Additionally, you can make calls when these mobiles are in either the closed or open positions, and as with flip phones, the hidden keyboard on these handsets cut down on accidentally dialed numbers--just be sure to protect the exposed screen from getting scratched. New phones incorporating these features include the Kyocera Koi, the Samsung p735, and the Sony Ericsson S700.

A variation on this concept is the swiveling-screen design, wherein the front flap flips up, rotates 180 degrees, then flips down. In this position, the normally hidden main screen can be used for caller ID and acts as the viewfinder for the integrated camera (a standard feature). And because the screen image rotates 180 degrees, photos can be taken horizontally or vertically. The swiveling action removes the need for an external LCD screen, so--again--be sure to keep the display from getting scratched. First seen in last year's Samsung A600 and this year's A610, Audiovox introduced its own version at the show, the CDM-8930.

A final design alternative is the slider model. With these phones, the display simply slides up to reveal the keypad. Samsung announced the SGH-D415 at CTIA, the first slide design to have a digital camera and video support, which will go nicely with the 262,000-color display. The first phones to integrate this design were the Siemens SL56 and, later, the Kyocera SE47.

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CNET associate editor Kent German tracks the latest in cell phones and accessories.