The Treo 680 makes a fine pal

Mobile Computer
I've just got my hands on the Treo 680, and I like it fine. It's a solid Palm OS smart phone with a 2.5-inch color screen, backlit keyboard, and software for synching the contacts, calendars, and messages on the device with your PC or Mac.

The Treo is as good as any business productivity tool I've seen, especially for the money (about $200 after a $100 rebate, with a two-year contract). You can use DataViz Documents to Go, which comes loaded on the device, to work with your Microsoft Word and Excel documents. The Treo 680 also makes a handy PDF and eBook reader.

But I've been having the most fun snapping pictures and recording videos with the Treo 680's camera, and checking out photos I've transferred to the smart phone from my iBook via Bluetooth. That, and surfing the Web to feed my shameful addiction to the Drudge Report.

The touch screen on my Treo 680 operated perfectly, but only after I remembered to calibrate the thing. If your screen is acting a little hinky, it's probably because you have forgotten to calibrate it.

The Treo 680 has a built-in antenna, which makes it a bit sleeker looking than the Treo 650, which you can still get (refurbished, for $50 less) through Cingular. It has 64MB of memory, 41MB more than the 650. And with the 680, you can use two Bluetooth devices simultaneously (a wireless headset and a TeleNav GPS receiver in your car, for example).

The Treo 680 is also a great phone that easily stores and calls up your frequently (and recently) used numbers. Speaker-phone calls on the Tri 680 were crystal clear on both ends.

Ipodding

A cute carrying case for your music player, and it's water resistant

The iPod-lovers at SDI Technologies Inc. recently unveiled another clever system for your favorite music player: a water-resistant zipped case with external speakers and player control buttons.

The iH19 (about $70) accommodates any iPod, including the little Shuffle, as well as most MP3 and CD players. The iH19 has headphone jacks, but its two speakers should be powerful enough for outdoor use, as when you're pushing the pram around. The bag runs on four AA batteries or a power adapter, which is included. It also charges your iPod while it's connected to the device.

You can also attach the iH19 to your handlebars for casual bike rides. (The bag comes in pink or black.) But I wouldn't recommend the iH19 for a rugged mountain-biking excursion. One flip over the handlebars might squish the speakers and the controls on the outside of the bag.

SDI ( ihomeaudio.com) makes several other iPod-docking systems for the home. Its iHome series includes a stereo alarm clock, an under-cabinet player for the kitchen, a boom box, and a bookshelf stereo system, which includes a subwoofer, two stand-alone speakers, and a remote control.

Video Gaming

Clip-on adds motion control to PlayStation

If you're feeling put off by the hundreds or thousands of dollars you'd have to cough up for the latest Sony or Nintendo game systems before Christmas, a $40 clip-on adapter for your existing PlayStation remote can give you a sense of the freedom of motion you get with the controllers for the PS3 and Wii.

SplitFish GameWare Inc. says its MotionFX tilt-sensor attaches to your PlayStation 2's wired dual shock controller, so you steer the action in thousands of games simply by leaning in different directions.

It's a great way to try to get a little more mileage out of your current game library, while you await new titles -- and a more reasonable price -- for the PS3.

SplitFish makes 3D gaming eyewear and other adapters and controllers for the Sony PlayStation.

The company also has a cool-looking laser gun for the PS2, due in March. It does not make devices for the Nintendo Wii, nor does it seem inclined to do so, as it considers the PlayStation systems to be far more advanced than the new Nintendo system.