Amazon hopes to simplify Web shopping _ with words

You're probably used to typing your name, address and credit card number when you buy things online. Amazon.com is guessing you don't enjoy it, though, and wants to simplify the process by letting you purchase items with a short phrase such as "Shopping Fanatic" and an identification number.

The online retailer planned to unveil the system, known as Amazon PayPhrase, on Thursday.

Here's how it works. If you store a credit card number and shipping address with Amazon, you can elect to have that information represented by a short phrase and ID number. Then you can enter that phrase and PIN instead of giving a credit card and address to buy things on Amazon and other Web sites that accept this PayPhrase system.

Pillow Pal

$19.95 (for set of two) plus shipping and handling, from Golden West Enterprises, P.O. Box 1390, Magalia, Calif. 95954, http://pillow-pal.net/

Suggested by Gretchen Schmidt of Coral Gables

How often have you said to yourself: ''I need to shoot an intruder, but where the heck did I put my handgun?!'' If you buy this item, you or the armed person on your holiday gift list will always know the answer: It's in your Pillow Pal!

The greatest gift of all this year: a bargain

Henry Leace, the owner of Havana Nines, is feeling hopeful for the first time in a year.

The Miami-based chain known for its Latin apparel has seen sales jump almost 20 percent during the third quarter. But winning business back has taken aggressive discounting and a shift to more private label apparel. It's a strategy that Leace hopes will pay dividends at his 11 Havana Nines stores this holiday season.

``There's a resistance to full price everywhere,'' Leace said. ``People want to see what's on sale. We had to be on the attack to make customers spend. We had to give them a reason.''

GM, Ford Giving Show-Goers $50 Gift Card for Test Drives

If you’re attending the 2009 New York International Auto Show this week, make sure to track down the $50 gift cards Ford and GM are handing out to attendees. They’re not free though; to redeem the $50 gift card, you must first test-drive a new Ford or GM vehicle at a dealership. Only then can you go spend the plastic version of Ulysses S. Grant. Ford’s gift card can be spent anywhere, while GM’s is good only for food via restaurants.com. If you weren’t interested in the brands before, it’s unlikely $50 will sway you, especially if you have to spend it at a few select restaurants. Let us know what you think. Would a $50 gift card get you into a showroom for a test drive?

Good cellphones that take quality photos now available

Pretty much any cell phone you'd buy today comes with a digital camera, but only a few are good enough to take the place of even a cheap point-and-shoot.

It can be tricky to sniff out which phones really fall into that category. Highly advertised features, like a mass of megapixels and multiple settings, do not always add up to a solid camera. But after testing five devices from different manufacturers and wireless carriers, I can suggest some that prove it is indeed possible to get a good cell phone that also takes crystal-clear photos.

My favorite of the bunch is the 8-megapixel Samsung Memoir, which packs an impressive set of camera and phone functions into a slick package.