Tech Buyer's Guide 2006

1. Sony PSP $200
2. Nintendo DS Lite $130

The two leading portable gaming platforms make quite the odd couple. Sony's PSP is action oriented with a cinematic wide screen for 3-D graphics, while the Nintendo DS plays more to the mind than the gut, with a touch-screen stylus for jotting Sudoku answers, performing surgery and petting virtual puppies. For the PSP, you'll find intense titles like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories ($50) and the loopy outer-space cartoon LocoRoco ($40). The DS's strength seems to be in nontraditional games, like the get-smart-quick Brain Age ($15) and the new rhythmic puzzler Elite Beat Agents ($30).