monthly wireless service | Ricoh RDC-i700 Digital Camera | Virtual Assistant Software | INTERNET MESSENGER

If this little beauty doesn't give you a whole list of ideas for keeping the romance alive while you're away, well, good thing you have us to help. For the thinking-impaired: The RICOH RDC-i700 makes a 3.34 megapixel digital camera into a Web-surfing son-of-a-gun. Shoot some pix of the family at the breakfast table and, while you're somewhere over the Atlantic, use the on-screen keyboard to create your own personal newsletter illustrated with those photos. When you land, plug your modem into the nearest pay phone and e-mail the newsletter back home. Plus, the Virtual Assistant Software can receive faxes and e-mails with attachments so your business life continues unobstructed. For those mid-flight flashes of inspiration, the i700 offers a voice recorder and writing tablet for personal memos, whether spoken or jotted down. $1,500; available next month at www.ricohzone.com.

NOT QUITE DICK TRACY'S, BUT CLOSE
A regular on the Newark-to-London route? Set Timex's new wristwatch-cum-pager to keep track of your days, hours, minutes, and seconds in both time zones; it'll even update for spring-forward and fall-back. Five reminder alarms alert you of the appointments you're not allowed to miss, and a backlight helps you check the time when the sky is black and your jet lag won't let go. No excuses for missing your morning run, either: A chronograph programs countdowns, lap splits, and total track times. So why is this cool new toy called the INTERNET MESSENGER? News, sports, stock quotes, and weather reports via SkyTel's monthly wireless service. You can use the pager for e-mail, too; send up to 100 characters, or about 15 words. Hint: "I love you" is only three. $99; available this month in three strap styles; (800) 367-8463. SkyTel (888-214-2128) monthly service from $4.99 (numeric only) to $9.99 (alphanumeric).

FIDDLESTICKS! NO MORE EXCUSES!