Wireless technology: a new generation of communication; from cell phones to PDAs, new communication tools bring the world to your fingertips.

• Author: Colby, Kent L.

MR. BELL (ALEXANDER) HAD NO IDEA

From New Zealand to Alaska, from London to Anchorage ... whether in an airport, on a busy street or at a fancy restaurant, seemingly three out of every four people nowadays carry a cell phone.

Similarly, whether laboring over financials at a board meeting in Ketchikan or camping at the base of Denali, ask someone for information and they're likely to produce a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).

And chances are, even if you're fishing from the deck of a charter boat along the Inside Passage, or interviewing for a job in Fairbanks, someone will be using a wireless device to communicate by voice, with e-mail, to surf the Net, organize their schedule and contacts, or even to change the channel on their TV.

NO LONGER JUST A CELL PHONE

A cellular phone--that mobile telephone that communicates with a local transmitter using short-wave analog or digital transmission, with coverage limited to the nearby cell tower-now has coverage over the better part of Alaska, from Barrow to Metlakatla and Dutch Harbor to Tok. Cells now cover most areas of the state where there are people. Additionally, the choice of venders is no longer limited to one company. The growth in cellular service has brought the cost down and now, with call-anywhere options, the cellular phone is a viable competitor for long-distance telecommunications service. In fact, your cell phone can travel with you most anyplace in the United States and Canada, meanwhile maintaining your local number and with no roam charges.

A cell phone also serves as a messaging tool. To receive e-mail or text messages and pages is nearly considered a standard option these days, and two-way text messaging is readily available. The latest cellular phone provides full-data functionality, to include Internet access and text messaging. This phone comes complete with an LCD screen, numeric keypads and occasionally even the miniature QWERTY keyboard. In essence, the device provides everything needed to navigate the Internet, view Web sites, track personal information, and perform basic organizational and productivity tasks.

In all, cellular systems offer instant messaging, follow-you-anywhere message checking, information services (movies, weather, news) and voice recognition. Because of voice recognition, no longer do you have to dial. Simply tell your cellular phone who to call and the phone will do the dialing. No wonder they are called "smart" phones.

POOR SIGNAL?

Perhaps you're not always in the metro area, or you use your phone on your boat? Maybe you live or work out of town? Do you...