Note: In 1995, I bought a Motorola MicroTac
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_MicroTAC
It cost me $900 (Canadian) and it cost 25 cents/min to talk on it, plus it was like $30 (CDN) per month.
TWO HOURS after I brought it home, I found my dog Coco CHEWING on it. The antennae had bare wires showing and the plastic had bite marks all over it. I know she didn't know it cost me $900, so it was a test in self control for me. Lucky for her she's so cute!
I hate cell phones, but I've had one continously for 12 years. To be honest, the crappy freebie Nokia phones are just as good (phone-wise) as my wife's Blackjack (or my Blackberry Pearl). In fact, I kind of prefer my old Nokia, it could take a beating.
As for mp3 playes, my favorite that I have is actually the Creative Zen Nano (1GB). It is much nicer that the iPod shuffle. (I've had the Creative Jukebox ($500 in 2001) and currently have an iPod "video")
Don't fall for brand names, check out the devices first and then decide if it's for you. By now most people have lived with mp3 players, PDAs and cell phones long enough to know what they want (I've owned the US Robotics Palm Pilot 1000, the Handspring Visor Deluxe and the Palm M505 ... I'm an idiot, I never used them for more than an address book).
V
PS. Yes, I'm a recovering gadget "first adopter" it has never lead to anything other than regret as better, faster, smaller versions of the same device came out for much much less money.