influence, and yet another new gadget in that domain was unveiled at E3 2008.

Nintendo showed off its new 'MotionPlus', which improves the accuracy of the remote control for its Wii console.