Best Inventions of 2007

From the phone that has changed phones forever, to futuristic cars, to a building made of water, to a remote-controlled dragonfly — a dazzling display of ingenuity

Three of a Kind: MP3 players

BACK
NEXT

View All

Fancy
iPod Touch
The new star of Apple's iPod lineup steals more than looks from the iPhone. It sports the same brilliant 3.5-in. (9 cm) wide-screen video display with touch controls, and built-in wi-fi lets you surf the Web, check e-mail and even buy and immediately download iTunes tracks on the fly.
8 GB, $299; 16 GB, $399; apple.com

Cheap
Creative Zen Stone Plus
It's $10 cheaper than the (screenless) iPod shuffle, with double the capacity—2 GB, enough room for about 500 songs. The matchbox-size device also functions as a clock, stopwatch, FM tuner and voice recorder. It's so tiny you might want to invest in the $50 key-chain case.
$70; us.creative.com

Something Different
Samsung P2
The slim and sleek P2 plays MP3 and wma files, as well as songs from Rhapsody and other services, and video looks good on the 3-in. (7.6 cm) screen. The P2 can beam music to your Bluetooth speakers or headset and soon it will also be able to take calls from a Bluetooth cell phone.
4 GB, $200; 8 GB, $250; mpfreedom.com