| 
Craig Maxwell
MP3 PLAYER Almost iPod Yes, you can avoid the cult of the white earbuds! This sleek MP3 player is the first to challenge the iPod in size, performance, and style. Thanks to Toshiba's supertiny hard drive technology, the Gigabeat G20 is 3 mm thinner and weighs a half ounce less than the 20-gig iPod for Windows – and it holds just as many tunes. Upload audio (including WMA 9 files) via USB 2.0 and let the ice-blue LCD add some color to your life. Sure, you'll have to pay a bit more for this Japanese import, but for PC users it's worth every cent. Gigabeat G20: $599, www.dynamism.com/gigabeat
Craig Maxwell|
PROJECTOR Baby's First Trip Lull your progeny to sleep with something a bit more scintillating than a dangling mobile. The Philips Magic Theater beams kaleidoscopic images and patterns onto any flat, light-colored surface. Pop in an age-appropriate slide, select one of three aural accompaniments, and the psychedelia will unlock your wee one's doors of perception – and hibernation. Once Junior's down, use the toy to illuminate journeys to the center of your mind. Magic Theater: $50, www.pusa-store.com/shop_index.asp
| 
Craig Maxwell
HEADPHONES Timbre! Just as oak barrels enhance the flavor of wine, these mahogany drums refine the sound of music. The earpieces on Grado's RS2 headphones feature a vented diaphragm handcrafted from specially cured wood and a large open-air chamber. The result is a complex bouquet of decreased distortion, accentuated bass response, warm harmonic tones, and a supersmooth top end. Sweet. RS2: $495, www.gradolabs.com
| 
BluxomEPhoto
WATCH Blinks in Time LEDs are a geek's best friend. And what better way to flaunt them than with the brushed stainless-steel Pimp watch – a limited-edition Japanese timepiece that's sparkled up with 72 blinking lights. The dot and color patterns code for time: Red LEDs pulse up the left column to show the hour, while smaller green, yellow, and red ones sweep across in rows of five to indicate the minutes. It's 10:37 pm; have you hugged your CPU today? Pimp: $149, www.pimp-watches.com
| 
Craig Maxwell
DRILL Grind Core The whirr and buzz of power tools have long been the repairman's soundtrack. Now DIYers can choose the tunes they wanna screw to: The battery charger for this 18-volt cordless drill doubles as a 5-watt AM/FM radio. Plug it into any A/C outlet to charge one of the two included NiCad batteries – and work your way down the dial. Outdoors, use the other cell to run the portable boom box. 18 Volt FireStorm Drill with Radio Charger: $110, www.blackanddecker.com
| PLAY
| Press “Triangle” to Tell Hideo That He’s Cute
| Reviews
| Fetish
| Test
