What high-tech gadgets can't you live without?

Monique Natalia, Contributor, Jakarta

In today's world of ever-changing technology, people, including us, cannot live without gadgets. Many of us tote a cell phone equipped with all the practical and trendy features like games, SMS, picture messaging, and the list goes on. So, what do hi-tech savvy youths really think of the technology in their lives, and what hi-tech gadget do they keep in their tiny purse or jeans pocket day in and day out?

Satria, 18, Bogor: I definitely cannot live without my cell phone! It's really important for me, because with it I can be reached at any time and place, and I can also call anybody I want from any place.

Before, I always had to look for a public phone or a wartel (telecommunications kiosk) if I wanted to make a phone call. It was such a bother, especially when the public phones did not work, which happens quite often here. But now I can just reach for my phone and start dialing.

The must have function for a cell phone would be the facility to be able to send SMS (short message service). I like the fact that you can say a lot with SMS and it's cheap, too! I also use the feature called "reminder" on my phone a lot. I usually use it to remind myself of important appointments and also to remind myself of my friends' birthdays. It's very useful because I can be quite forgetful sometimes. I also always use the alarm in my cell phone to wake me up every morning.

Another thing that makes my cell phone stick with me at all times is the phone book function. It's great! I can keep a lot of phone numbers in it so when I go out I don't have to carry an address book.

Dara, 15, Central Jakarta: I just got a mini dv (digital video) for my birthday. It's this cute little square thing that I take with me everywhere I go. It can take digital still pictures as well as regular video, so I can use it to capture special moments. I usually e-mail the pictures of my friends.

I am also crazy about the video function. After the WTC tragedy I realized that crazy things could be happening around you anytime, maybe even as we speak! And I don't want to miss those moments. With this handy little thing, I could take videos of what's going on around me.

I like to go to places like traditional markets and it's really interesting to record the things that are happening there. You know, like what the vendors sell, what people buy, maybe even catch a pickpocket or two in action, who knows!?

The mini dv also has cool functions, like special effects and stuff. I like to play around with it to get the result I want. It's the coolest present anybody has ever given me. To this day, I still thank my parents for buying me that. It's my most treasured possession.

Saz, 18, South Jakarta: I'm not really a high-tech kind of girl. It would be easy for me to live without technology. It's because I'm more into art, like photography and writing, than technology. I never watch TV. I'm into music but I don't have a MP3 player or Napster, tapes will do me just fine.

But if I really had to choose, I'd say that e-mail and the camera are the two most important things for me right now. My best girlfriend lives in the States and my guy friend lives is the UK, so the only way to keep in touch is through e-mail. Going to an international school like BIS (British International School), you get to meet a lot of people from different backgrounds.

The problem is these people come and go. You meet new friends and then the new school year comes, and they have to move. It's hard but at least you have e-mail.

About the camera, a couple of years ago I was really into photography. It's partly because of my big sister, who is a photographer. Now I've been doing watercolors so I just haven't been using my camera lately.

But, as I said, I'm not really into technology. Even when I write, I prefer to use pencil and paper because it's more personal. The same goes for photography, there are too many technicalities in photography while with drawing you can just express your feelings directly.

Brad, 17, South Jakarta: The most important thing for me would be the computer with the Internet and all those other facilities. Through the Internet, you can really find anything you want. You can really learn a lot from it. For information you can also use CDs.

It's amazing, all this knowledge is packed into one CD and you only need a computer to access it. Because of all this information that can be accessed through the computer, people who cannot go to school can study at home with their computers.

The Internet is also useful if you want to do a project or if you want to research something. There is a lot of information on the Internet.

Computers are also great for doing business, especially if you want to do business with people from a different country. It's a lot easier than using the phone. When you're on the phone you cannot really think of all of your ideas but when you are e- mailing it you can sit down and type all of your ideas in the computer.

Not to forget the leisure function. It can also be used to play games. Basically it just makes life a lot easier. It's something that the whole family can use.

Icha, 21, South Jakarta: I absolutely love my digital camera. Besides my cell phone it is the thing that I cannot leave home without. It's very practical. You don't need to buy film because it uses some kind of chip so that the images can be transferred directly to your computer. If you want to print it on photographic paper you can just take the chip to a film developer and they'll do it for you.

It's very handy if you like to send pictures to your friends through the Internet. You don't need to use a scanner, because all you have to do is connect the camera to the computer send the picture as an attachment and you're done!

Another thing that makes it stand apart from regular cameras is that, with normal cameras, if you want to know the result you have to wait to develop and print the pictures, while with digital cameras you can see it right away. You can even erase pictures that you don't like and do it over. Plus it's small, so you can really take it anywhere with you, as I do!

I like to take pictures with my friends. It's great because I don't have to waste my time queuing up at those photo box places.

Adi, 16, West Jakarta: Like everybody else I just have to take my cell phone everywhere I go. I'm always off somewhere doing something so I really need it so that people can reach me. Especially my parents, they get worried sometimes about my whereabouts, and now they can just dial my number.

The other thing that is really important for me is my discman. I'm a huge music fan so I just have to have music wherever I go. I'm that type of person who always has a set of earphones stuck to their ears. It's just my image I guess.

I started this ritual of wearing earphones when I got my first Walkman. I literally took it everywhere with me. I even slept with it! Now I've evolved to using CDs so I prefer taking my discman everywhere I go. I'm planning on buying a portable MP3 player.

It's great because it's so much smaller.

Sometimes people get annoyed because when I talk to them I always have these earphones on. They think I'm not listening. What most don't know is that even though I am always wearing earphones, they are not always on. So when I talk to people my discman is always off but I don't take the earphones off. It's just a bad habit, I guess.