Hey, St. Nick, got any Apple gadgets in your bag of tricks?

With Christmas just days away, I figure it's now or never for getting a note to Santa. I also want to share my thoughts on a couple of new mobile phones targeted squarely at the iPhone in today's installment of Net Notes.

Dear Mr. Claus:

It's been a while since I've upgraded my home computer. I've been juggling things around on my nearly full 80-gigabyte hard drive, so l'm asking for a new iMac.

Since I upgrade only every three or four years, I'd like to go for the top-of-the line version. It's the one with the 24-inch screen and the 500 GB hard drive, but I'd be thrilled with any of them.

And Santa, I have lots of people asking me what type of computer they should buy. I always send them to the nearest Apple store. I think you should do the same.

If folks aren't fortunate enough to live in Las Vegas, where we have two Apple stores, I tell them to point their browser to apple.com to learn more about how easy it is to switch from a PC. They can see the newest computers and software. Some folks are surprised to learn they can have the best of both worlds, as Apple computers also run Microsoft Windows software, although they'll need to buy that operating system elsewhere.

If a computer won't fit in your sack, I'd be happy with whatever you decide to leave, so long as it comes from Apple. The new iPod nano is pretty sweet.

Thanks -- Al.

***

Let's face it, some smartphones are smarter than others.

The iPhone continues to gain ground -- and competitors. I am trying out both the Google Phone, which is designed by Google, built by High Tech Computer Corp. of Taiwan, and exclusive to T-Mobile, and the BlackBerry Storm from Verizon and Research in Motion Ltd. The Palm Treo 680 on the AT&T service is my personal phone.

Neither of the new players has enough features to make me consider switching. The Google phone is too bulky, although I find the T-Mobile service to be very strong. I get a signal in places my AT&T service won't reach. For example, I followed the general election results on the Google phone from the basement bowling lanes at Texas Station.

The Wi-Fi connectivity feature on the Google phone is very strong. The Storm doesn't even offer Wi-Fi, which is why Verizon customers who are serious about Web surfing by phone should look at the BlackBerry Bold instead. No, it doesn't have a touch screen, like the Storm, but the Wi-Fi feature more than offsets this.

The Storm also doesn't have the familiar BlackBerry trackball. The entire screen is a click button, which gives a tactile response when using the keypad. It's awful for Web surfing. My fingers are too big to hit the tiny links.

I have more on the phone comparisons on my blog: (lvrj.com/blogs/onlineguy), and invite you to chime in with your comments.

Share your Internet story with me at agibes@reviewjournal.com.