"Now, you shouldn't be talking while you're driving," Barry cautioned," but if it's an emergency or somebody calls, you definitely want your hands free. And a lot of people don't like to put things in their ears, so you can put these on the sun visor or in your cupholder."

Substance with style, another trend, is epitomized by the Vestalife Ladybug, a $125 iPod speaker dock with collapsible "wing" speakers reminiscent of a — you guessed it — ladybug. "You have a legion of speakers like this, then you have the iPort, which are designed to hook up to your existing stereo system," Barry said.

Small but powerful. That describes the new wave of consumer electronics, but the industry itself is anything but small. Americans love their tech gadgets, regardless of how big a bag they need for carrying them.

"This year, not withstanding the situation in the economy, it looks like sales will be up 6 percent this year, which is less than it was up last year. Last year, it was up 8 percent," Barry said. "But still, in this economy, for any category of products to be up is a testament to the value of these products and how they've become integral to the way we live."

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com