[Samantha Skey] cited the explosion of camera phones as an example. Although camera phones' image quality is inferior to that of low-end digital cameras, they are still a popular feature.

One recent day as he sat in Maryland's student union, a pair of CD player headphones around his neck, [Jonathan Henderson] pondered the idea of carrying an iPod and other items that thieves find tempting. "I don't plan on getting one because of theft," he said, adding that he thinks iPods, in particular, are vulnerable to that.

"Sometimes it's hard to keep it safe because people are walking around with the same thing," [Lynette Anderson] said of the iPod.