In Brief

DIAL M FOR MODEM Last week AT&T; unveiled 25 Internet pay phones at airports in New York, Atlanta and Dallas. The AT&T; Public Phone 2000i has a 12-in. screen, a full-size keyboard and a touch pad. Internet access comes at a reasonable 25[cents] per minute (with a 4-min. minimum), and callers can talk and surf at the same time. No, you don't get your quarter back if you don't have any e-mail.

GIRL POWER It's great to encourage girls to learn about computers, and if it takes a spokesdoll like Barbie to get them interested, more power to her. The Barbie B-Book ($59.99) isn't a real laptop in any sense of the word, but it has a full keyboard and a pink-and-lavender mouse (with matching mouse pad), and it talks in that inimitable Barbie voice--it sounds like Britney Spears huffing helium. The B-Book comes preloaded with 50 educational games,including Search 'n' Spell, Zoo Clues and, uh, Shop 'til You Drop.

AIR MAIL Ever wish you could carry your desktop PC with you--without giving yourself a hernia? One solution is the new AirSpeak FLAIR ($1,985), a flat, lightweight touchscreen peripheral the size and shape of a cocktail tray that connects to your computer wirelessly. The FLAIR displays whatever is on your desktop, so you can check your e-mail or surf the Web from the living room or the boardroom. And when you're finished, you can serve martinis on it.