(FORTUNE Magazine) – PORTABLE CD-ROM Whoever said you can't take it with you hasn't seen Sony's mini CD-ROM technology. CD-ROM, or compact disk read-only memory, packs thousands of pages of information on laser-optical disks for personal computers. Until now, disks were the size of standard audio CDs and required clunky players hooked up to PCs. Sony has put CD-ROM through the wash and shrunk it: Each new disk measures three inches and holds up to 80,000 pages of information. These tiny CD-ROMs are compatible with existing large-format players. Look for the first reference-book titles on mini CD-ROMs by the end of summer for less than $50 each. Sony plans to introduce soon the Sony Data Discman, a 1.5-pound miniplayer with a screen and keyboard to review information on the run. Price: unknown, but a Japanese version, bundled with a few disks, costs about $450.

SAVVY CAMERA Warning: Read this and you may want to throw away your present camera. The Minolta Maxxum 7xi, by Minolta Corp., may not look revolutionary, but it represents the most complete application of fuzzy logic ever to hit the photography market. The single-lens-reflex 35-mm camera employs Minolta's Expert Intelligence System, a humanoid computer that controls focus, exposure, flash, and even zoom to make continuous decisions about photo conditions that , can make or break a picture. It has a 14-segment metering pattern to pinpoint the subject, a transparent LCD viewfinder data display, and four-frames-per- sec ond film advance. And if you get tired of using a camera that's smarter than you are, you can seize control of any or all functions. Price: $931 with a 50-mm f/1.7 lens.

LOOK MA, NO WIRES! Feeling restless? The Wireless Stereo Headphone System, by Recoton of Long Island City, New York, lets you -- alone -- listen to your stereo or TV in any room. Plug the transmitter into your entertainment equipment. Then plug your phones into the portable receiver. It communicates with the transmitter via radio waves. Or maybe you'd just like to control your TV or stereo while you're roaming. Recoton's Wireless Remote Control Extender System (not shown) uses the same technology to let you do that. Both systems will hit electronics stores at the end of the summer, the headphone at $99.99 and the remote at $64.99.

REEBOK HIGH STEPPERS Here's a sneaker that will put spring in your step. Reebok of Stoughton, Massachusetts, has introduced the first sports shoe designed for step training -- the fitness fad whose practitioners step up and down using either machines or small platforms. Your feet get beat, and Reebok says it has just the answer -- shoes that both support the ankle and are extra flexible, as well as lightweight and ventilated. Reebok offers two versions: the washable Step Trainer Pro and the leather Step Trainer; prices range from $69.99 to $89.99.