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While adults have their Palm and Pocket PC personal digital assistants, most kids can't afford them--the cheapest Palm-based handhelds cost about $150. But the Cybiko "wireless inter-tainment device," as the company refers to it, is designed for teens, and at a street price of $100 it could find its way into many pockets this holiday season.

Since the device is aimed at preteens and teens--even though children of all ages will get a kick out of it--the Cybiko does more than just store addresses and phone numbers. Capitalizing on the popularity of alphanumeric pagers with teenagers, this device is capable of sending and receiving e-mails. Teens also love to chat online, so Cybiko caters to that as well with its wireless chat functions, including a friend finder that will try to find other Cybiko users with similar interests.

Cybiko also has an organizer that holds appointments and to-dos, an alarm clock, a spelling checker, a music composer for writing simple tunes, and a very simple graphics editor. Cybiko can also play games, several hundred of which are available for free download from the company's Web site. Students will particularly appreciate Cybiko's integrated English-Spanish dictionary and phrasebook, as well as the scientific calculator; the latter supports a variety of calculations, including those involving logarithms, trigonometry, and exponents.

Untethered Communications

The thing that sets Cybiko apart from a standard handheld PDA is its integrated wireless connectivity. Cybiko uses a 900-MHz radio transmitter to provide a wireless range of up to 150 feet, according to the company. That estimate seemed accurate from our testing experience, although walls and other obstacles did tend to block the signal. Stored in Cybiko's 512KB of memory are applications that enable the chat and e-mail functions, as well as multiplayer games.

Upon registering the device, you get an @cybiko.com e-mail address. You can send e-mail messages from that address, as well as receive messages from any e-mail address or from another Cybiko user within range. You can also check your Cybiko e-mail through the company's Web site. However, no long love letters or diatribes allowed: Cybiko e-mails are limited to just 250 to 300 characters.

The device itself is available in five iMac-esque colors of transparent plastic. The design is aesthetically pleasing, with rounded edges and a comfortable feel. Cybiko's screen is rather small (displaying only 160 by 120 pixels) and difficult to read in low light; unfortunately, it's not touch enabled, either. There's a keypad with QWERTY-style keys, but it's very cramped, and typing can be a frustrating experience with the very small keys. The included stylus provides an alternative means of tapping the keys, but doesn't work much better. However, preteens with smaller hands might have an easier time.

Above the screen are a variety of buttons that you can use to open the games, chat, or other functions. The rechargeable batteries, in our informal tests, lasted for a full day of periodic use. At the bottom of the unit is an expansion slot; Cybiko plans to offer a number of expansion cards, including an MP3 player and extra memory.