PlayStation Portable (PSP)
Price: $599 (The value pack comes with headphones and a 32MB memory stick. One game is also included. Price is expected to drop to around $500 by mid-May.)
Battery life: 4 to 6 hours
Weight: 260g
Screen Size: 4.3inch LCD screen with 480 x 272 resolution.
Games: Sold separately, from $90 each
Availability: Select game shops which bnought units directly from Japan. The official US launch is in March with subsequent releases worldwide.
Hip Factor: Fans in Japan camped overnight to buy it on Dec 12 last year. The initial 200,000 units sold out in two days.
Why it is cool: It plays games, music and video files in one package. What more can geeks want?

Nintendo DS (Dual Screen)
Price: $279
Battery life: 6 to 10 hours
Weight: 275g
Screen Size: Two 3inch LCD screens with 256 x 192 resolution. One screen is a touch-pad.
Games: Sold separately, from $65 each
Availability: Launched last year, the DS is sold in game shops and retailers.
Hip Factor: The DS is the successor of the Game Boy, the most successful portable game device in history.
Why it is cool: With two screens, players can play the game by touching one. It also comes with a built-in mike for voice-operated games.

iPod (20GB)
Price: $548
Battery life: 10 to 12 hours
Weight: 158g
Screen Size: 2inch grey-scale LCD screen with back light.
Games: Only four rudimentary games are available.
Availability: At major retailers from Apple Shops to selected 7-Eleven stores.
Hip Factor: When it comes to music players, nothing matches the beauty or accessibility of Apple's iPod. And it has become a status symbol.
Why it is cool: Not only can it store thousands of songs, the later versions can also keep track of appointments, keep contact lists and have some built-in games.

WHICH GIVES MOST VALUE FOR MONEY?

PlayStation Portable (PSP)

Games: Around 20 have been released, from racing to adventure and puzzle types. Images on the large screen are bright and the controls are very easy to handle. During fight sequences on Dynasty Warriors, the rich graphics worked smoothly without any glitches.

Music: Sound via the speakers from the games was rich and clear, and highly audible via the headphones. With music files, the PSP uses two formats, including the popular MP3 one. The other is Sony's proprietary ATRAC-3 format. Four music presets like Jazz and Pop customise to some extent the songs being played. Songs can be transferred from a computer with a USB cable. However, with no internal memory, music has to be stored on Sony memory cards, which are sold separately. A 512MB card retails for around $180.

Video: Watching anime on the bright screen was a joy, as even the subtitles were visible. The screen has three display modes which can be altered to suit indoor and outdoor conditions. Movie files must first be kept on memory sticks, although Sony is in talks with movie studios to release titles on its UMD disc. It is reported that the US launch of the PSP next month (March) will come with the Spider-Man 2 movie on UMD.

Wireless: Gone are messy wires connecting multiple game devices. Wireless networks for group challenges are easy to set up, although every PSP must be near to other units to send and receive data.

Verdict: Five stars. There is no perfect entertainment device but the PSP comes very close. It has varied functions but critical things like sound and video quality are not neglected. Whether you are a casual gamer or audiophile, the PSP offers an affordable bundle of functions.

Nintendo DS: (Dual Screen)

Games: About 15 titles, from action to puzzle games. Some games just require buttons to be punched though some make use of the touch-screen, where players 'move' items using a pen-like stylus. An interesting game is Feel The Magic, where you scream into a built-in microphone.

Music: Sound from the games is clear though the DS cannot play MP3 files. Nintendo has said that it is releasing an adaptor that allows the DS to play music and movie files, but only for sale in Japan.

Video: The DS has a lower screen resolution than the PSP so colours are not as bright or sharp. The DS cannot play movie files without an adaptor that is planned for release only in Japan.

Wireless: Like the PSP, the DS also comes with wireless networking for group games.

Verdict: Three and a half stars. Having a touch-screen to play games is nice but can you imagine screaming into your DS on a bus? Hopefully, the music and movie accessory will be made available outside Japan soon.

iPod (20GB)

Games: The iPod comes with only four games. Aside from Music Quiz which lets you guess the song being played, serious gamers would laugh at the other three games - Solitaire, Brick and Parachute.

Music: This is primarily a music device but the sound quality is only slightly better than the PSP. But an iPod has that hip factor to shut up any detractors.

Video: None. The closest thing is the more expensive iPod Photo ($888) that also stores and displays pictures.

Wireless: The iPod cannot be linked to other iPods.

Verdict: Three stars. The only item on the list with one function, maker Apple nevertheless has a device with strong growth potential and adding proper games is one way to stretch its value-add.