Electronic toys high on kids' wish lists.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Byline: Cindy Krischer Goodman

MIAMI _ Attention, holiday shoppers: This is the year for cool new electronic toys. Retailers are already seeing demand for all types of portable electronic devices that play music, take photos, play video games and let kids interact with their TV sets.

"There's a lot of innovation in electronic toys this year," said Reyne Rice, a toy trend specialist. "It's part of what kids expect. Manufacturers are just keeping up with the times."

Mattel's Juice Box, a pocket-size video player and stereo, is one of the most versatile electronic innovations of the season. Dressed in funky lime green, royal blue or tomato red, it's a lot of cool for the money ($69.99).

Kids can use the Juice Box to watch favorite TV shows and music videos on prerecorded cartridges. A special Juice Box MP3 Starter Kit, used to transfer MP3 tunes and photos from a PC, is $45. That adds up to $115, still a good deal for a combo video player, photo viewer and MP3 player. Critics say the image quality isn't razor sharp and the audio needs improvement, but the battery life is long, about five hours.

If you care to open your wallet even wider, one of the most popular electronic toys will be the Nintendo DS, the handheld game player. Though it costs about $150, it has big advantages over its competitor, the Game Boy Advanced. For starters, it offers a 3-D effect and has two screens, allows more sophisticated game play. If you want to play Madden NFL 2005, one screen will show all 22 players on the field, while the other will display the key action. Also, the bottom screen doubles as a touch pad to move characters more easily. Players also can compete head-to-head wirelessly. The device also has a built-in stylus, a built-in microphone for voice recognition and wireless capabilities.

Eleven-year-old Adrian Silberman of Sunrise, Fla., says he is psyched about Nintendo DS's 3-D ability. The release is being backed by the largest launch program ever for a Nintendo product, with an ad campaign aimed at teens.