Sure, with your cell phone, MP3 player and BlackBerry, you probably think you have enough gadgets in your life. But here are innovations that even the most weary of consumers can appreciate. From a game controller you swing like a racquet to software that can translate your speech into Chinese, a few of the coolest things out there

Flight Plan With fuel costs at an all-time high, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, which will go into production next year, will be taking off at just the right time. Thanks to advanced engines and a body that's 50% lightweight carbon-fiber composite, the 787 uses 20% less fuel than similar-size planes yet has the range of much larger jets. It also promises greater passenger comforts. Cabin pressure will be closer to sea level, easing pressure buildup in the sinuses and ears. Humidity will be set at 15% to 20%, rather than around 5%. And instead of pulldown shades, the windows will have "electrochromatic" controls that change the tint of the pane from clear to opaque. "Passengers will notice a difference in the way they feel at the end of a 787 flight," says Walt Gillette, Boeing's vice president of airplane development.

Control Freak When it comes to video-game controllers, Nintendo has always been an innovator. Back when Atari and its one-button joystick ruled, Nintendo devised a two-button controller with a directional thumb pad. Then came action-sensitive vibration, wireless connectivity and an analog stick for 360˚ steering. Now the company hopes to shake things up with a wireless controller for next year's Revolution console that will allow players to apply real-world physical experience to games. The one-handed grip has motion and position sensors, so if you're playing a Ping-Pong game, you just flick the controller like a paddle. Or, to shoot, take aim and tap a button. For more elaborate games, a second piece with analog stick and two triggers (for that extra itchy finger) can be connected.

Fat Fighter In the twilight of the Atkins age, people are realizing that while carbs may still be an enemy, fat is no friend. Does that mean you have to ditch the deep fryer? Maybe not. Proteus Industries of Gloucester, Mass., has developed a technique to extract proteins from animal muscle, creating a coating for chicken nuggets, fish sticks and other foods that prevents excess oil from penetrating beyond the breading or batter. The food looks similar on the outside, but it's not greasy on the inside. That translates into real fat busting: the overall content in fish sticks, for instance, goes from 14 g to as little as 4 g—a 70% drop. Proteus' process is making its debut in fish sticks from the company's local collaborator, Good Harbor Fillet. Someday, it may be used by home cooks as well.

Music from Heaven Here come the wireless music stores. Late last year, Europe and Asia launched services for downloading full-length songs straight to mobile phones, and consumers responded. Now the U.S. is ready to get into the game, as Cingular, Sprint and Verizon Wireless all plan to launch over-the-air music stores next year. "There's an instantness that is amazing," says EMI's Adam Klein, who has helped carriers around the world launch music services. A mobile music store requires networks that can support fast downloading. Sprint and Verizon now have them, and Cingular will soon. Verizon may be the first to launch a wireless music store in the U.S., as it is already selling phones capable of tapping into the network. One to watch for: the new Samsung SCH-a950, a clamshell phone with stereo speakers and a thumbwheel for cuing up songs fast.

Cross Talk You're on vacation in China, trying to get directions to a hotel, when you realize you've left your Mandarin phrase book on the plane. Fortunately, you have your Pocket PC, equipped with IBM's Multilingual Automatic Speech-to-Speech Translator. MASTOR recognizes both Mandarin and English, automatically translating what it hears into the other tongue, so two people who speak different languages can have a conversation. In a TIME test, when told the phrase "I would like to rent a motorboat," MASTOR translated it audibly and flashed a picture of a boat onscreen. Although in its infancy—right now it can handle only English, Mandarin and a bit of Spanish and Arabic—the software is in pilot programs. Systems featuring MASTOR may crop up at airports, banks and hospitals in the next few years.