Cell phones have been around for nearly 15 years and are now everywhere you look. Over a quarter of Americans and a half of Europeans own cell phones and the numbers have been increasing exponentially. With the continuing increase in technology cell phones have become smaller, cheaper, and thanks to the move from analog to digital the calls are much clearer.
             They offer a great amount of convenience, and can be very economically for the busy businessman on the go. Advancements in cell phones are always being made, giving a clearer sound and lighter feel, as well as a longer life. The cell phone industry has been one of the fastest growing in the world. The electronics are fairly simple, but they are so small that they are truly and engineering marvel.
             This paper will discuss in depth the many different components of the average cell phone, and talk about how it converts your voice into something that can be sent through a digital network. The paper will also look at how the inner workings allow for a phone to act as a microcomputer, with Internet access, address books, and even games. Finally, it will review the many exciting ideas for this growing market and look to the future of the industry, and how the industry plans on overcoming various limiting factors.
             Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, 18 years later Guglielmo Marconi created the first radio. It was only natural that these two great technologies would eventually be combined to create the cellular craze. In the 80's few people used radiophones, these phones were the precursor to cellular, but they had several limiting factors preventing them from every becoming a major part of everyday society.
             In the radio telephone system, there was one central antenna tower per major city, and no more than 25 channels available on that tower. Each phone needed a powerful transmitter, big enough to transmit 40 or 50 miles. It also meant that not many peo...