Techno chic: It's all about the bling when it comes to gadgets.
By Leigh Grogan

Theresa Sheldon's cell phone rocks. Not with ring tones but with Swarovski crystals, which twinkle and sparkle and form the initials of her favorite band, Nine Inch Nails. For about $75, Sheldon had her phone personalized with the bold "NIN" after attending a concert in Los Angeles last fall. "It's as girlie as I get," says Sheldon, who lives in Rancho Cordova and works for the state. "Now it's a conversation piece." For Sheldon and a growing number of others, personal electronics are among the most hip of accessories. Not only are they functional, but they're becoming increasingly fashionable.

Of course, not everyone is going to encrust their phones with crystals. But then, they don't have to. Electronics manufacturers are churning out a variety of chic, sophisticated devices - from ultrathin cell phones to crystal-studded ear buds - to entice consumers with a variety of tastes. How about a pretty-in-pink Razr V3c (about $400) or the subtly stylish PEBL (about $300), both by Motorola? After all, the company's motto is "Don't just make a call - make a statement."

Indeed, the company gets downright poetic when referring to the PEBL, the "essence of mobile sophistication. Hold it in your palm and you'll understand its mysterious pull." All this, and you can text-message your friends, too? That's waaaay cool. Mark Siegel, a spokesman for Cingular Wireless, which sells the Motorola brand, among others, says today's consumers would rather not own a phone at all if their only other choice was some clunky, oversize model (think Jerry's bricklike portable phone on "Seinfeld," circa 1995). "Consumers want gadgets that make people sit up and take notice," Siegel says from Atlanta.

And it doesn't hurt if your cool cell sends out the message that you're cool. It's the ultimate status symbol. For instance, a line of "smartphones" is likely to trump the BlackBerry as the next must-have gadget, says Molly Wood, executive editor at Cnet.com, a San Francisco-based company that reviews and writes about electronics. "The Palm Treo 650 and 700 are for top-of-the-line business types who like Palm Pilots, PDAs (personal digital assistants), do-it-all phones," Wood says. "The Treo says, 'I'm an executive and I'm stylish at the same time.' "

Kurt Beyer, 38, admits to being what he calls an "early adaptor," someone who scoops up a gadget the minute it hits the marketplace, then replaces it when a new model comes along. And these days, he's replacing things faster than ever, as he believes technology is changing more rapidly than it used to. "There was the Sony Walkman in the '80s, the cell phone in the '90s and, eventually, the iPod," says Beyer, who owns the Washington, D.C.-based Riptopia, a company that creates digital music libraries, particularly for iPods. "I had one of the first PDAs, and it was almost the size of a laptop. They started shrinking immediately after I bought it." OK. We get it. The original iPod, introduced by Apple in October 2001 and now labeled by Beyer "a clunky relic," is about as hot these days as last season's shrug. Which brings us - as so many things do these days - back to fashion. "Now that we've figured out the technology part, there's a significant focus on (gadget) style," Wood says. "Gucci, Prada, Kate Spade and Louis Vuitton all make iPod covers," Wood says. "It's become the thing to do if you're an accessories designer."

The electronics industry is also focusing a lot of its attention on female consumers, and with good reason. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, women are expected to spend about $65 billion this year on electronics just for themselves. Like Sheldon and her jeweled cell phone, women tend to want their personal electronics to stand out. So they get them customized. The CEA reports that "external cosmetic personalizations" - skins, stickers, faceplates, glitter, feathers, fur, crystals - are more popular among women than among men. The CEA also notes that personalization makes cell phones unique, reflecting tastes in pop culture and personality. On a practical level, they can help owners identify phones if they get lost. But practical, schmactical. Admit it. We all just want people to look.

Says Sheldon, the fervent Nine Inch Nails fan: "I think the band even noticed my phone at one show." Add a personal touch to your gadgets

Want your personal electronics to look hot, so that you can be cool, but you don't want to pay the $300 for a new razor-thin cell phone?

You can have your gadgets customized for about half that cost. Here are some Web sites that offer do-it-yourself kits: * Myblingring.com: Bling-it-yourself kits feature crystals, including the Bling Ring Couture Kit ($125) that has 750 Swarovski crystals. * Shopjuici.com: This site offers a cute mix of cell phone and iPod covers in a range of prices, mostly $15 or less. * Modphone.com: "The first house of phone fashion," Modphone also offers covers for MP3 players and PDAs. Prices depend on whether you want one or both sides of the device covered.