Nokia indicated today that it intends to release a bunch of new phones through U.S. carriers in the next few months. The Finnish manufacturer sells 40 percent of the mobiles worldwide, but only accounts for about 10 percent of the U.S. market. But a daily paper in Finland quoted a Nokia chief designed as saying that the company plans to ramp up its U.S. presence.

As part of a new design exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York city, Nokia and the University of Cambridge revealed a potential phone of the future, called Morph. Why "Morph"? The gadgets flexible materials would enable you to twist it into different shapes, you could even wear it as a bracelet.

Nokia's timing couldn't have been any better when the revised and enhanced U.S. version of its flagship N95 smartphone (the N95-3) went on sale last week-just days after the iPhone's 1.1.1 firmware update officially shut down third-party apps and rendered useless many iPhones that had been unlocked.

Imagine a gadget that fits in your back pocket and lets you surf the Web anywhere, write documents, make VoIP calls, watch movies, and listen to your entire music library. That´s not exactly what Nokia had in mind when it released the 770 ($360; nokia.com), a PDA-size Internet tablet with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. But because the device has an open-source operating system, anyone can build new programs for it, endowing it with nearly endless functions (we´ve nicknamed it the HackBerry).

Forgot your wallet? You´ll need a better excuse than that for passing on the check. By next year, you´ll be able to pay simply by swiping your cellphone a few inches from a cash register, with a new wireless standard called Near Field Communication. An NFC chip in your phone will send your credit-card number-stored on your phone or on the chip-by way of short-distance radio waves. An electronic reader at the checkout will decode the number and ring up your purchase.

Few places are more materialistic than Las Vegas, with its grandiose hotels and stacks of cash. But at last week's CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association) convention-which showcased several acres of upcoming cellphone and wireless technology-the focus was less on material goods than on what you can do with them. The exhibits boasted no gotta-get-it-now phone, but they did promise many ways to do more with the phone you already have. From file-sharing to postcard-making, the latest possibilities go far beyond mere talk.

Satellite radio's one great drawback is that it tethers you to your car or home. But with the palm-size MyFi, you can take your programming anywhere. The 7.3-ounce player receives live broadcasts and stores at least five hours of recorded programming on its 128 megabytes of internal memory. So if your signal drops when you go inside, you can continue listening. $300

The problem inherent to the digital video recorder (DVR) is that you have to be home to watch what you record. But this portable video recorder syncs with Dish Network's DVRs, so whatever is saved at home is copied over and ready to hit the road. Choose from a 2.2-inch screen with 20 gigs of space (20 hours of MPEG-2 video), a 4-inch screen with 30 gigs, or a 7-inch with 40 gigs. $330â€$600

A handful of two-megapixel camera phones hit the U.S. this year, but the fast, sharp Carl Zeiss lens on the Nokia N90 makes it an optical standout, delivering 5x7 photos good enough to print and hang on the fridge. Turn the lens in any direction and shoot using the dedicated capture button. View pics on the 2.1-inch, high-resolution display and store at least 140 high-resolution photos on a 64-megabyte expandable memory card. Built-in flash; 20x digital zoom; $700

This multiuse portable cellphone charger is a third the size of conventional chargers and far more convenient. Simply put any ol' AA battery into the aluminum canister, plug in your cellphone using the appropriate adapter (available for all phones except Sanyo and Audiovox), and a chip inside the device amps the battery's 1.5 volts to a voltage powerful enough to charge and run the phone. A two-hour charge provides up to three hours of talk time. $25

This 1.6-ounce thumb-size MP3 player packs unmatched battery life: 50 hours on a full charge. Even more notable, the quick-charge function gives you three hours of playback after charging for just three minutes. Sony bolstered the lithium-ion battery's life using software that allocates precise amounts of power based on what the player is doing (rather than operating at full power all the time). It supports MP3, WMA, WAV and ATRAC3 formats. $120 (512MB) or $150 (1GB)

With this SD (Secure Digital) flash-memory card, you can move photos, songs or any other files from your device to your computer without cables or a separate card reader. Just stick the built-in USB plug directly into your computer. $80 (512MB) or $135 (1GB)

The introduction of Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP) was the moment portable game consoles stopped being toys. The PSP is a multimedia powerhouse aimed at gamers and nongamers alike.

At first glance, the N91 appears to be a full-featured MP3 player-with dedicated music keys, prominent volume controls, a 3.5-millimeter stereo headphone jack, an FM tuner and a USB port. Only when you slide the faceplate down to reveal the keypad do you recognize it as a phone. Drag and drop music (MP3, WMA, AAC and M4A files) onto its four-gigabyte hard drive, then create playlists directly on the phone. $700

It's a brave new wireless world, yet most portable-audio hounds are still tangled up in headphone cords. Soon, though, you'll have lots of wireless stereo headphones to choose from. The technology isn't brand new, but until recently it was too bulky and expensive to shove into the tiny, splurge-worthy gadgets we love. Expect to see three flavors of wireless earmuffs-Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and magnetic induction [see sidebar below]-rolling out between now and early next year.