An off-the-shelf Sony Clie loaded with special software so that audience members at classical concerts can figure out what's going on. It's one of the more innovative uses for wireless handhelds that we've seen:

Conceived by former Kansas City Symphony executive Roland Valliere, the Concert Companion displays a sort of musical road map during a performance, cuing users' ears for, say, the oboes, muted cellos, or double basses. Users can also switch to more detailed content, reading, for example, that Igor Stravinsky was 26 when he wrote "The Firebird," a Russian fairy tale of good versus evil.

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