Seeing as I have been stalking the Bureau of Meterology website for the past three months, desperately convincing myself spring is just around the corner, it’s only appropriate that I celebrate the first day of spring with something season-appropriate.

For me, spring and summer should be all about billowy maxi dresses, cocktails at sunset (and sometimes breakfast), days at the beach and other such stuff that I never get around to doing.

This Sheike Venus maxi dress is definitely on my wishlist for the warmer weather. Aside from the gorgeous colour, I also love the flowing chiffon and beaded satin detail at the waist.

It’s available in stores now for $219.95 (gulp).

By Caroline Warnes

The new iRiver Story sits at the high-end of the eBook reader market - as the $400 price tag would suggest.

If you’re willing to spend a few extra dollars, the iRiver Story offers the likes of faster performance and a full QWERTY keyboard sitting below the screen - elements that not all of the more affordable eBook readers have.

Another positive is support for a wide range of formats, including ePub, PDF, TXT, XLS, PPT, DOC and comic files (if you’re into that sort of thing). And then there is the sleek design, which makes this the sort of device you’ll want to show off in public.

The Story also has a smattering of useful features, including a voice recorder, MP3 player and diary. However for this price, you’d expect to see a fuller list of features - such as Wi-Fi and an integrated dictionary.

Buy cheap eBook reader on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes

We are giving away two Padacs Mini Bluetooth Keyboards, valued at $69.95 each, in this week’s free Lasoo competition.

This ingenious little device will appeal to anyone who does a lot of typing on iPads, iPhones and other handheld devices (such as gamers, frequent emailers and chatters), and find the touchscreen somewhat frustrating to use.

As well as working with Apple devices running iOS4 (the iPad, iPhone 3G S and iPhone 4), the Padacs Mini Bluetooth keyboard is also compatible with the PS3, Android, Symbian S60 and Winmo 5.0 and above. It’s easy to pair and operate - simply synch the device and you’re set up with a QWERTY keyboard.

This is quite literally a pocket-sized keyboard - measuring in at just 115×60×7mm, meaning you can easily carry it around with you at all times.

To enter this week’s competition, tell us in 25 words or less using the form below how you would use your Padacs Mini Bluetooth Keyboard. The competition closes next Thursday.

Competition terms and conditions