Your Technology Mar. 1, 1999

WHEN LOOKS ARE EVERYTHING Move over, StarTAC. When Nokia’s shiny 8800 wireless phone goes on sale this June, it could become the new must-have cell phone. The $500 device with a chrome finish weighs just 4 oz. and sports a sliding keypad cover that doubles as a mouthpiece. The 8800 supports analog, digital and PCS phone networks, so it will work anywhere in the U.S. Then again, you could buy five 6-oz. Nokia 6120s or Ericsson KH-668s for the same total price.

CLEAN AND GREEN Love crisp, dry-cleaned clothes, but hate that the solvent used to clean them (perchloroethylene) has been deemed a probable carcinogen by the EPA? Hangers, a new chain, uses eco-friendly carbon dioxide instead. The first store opened in Wilmington, N.C., with one each coming to Chicago and Providence, R.I., this month. Retail prices match competitors’, but because its machines are expensive, it could be a while before a Hangers opens near you.

HOTEL EXPRESS LANE Road warriors hoping to dodge the long wait for hotel check-in may want to stay at one of 19 MainStay Suites along the East Coast from Fishkill, N.Y., to Lake Mary, Fla. Instead of waiting for an agent, guests insert their credit card into a kiosk that spits out a room key in seconds. But because MainStay has no front desk, the lines at the kiosks can get long during busy periods.

–By Anita Hamilton