David Haskin

Microsoft's new Zune HD is an innovative media player, but the obvious question remains: Has Microsoft finally matched or even surpassed Apple's iPod/iTunes juggernaut?

What is it? The Zune HD comes in 16GB and 32GB versions, for $220 and $290, respectively. Overall, it is roughly .3 inches narrower and shorter than the iPod Touch and just a hair thicker. It also is noticeably lighter (2.6 ounces vs. 4.05 ounces). It has a 3.3-inch organic light-emitting diode ( OLED ) display (compared to the 3.5-inch display on the iPod Touch).

Even by the rapid-fire standards of the technology industry, netbooks have evolved quickly. However, the most significant netbook changes of all will start becoming available in the next year.

First popularized after Taiwanese vendor Asustek released its EeePC in October of 2007, netbooks initially were small and cheap. The first EeePC, for example, had a slow Celeron processor, a seven-inch screen, weighed about two pounds and cost $400.

Once only within reach for executives and the well-heeled, smart phones are now at the center of many road warriors' lives. But their popularity has led to a problem: With so many smart phones available now, it's hard to know which one is right for you.

The answer depends on what you most need your smart phone for. Do you need a device that excels at e-mail or one that's optimized for browsing the Web? And will the best smart phone for e-mailing or browsing also keep you entertained on a long flight?

It's difficult enough to keep plain-vanilla cell phones charged for a busy day of just talking. But these days, we also use our smartphones for e-mail, surfing the Web, editing documents, accessing corporate networks, text messaging, enjoying music and video, playing games, managing our personal information and much more -- making it all the more catastrophic when our devices run out of juice.

The problem is that while smartphone capabilities have increased dramatically in recent years, batteries have not kept pace. "Phones do so much more now, but battery technology hasn't advanced that much," says Scott Riddle, digital sales supervisor at BearCom, a retailer of mobile equipment. Riddle regularly hears from customers about their struggles to keep smartphones charged. "Everybody has this problem," he says.

For some users, the new generation of ultraportable notebooks comes close to embodying the Holy Grail for road warriors. Their laptop-like keyboards make them more usable for typing tasks than smart phones, but they are lighter and cheaper than traditional laptops. The original Asus Eee PC, for instance, cost about $400 and weighed about two pounds when it was introduced last October.

However, while pundits and technology journalists have lavished attention on these products, skeptics have raised questions. For instance, is there anything really special about these devices, or do they just represent old technology in new packaging? Are users as enthusiastic about these tiny laptops as the pundits are? Will they fade away like so many other "next big things"? And perhaps the oddest question: What do we call these things, anyway?

When it comes to laptops, ultrathin is in -- particularly since the launch of Apple's MacBook Air earlier this year. As might be expected, though, the Air isn't the only game in town -- skinny laptops are available from a variety of other vendors.

However, stylish doesn't always mean functional. You needn't look further than the latest style in women's shoes to know that what looks good isn't necessarily comfortable. Is the MacBook Air with its ultrasvelte shape actually as comfortable to use as larger, more traditionally shaped laptops? And, come to that, what about its competitors? How easy are they to use?