Hot Game: Musical Cell Phones

Next year, cell phones will learn how to carry a tune.

Picture phones with pretty screens certainly caught the fancy of the mobile phone shopper in 2004, sending handset sales surging a projected record 20% over a year ago. But cell-phone makers have a couple of new tricks in store next year to keep the beat going.

By far the biggest feature coming to handsets in 2005 will be music. Yes, the long-awaited union of cell phones and digital music players, like Apple's(AAPL Quote) iPod, will soon be upon us. Like heat added to hotness, the fast-growing popularity of portable MP3 players figures to be a major component of the already-strong mobile phone market.

Analysts and gadget lovers alike are enraptured by the promise of this divine gift from the tech gods. ...