High-end cell phones have had music-playing extras for some time, but some mobile companies lately have been flipping that equation around. New models are looking like MP3 players that just happen to make phone calls.

	Sony Ericsson's K618 phone has a 256MB memory stick that can hold about 230 songs and can play music via a Bluetooth headset. Click photo for larger image.

The most-hyped model is Verizon's brand new Chocolate phone, manufactured by Korea's LG. It enters the market with Sony Ericsson, which is releasing its latest "entertainment" phone this summer, on the heels of its Sony Walkman phone. Others have announced plans to follow suit.

Rumors also are swirling around Apple (as they always do) about plans for a cell phone iPod, perhaps called an iPhone. Until then, the Chocolate -- which actually looks like an iPod -- is attempting to make do.

The front of the Chocolate ($150 with rebate and two-year contract) has a screen and a wheel, just like the iPod. The front slides away to reveal the phone keypad. It can also take pictures and video, but the music player is the main function. Users can download music from Verizon's VCast music service for $2 per song. (For the convenience of phone-downloading, the cost is twice as much as the 99-cent iTunes charge.)

But since this phone is targeted for music fans, the music interface may also be the problem. Loading significant amounts of music into the phone requires a $200 memory card and even then it works best only with the VCast service, not with pre-owned MP3 files. It would take about $500 more to fill up the card with VCast songs.

For such reasons, eminent Wall Street Journal tech reviewer Walt Mossberg said the Chocolate "is full of unwelcome surprises."

Verizon is not alone in exploring the all-in-one phone market. Other major cell phone companies, including Motorola, are trying to make extra bucks off the music consumer. But these phones all come with some "unwelcome surprises." Besides the cost of music downloads, they often require special headphones (run-of-the-mill headphones won't fit in many cell phones) and extra memory cards for holding music files.

Those kind of "gotchas" point to growth pains for mobile phone companies, said Charlie White, associate editor of Gizmodo, a tech and gadget blog.

"There's still kind of a problem with the cell phone companies. They want to make some money from selling music. ... There's a little bit of an awkwardness there," White said yesterday from Milwaukee.

"It seems like at every turn, they make it more difficult to transfer your music onto the phone but very easy to buy music from them."

Phones with enough memory to hold music files are usually so expensive that they target the business market -- folks who might not need the extras but can afford them -- but the new ones are going for a more mainstream customer who wants a lot of fun extras. That was the case with the Walkman phone Sony Ericsson introduced last year ($275), and the company appears to be walking that line again with its K618, which it calls "a vibrant blend of work and play."

The phone, supposed to be released by the end of next month, has a 256MB memory stick included -- enough to hold about 230 songs -- and plays music via a Bluetooth headset. It also takes snapshots and video and has Web and e-mail connections.

Motorola is preparing to introduce the KRZR and RIZR phones -- following up its popular RAZR ($200) models -- that also have integrated music players and up to 1GB of expandable memory. The company calls the RIZR in particular a "music-lover's paradise," as it has a USB connector for downloading music (and other) files. Like the upcoming Sony Ericsson model, it is due for release soon.