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COOL FACTOR With music controls on the outside of its clamshell exterior, Sony Ericsson's W300 Walkman phone knows your tunes are important to you. The included 256-MB Memory Stick Micro card will hold around 75 MP3 or AAC songs, depending on the bit rate; 1-GB cards are available.

COOL FACTOR Without a doubt, getting rid of your iPod's headphone cable would be a huge plus. Sure, you may not get as much street cred without the dangling white wires, but think of the freedom you'll have with TEN's naviPlay, which has volume and track-skipping controls right on the earcup.

From a $200 bookshelf model to a 3.5-foot-tall tower ($1,800 a pair), NHT's new Classic speakers have gloss-black finishes that stand out and curves in all the right places. But in redesigning its Super Audio speaker line, the company went for more than just good looks by tailoring the speakers' sound for home theaters.

Everybody wants a flat LCD or plasma TV to hang on the wall, but punching holes for cabling can be a pain. Mizzico has its "Superb Wiring Solution" for this quandary: the WS-18, an 18-inch-long wiring channel ($89) that attaches to the wall between your TV and component rack (assuming it's right underneath), hiding any unsightly cables.

If you think Netflix is a convenient way to watch the movies you want, take a look at MovieBeam. After buying one of its shiny silver boxes ($228 after rebate), you can stream flicks right into your home for $2 to $5 a pop, and there are even high-def titles available.