Primary school ICT technician Tim Bateman's ideas for a new digital learning device have won him a brand new wire-less enabled Nokia N800 - worth around £300.

Thirty-six-year-old Tim, who works at Heath Mount and Tindal schools in Balsall Heath, entered Digital Birmingham's competition to design a digital learning device after thinking about what the children at his schools and his own daughters looked for when using computers and the internet at school.

Entrants to the competition - supported by BT - were asked to imagine and describe the ideal portable digital device for the learning environment of the future, stating how and where it could be used, connect with various networks and store data, and how versatile it would be.

Tim sees his proposed device as a 'Swiss army knife' for computing.

"It's the one piece of kit everyone would want to have," he said. "It would be fun as well as useful and connect with various networks such as home, school, the web, mobiles and other PCs, making it invaluable for schoolchildren."

Designed to be about the size of a DVD, Tim's Personal Portable Learning Device (PPLD) would be as lightweight as a portable DVD player, with a good resolution screen of around 14cm.

It would be installed with school soft-ware but also have a program area for the user to install their own applications.

It would connect to the internet and be used for email and VOIP (voice over internet protocol) calls, as well as being able to play MP3 and MP4 files and games, and store photographs.

"Working with children in a learning environment every day gives me a good idea of what they want in a digital device," said Tim.

"I wanted to design something that children would find useful for school but also be able to have fun with.

"I thought about what they said they wanted, and worked out a solution which offered this as closely as possible whilst also meeting schools' requirements.

"The three main criteria are capability, connectivity and carryability. My device would offer a combination of features which can currently only be found in multiple devices - it would be the one piece of kit everyone would want to have."

Tim's competition entry ticked all the boxes, according to Nikki Spencer from Digital Birmingham - an alliance of public, private and voluntary sector organisations who share the goal of ensuring the benefits of global digital technologies are experienced by everybody living, studying, visiting and working in Birmingham,

"Tim focused on answering a need, which is always a good starting point for an invention," she said.

"His entry showed real depth of thought, IT knowledge and usability, and we're delighted he has won."

The prize of a Nokia N800 Tablet - one of the latest PDAs offering wi-fi internet access, email, internet calling and instant messaging as well as high-resolution streaming of music, movies and TV - was sponsored by BT and presented by BT's West Midlands regional manager Ian Binks, a member of Digital Birmingham's executive board.

The recent launch of Birmingham as a 'BT Wireless City' means that Tim and other wi-fi users will be able to access birminghamfiz - a free information zone provided by Birmingham City Council and Digital Birmingham - at any time within the city centre wi-fi zone.

"We were impressed by the way the competition captured Tim's imagination," said Ian Binks.

"Technology is developing at such a pace it is important people in the West Midlands take full advantage.

"Now Birmingham is up and running as a BT Wireless City, visitors to the city centre, as well as people living and working in the city, can enjoy accessing the internet whilst on the move, as if they were in the office or at home.

"Tim's invention is inspirational and reflects the exciting mood of the city at this exciting time, and is important for promoting Birmingham as a leading digital city."