In Brief: Feb. 11, 2002

WET AND WIRED The ReefMaster Digital Land and Sea Camera is the first digital camera that works underwater. Its built-in software compensates for tricky undersea lighting conditions, and its high-tech plastic housing is waterproof to 100 ft. (a deluxe model can go to 200 ft.) With a price tag of $450, though, you'd better hope you're snapping sunken treasure. Find out more at www.sealife-cameras.com

FAST PHONES Last week Verizon became the first U.S. company to deploy the fancy, fast new form of wireless Internet access known to techies as "3G," for "third generation." The $30-a-month service (Verizon calls it the Express Network) will send data to PCs with special wireless cards, and even to some cell phones, more than twice as fast as an ordinary 56K modem.

PALM TREAT The new Palm i705 ($450) is a step closer to the easy, flexible wireless e-mail access all handheld users crave. Unlike the Palm VII, the i705 checks your e-mail constantly instead of just when you ask, and it alerts you when it arrives. If the i705 had a mini-keyboard like its rival, the RIM BlackBerry, we'd give it a high five.

--By Lev Grossman