Out of this 7.5 million, it seems that a higher percentage tend towards the younger generation. There are no hard numbers of demographics of course but apparently, younger people with more mobile lifestyles are leading the charge in wireless phone usage.

“But what about the rest of us?” you ask. Obviously, the decision to go completely wireless with your phone is an individual one. However, if you can answer yes to some or all of the questions posed below, then you might be a good candidate.

Do I have a mobile lifestyle?

The primary purpose of wireless phones is to combine convenience and portability in one neat package. Hence, wireless phones are standing symbols of the mobile lifestyle.

If you frequently travel or are out and about a great deal, then you are probably in the perfect position to cut the cord. Who needs a wired phone when most people you known reach you on your wireless phone?

Is my household small?

The main issue here is cost. Big household naturally means more rooms where you would need to install a phone. Let’s say, you have a spouse and two children and currently have a phone in each of four rooms.

You can do this with a single wired line. But with wireless phones, you would need four separate phone lines and that could be costly.

Some wireless phone companies actually offer family plans to reduce the cost for multiple cell phones in the household, but still, if you have a big household, the cost is still considerably higher compared to a single landline number.

Am I (or my family) light to moderate users of Telecom?

Telecom usage is another cost issue. Most landlines are priced at a flat “all-you-can-talk” rate. With wireless phones, the bill is often competitive with most landline bills. However, as you talk more, the cost increases.

This is because wireless phones are charged at a per-minute basis. So if you want to get a wireless phone, make sure that your Telecom usage won’t be that big.

Am I okay with the occasional dropped call or bad reception?

This question deals mostly with the issue of reliability. When you pick up a landline, there is about 100% chance that you’re going to get a dial tone. Unfortunately, with wireless phones, the percentage might be a little lower.

With its Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Digital Network Technology, Verizon Wireless is capable of serving over 43.8 million voice and data costumers.

The company is headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey and is a joint venture of Verizon Communications(NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD).

Verizon Wireless lets you choose your pick of Verizon cell phones no matter what make or model. Along with the phone, you also get a chance to take advantage of Instant Rebates and Online discounts which are only available for website purchases.

Now, instead of enumerating to you all the Verizon cell phones they have available, why don’t we just highlight one single item for you?

The hottest phones in the marketplace these days are camera phones or phones that come with built-in digital cameras so you can take digital snapshots of your life in an instant. The LG VX8000 Verizon cell phone is one such phone.

The VX8000 Verizon cell phone offers an interactive experience that promises to go beyond your wildest dreams. With all its interactive features and multimedia capabilities, this Verizon cell phone seems poised in changing the world thinks – the way you think – about mobile phones.

The LG VX8000 Verizon cell phone offers the V CAST Coverage area service. This allow you to watch video clips as though you’re watching them right off the TV monitor.

So a TV on your mobile phone? Why not? Choose from News, Entertainment, Sports & Weather and be the first ever mobile couch potato!

And as if a TV on your Verizon cell phone isn’t enough, how about tossing in a camera, too? The VX8000 Verizon cell phone comes equipped with a built-in 1.3 Mega Pixel Camera which allows you take instant photos of friends and family.

The camera comes with a 10x Digital Zoom and Embedded Flash. So take photos like a pro with your Verizon cell phone!

The VX8000 Verizon cell phone also allows you to capture 15-second Videos and Photos which you can share with your friends who are also using a Verizon Wireless video messaging capable phones.

You can even share these photos via the Internet. Simply send the photos stored in your Verizon cell phone gallery and send it to any email address.

The LG VX8000 Verizon cell phone allows a total talk time of 265 minutes and standby time of 184 hours. The phone comes in a convenient, pocket-size box. Verizon cell phone measures 3.76H x 1.97W x 0.93D inches and weighs only about 3.88 oz.

The U.S. operations of T-Mobile International AG & Co. K.G., is based in Bellevue, Washington. It consists of T-Mobile USA, Inc. (formerly Voice Stream Wireless) and Powertel, Inc. (together “T-Mobile”).

As one of the fastest growing nationwide wireless data services, T-Mobile delivers strong consumer appeal and excellent service to more than 16.3 million customers in the United States.

A wireless cell phone carrier, T-Mobile International is the first mobile communications company to offer service on both sides of the Atlantic with a single global brand name and a single digital technology standard, GSM or Global System for Mobile Communications.

Thus, what they offer their customers is the advantage of using their wireless services when traveling worldwide.

T-Mobile Cell Phones: Coverage

We all know that when choosing a cell phone, the first thing we need to consider is coverage area. T-Mobile cell phones cover more than 224 million people in more than 8000 cities across the United States.

If you want to find out exactly if your area is covered, simply visit the T-Mobile cell phone website at T-Mobile.com and check for yourself.

The site offers you free coverage check so before you sign up, make sure that you are getting the right service by checking coverage where you live, work, and play. You can even check street-level coverage for your T-Mobile cell phone if you want.

T-Mobile Cell Phones: Plans

There are several service plans which you can take advantage of with a T-Mobile cell phone. For one, the T-Mobile National plans give you free domestic long distance and no digital roaming charges anywhere across the USA.

Other plans such as Basic gives you 60 minutes worth of whenever minutes per month plus 500 minutes during the weekend.

There’s also the T-Mobile Cell Phone Basic Plus plan. For only $29.99, you get 300 minutes every month anytime of the day plus unlimited minutes during the weekend.

There are other plans available of course and if you want to find out more, simply log in to their site. They have regional plans, Internet plans, and even Pay-As-You-Go plans.

T-Mobile Cell Phones: Services and Features

Following up on the company’s motto of “Get More”, T-Mobile cell phones are heaped with all sorts of services and extra, ancillary features.

Enhance your communication capabilities with picture and video messaging, text messaging, instant messaging, email, and more.

Or if you like to download fun stuffs, you can personalize your T-Mobile cell phone with MegaTones, CallerTunes, wallpapers, games, and more.

You can also stay connected with the world with your T-Mobile cell phone. Get instant news feeds from the Internet or the latest entertainment news.

Since its founding in 1899 in Abilene, Kansas by Cleyson L. Brown, Sprint, known then as Brown Telephone Company, underwent a rapid growth with its ingenious technological advances which made it an industry great by 1976.

But it was in 1989 that Sprint International emerged as a global name with its series of high-profile technological advances, such as the nation’s first coast-to-coast fiber-optic transmission and the first transatlantic fiber-optic phone call.

By 1993, Sprint provided service to more than 6.1 million customer lines in 19 states. The year 1995 saw Sprint with its partners acquire PCS wireless licenses in 29 major trading areas in the FCC’s first auction. The result was Sprint PCS and one of its latest products, the Sprint PCS cell phones.

The Sprint PCS Fair & Flexible Plan

Sprint has put together a variety of service options for their subscribers to help ensure that you always get the right solution at the best possible value.

The Sprint PCS Fair & Flexible Plan protects you against ugly overcharges. The plan works by adding low-cost minutes when you need them.

The Sprint PCS cell phone plan provides options that are specific for individuals and family users. Unlike other plans where if you go over your allotted time, you have to pay overcharges, with the Sprint PCS cell phone plan, you get to have additional minutes for much lower costs.

This helps you save money. The Sprint PCS cell phone plan includes unlimited night and weekend minutes and nationwide long distance every minute of every day.

Sprint PCS Cell Phones

When you get a Sprint PCS cell phone plan, you get to enjoy tons of special offers on phones. You can get special discounts on the coolest phones available in the marketplace plus instant savings and web specials.

Take the Sprint PCS cell phone Vision V1660 by Samsung for one. This Sprint PCS cell phone model comes with a compact design and a super-cool clam-shape style for which Samsung is known for.

The regular price for this phone is around $180 but if you get it as a Sprint PCS cell phone, you can save up to $20 via their web special promo.

Other phones include PCS Vision phones, multimedia phones, video phones, and picture phones. There are also Ready Link phones which really stretch the bounds of mobile technology and PCA phones.

Do you like games? Or hip ring tones? Why not get them through the Sprint PCS cell phone Nokia 6016i by Nokia.

Organize your life!It seems that the latest buzz over cell phones these days are focused more on its ability to act as your Personal Digital Assistant or what is commonly referred to as a PDA or palmtop.

PDA cell phones are quite new in the market but they are vastly popular among the busy, mobile people who are always on the go.

Yuppies, those young urban professionals, are especially taking to PDA cell phones like flies to a pie. After all, who wants to tug along two devices when you can have one?

PDA cell phones combine the benefits of both a mobile phone and a personal organizer. But instead of carrying two devices in your pockets, you only carry one. Convenience and portability all rolled into one! That’s exactly what PDA cell phones are offering.

Your PDA cell phone acts like a comprehensive phonebook directory. You can store up as many names, contact numbers, and addresses as you want. You’re only limited by the number of friends and acquaintances you have and the amount of memory the device.

Some has as much memory power as 3.5MB. PDA cell phones also let you take down notes during meetings and store them up as a file. And because most PDA cell phones can be synchronized to your desktop notebook or laptop, you can even store these notes as a file in your computer.

The PDA cell phone is also an astute scheduler. You can input important dates into the interface and set alarm for those dates. The built in timekeeper can even be used as an alarm clock so you no longer have to worry about being late for important appointments.

Ever since they first broke into the market, PDA cell phones have undergone a constant change. Every year, new software upgrades are constantly added to make your PDA cell phone even more easy to use and convenient.

The Series 60 Platform is just one of the software programs used to run your PDA cell phones. Built on the Symbian OS, this PDA cell phone software is currently the leading smart phone platform in the world.

Series 60 is licensed by some of the foremost mobile phone manufacturers in the world, including LG Electronics, Lenovo, Nokia, Panasonic, Samsung, Sendo, and Siemens. Series 60 gives your PDA cell phones a large color screen size and an easy to use interface.

Plus, it provides you with a suite of applications which makes this software ideally suited to support new mobile services in your PDA cell phones. These services may include rich content downloading and MMS.

The i730 Nextel cell phone takes your personalized wireless connection to new heights. This latest Nextel cell phone release adds a fresh look and new dimension to your mobile life.

With its cool silver chassis and 65k color display, the i730 Nextel cell phone is professionally stylish clarity. The vibrant color display gives your picture messages enhanced

It also allows you to customize your screen with downloadable wallpapers, adjustable color palettes, and a choice of three font sizes.

The i730 Nextel cell phone also has an advanced user interface. So if you like everything quick and instant, this Nextel cell phone model allows you to perform easy, one-touch shortcuts to functions and exciting phone features.

Its icon-driven menu lets you navigate your phone in four ways with the addition of the OK selection key.

Speakerphone and Voice Capabilities

Tired of hand-helds? The i730 Nextel cell phone comes equipped with speaker phone capabilities. So if you’re driving, you can simply place your phone on speaker mode without having to take your eyes off the road or your hands off the wheel.

The built-in speakerphone allows you to engage in safe, hands-free cellular conversations. The i730 Nextel cell phone also comes with its very own voice recorder. So now, there’s no need for you to carry around that bulky tape recorder.

All you need is your i730 Nextel cell phone and your problems are solved. The Nextel mobile lets you capture memos or phone conversations for future playback of phone numbers, tasks, or driving directions (caller must notify other party of any call recording).

Voice-activated dialing is yet another nifty feature of the i730 Nextel cell phone. Simply press a button and speak.

The phone comes with a voice recognition system which would then allow it to automatically dial a certain number associated with the words you speak. You can also access phone features using the voice-activated dialing.

Java Applications

In the mood for games? Do you get bored easily? Take a break from your hectic schedule and sit down for a nice little game right from the screen of your Nextel cell phone.

The i730 Nextel cell phone comes with pre-loaded applications and games, such as FOX Sports Footbal game demo, Bejeweled puzzle game demo, and Zip Zavier adventure game demo.

Cell phones help us stay connected with friends and family who are now living away from us. In essence, cell phones and other such technology help bridge the gap that occurs over long distances.

But as with all high-tech technology, cell phones don’t come cheap. Yes, they are important and to some, they might even be an absolute must. Still, cell phones cost money and money isn’t something that we can just pick up right off the streets.

And with the speed with which cell phones are upgraded these days, it’s inevitable that we all have to buy cell phones not only once but several times if we want to keep up with the times. So how does one afford a cell phone?

Free Cell Phones: Cell Phone Service Plans

The good thing about cell phones is that they often come with service plans. A cellular phone service plan works the same way as a telephone service in that you pay a certain fee per month for use of your cell phone service.

Companies who offer such services to the masses often use gimmicks to entice more people into using their products. One of these popular enticements includes free cell phones along with your service plan.

Service plan subscriptions often meant not only low monthly fees but free cell phones to boot. Along with free cell phones, extra features are also offered.

So depending on the free cell phone model, your service plan may include email, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Bluetooth wireless technology, et cetera. All these features make your free cell phone even more convenient to use.

Free Cell Phone Sites

Free cell phones are also offered on several online sites. More often than not, these free cell phones are offered only if you subscribe to some type of cell phone service provided by these sites.

Websites such as LetsTalk.com or Calling-Plans.com offer free cell phones along with their subscription service plans.

LetsTalk.com is one of the top websites that offer free cell phones to their subscribers. They have the widest selection of cell phones and cell phone plans at the lowest possible prices. When it comes to deals, they have the best.

Some of the free cell phones they offer may mean that you need to mail in a rebate form and after they receive it, you will get a check for the amount of money equivalent to the price you paid for the cell phone model.

So in essence, you are not paying for that free cell phone; you are getting it for free.

Coverage, you’ll agree, is the most important for what use is having a cheap family calling plan if you can’t get your phone to work in area where you would most likely need it? Therefore, coverage provided by the carrier should be the first thing to keep in mind.

The second most important thing to think of is the family calling plan or service. In an effort to keep up with the demands of consumers and the competition in the market, carriers are offering all sorts of gimmick to get you to subscribe to the family calling plans they have to offer.

That is why it does not come as a surprise that one carrier may be offering you free cell phones if you subscribe to their family calling plans or any other cell phone service they have.

And if one carrier is offering free cell phone models, then another would be offering bundled extra features that are sure to make your cell phone capabilities the envy of everyone. In the end, it all comes down to what you hold more important.

Aside from those things mentioned above, there are also several other factors which you might want to take in consideration. These are:

Promotions–

Once more, competition in the cell phone and family calling plans market is stiff. In order to get a head start, many companies are offering promotions to entice customers to their products.

Specials are constantly being run to get you to sign up. Generally, these specials are short-term in nature, and become less meaningful the longer you are a customer.

Therefore, when you’re making your decision over what family calling plan you ought to buy, try to measure the true cost of your service after the promotion ends.

This then places you in a better position to evaluate whether the promotion is appropriate for you.

Equipment–

Whichever carrier you select will offer you many choices and many prices for equipment. Thus, it is often a matter of personal taste. But keep in mind that smaller phones and those with more features will cost you more since they cost the carriers more.

Also, carriers in general who require you to sign a contract for your family calling plan are more likely to offer you a lower price on the phone in exchange for your commitment as a customer.

Ancillary Services–

Ancillary services such as Voicemail, Caller ID, Call waiting, are some of the extra features included in family calling plans.

Some carriers may bundle these in, thus allowing you take advantage of these extra features without the extra cost. Therefore, if you value these services, then you may want to consider family calling plans that include them.

The company is a joint venture between the domestic wireless divisions of SBC (NYSE: SBC) and BellSouth (NYSE: BLS) and as such, Cingular cell phone subscribers are assured of using only the nation’s largest digital voice and data network.

Cingular Wireless offers a plethora of various products and services, including Digital Wireless Voice, Rollover, Cingular Nation Rate Plans, Voice Connect, and of course, the Cingular cell phones which in themselves come with a host of other features and services.

As a cell phone carrier, Cingular lets you choose the type of phone you want of all models and makes. Let’s take the Samsung X427M Cingular cell phone, for example. This Cingular cell phone has an ultra cool, silver chassis that’s just oozing with style and elegance.

As with all Samsung cell phone models, the X427M Cingular cell phone comes with an individualistic clam-shell style which you can snap open every time you the answer the phone.

Do you like multimedia interactivity all in one, tiny box that slips right through your pocket? The X427M Cingular cell phone is Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) capable. So you can send, receive, and create multimedia messages complete with text, video and audio to your friends and family.

Communication has never been better with the X427M Cingular cell phone. Are you all for instant messenger services? The Samsung X427M Cingular cell phone allows you to access your AOL Instant Messenger on your mobile.

So you can chat and connect with all your online friends even while on the go and even without your computer. The X427M Cingular cell phone is also data connect capable.

It features 128 x 160 pixel, 65k color display screen, perfect for receiving all those colored MMS messages you’re getting. This Cingular cell phone model also has a 40-tone polyphonic speaker so you can listen to great audio clips of the hippest, coolest music to hit the audio world.

Downloads, anyone? The X427M Cingular cell phone allows you to download super tone/music ring tones and graphics, games, and more. It also comes with a personal organizer where you can manage all your daily activities and plans for this week.

The Cingular cell phone’s personal organizer comes with a calendar, a calculator, and to-do lists. Have a lot of friends or acquaintances? The X427M Cingular cell phone allows you to store up to 500 alphanumeric phone book entries.

So gone is your problem of memory usage in your Cingular cell phone book. Now, you can store everyone’s contact numbers without having to delete any old entries.

With gadgets such as cellular phones, you can stay connected with your friends and family and talk with anyone anywhere on the planet. And what’s more, you can do all these from just about anywhere!

The cellular phones in the market these days have an incredible plethora of functions and gizmos. Every month or so, new functions are constantly being added to make your cell phones even more convenient to use.

Truth be told, typical cellular phones nowadays can do just about anything. Depending on the cell phone model, here are some of the things you can do:

• Store contact information
• Make task or to-do lists
• Keep track of appointments and set reminders
• Use the built-in calculator for simple math
• Send or receive email
• Get information, such as news, entertainment, stock quotes from the Internet
• Play simple games
• Integrate other devices such as PDAs, MP3 players, and GPS receivers

All right, so now that we have enumerated some of the stuffs that cellular phones can do. But have you ever wondered how cellular phones work? What makes cellular phones different from regular phones?

To start with the basics, cellular phones are basically radio devices. Well, they are extremely sophisticated radio devices but radio nonetheless.

The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 and wireless communication came to be with the invention of the first radio by Nikolia Tesla in the 1880s.

It was perhaps only natural that these two great technologies would be used together to create the cell phone.

Before the age of cellular phones, people who needed the portability of mobile-communications devices installed radio telephones in their cards.

This meant that the telephone would have to have a big transmitter that’s powerful enough to transmit 40 to 50 miles. Now, for the mobile person where convenience is a must, that’s not very appealing.

The genius of cellular phones is the division of a city into small cells. This allows extensive frequency reuse across a city so that millions of people can use cellular phones simultaneously.

Typical cell phones in the United States can receive about 800 frequencies to use across the city. This is indeed a big step from the radio-telephone system where only about 25 channels are afforded per city.

What the cell phone carrier does is to chop up the city into hundreds of cells, each measuring about 10 square miles.

Because cellular phones and base stations use low-power transmitters, the same frequencies can be reused in non-adjacent cells. This allows more people to use cellular phones without choking the frequency pathway.