When mobile phones started being used on a growing scale in the 1980's, they were big, bulky, and a little unreliable because the services offered had not quite caught up with the technology, which was also just blossoming towards what it has become today.

It seems that almost overnight they became something that everyone simply had to have. Today even little kids can be seen talking on their own little cell phones.

Because of the satellite and other technologies that are appearing to develop at lightening speed, the past ten years has saw the cell phone emerge from just a convenient way to make phone calls, into a device that people must have. Some people just simply panic at the prospect of not having one. It is not just the phone capabilities that make this so either.

People have so much of their lives wrapped up in such a small thing. They keep addresses and telephone numbers in it, of course, but it has also become the newest walkman. For those of you too young to know what a walkman is or was, it used to be a portable battery operated way to play cassette tapes and listen to the radio.

The way music can be downloaded into a cell phone is amazing itself. It can be done through the internet, which by the way, can also be gotten through your cell phone. This information is not new to most young people, but for us older folks that are still in awe by the cell phone calling capabilities, this is may not be common knowledge yet.

The latest things in cell phones, like text messaging, photo taking, and even movie and television watching, are the reasons that people freak out if they misplace or lose their cell phone. It is like having a life in a small plastic box that you pay for each month.

All kidding aside, it is wonderful to have the technology that allows us to carry around such great things all in one pocket. They make our lives more convenient, more entertaining, and since you can be tracked down by one, maybe even a little safer as well.