Twist ‘n’ Shout

About five years ago, Samsung debuted a sleek MP3-player phone that wowed some reviewers but quickly fizzled. Now, given the success of digital music, phonemakers like Samsung are getting their groove back with a variety of handsets that marry cell phones with MP3 players. These new models come fully loaded with beefed-up cameras (up to 2 megapixels for still photos) and camcorders for recording video as well as instant messaging, interactive gaming and Web surfing.

• Sony Ericsson W600 Phone One of two Walkman-branded phones, this petite swivel model holds as many as 120 songs and plays for up to 15 hours. sonyericsson.com $300

• Motorola ROKR In spite of some problems–for example, a slow interface makes filling it with music a chore–this innovative phone is the only one that plays tracks from Apple iTunes. cingular.com $250

• Nokia N90 The 2-megapixel camera doubles as a camcorder–just twist the screen and start to record video. The 352-by-416-pixel display is remarkably sharp. nokiausa.com $400

• Sprint Power Vision MM-A940 Samsung’s new handset showcases Sprint’s new Power Vision service with high-speed wireless access to video clips and music downloads. sprint.com $400

• LG VX9800 This Verizon Wireless phone opens like a laptop to reveal stereo speakers and a qwerty keyboard. It works with the V Cast service: video-on-demand from The Daily Show and others. verizonwireless.com $350