So I bet some of you have started to see commercials for Cybiko, a $130 'wireless PDA'. You actually have to dig pretty deep into the site to understand what it can and can't do, but it's still a nifty toy that puts both tamagochi and lovegetty to shame.

In a nutshell, Cybiko is a cross between a gameboy and a walkie-talkie. The wireless connectivity is only between Cybiko units, and not a CDPD or Ricochet-style saturated network. It does have internet access when it's plugged into your Windows box, or when it's within radio range of a Cybiko that's hooked to a windows box with a net connection. Range is about the same as an 802.11 wireless network (300 feet outdoors, 150 indoors, conditions permitting).

It has several games and applications included like a peer-to-peer and internet email client, a tamagochi game, and a few others, most or all of which can be played by several people at once if they're within range of each other.

Will it be a hit? Probably a huge hit in very limited markets. Cybiko has a free SDK so writing custom apps shouldn't be difficult, and there are plenty of areas which could benefit from local-area digital communication between units at that price point.

Will it be an end-consumer hit? It's certainly what they're aiming for, but I don't think it'll be mainstream. Schools that don't clamp down on pager and cellphone use by students will certainly see a lot of these crop up with students in the next few months (up to 100 units within range of each other can share a common chat room). In other areas, the saturation of people using them in a limited geographic area would probably be too small for 'spontaneous communication' to happen except for a few select areas like baseball and football games, a few cafes I can think of in San Francisco, and other cultural niches where enough early adopters climb on board to convince others of the devices utility to them.

Basically it's a really cool idea, and though it has limitations, $130 ($99 at Amazon!)and no recurring fees makes it an impulse buy if you can think of a sue for it. I wouldn't be surprised if the linux community eats these up, buying two, one as a base station hooked to their computer and the other as a roving net terminal to surf the web (insomuch as you can surf on a 160x100 pixel screen) and control their computer and X-10 devices (an MP3 remote, a way to write email on the couch, etc). It'll probably follow a similar pattern to the family band radios, but with lower saturation and more specialized uses.

Third-party freeware developers will definitely make or break this product in all sectors except for the teen market. It would be a very good idea for Cybiko to seed a couple hundred pairs of units with Linux, ex-Newton, Palm, and WinCE developers, as these people could create the true killer app, and nothing inspires better than free hardware.

Lastly, AOL has purchased a significant stake in the company, which probably means they want one in everyone's backpack or purse, because when everyone's on AIM all the time, who needs a cellphone?

If anyone gets or already has one of these, I'd love to hear about your experiences.