Universal Media Disc

Sony PlayStation Portable

Movies, Music, Gaming . . . Is There Anything the PSP Can't Do?

The introduction of Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP) was the moment portable game consoles stopped being toys. The PSP is a multimedia powerhouse aimed at gamers and nongamers alike.

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Sandisk Ultra II SD Plus

Transfer files sans cables

With this SD (Secure Digital) flash-memory card, you can move photos, songs or any other files from your device to your computer without cables or a separate card reader. Just stick the built-in USB plug directly into your computer. $80 (512MB) or $135 (1GB)

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Charge 2 Go

Juice your cell with a single AA battery

This multiuse portable cellphone charger is a third the size of conventional chargers and far more convenient. Simply put any ol' AA battery into the aluminum canister, plug in your cellphone using the appropriate adapter (available for all phones except Sanyo and Audiovox), and a chip inside the device amps the battery's 1.5 volts to a voltage powerful enough to charge and run the phone. A two-hour charge provides up to three hours of talk time. $25

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Sony Walkman Bean NW-E300 Series

Charge in minutes, listen for hours

This 1.6-ounce thumb-size MP3 player packs unmatched battery life: 50 hours on a full charge. Even more notable, the quick-charge function gives you three hours of playback after charging for just three minutes. Sony bolstered the lithium-ion battery's life using software that allocates precise amounts of power based on what the player is doing (rather than operating at full power all the time). It supports MP3, WMA, WAV and ATRAC3 formats. $120 (512MB) or $150 (1GB)

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Nokia N90

Finally, print-worthy snaps from a phone

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

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Dish Network PocketDish

A portable video recorder that syncs with its big brother

The problem inherent to the digital video recorder (DVR) is that you have to be home to watch what you record. But this portable video recorder syncs with Dish Network's DVRs, so whatever is saved at home is copied over and ready to hit the road. Choose from a 2.2-inch screen with 20 gigs of space (20 hours of MPEG-2 video), a 4-inch screen with 30 gigs, or a 7-inch with 40 gigs. $330â€$600

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Nokia N91

Store 3,000 Songs on your phone

At first glance, the N91 appears to be a full-featured MP3 player-with dedicated music keys, prominent volume controls, a 3.5-millimeter stereo headphone jack, an FM tuner and a USB port. Only when you slide the faceplate down to reveal the keypad do you recognize it as a phone. Drag and drop music (MP3, WMA, AAC and M4A files) onto its four-gigabyte hard drive, then create playlists directly on the phone. $700

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Delphi XM MyFi

Satellite radio in your pocket

Satellite radio's one great drawback is that it tethers you to your car or home. But with the palm-size MyFi, you can take your programming anywhere. The 7.3-ounce player receives live broadcasts and stores at least five hours of recorded programming on its 128 megabytes of internal memory. So if your signal drops when you go inside, you can continue listening. $300

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December 2009: Best of What's New

In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.

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