Ask Our Experts, Tech Trend, Gotcha

Advice on camera-free phones; the iPod as an impulse purchase; should you skip EDTV?

Ask Our Experts: Camera-Free Phones

My employer won't allow a camera on site. Are there any mobile phones with Bluetooth but without a camera?

Julie O'Malley, Los Angeles

Senior Associate Editor Grace Aquino responds: At the moment, your choices are mostly PDA phones such as the noncamera version of Palm's Treo 650 ($400, Verizon); Nokia's 9300 smart phone with a QWERTY keyboard ($299, Cingular); RIM's BlackBerry 7290 ($300, Cingular or T-Mobile), 7105t ($300, T-Mobile), and 7100g/t ($250, Cingular or T-Mobile); and Samsung's i730 Pocket PC phone ($600, Verizon). Another possibility is Cingular's new keyboard-enabled d307 from Samsung for $250. (Prices for T-Mobile require a one-year contract; all other prices are based on a two-year agreement.) If you want a standard, candy-bar-style phone, consider waiting for Motorola's L2 or Nokia's E60--both GSM models are expected to ship this spring, though price and carrier partnerships for both phones have not yet been announced.

Need information or advice about a buying decision? Drop us a line at askourexperts@pcworld.com.

Tech Trend: Got 796 Quarters Handy? Get Yourself an iPod

You want an iPod? It's over there--in the vending machine next to the Gatorade. Since debuting in Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport last April, iPod vending machines have been popping up in malls, hotels, and grocery stores across the country.

The vending machines are built by San Francisco's Zoom Systems, which sells many other products through the units, including digital cameras and snacks. But the iPod has quickly become the number one seller, says Rick Cusick, Zoom Systems' executive vice president of merchandising. "It seems to unleash an incredible impulse opportunity," he says. "You can walk up and buy an iPod in 20 seconds."

Robert McMillan

Gotcha: Skip EDTV, Get HDTV

Buying a budget-friendly plasma EDTV set may seem like a good deal now, but hold off a bit and you'll be able to get a true high-definition plasma TV for about the same price. Today, a 42-inch plasma EDTV (enhanced-definition television) costs about $700 less on average than a high-definition television of comparable size. What's the difference? EDTV offers a maximum resolution of 852 by 480 pixels--good for watching DVDs, but far below the 1920 by 1080 pixels required for a true 1080i high-definition picture. As HDTV production revs up, prices will plummet. By next spring, you should be able to find a high-quality 42-inch plasma HDTV set for about $2000, says Pete Putman, creator of HDTVExpert.com. So skip the EDTV today; you'll be glad that you did tomorrow.

Narasu Rebbapragada