Among 'tweeners'

I've been trying out a trio of pocket-size gadgets that let me get and send e-mail, send instant text messages, read Web pages, listen to music, or dial up pretty much anyone on earth.

And not one of these devices is a cellphone. Cheap microprocessors and plentiful wireless data networks have inspired the development of gadgets I like to call "tweeners." They're portable devices that occupy the middle ground between cellphones and computers, but can serve as adequate stand-ins for either.

The newest and simplest of the lot is Peek, a sleek, thin machine that's designed for one task - getting and sending e-mail. Peek goes on sale Monday at Target stores and at www.getpeek.com. It costs $99, and there's a monthly fee of $19.95, which covers a subscription to wireless data service from the cellphone company T Mobile.

Peek uses the wireless access to deliver messages from up to three different e-mail accounts. A scroll wheel lets users hop from account to account, and message to message. There's a miniature keyboard, so you can pound out a quick reply with your thumbs.

You can do this sort of thing with a BlackBerry phone, so why bother with Peek? Amol Sarva, Peek Inc.'s chief executive, said his product is easier to use and eliminates the need for a multiyear phone contract. "This is the easiest way to get mobile e-mail," Sarva said. "You just buy it, turn it on, punch in your e-mail address."

Actually, it's only that easy if you use free Web-based mail services like Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, or Gmail. If you own a personal Internet domain name, look out. Peek wouldn't let me get mail from my own domain, even after company technicians worked with me to set it up.

Sarva admits it's a limitation, but estimates about 80 percent of personal e-mail goes through one of the Web-based services. Fair enough. But will somebody who's unwilling to pay for e-mail cough up $99, plus $20 a month, to read his mail? Peek is an attractive, well-engineered device, but the company may have targeted the wrong kind of customer.

I suspect Sony Corp. has made a similar mistake with its sophisticated tweener device, Mylo. Sony designed Mylo for teenagers in homes that have wireless Internet access, but not enough computers to go around. Still, how many such teenagers, or their parents, are willing to part with $300 for a handheld device that isn't a cellphone?

To be sure, Mylo customers get a lot for their money - a big, bright touch screen, a slide-out keyboard, and a host of communications features. You can surf the Web with an on-board browser, though it's far inferior to the browser on Apple Inc.'s iPhone. You can shoot still photos and videos with the built-in camera, and you can tune into thousands of Internet audio streams via the Shoutcast online radio network.

Mylo can even serve as a phone. It comes with software for the Skype voice-over-Internet service. Skypers can talk to one another for free or subscribe to a service that will connect calls to standard telephones.

But Mylo is a bit large and clunky for my tastes. And it's hard to justify its hefty price when you can get Apple's iPod Touch, for $230.

Zipit Wireless Inc. offers the most engaging tweener gadget I've seen. The Zipit Wireless Messenger 2, or Z2, costs a mere $50, but delivers an array of useful features, including instant messaging, cellphone texting, and streaming Internet music.

There's a $10 monthly usage fee, but that includes the ability to send up to 5,000 SMS text messages to your buddies' cellphones. Users can also send instant messages through three of the most popular IM services - AOL, Yahoo, and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Messenger. In addition, the monthly fee entitles users to choose from over 70 Internet audio streams listed on the Zipit website. Selected streams appear on the device, so you can listen to them with a couple of clicks whenever you're in Wi-Fi range.

But you don't need Wi-Fi to enjoy the Zipit. One of its best features is a mini-SD memory card slot. Fill the card with MP3 music files, then play them back through headphones. Or load the card with photos and show them to friends, using the Z2's small but reasonably sharp color screen.

Zipit first appeared in 2005, offering instant messaging but not much else. The new version has so many features, Ron Popeil should be hawking it on late-night TV. Like Mylo, Zipit is designed as a PC-substitute for computer-deprived teens. But this one might be smart enough and cheap enough to catch on.

Hiawatha Bray can be reached at h_bray.com.