ZDNet Shopping Shop for the latest technology products at Computer Shopper online. Essentially, today's cell phones fall into one of three categories. Voice-only phones are generally the least expensive and most widely available. They offer basic features, and they are either analog or digital. Many also have advanced features such as a vibrating alert or modem functionality.
Web phones are digital cell phones that provide Internet access through special minibrowsers.
A minibrowser allows you to view simplified versions of popular web sites to retrieve information such as stock quotes, weather forecasts, or news briefs. Some web phones also have e-mail capabilities. PDA functions often include a calendar, address book, contact manager, to-do list, and occasionally an alarm, scheduler, and calculator. Additionally, a smart phone's ability to store personal information generally goes beyond that of the internal phone book in a standard, voice-only cell phone. Deciding which phone is right for you will depend on how much you have to spend and on whether additional features such as Internet access and PDA functionality would be useful to you.