The software developer Voice Bank announced that it displayed its prototype software for delivering manga on Apple's iPhone/iPod portable devices at the International Comic Artist Conference in Hong Kong on November 17. Voice Bank also posted images of The Digital Manga Project's software in operation. (Select the images to the right and below to see the full-size images.)

The Digital Manga Project is named after the Digital Manga Association Japan (DMAJ), the organization headed by Monkey Punch (Lupin III), Tetsuya Chiba (Ashita no Joe), and Machiko Satonaka (Lady Ann). Satonaka personally appeared with Voice Bank CEO Yoshihide Kinokawa at the Hong Kong conference to demonstrate the software with her manga. Voice Bank had previously expressed interest in delivering DMAJ's content to the United States.

Get Smart: A Guide to Spiffy Phones

Apple Inc.'s iPhone has shaken up the "smartphone" business and set other manufacturers scrambling to add features and make it easier to get e-mail, surf the Web and enjoy music and movies on a cell phone.

Prices also have come down to the point where some of these feature-packed models cost little more than "dumb" phones. Sizes have come down too -- gone are the days when carrying a smartphone was a workout.

Remember, though, that you need a data plan to get the most out of a smartphone, which usually adds about $20 to the monthly cost. (Prices below are with two-year carrier contracts unless noted.)

The top contenders of this holiday season (and a few to avoid):

Apple iPhone (AT&T)

This is the star of the field, despite a number of shortcomings. Remarkably, Apple's very first phone succeeds at combining a phone with an iPod and a great Web browser.

GPS devices growing more popular with runners, hikers

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — After a race through 15 miles of rock-laden, hilly trails in Wyandotte County Lake Park, Byron Rieper went online to discuss the competition with other runners.Many already were sharing their experiences online. Some blamed heat and humidity for their slow times, others recalled unforgiving hills. Rieper, a seasoned marathoner and cyclist who lives in Overland Park, used his watch to offer them a detailed look at the course.Millions of athletes are using watches like Rieper's Garmin Forerunner 305, which maps his path and records his distance, speed, pace and heart rate. Other devices that use the Global Positioning System are geared at athletes competing in long-distance events, including cyclists, triathletes and hikers.The popularity of these devices has spiked as more people discover the Web sites where all this information is being uploaded and compared, including SportsTrack, Garmin Ltd.'s MotionBased.com and Nike Inc.'s Nikeplus.com.Many companies, including Nike and Garmin, have organized running groups people can join to test the gadgets.“I just think all these free Web sites where people can upload their data has really contributed to their popularity and people are just more aware of GPS either on cars or on phones,'' said cyclist Jeff Englert, 48, of Shawnee, Kan., who has switched from a handheld GPS to his Garmin watch to compare elevation climbs during his training.Englert, who has ridden for 25 years, said he logs on the MotionBased Web site to find the best local routes when he travels.Other fitness monitoring systems include Nike and Apple Inc.'s Sports Kit, which enable iPod Nanos to measure distance without GPS, and Timex Corp.'s Bodylink system, made in partnership with Garmin, which uses a GPS transceiver to transmit data wirelessly.Timex plans to come out with a new series of GPS watches to compete with Garmin, said Heberto Calves, the company's vice president of marketing.“The trend of fitness measurement as a whole is growing,'' Calves said.