A higher calling for cells

Cameras, directions, calendars ? cell phones seem to have everything these days, and industry experts expect that trend to continue with new technology constantly in development.

Personalization is key, said Rosaline Hour, director of marketing and public relations at Newport Beach-based Yakety Yak Wireless Superstores, a franchise with two Newport Beach stores.

"The consumers in Orange County are probably the most tech savvy, and around here, a lot are in business and they need phones that do it all-in-one," she said. "They work 60, 70 hours per week and need the latest technology that simplifies their lives."

The Federal Communications Commission boosted one such technology with its wireless Enhanced 911 rules, which exists to help dispatchers locate someone calling emergency numbers while on a cell phone.

The law requires all cell phones to have tracking devices for emergency dispatchers, said Kevin Strong, vice president of marketing for GloNav, a fabless semiconductor company developing global positioning systems.

"[Cell phone manufacturers] have to do that because the FCC told them to, and for them it was a cost," he added.

Global positioning systems' consumer applications started in the car with built-in navigational systems and are now expanding to provide cell phone manufacturers with a means to integrate the technology while making a profit, Strong said.

"It turned from a cost to something that could generate revenue, and I think we're just at the tip of the iceberg of what you can do when you have exact location," he said. "The obvious ones we're already seeing, like navigation, so in the mobile market the phone can be your navigation device in both your car and as a pedestrian, as well.

"Go beyond that, and we can provide city guide information ? restaurants, hotels weather information ? and you can move into other aspects like tracking, in particular child tracking, which is a strong area of interest," he added.

Hour said she is seeing strong interest in that, and some manufacturers created special phones made for kids that have similar technology. She's said she thinks the industry and the consumer are going to start looking at phones with tracking devices for people other than children.

"I think we are going to get these phones for our parents," she said. "I see the trend doing a little bit more for senior citizens."

Hot items for customers continue to be devices with Bluetooth capability and data phones, like the Rim Blackberry and the Helio, which is aimed at 18- to 28-year-olds.

"It's really about how cell phones are becoming more and more a part of people's lives," Strong said. "Now people's phones are ? becoming more important and ubiquitous than before."