A new electric toothbrush that uses a USB port to charge its batteries has been launched by Philips.

The £250 gadget, which the company claims has been called ‘the iPod of toothbrushes’, comes with a rigid plastic travel case that then charges the toothbrush via a USB port.

The toothbrush’s standard charger is an adaptor for traditional bathroom sockets so that the USB cable can be plugged in.

Philips claims that the ‘Sonicare DiamondClean’ is its ‘most advanced brush yet’, with five brushing modes and a ‘charge glass’ for wireless charging. Previous models have used plastic chargers that users have struggled to keep clean.

An increasing number of gadgets have adopted the USB port for charging, including sat navs and mobile phones. Previous version used proprietary adaptors. Action by regulators, however, has encouraged mobile phone makers in particular to adopt standard plugs.

The USB port has, however, mostly been used on products that are usually plugged into laptops or similar devices. Philips’s use of the plug, which stands for Universal Serial Bus, in the bathroom is thought to be a first.

Philips has also launched a device that uses air to floss between teeth. The company says AirFloss ‘fires a microburst of air and water between teeth at 45mph to remove plaque’.