I need to make a round object much like a speedometer (with moving needle inside indicating a value) in a browser. currently for all other items on this page iam using jquery. I rather not use flash as it needs to be ipod / iphone usable.
Any experience others have had doing this is greatly appreciated.
Check out this speedometer created using Javascript/css and some analog clocks in Javascript/css as well.
You can use the source in those as a starting point for what you are trying to accomplish.
You might consider using Processing.js, which was ported to JS by John Resig, the same guy who invented jQuery. It allows you to draw any sort of primitive on an HTML Canvas. It supports all major browsers (from the website):
Processing.js runs in FireFox, Safari, Opera, Chrome and will also work with Internet Explorer, using Explorer Canvas.