Just about everybody has them, teenagers, politicians, senior citizens... even an inmate at Westgate was found with one in his possession!

These days cell phones, with its many attractive features, remain the most popular piece of technology as Bermuda's residents buy into its many conveniences. Many don't leave home without it, while others - in the minority, no doubt - still see it as something that they can do without.

I've had one for more than three years - it's cumbersome compared to the latest models - and I seldom use it. Nobody knows the number... including me," said one woman, too embarrassed to give her name.

"It has a lot of features and I haven't a clue about any of them, including redial, because I haven't read the instruction book yet. On the few occasions I've used it, it has been useful, like the times my car broke down or I've been late for an appointment or needed directions. But I've never seen it as a frivolous tool. Calls are expensive compared to the rest of the world, and in England it is dirt cheap."

Anybody who has been in a crowded room has experienced the reaction a ringing phone gets. They ring in restaurants to the annoyance of diners, on the bus, during church services... even during business meetings.

"It can be quite funny, but annoying at the same time, to watch everybody's reaction when a phone goes off in a crowd," said one person who has witnessed such.

"Everybody quickly frisks themselves, trying to get to their phone as quickly as possible so as not to draw more attention to themselves than they already have."

Anywhere there is human life, there is bound to be a cell phone nearby, the owner either conducting business, talking to their significant other or just passing time talking to friends.

"If you want to know a person's business, just sit next to them while they are talking on their cell phone," said one young man, not a cell phone owner, though he says he appreciates the advantages of them.

"I like the fact that women have the comfort of a phone when travelling alone at night, but too often they are abused... and not just by women."

A cell phone was a big shopping item during Christmas, with one retail outlet, BTC Mobility, reporting selling hundreds a week during the shopping season. Nobody can deny that cell phones are here to stay.

"In the last five years there has been a major increase," said Nkosi Damani, BTC Mobility's Sales Manager.

"It's caught on with just about everyone...kids, the young and old, for the business person and for personal use. We have a line of models and different styles, phones with certain features and capabilities.

"The selection has caught people's eyes, especially with some of the newer models coming out in 2002 and 2003 with colour screens and stuff like that. Ring tones and downloading logos have really caught on as well as things like text messages back and forth with pictures."

Added Mr. Damani: "To have a monthly account you have to be 18 or older, as well as a fairly good credit rating. We've seen all ages and there has been an increase in younger people.

"A lot of parents are coming in and making sure their kids are hooked up so that they can communicate with them. In that sense the younger kids are getting service through their parents. We offer the free evenings and weekends as a package so the kids can use the phone for free."

Mr. Damani has seen the interest in cell phone ownership increase steadily over the last few years.

"When I first bought a phone myself years back, it was maybe just your business people, people who needed to be mobile," he said. "Now it's almost become a trend and a fashion as well. It's also a thing where people are realising that communication with family and friends is important in that sense. A pay phone is almost a thing of the past."

In the United States - and here, too - there is the ongoing debate about the dangers of using the cell phone while driving.

An article in the Cincinnati Post, online edition, stated that facts recently assessed by researchers at the Harvard Centre for Rish Analysis concluded that the distraction of cell phone conversations may be responsible for as many as six percent of the auto accidents in the USA each year. They estimated some 2,600 people die each year from accidents caused by cell phone distraction while some 333,000 are injured.

Supermodel Niki Taylor was nearly killed in 2001 when the car she was a passenger in struck an utility pole in Atlanta. The driver of the car, James Renegar, told police he lost control when he looked down to answer his cell phone.

Seven states have at least some rules about using cell phones while driving. Bermuda has not taken such a step in that direction, yet, though local retailers are offering handsfree devices that enable drivers to talk and keep both hands on the steering wheel.

"My mother was hit a few years ago on a crossing in Somerset by a guy in a van who was talking on a phone and not paying attention," said one woman who, while she owns a cell phone, doesn't use it while driving. She wonders why Government is taking so long to clamp down.

"The most pressing issue in terms of driving without due care and attention are the use of cell phones," the woman stated.

"Most people cannot drive and do a lot of things at the same time, you get easily distracted. If they did their research they will find that cell phones are one of the main causes of accidents in terms of driving without due care.

"When my mother was hit crossing the street - where she should have been - and a guy in a van hits. His excuse was he didn't see her but witnesses told her he was on his cell phone. In fact he tried to leave the scene of the accident because he knew he was in the wrong.

"She suffered a fractured hip but if it was a child that child could have been killed. People have to realise you can't be on a cell phone and be paying attention to everything that is going on around you at the same time. Because there is no law governing that, you even see people on bikes with cell phones, which makes no sense at all.

"There is a purpose for them, but we need to be responsible in the way we use them... like anything else. If I have to use mine I would pull over. There was a study done recently where they found that when people are driving and even listening to a radio or talking to a passenger, their focus on driving decreasing. So if those things can distract you, imagine being on a cell phone."

Schools have banned the use of cell phones by students and teachers will confiscate them and give them back at the end of the day. One primary school principal, Dr. Gina Tucker at Victor Scott, hasn't seen it become an issue at her school.

"If they brought one out or it went off I would take it from them and they would have to collect it at the end of the day," explained Dr. Tucker.

"Then we would call their parents. There is a section in the (Ministry of Education's) code of conduct, page 26, that addresses that.

"We have not had any incidents and do not expect that we will. We expect that our parents and guardians are well aware that cell phones are not to be brought to school by students."

One 15-year-old high school student became the proud owner of a cell phone as a Christmas gift. She says all her friends have them and use them just to stay in touch with each other, though she says they recognise there is a price to pay for over using them.

"I have a pre-paid card which is 50 cents a minute and you can't just make calls whenever," the teenager stated.

"Most people use their phones after 7 p.m. and on the weekends when the minutes are free."