In Brief

By Lev Grossman

GEEKS WHO WEAR GLASSES They're smart, they're pasty faced, and they know their way around a RAM cache. Now the geeks have their own beauty contest. Would-be contestants (of both genders) in the Sexiest Geek Alive pageant take a technology quiz, then compete in a series of nationwide events. Would-be judges can ogle the geeks and cast their votes at www.sexiestgeekalive.com

IN LIVING CALLER We love our cell phones (except when we hate them), but nobody likes squinting at those murky little gray-and-black screens. Now we don't have to. Sanyo's new SCP-5000 phone ($500, available only from Sprint PCS) is the first in the U.S. with a screen that displays colors--256 of them, to be exact. Download tiny digital photos of your pals, and when they call, the SCP-5000 will show you their smiling faces. It also surfs the Web, stores 500 phone numbers and 300 e-mail addresses, and plays an incomprehensible game called Crab Catcher.

HANDY BAR SRAM, a high-end bicycle-component maker based in Chicago, has created a gadget that does for the humble handlebar what utilities did for belts. The SRAM SmartBar is adjustable, lightweight, funky looking and ergonomic--and you can trick it out with a galaxy of gizmos, including headlights, rearview mirrors, gear shifters and even a bicycle computer. It's not yet available on its own, but you can purchase it with bikes from Trek and

--By Lev Grossman