There's no shortage of interesting gear for the holidays, but the electronic gift of the season is sure to be the iPhone. Let's take that as a given and go from there, looking at alternatives to the much-touted device.

Prices may vary considerably, depending on where you shop.

* iPod Touch ($299 and up). Because I love the iPhone interface (while wishing that cell phones would just go away), I'm much enamored of the iPod Touch.

The device is tiny, light (4 ounces), plays your favorite music and comes loaded with a Web browser (Safari, to be sure, but adequate for mobile purposes) to take advantage of the onboard Wi-Fi connection. I admit to disliking on-screen keyboards such as those on both the iPhone and the Touch, but that beautiful 3.5-inch screen really is a joy to behold.

Be sure to locate a good screen protector to take care of it.

* The stores are crowded with iPod tie-ins, everything from iPod consoles for the kitchen to bulky, speaker-heavy models for converting your tiny player into a room-filling stereo.

My iPod use is mostly for audio books, making Portable Sound Laboratories' iMainGo ($70) a handy, portable player for solid sound anywhere in the house. It's barely 6-by-4 inches, but its tiny speakers are surprising and all but distortion-free (at least at the levels I play it at).

You use the iPod's own controls, easily manageable from the back of the case, to choose content and volume.

I have yet to see an iPod speaker system of this size that sounds so good.

* Fujitsu LifeBook U810 ($1,000). I'm still looking for just the right combination for travel, something between a PDA and a small laptop, and since Palm has dropped its plans for Foleo, I'll take the Lifebook.

Its swiveling touch screen is less than 6 inches (diagonally) in size, it comes with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and it offers a workable keyboard instead of a jumble of thumb buttons.

Lifebook is a UMPC (ultramobile PC), a category running Windows software whose designs have rarely been so well thought out.

Oh, for the same kind of device with Linux running the show.

* Panasonic Lumix FX33 ($250). Camera choices are available galore this year, and I especially like Canon's Powershot A650.

But maybe you don't need the muscle and extra cost of 12 megapixels and could use a straightforward and intelligent instrument for snapping pictures without fuss. The FX33 includes a variety of scene presets and an intelligent auto mode that takes the guesswork out of any shot. It's slim and powerful, and it won't break the bank. Useful drop-down menus control the finer points.

* OK, maybe you disagree with me about cell phones. If you're looking for one with full communications options, consider the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8320 ($449, cheaper with contract).

Full keyboard, camera and music are onboard, but what catches my eye are your options with T-Mobile, whose network can use the Curve to place calls through any Wi-Fi hot spot. That's a $10-per-month charge, but you aren't charged for calls that originate on Wi-Fi, making it ideal for the current coffee house scene. You transfer into the normal cellular realm when leaving the Wi-Fi hotspot.

Web browsing and instant messaging are available here, but the BlackBerry e-mail system is the best, making this phone a standout.

* iGo Everywhere85 ($130). Buy one device, and save yourself a world of frustration. Over the years, I've had to juggle power adapters for a host of PDAs, cell phones, notebooks and other devices.

The iGo Everywhere gives you a central power brick with accessory cord that lets you plug in adapter tips for whatever devices you're carrying. Do away with that jumble of wires and power blocks, and you'll be a lot happier as you unload at airport security.

* I must enjoy getting lost, to judge from how often I do it, especially when I'm driving in Cary.

A Garmin Nuvi 360 portable GPS ($450) can get me out of a lot of trouble. Packed with the latest maps, it offers voice navigation with text-to-speech technology, comes preloaded with maps, and offers a 3.5-inch touchscreen. It also comes with integrated Bluetooth and built-in microphone and speaker for hands-free talking over a Bluetooth-equipped phone. GPS eventually will be in every new car, but once you've seen one in action, you won't want to wait.

* Slingbox SOLO ($180). It was inevitable that TV video streams would take to the Internet, but the Slingbox variant pumps the television signal from your home to any connected device no matter where you are. Watch on a PC, a laptop or a cell phone, and that includes what's playing on your DVD player. This one is handy for those who need to keep up with what's happening at home, and in a world of always-on connectivity, I suspect that translates mostly into sports enthusiasts who want to follow their favorite teams.

All it takes is a high-speed broadband Net connection.

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