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Canon Digital IXUS 55

$629, * * * * ½, www.canon.com.au

Canon's super compact IXUS series of digital cameras have found their way under many a Christmas tree in the past few years, and we can't see any reason this tradition should change. The latest IXUS 55 has everything we loved about the earlier sharpshooters - the size, shape and weight (140 grams) is pocket- and purse-friendly, with smooth lines softening a robust chassis. The image quality is better than ever, with a 5-megapixel sensor and 3x optical zoom (about the same as 35mm-105mm in film parlance). The large 6.35cm LCD panel on the rear lets you see more of the shot before you take it, and when you're showing it to friends.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 4

$169, * * * * *, www.adobe.com.au

Most digital cameras come with rudimentary software for editing and managing snaps, but none of them are a patch on Photoshop Elements 4 for Windows. It's not just the point-and-click ways to fix red eyes, adjust lighting and contrast (and skin tones) or even remove whole objects (including people) from shots. Where Photoshop Elements shines is the simplicity it brings to organising your digital shoebox of photos and sharing them as impressive multimedia slideshows (complete with music and narration) to email to friends or burn onto CD or DVD.PlaytimeSony PlayStation PortableFrom $399 au.playstation.comSony's go-anywhere games machine is small, black and lethal. We can imagine Darth Vader using one to while away those hours on the Death Star. Rest assured, this is no Jedi mind trick. It's a near-perfect marriage of Sony's decades of experience with games, consumer electronics and elegant design. The screen is a knock-out, even if the range of games and movies on the PSP's mini-DVD discs (a new and for the time being strictly Sony format called UMD) was at first a little underwhelming. Load your favourite tracks onto a memory stick or one of the miniature hard-disk drive add-ons available, and you can cross an MP3 player off your shopping list.

Game Boy micro

$149, * * * * *, www.nintendo.com.au

Nintendo's entry into the pint-sized playing stakes is a clever 180-degree turn from the PSP. Smaller than most mobile phones, weighing barely 100 grams and not too expensive, the devilishly addictive micro is about games and nothing else. It plays any title from the expansive library of Game Boy Advance cartridges and will appeal to adults seeking a way to kill downtime during the daily drive as well as to kids who'd otherwise be saying "Are we there yet?" on the holiday trip.

Desktop delights

BenQ FP71V+

$599, * * * * *, www.benq.com

Got a big, beige and behind-the-times monitor flickering away atop your desk? There are plenty of good reasons to move up to a flat-screen display: you'll regain desktop space, cut down emissions and reduce power usage. If the display you choose is the FP71V+ you'll also get a sharp 43cm display with a high-gloss coating for richer images. The fast response time and a pair of front-mounted inbuilt speakers bring movies and games to life, and there's one-touch setup and calibration so you spend less time fiddling your way to frustration.

For the net

Netgear DG834G

$189, * * * * ½, www.netgear.com.au

If you're itching to ditch dial-up and go broadband, and keen to get a home wireless network into the bargain (so you can surf from your lounge room, back veranda or bedroom), this wireless broadband router is our pick. The nifty combo unit rolls together an ADSL2+ modem (compatible with the new super-speed broadband lines) with a wireless 802.11g Wi-Fi transmitter. We like that there's one less piece of hardware to fumble with, although we'd gladly give this unit a clean 5/5 if Netgear would replace the skimpy five-page manual with something more substantial.

Linksys Wireless-G with Engin Starter Kit

$229, * * * * ½, www.engin.com.au

Perhaps your main reason for going broadband is to take advantage of VoIP technology (voice over internet protocol), to reduce phone bills. In that case, plug your ADSL modem into this special edition Linksys wireless router. It has been created in conjunction with Engin (one of Australia's most respected VoIP networks) and is fine-tuned for optimum VoIP performance. You can connect any normal telephone to the unit and turn it into an "internet phone", and there are no extra handsets or other hardware to buy. Engin's own call rates are very attractive: 10c untimed around Australia and less than 4c a minute to most countries.

Maxtor OneTouch II

$219, * * * * ½, www.maxtor.com.au

It's all too easy for a PC to run short of hard-disk space, especially once you sign up to broadband and discover the joy of downloads. And yes, we're talking about the increasingly common pastime of downloading TV shows the day after they've aired in the US rather than wait a year for our commercial networks to screen them late and out of order. The solution: Maxtor's OneTouch II external hard drive. Plug it into the USB or FireWire socket on your desktop or notebook and you've got anywhere from 100GB to 300GB of space at the ready. Press the big button on the front panel and it'll back up your most precious files, too.

Get fit

STM sports notebook bag

$129, * * * * *, www.stmbags.com.au

I can find any number of excuses for not going to the gym. My favourite has to do with not having room in my notebook bag for my workout gear. STM's Sports Backpack blew that one away as easily as Schwarzenegger benchpressing a broomstick. This spacious street-styled bag has separate compartments for a notebook (which sits snug in its own padded slot) plus your essential gym gear. There are internal pockets for a mobile phone, MP3 player and other knick-knacks, outside pockets for a water bottle and a "sound port" hole for feeding headphones from the innards to your ears.

Apple iPod

From $149, * * * *, www.apple.com.au

Once upon a time, the only soundtrack to fitness was the explosive puffs and grunts of effort and the sound of gym shoes hitting the floor. Music has since become part of the modern fitness equation; a do it yourself soundtrack for success to get you going. We don't reckon you need any of the top-shelf iPods for cardio or trying to look "cut". The lightweight shuffle is perfect for the task: $149 for gets you 512MB of memory, which equals about 100 songs or six hours of music. To enjoy five times as much music on the move, get the 2GB nano ($299).

Polar A3

$159, * * * * *, www.pursuit-performance.com.au

Steve Austin wore a heart-rate monitor in the opening titles of the '70s TV show The Six Million Dollar Man shortly after they made him faster, stronger and hairier.

Polar's A3 does just as good a job of tracking your ticker so you can hit the sweet spot for cardiovascular fitness and weight loss (it's between 65 and 85 per cent of your maximum heart rate). Strap the A3 transmitter band to your chest and it transmits details about your heart rate (via a low-power radio signal) to a companion wristwatch, which the Finnish company prefers to call a "running computer".