The cell phone: It’s so much more
Today’s wireless phones connect users to a full menu of options and functions.
Your mobile phone isn’t just all talk.

Nearly 220 million Americans have a cell, and many use it as more than just a telephone. Joe Farren, spokesman for CTIA — The Wireless Association — says today’s cell phone does a lot more than its predecessors. “It’s Web-based, it plays music and it’s how many people keep and receive important information.”

Porter Arneill says his BlackBerry helps him be more efficient at work as director of Kansas City’s Municipal Art Commission. It is a cell phone and wireless personal digital assistant, which can send and receive e-mail.

“It’s a valuable tool that allows me to maintain contact with my office when I’m not there,” Arneill said.

But all work and no play makes Michael Hernandez of Kansas City a dull boy — especially when it comes to how he uses his mobile phone.

“I probably use it more for the entertainment features than as a telephone,” Hernandez said. “I try not to depend on it that much, but honestly, I would kind of be lost without it.”

Hernandez uses his mobile phone as a navigational device, to check sports scores and the weather forecast, to play Texas Hold ’em, to take and send pictures and video clips, to text-message friends and to play music. He even has personalized ring tones for each of his friends, so he knows who’s calling without having to look.

Beatriz Villatoro thinks her mobile phone is the cat’s meow. The UMKC student takes pictures, plays games and text-messages her friends with her cell phone, but she does it in style — her style. Villatoro’s cell is studded with pink crystals and Sanrio’s Hello Kitty insignias. She has Hello Kitty as the backdrop to her cell’s screen and a Hello Kitty mobile phone holder, and she considered having a customized Hello Kitty vinyl skin made for her phone ( www.skinit.com).

“I like cute things, and my favorite color is pink,” Villatoro said. “My cell phone expresses who I am and shows off my personality.”

——————————————————————————–

RESOURCES

Local service providers that bundle phones with calling plans:

www.alltell.com, www.cingular.com, www.sprint.com, www.t-mobile.com, www.verizonwireless.com

Cell phone manufacturers:

www.discoverblackberry.com, www.fireflymobile.com, www.lgmobilephones.com, www.motorola.com, www.nokia.com, www.palm.com, www.samsung.com, www.sanyo.com, www.sony.com

——————————————————————————–

SUPER CELLS

Here are some of the functions the latest generation of cell phones offers:

Walkie-talkie: You need a special “push-to-talk” phone and calling plan.

PDA (personal digital assistant): Lets you read and send e-mail, keep a date book, search the Web and download attachments by using a stylus with a touch screen.

Television: Can download and play news, sports and entertainment programs.

Camcorder: Records videos until the phone’s memory is full. You can add cards for more memory.

Camera and photo album: Takes and stores pictures. The number of pics the “album” holds depends on your phone’s memory and the resolution of the pictures.

Pager: Pages via text message or voice mail.

Rolodex: A “notepad” saves about 500 names and numbers.

Global positioning system (GPS) device: Allows emergency personnel to locate you when you dial 911. You can also use your phone as a navigation device to get directions to where you are going.

Emergency alerts: You can sign up for emergency alerts through your carrier. To sign up for Amber Alerts, log on to www.ctia.org and follow the link.

MP3 player: Plays audio files. Add a memory card to hold more songs and headphones for private listening.

Personal computer: Accesses the Internet and e-mail.

Game console: You can download games from your carrier or the Web.

FM radio: With a special phone you can tune in to FM stations by using the up and down buttons.

Text- or instant-messenger device: Send pictures, text or video clips electronically. Usually a fee is charged for every text-message sent.

Telephone. Coverage and calling plans are getting better with fewer dropped calls.

Source: CTIA — The Wireless Association

——————————————————————————–

The series

October is Electronics Month in House + Home. Look on Page 3 each week for the following articles:

Today: Cell phones

Oct. 22: Universal remotes

Oct. 29: Digital video recorders

Thank you for reading this post. You can now Leave A Comment (0) or Leave A Trackback.