Transcripts

"Gifts and Gadgets"-Pocket-Sized Presents

SUZANNE PRATT: If the people on your holiday gift list are gadget freaks, the latest cell phones and music players will offer hours of entertainment. Scott Gurvey continues our annual "Gifts and Gadgets" series, looking at the best in pocket- sized presents.

SCOTT GURVEY, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Cell phones are still flying off the shelves this holiday season. Experts note they are a relatively inexpensive way to keep the kids happy and adults can often justify them as a business expense. Apple has encouraged third party programmers to create applications for its iPhone. Thousands are already available some for free, at its application store. But the iPhone only works on the AT&T network, which does not get great ratings in many customer surveys. The Verizon network is usually on top in those surveys and Verizon has a wide range of phones available. Verizon wireless manager David Samberg, says the Blackberry Storm is the hot item this season.

DAVID SAMBERG, MANAGER, VERIZON WIRELESS: For the business user, it used to be that compromise where you had your Blackberry and you couldn't give it up, but you would have liked to use some of those other applications, multi-media applications. So you might have to carry two devices. Now you don't.

GURVEY: The Storm has gotten mixed reviews. And if Blackberry service is critical for you, you might want to wait for the next version to arrive. You could also try the LG Dare, Verizon's answer to the iPhone. If only Verizon would let third party developers create apps for the Dare. If you are a Sprint customer, try the Samsung Instinct, Sprint's iPhone-like unit with a big touch screen. All the phones in this class cost around $200 with a service contract. Not interested in a phone? Apple has a score of iPod media players including the iPod touch, really an iPhone without the phone. But iPods tend to be expensive. You might want to look at Microsoft's Zune. There's a hard-disk Zune with a huge storage capacity. And then there is my personal favorite, the Sansa Fuze (ph) from Sandisk. Not only does this elegant player cost less than $100, it has a memory slot in the side for inexpensive expansion cards giving it unlimited storage capacity. Apple iPods generally require Apple software to load, but others handle a variety of formats. And if you're ready to compose original material, Cakewalk has updated its terrific sonar home studio XL product, which helps you create, record, arrange and edit music, not to mention share it with others. Priced at about $150, it turns your PC into a real music production studio. Finally, GPS devices have come way down in price and that is stirring demand. Basic units now cost less than $100, although prices rise quickly as features are added. By the way, check your cell phone. It may have a pretty good GPS feature on board. Tomorrow, we'll take a look at the latest in video games and some old low-tech standbys which are making a comeback. Scott Gurvey, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, New York.