"This year, holiday gadgets are smaller or smarter - and sometimes both.

Smaller smart phones are wireless and part camera, computer, jukebox and video player. Smaller keyboards are on smart phones and on the tiny UQO (about 5 by 3 1/2 inches), the world's smallest Windows XP computer.

Most smart phones are aimed at mobile professionals. But T-Mobile is going after younger customers with the $199.99 Sidekick II (the price is after a $100 rebate and requires the activation of a new account.) The rectangular, camera-equipped unit has a screen that rotates to reveal a tiny keyboard only a thumb-typist could love - but typing with both thumbs is common among young people sending instant messages.

Some gadgets are so smart they talk, like the global positioning system (GPS) units for cars that give directions in a pleasant feminine voice. But GPS manufacturers face a serious problem, said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for the NPD Group in Port Washington, N.Y. Detroit automakers are likely to begin including GPS units in new cars, eliminating the need for after-market GPS devices.

Other gadgets are just smart ideas, like the TiVo digital video recorder that includes a DVD burner for permanently archiving favorite TV shows. (A TiVo normally records programs on a computer hard drive but erases old shows as new ones are captured.) Fewer than 5 percent of U.S. households have a digital video recorder, said Michael Greeson, president of the Diffusion Group of Plano, Texas. But sales will grow this year and next as prices decline and consumers have a better understanding of the product, he predicted.

Steve Alexander is at [email protected] gadgets on D4

A $292 portable DVD drive for personal computers from Pioneer. Watch movies or burn your own movie disks, but you have to plug it into a wall outlet. As a result, it is most useful as an accessory for desktop computers, or for laptop PCs that don't travel away from home.

The $1,936 Dell Inspiron 700m laptop, a 4-pound computer that has a built-in DVD burner and Wi-Fi wireless Internet connectivity. This is a traveler's machine with a 12-inch screen and a small keyboard. At a time when laptop PCs are divided into two camps - those intended to leave home and those that stay in the house as desktop PC replacements - the Dell machine offers travelers longer battery life than its house-bound cousins with their 17-inch, power-hungry screens.

The $810 Cobra NavOne car GPS (global positioning system) uses satellites to determine where your car is, then gives you directions to your destination on a map and out loud (a female voice says, Turn right). GPS units remain expensive at about $420 to $2,000 but are likely to decline in price, analysts say. In the near future, car manufacturers might integrate GPS units with dashboard displays when autos are shipped from the factory.

Sony Ericsson's P910 smart phone, $870, is a traveling office; its also a personal digital assistant with a built-in video camera. A tiny fold-out panel has a standard keyboard on one side and a phone keypad on the other.

You don't really want the keyboards to be tiny, but compromises have to be made because small size is one of the important sales drivers in the smart phone category, said Ross Rubin of NPD Group.

These $59.99 noise-reduction headphones, the Koss QZ-99, isolate music listeners from outside disturbances using passive noise attenuation. Sound-dampening materials block noise, and fluid-filled ear cushions seal the phones to the head. But analysts aren't sure whether such large headphones will continue to be popular now that pocket-sized music players such as Apple's iPod have made tiny earbud headsets popular.

A $399.99 TiVo digital video recorder with a built-in DVD burner. The Humax DRT-800 automatically records favorite TV programs on a computer hard disk, then lets you decide which ones to save permanently on a DVD disk. Once sold only as a separate device, digital video recorders are now being built into some television set-top boxes provided by cable TV and satellite TV firms. The recorders make it easy to time-shift TV viewing and skip advertisements.

The Sidekick II ($199.99 after $100 rebate and with a new account) from wireless phone company T-Mobile is a combination phone, camera, personal organizer and handheld instant messaging device with a tiny keyboard suitable for typing with your thumbs. Teenagers, who already use thumb-typing to send instant messages on more conventional wireless phones, may find the keyboard easier to use than adults will.

Halo 2: the $49.99 sequel to one of the defining games for Microsofts Xbox. It has better graphics, more gadgets and new worlds to explore, while preserving the originals intuitive controls. About 2.3 million copies sold the first day. While the game was a hit, it may not work with the next-generation Xbox that could appear in 2005.

The $1,900 OQO (pronounced OH-cue-oh) is a tiny but full-featured Windows XP personal computer that fits in your hand, its screen sliding upward to reveal a miniature keyboard. The OQO is a marvel of miniaturization that is less than an inch thick; it includes a nearly 20-gigabyte hard disk drive and runs standard software such as Microsoft Word and Windows Media Player. But it has a battery life of only a couple of hours, and when power is low the computer can freeze. In addition, some analysts believe it can't rival the convenience of laptop computers with larger keyboards and will appeal to only a niche audience."