That enhanced device really isn't just a cell phone anymore

Imagine how much easier it would be for E.T. to find his way back home nowadays. The little extraterrestrial would merely whip out his cell and phone home.
Then again, he might not bother. E.T. could just as easily use a portable handset to dispatch an instant message, arrange transportation by e-mail or download a map. What's more, phone in hand, he could pass the time during the long ride back by admiring pictures he'd taken with the device, watching a video, surfing the Web, consulting an animated horoscope or playing games wirelessly in (cyber)space.

You need not be a homesick alien to discover the simple truth about the latest funky mobile phones: They let you do a lot more than make calls. A slew of clever devices, many with vibrant color screens and remarkable sound, and several that exploit emerging faster third-generation, or 3G, telecom networks, have the vast potential to alter the universe of mobile communications.

The altering has begun. In South Korea, Samsung sells a $500 TV phone, though plans for a U.S. version in 2003 remain sketchy.

Numerous communicator devices on the market marry mobile phones to handhelds. One of the best Palm-based devices is the Handspring Treo 300, sold by Sprint. It takes advantage of the speedy new 3G Sprint PCS Vision network. The Treo is especially nifty for keeping up with e-mail at speeds typically faster than a dial-up modem. Treo boasts a small but usable keyboard and color screen.

Meanwhile, gizmos such as the Nokia Communicator 9290 combine core organizer capabilities with a browser, word processor, e-mail, video games and other multimedia sizzle. Hidden under the Nokia's clamshell case is a capable keyboard and color screen. But it's expensive ($599).

Certified gadget freak Brian Pomerantz thinks the word "phone" has become misleading.

Pomerantz, the CFO of Northfield, Ill., start-up Commodities Management Exchange, keeps his Sony Ericsson T68i near his bed: "Why go all the way downstairs to where my Mac is when I can I pull out the phone, go to Yahoo and send e-mail to colleagues asking for analysis?"

Not everyone shares Pomerantz's passion for new technologies. The masses to date have shown lukewarm interest in anything beyond conventional dialing. For example, 18% of mobile phone users surveyed across the USA by The Yankee Group indicated that they are currently taking advantage of wireless data services and the Internet, says Yankee analyst Linda Barrabee. And nearly half of those who don't say it's because they have no desire or need.

Still, new technologies might change that, and consumers are already, albeit slowly, personalizing portable phones as never before with downloadable ring tones, screen savers and other touches.

As part of Verizon's new Get It Now roster of games, ring tones and other applications you can download directly to the Motorola 720 phone, it teamed with Eyematic on a service called Shout Messenger that lets subscribers dispatch animated missives with Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk and other Marvel superheroes.

Sony Ericsson's latest, the T300, lets folks take advantage of a similar scheme known as Multimedia Messaging System (MMS). That's industry jargon for sending mail with animated graphics and sound, as well as text.

The phone also lets you download "polyphonic" ring tones, meaning they sound much richer than the melodies found on most phones. U.S. customers purchase and download more than 50,000 ring tones daily at a median price of 99 cents, says analyst Adam Zawel of The Yankee Group.

Phones are also becoming:

Two-way messengers. A standout is the T-Mobile Sidekick, targeted at 18- to 34-year-olds from a Silicon Valley start-up, Danger. Though Sidekick is a clumsy phone, it's a terrific AOL instant-messaging device, plus it offers e-mail, games and the ability to take pictures with a camera add-on.
Digital cameras. Phones with detachable digital cameras are becoming more common, letting you, for example, tie pictures to Caller ID. Your spouse's picture can show up when he or she calls.
The new $400 Sanyo 5300, available this month from Sprint, is billed as the first U.S. phone to sport a built-in camera and flash.

Handy-dandy tools. Perhaps the most ... um, cutting-edge new entry is the $299 Motorola i90c Special Edition phone from Nextel, inspired by Victorinox, makers of the Swiss Army knife. No camera here.
But as with other Nextel handsets, you can Direct Connect or communicate walkie-talkie style with compatible two-way radio phones. The translucent red phone also comes packaged with an actual Swiss Army knife.

To help you figure out what to do with the thing, you can consult one of the loaded Java software applications: 85 Ways To Use A Swiss Army Knife. A first-aid manual and the Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook are also on board.

If E.T. ends up buying the limited edition phone, he'll hopefully remember to pack the knife before he goes through airport security.