The mobile phone is a paradoxical device indeed. Seen as an anti-social device, its primary function is social. Go to the movies, parks, hotels or even in hospitals, there is no escape from the continuous beeps of the mobile phones, or from the meaningless tete-a-tete of their owners. According to a survey,mobiles are one instrument that 30% adults love to hate but cannot do without. So what makes the mobile so fascinating and so addictive?

The total number of mobile phone connections globally has gone past 2 billion, according to Wireless Intelligence. It took 20 years to reach the first billion but a mere three years to add the second billion. We are moving towards a generation where mobile devices are as commonplace as watches and are are considered by many as a prerequisite of modern day living. Be it a wealthy tycoon who uses the phone as an essential link for running his business or a teenager for his amusement, it is a must-have for everyone. Many mobile phone owners feel that the main advantage of owning it is the ability to contact family or friends when emergency arises. Added to it is the fact that that reduction in costs associated with owning and using mobile phones, means that more and more people are now able to afford them easily.

Mobile phones have brought about their own unique culture. According to the MIT communications forum, No contemporary cultural artifact embodies the genius and the disruptive excess of capitalism as clearly as the cell phone. Ubiquitous in most developed societies in Europe, the Americas and Asia, the cell phone has become a laboratory; some would say an asylum, for testing the limits of technological convergence. Less a telephone today than a multi-purpose computer, cell phones are game consoles, still cameras, email systems, text messengers, carriers of entertainment and business data, nodes of commerce. Particular age cohorts and subcultures have begun to appropriate cell phones for idiosyncratic uses that help to define their niche or social identity. The cell phone is a technological object and a cultural form whose uses and meaning are increasingly various, an artifact uniquely of our time that is enacting, to borrow the words of a contemporary novelist, a ceaseless spectacle of transition.

Cellular or mobile phones have undergone a tremendous advancement in technology (especially during the past few years )since the time they were first invented.The new generation or WAP enabled phones allow the users to connect to the Internet, send or receive e-mails, listen to the radio and even watch videos!Not only that,mobile phones are also providing an astonishing range of functions, with new ones constantly been added at a gradual pace. Depending on the model one can do a number of tasks like calculating simple math, keeping track of appointments, setting reminders, taking pictures and videos, getting information via the Internet, integrating devices like PDAs, MP3 players and GPS receivers and above all to send or receive text messages. The convergence between mobile and Internet presents great opportunities for the future of 'unplugged' telecommunications. People who once talked about e-commerce are now talking about m-commerce (mobile commerce). The future is not PC-centric', said Jorma Ollila, "it's phone-centric." As Chief Executive of the Nokia Corporation, which sold 76.3 million handsets in 1999, he should know. With the fast technological progress in Artificial Intelligence, Integrated Circuitry and increases in Computer Processor speeds, the future of mobile computing looks exhilarating. With the stress increasingly on compact, small mobile computers, it may also be possible to have all the practicality of a mobile computer in the size of a hand held organizer or even smaller.

Another important aspect of mobile phones is the design and look. You can personalize and create a Van Gogh of your mobile, if you are an individualist. These mobile phone accessories add-values to mobile phone sets making them a lifestyle item. There is such a huge market for mobile accessories that companies make it possible to personalize every element of your phone. Adding a signature look to the mobile changes it from a hi-tech invention to a designer accessory.

Companies like Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson, Samsung and other handset developers have generated kudos for the sleek mobile phones of today. Ranging from analog phones to digital phones to PCS phones-name it, they have it.

With such a deluge of products in the mobile market, one is in a dilemma when it comes to selecting a phone of ones choice. As they say, the best things in life are free. This especially holds true with regards to browsing and buying on the Internet. A plethora of mobile phones with great offers are available on the Web. Sites like Cheap Mobile Phones, ChinaVasion.com, keepbuy.net, offer wide range of cell phones at competitive prices.