gadgets

A handful of two-megapixel camera phones hit the U.S. this year, but the fast, sharp Carl Zeiss lens on the Nokia N90 makes it an optical standout, delivering 5x7 photos good enough to print and hang on the fridge. Turn the lens in any direction and shoot using the dedicated capture button. View pics on the 2.1-inch, high-resolution display and store at least 140 high-resolution photos on a 64-megabyte expandable memory card. Built-in flash; 20x digital zoom; $700

Think of these pretty portable players as the lovechildren of TiVo, satellite radio and the iPod. They allow you to record your favorite crystal-clear satellite programming TiVo-style and then listen to it later on, wherever you are. Although these wearable units are not themselves satellite receivers-they have to be docked to receive and record content-the XM Samsung neXus and Sirius S50 have two key advantages over their antenna-outfitted relatives: They´re half the size, and you can upload your MP3 and WMA files and mix them into your satellite-radio playlists.

It's a brave new wireless world, yet most portable-audio hounds are still tangled up in headphone cords. Soon, though, you'll have lots of wireless stereo headphones to choose from. The technology isn't brand new, but until recently it was too bulky and expensive to shove into the tiny, splurge-worthy gadgets we love. Expect to see three flavors of wireless earmuffs-Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and magnetic induction [see sidebar below]-rolling out between now and early next year.

Dept.: Maxed Out
Tech: Pet Gadgets
Cost: $1,840 plus dog
Steal | | | | | Splurge

In the evolution of ride-over-anything mountain bikes, the ever-vulnerable rear derailleur—that gangly parallelogram that shifts the chain up and down the rear cogs when it´s not clogged with mud or bent by rocks—has been a glaring technical handicap. So GT (gtbicycles.com) got rid of it. With its $5,000 IT-1, GT moves gear-changing duties to an unsullied haven inside the bike frame, by way of an eight-speed internal transmission.

Since the dawn of wireless, the roving Google junkie has faced two options: a bulky wireless laptop or a Web-page-cropping PDA. This fall, however, Nokia (nokia.com) will introduce a palm-size Internet gadget that surfs Web pages in full, albeit scaled-down, glory, anywhere. Measuring three by six inches, the 770 connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi or a Bluetooth cellphone. Think of it as a $350 replacement for that second PC.

Pint-size cars are the practical option in European cities, whose streets seem to be designed for wheelbarrows, but they come up short on safety. Keenly aware of this dilemma, Milan-based automotive designer Pininfarina has reconsidered subcompact safety from the inside out with its Nido concept car. Named after the Italian word for â€nest,†Nido refers to the unique design for protecting passengers of this diminutive two-seater (it´s 2.5 feet shorter than a Mini Cooper).

Over the years, your key chain has become a custodial clump of assorted accessories and unidentified house, locker and car keys. Time to free up some ringside real estate and make room for the latest key-chain gadgets. Careful, though-losing your keys has never been quite so expensive.

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My passenger in the Ford Taurus I'm driving suggests we skip through Bob Dylan's "Positively 4th Street." It's not my favorite song either. I start to fiddle with the CD player in the instrument panel. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see that I'm running off the road into a ditch at 60 mph.