Music with balls

Several solutions exist to untether your music from the hi-fi in the living room but Oregon Scientific's Music Sphere is one of the oddest. It consists of a small transmitter which connects to your stereo system (or iPod or TV or DVD, etc) and a large spherical speaker which receives the audio wirelessly.

It works well enough, picking up the sound from as far away as 100 feet. But the quality is only middling (stereo but murky) and the asking price is quite steep (€270). Read today's paper for the full review.

In games, Call of Duty 2 (PC, not to be confused with fairly different console version) is anything but a tired retread of the distinguished WWII shooter. Loaded with atmosphere and requiring patience and thought, CoD2 is a cracker. In a similar vein but down a notch or two, Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood (PC the best, PS2 version is muck) is far more tactical in the way you command a squad of grunts.

Sly 3: Honour Among Thieves (PS2) has an instant familiarity but is nonetheless a riot of platforming fun for Sly fans young and old. Finally, Gaelic Games Football (PS2) is a valiant but deeply flawed attempt to bring GAA to gamers.

Underwhelming iPod

Apple was careful to say that its new iPod was not the killer video machine long rumoured to be in development. Even though it played down expectations, it was still a little disappointing to pick up the latest revision of the white icon.

You'll find it a) hard to get video content onto it (Apple charges a silly €30 for the software to convert most formats) and b) be amazed at how paltry the paid-for video selection from the iTunes Store is (even US customers aren't over-endowed with programming).

Then there's the show-stopping bug where the iPod's volume goes crazy if your mobile rings when it's close by. Read the full review in today's paper.

In games, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories successfully recreates the GTA formula in miniature form on the PSP, right down to the wonky controls. Shooter Battlefront II (PS2/Xbox) makes more sense if played against dozens online but still evokes the Star Wars universe to grand effect in single-player. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (on every format known to man) does what it says on the tin, at least if you're a 10-year-old fan of the books. Lots to do and nothing too challenging. Finally, The Sims 2 (PS2/Xbox) is a waste of time because most of interesting stuff from the PC version has been gutted and you're left with repeated Tamagotchi-style tedium.

i-Mode gets carried away with hype

It would be a lot easier to warm to O2's launch of its i-Mode service if the company didn't dress it up in overblown hype. The most ridiculous quote from the press release announcing what is, thus far, a fairly standard web-on-mobile experience has to be the one describing i-Mode as the "world’s most innovative high-speed internet access".

It's nothing of the sort, as you will find if you buy one of the only two handsets available. i-Mode looks almost identical to the current service, O2 Active, but besides running a little more smoothly and offering a few new merchants, it's the same old story: hard to navigate, frustrating to use and - of course - expensive to use on a regular basis. Read the full review in today's paper.

In games, The Warriors (PS2/Xbox) is another tour-de-force production from Rockstar, full of top-notch voice talent, evocative 70s tunes and violence galore. Based on the 1979 flick about gang wars in New York, it's full-on brawler with plenty of punch.

Then there's Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (PS2/Xbox), whose back-to-basics take on beat-em-ups together with the familiar gallows humour of the series won me all over again.

Kids will love movie tie-in Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit (PS2), a gentle romp for the under-10s. Finally, Quake 4 (PC) - definitely not for the under-10s - resembles a Doom 3 expansion pack and lacks much personality of its own.

Hi-fi comes to the PC

In today's paper, read a review of the speccy new soundcard from Creative, the X-Fi. Oooh, 51 million transistors, 24 times more powerful than the last one, etc. Effectively, it means your games, video and music should sound a whole lot better. My favourite feature has to be the pseudo-surround effect with headphones.

In games, F.E.A.R (PC) blends Japanese horror with frenetic firefights for an exhilarating FPS. The developers could have played up the frights a bit more but thanks to the cunning AI, there's never a dull moment. SSX On Tour (PS2/Xbox/PSP) is a triumphant return for the snowboarding series - all-new courses and easier tricks make for a enjoyable ride.

Moving down the rungs of the quality ladder, FIFA 2006 for PSP plays well enough but tiny graphics and an unfinished feel make it a poor second to World Tour Soccer. Kudos for the online multiplayer, though. Finally, Dead to Rights II (PS2/Xbox) is a game that's arrived five years too late - it's dumb, lazy and dull.