A Policy of Neutrality, for Now, In the Music Gadget Wars

But now cell phone operators -- which are selling music over wireless networks, without requiring a PC -- are also making a grab for some of the industry's dwindling royalty revenue. It's hard to believe that carriers -- and others trying to create a new market for digital tunes, for that matter -- will be able to rev up sales enough to bail out the record labels.

In the United States, Sprint Nextel Corp. launched a mobile music service in October offering song downloads to either a phone or a PC for $2.50 a pop. This month, Verizon Wireless Inc. jumped in with a service called V Cast Music, which sells tunes for $1.99 if downloaded by phone, or 99 cents if by computer. (Those songs can then be transferred to phones at no extra cost.) Both Sprint and Verizon phone downloads also require a $15-a-month data subscription.

I listened to V Cast Music on one of Verizon's three new handsets supporting music downloads. The songs sounded fine, and the menu for finding and buying music was surprisingly easy to navigate. Moreover, I like the idea of carrying around tunes on a mini-SD storage card that slips inside my phone.

Still, I'm not ready to fork over $99 to $150 for a new handset, not to mention the $29 starter kit that V Cast Music requires or the $30 or so for a miniature SD card that will hold more than just a few tracks.

There are too many other enticing mobile gadgets in the works.

One that's turning heads is the Toshiba Gigabeat S30, scheduled for release in March. It's an iPod clone, with price and storage equal to those of Apple's popular device. But the Gigabeat appeals to me more because it offers wider choices for loading content, since it relies on Microsoft's portable media storage format. Microsoft's software is compatible with many services and players, while Apple's pretty much locks you into iTunes.

Also expected in March are handheld satellite radios, including Pioneer's Inno ($400), which will play and record live XM Satellite Radio, as well as store tunes from your own collection.

If it's just music you want, not video, there's MusicGremlin, a spiffy black box the size of a cigarette pack that comes pre-loaded with an innovative music service and catalogue of more than a million tracks. MusicGremlin streams or downloads music over WiFi connections -- no computer needed. When the service launches, most likely in March, it will offer 99-cent downloads or unlimited listening through monthly subscriptions.

"Most cell phones are not optimized for music delivery. This will all be optimized for music," says Robert Khedouri, co-founder of MusicGremlin Inc. "It is basically the first time you find a full record store in your pocket."

It's no wonder I have mobile-media paralysis.

I'm anxious for something new -- but I think I'm better off putting new purchases on hold for a bit. There's just no telling what might be coming next to my pocket.

Leslie Walker welcomes e-mail atwalkerl@washpost.com.