I have found through experimentation that one of the best hand mixers available to man is a power drill with a ballon whisk clamped into the chuck. It will fluff up egg whites and cream in no time, is free (assuming you already own the drill and whisk) and is about as butch as you can get in the kitchen without breaking out a flamethrower to glaze a crème brûlée.

On the other hand, it isn't nearly as sleekly good looking as Meike Harde's Quix, a handheld mixer of beautiful proportions and startling practicality. As in pro kitchen kit, the buttons are sealed behind a silicone cover, and they are also pressure sensitive (which could get tiring after a while). The angled body (designed to look like a crispy chocolate shell) is also formed to hook over the edge of a bowl and hang there, and the power cord is retractable.

Then again, you might re-consider the ugly but effective power drill method: It has the big advantage of being a real, buy-able product, whereas the Quix is--sadly--nothing but a concept.

Quix stirring system [Meike Harde via the Giz]