Gadget corner

Big sound

Philips' CinemaOne home theatre system (below) may only be the size of three stacked soup bowls but it delivers a full surround-sound experience. This stylish, budget-friendly device can create realistic cinema-sound effects - with clear dialogue and a powerful deep bass - in a small space, such as a bedroom. It combines a DVD and CD player, iPod dock, five-channel amplifier, six speakers and a subwoofer. DVD movies can be upscaled to 1080p high-definition resolution on an HD television via its high-definition multimedia interface connector. The Philips CinemaOne costs HK$2,390.

Get in touch

Unveiled at last month's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Motosurf A3100 touch-screen handset (right) is Motorola's belated answer to Apple's iPhone. The A3100 is a 3.5-gigabyte smartphone that runs Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system for access to e-mail, documents and desktop computer-style browsing with either Internet Explorer or Opera. It comes with a 2.8-inch display, a 3-megapixel camera, a digital keyboard, an MP3 player, a Wi-fi and Bluetooth link and pre-loaded applications such as MSN, Gmail, Google, YouTube and games. The Motosurf A3100 sells for HK$3,380.

Pocket monster

Sony is touting its Vaio P 'Pocket-style' personal computer (above) as an ultra-portable netbook without the limitations of other mini-notebooks, despite it being run with the same Intel Atom processor used in popular rivals. It is available in red, green, black and white, with a glossy magnesium and carbon case. It has a high-resolution 8-inch display, the Windows Vista operating system, Wi-fi and Bluetooth connections, a webcam, solid state drive and track-point navigation. Prices for the Vaio P start at HK$5,980.