Must-Have Gadgets

This tiny, affordable laptop has Windows XP, Wi-Fi, a media player, an IM client, an SD card slot, and 3 USB ports. So you get portable Web surfing and basic productivity in a package the size of a paperback book, for $400. Perfect for traveling, or for a first laptop for the kids.

Just in time for the recession, HP has released a compact, affordable laptop. The HP 2133 Mini-Note PC is a petite 9" laptop that weighs 2.6 pounds and costs as little as $499 (with Linux). The top-of-the-line $750 model comes with Vista, Bluetooth, a webcam, ExpressCard slot, and 2GB of RAM, and its keyboard is almost as big as a regular laptop's. It might not turn heads at the coffee shop, but it'll get the job done - with plenty of cash left over for a nice fixed-gear bicycle.

If you want an iPhone, you have to be an AT&T customer, at least for the next few years. But Verizon customers can get many of the same features in the LG Voyager VX1000. Although it doesn't have Wi-Fi, it does have a huge 2.8" touchscreen display and a full tactile QWERTY keyboard. The Voyager offers Web browsing, EV-DO support, a music player with dual speakers (stereo!), Bluetooth, integrated GPS, speakerphone, and a 2-megapixel camera and camcorder. And for an extra $15 a month, you get access to the V Cast Mobile TV service.

How many "clickers" are sitting on your coffee table (or stuffed between couch cushions)? You can replace them all with the Logitech Harmony One. With a full-color touch screen, ergonomic design, and intuitive button layout, it controls up to 15 devices, from HDTVs to DVD players to stereos. Want to watch a DVD? One touch on the remote and you're in business. The same goes for TV and music. The Harmony One runs on rechargeable batteries and works with more than 5,000 brands of home entertainment devices.

Rhe Logitech Squeezebox Duet is a network digital audio streamer that's similar to - but hundreds of dollars cheaper than - the Sonos Digital Music System. It's called the Duet because it has 2 parts: A base station and a remote control. The base station, which connects to your stereo, uses your wireless network to stream music from your computer (including Rhapsody, Pandora, and Internet radio) to your stereo speakers. If you use Logitech's free SqueezeNetwork, you don't even have to turn your computer on to listen to Internet radio. The intuitive remote has a 2.4" color display, an iPod-like scrollwheel, and all the necessary controls.

The latest must-have video game console is the Nintendo Wii, which appeals to a broader demographic than the PS3 or Xbox 360. The Wii features a revolutionary motion-sensing controller, built-in Wi-Fi, an operating system with several Wii "channels," and backwards compatibility with GameCube games.

Would you pay $500 for a cell phone? What if it had a 5-megapixel camera with 7 shooting modes and captured really good photos and video? What if it also had built-in GPS? And Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a media player with a headphone jack, and doubled as a Symbian smartphone? The Nokia N95 has all that and more, which is why this all-in-one multimedia computer is getting so much attention. Well, that and the price tag.

Watch your favorite TV programs almost anywhere with the help of the Slingbox A/V. This pint-sized device digitizes your home TV source and then streams it onto your home network or onto the Internet - so you can receive that stream on any broadband-connected Mac, PC, or Windows Mobile device. This means you can watch TV on your laptop or smartphone when you're thousands of miles away from home.

As long as you don't want a radio, voice recorder, or memory expansion slot, the Sony NWZ-A810 will give you everything else you're looking for in a music player: great sound, beautiful 2" display, video playback, photo viewing, and amazingly long battery life.

CNET says "the Sony NWZ-A720 is the best-sounding, best-looking Walkman" yet. Again, it doesn't have a radio, voice recorder, or memory expansion slot, but it does have a 2.4" LCD, fantastic music/photo/video playback, room enough for 3800 songs or up to 62 hours of video, and long battery life. Plus it comes with nice EX-style earphones.