Slingbox PRO
Price: $249
Web site: www.slingbox.com

The Slingbox PRO is the latest version of what is arguably my favorite gadget of the past five years. After attaching the Slingbox to your home network and video source (cable, satellite, TiVo, whatever), you can watch whatever you would at home, from anywhere in the world, via your PC. With the optional HD Connect adapter ($49.99), the Pro even supports HD programming (though not of the quality you see on your TV). If high definition is important to you, you can save money with the Slingbox A/V ($179). No matter which Sling you choose, just be careful—you can really freak someone out back at home if you start changing the channels from your hotel room 3,000 miles away!

Sonic Impact Video-55
Price: $249
Web site: www.si5.com

Though at first glance, this little gadget looks like a portable DVD player, it’s actually an LCD screen that relies on your video iPod to supply the content. If your eyes have grown weary of watching videos on your iPod’s 2.5-inch screen, the Video-55’s 7-inch display will seem downright huge, and it produces decent sound to boot. The clamshell design also serves as a heavy-duty case for the iPod when you’re on the road, making this a perfect gift for the road warrior.

Sirius Stiletto 100 portable satellite radio
Price: $349
Web site: www.sirius.com

Sirius satellite radio subscribers finally have a terrific option for a portable player. Thankfully, the Stiletto 100 is everything last year’s entry, the S50, is not. It’s intuitive, can both play and record satellite broadcasts, as well as both MP3 and WMA files that you transfer from your PC. The Stiletto 100 even includes a Wi-Fi antenna and can pick up programming over an Internet connection when there’s no satellite in sight. Of course, you’ll also need to spring for a Sirius subscription, so tack on another $12.95 a month (discounts available for prepaid annual and lifetime subscriptions).

Bose QuietComfort 3 headphones
Price: $349
Web site: www.bose.com

It probably says something that the only thing I’ve ever had stolen from me on a plane is a set of Bose QuietComfort headphones. I’ve tried nearly every set of noise-canceling headphones out there, in the hopes of finding something that provided the quality of the Bose line at a more reasonable cost. But, to no avail (and for the record, none of the others were ever removed from the seatback pouch either). The QuietComfort 3s are a bit smaller than the now “lower-end” QuietComfort 2s (which only cost $299), but the big difference is that these headphones sit on your ear, instead of covering them. Unlike other on-the-ear models we’ve used, these do an outstanding job of blocking out external noise.

Cingular 8525
Price: $399, with two-year contract
Web site: www.cingular.com

One of the first handsets on the market to work on Cingular’s new high-speed Broadband Connect network, this Windows Mobile-based phone provides broadband-like speeds—assuming you’re in a region that has the new network. The phone includes both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which means you can connect to other networks, devices and PCs without any problem, as well as a full QWERTY slideout keyboard. And in addition to accessing your e-mail, you’ll be able to view Microsoft Office documents (and others) too. If that’s not enough, the 8525 has a two-megapixel camera with a flash. Talk about having your cake and eating it too.