Getting

The world is getting smaller -- and so, too, is consumer technology. The best tech toys this year are all about size, weight, and sleek design. Here's our wish list for the holidays.

Your HDTV moment. You watched the Olympics on your buddy's huge, color-rich plasma television, and it was good, very good. You visited again for the World Series. Lately, you've been dropping by for Simpsons reruns. (Mmmmm. Big screen.) The time has come. Picture quality for plasma screens has improved dramatically -- so before your friend changes his locks, get one of your own. You can do so without cashing in the kids' college fund, because Gateway and now Dell have entered the mix. Dell's new 42-inch screen, the W4200HD, lists at $3,499. The Super Bowl? Your friend can come to your place this time. (www.dell.com)

Cooler than iPod? It's a cigarette lighter! It's a padlock! No, it's the tony, ultratiny Network Walkman NW-MS90D from Sony. This Lilliputian device measures just 1 1/2-by-2-by-3/4 inches and weighs 1.9 ounces -- about one-third the weight of Apple's iPod. With just 512 MB of Flash memory, enough for 340 songs, it has nowhere near the iPod's capacity, of course. But you can add storage with Sony's "memory sticks." The sound is great. But it's the Walkman's looks that will draw stares from passersby. ($399.95, www.sonystyle.com)

Lights! Sound! Action! The Panasonic D-snap SV-AV50 is the Renaissance Man of consumer electronics -- an impressive updating of last year's SV-AS10. This version is a full-fledged video camera, recording MPEG4 at 30 frames per second. It also takes 2-megapixel still pictures, plays two hours of MP3 files (with a 64MB SD card), and records voice. (It will not vacuum your car or watch your children for the evening. Sorry.) Plus, the 2-inch, flip-and-twist screen is genius. Take this and stick it in your pocket. ($399.99, www.panasonic.com)

Let it snow! This is not your father's snowmobile. Well, right, your father never owned a snowmobile. But you want one, right? Yamaha has refitted its RX-1 vehicle with new titanium and magnesium components. The result: a sled that's 30 pounds lighter and built to fly. The RX-1 packs a 145-horsepower, four-stroke, four-cylinder engine -- probably more power than you'll need -- with superior handling. It's an impressive, easy-to-use technological package that also meets environmental standards for 2006. ($9,099, www.yamahamotor.com)

Cursory Starck. Apple was the first to figure out that computer stuff didn't have to be boring. Now the rest of the industry is coming around. The latest from Microsoft: an optical mouse designed by Philippe Starck, famed for the oh-so-cool Paramount Hotels. Starck is into simplicity, durability, and effectiveness. We've been testing the Starck mouse here at FC Labs. Simple? Yep. Durable? We've dropped it more than once, and it keeps on ticking. Effective? It's no better or worse than others of its ilk. (Why not wireless, we wonder?) But with its silver body and illuminated racing stripe down the center, it looks fantastic. Your computer simply must have one. ($34.95, www.microsoft.com)

Giving

OR, you could stop feeding the technology beast. Put that $399 toward, say, making the world a better place. Here are three worthy, innovative alternatives for your money and time.