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1. Sony PSP
The Sony PlayStation Portable is the portable gadget of 2005. If you haven't gotten one already, you must not have seen one in action. The screen alone will make you salivate. So much more than a portable gaming console, it also plays music and movies. Not only does it look hot, it also has outstanding sound and graphics, a built-in Memory Stick Duo slot, and Wi-Fi. And if you already have one, read our PSP megafeature to unleash your PSP's full potential.
2. Microsoft Xbox 360
The wait for next-gen gaming is over, but Microsoft's Xbox 360 has some growing pains to work out. Namely, overheating, crashing issues, and a hefty $399 price tag. The plus side? It offers the best networked gaming experience we've seen, integration with Windows Media Center PCs, and backward-compatibility with some Xbox games. It's the holiday season's hottest gift, but you may want to hold off on buying it right away--or until the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Revolution show us what they've got.
3. Apple iPod (60GB, video, black)
Well, now Apple's gone and stolen its own thunder. A few weeks after the iPod Nano debuted at number two, the new video-playing iPod takes its place on our list. We'd like to see more video content available via iTunes 6, so this iPod is still a music player first and foremost. But the new iPod has a bigger screen and a thinner body than previous iPods, and at $299 for the 30GB version and $399 for the 60GB, we like the price.
4. Sony KDS-R60XBR1
Sony's 60-inch, rear-projection KDS-R60XBR1 is good enough to win Editors' Choice honors, and it might even be the best HDTV we've ever seen. That's thanks to Sony's SXRD light engine, which delivers unbelievably detailed 1080p high-definition images. The $5,000 price tag is a bit intimidating, but you're getting phenomenal image quality for that price. Plus, considering the fact that previous SXRD sets cost as much as $13,000, it's almost a steal.
5. Sling Media Slingbox
Want to watch TiVo'd shows at a coffeeshop, the ball game on a plane, or C-Span at a sports bar? All you need is a laptop with Windows XP, a Wi-Fi hot spot, and the Slingbox. This one-of-a-kind device streams live TV or anything on your DVR to a laptop or desktop PC. Similar products exist, but none are as cheap (Sony's LF-X1 LocationFree TV starts at $1,000) or easy (Orb requires a TV tuner card) as the $249 Slingbox. That's a small price to pay for making your living room mobile.
6. Sony Ericsson W800i
Here's a great reason to turn a blind eye to the Motorola Rokr. The Sony Ericsson W800i is the best MP3 phone we've seen yet--and it tunes in FM stations, too. This world phone isn't too shabby about making calls, either, thanks to great sound quality, a user-friendly interface, and a speakerphone. If you want to snap photos of everyone staring at your cool phone, the W800i's 2-megapixel camera will come in handy, too.
7. Dell XPS M170 Editors' choice
For months, we watched as Toshiba's Qosmio G25-AV513 kicked sand in the face of weaker laptops. Now, the Qosmio has been outmuscled. Dell's XPS M170 is built for gamers, but it also rocks the multimedia world. This lightweight laptop has a blazing CPU, top-notch graphics, and a smorgasbord of ports and connections, so it's not just for gamers. The Qosmio still has a few things on the XPS M170--namely, a TV tuner and handy external control knobs. But Dell's laptop is way lighter than the Qosmio. Beware: it's not for the easily sticker-shocked, thanks to a $3,642 price tag.
8. Archos Gmini 402 (20GB)
The new video iPod isn't the only option for a portable video player. It isn't even the best. Archos's Gmini 402 lets you take audio, video, and photos on the go and displays the latter two on a sharp 2.2-inch LCD screen. You don't need to use your computer as a middleman for transferring files, either; this Gmini's line-in recorder lets you record songs and voice directly to its hard drive, and you can save photos directly from your camera.
9. Nokia N90
It's way expensive ($900 for the unlocked version), and it's a bit bulky, but this shape-shifting multimedia phone may be worth it for anyone wanting to consolidate all of their on-the-go gadgets. The Nokia N90 boasts a 2-megapixel camera with a flash, an MPEG-4 video player, an MP3/AAC audio player, direct photo printing via PictBridge, and an innovative design that turns all heads--even its own. Kitchen sink not included.
10. Palm Treo on Windows Mobile 5
Could this be a laptop killer on the horizon? Once you get over the weird feelings about Microsoft and Palm being in bed together, this Windows Treo starts sounding like the ultimate in productivity tools. Thanks to Windows Mobile 5, this Treo puts Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook right there in your pocket. Large attachments won't take too long to download, thanks to support for Verizon's 3G EV-DO network.
CNET's top 10 gadget of the year 2005
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