Does anyone know anyone who is cell-less? This indispensable communication tool has come a long way, baby. Believe it or not, it was 130 years ago - on March 10, 1876 - that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, a device that transmits speech electrically. Think back to those early days, when a telephone was large, black, and connected to a wall - with a handle that had to be cranked and a cord - attached receiver that had to be picked up and held to the ear.

Today, no one stays home to wait for an important call. The phone goes along! Purses and pockets vibrate and ring in symphonic tones-during Broadway shows, at Bergdorf's, in the middle of board meetings, in the front seat of a taxi! It used to be that when you stepped into a cab, you could expect a friendly conversation. Now, most drivers wear a headset and chat nonstop on a cell. Although, some don't need a cell at all … if you know what I mean! The drivers focus just long enough to hear the destination, then step on the gas and zip through the streets, mumbling the entire trip. And lots of luck if you decide to change your destination!

Things have gotten so out of hand that columnist Clyde Haberman recently reported in The New York Times that his daughter had to chase her cabbie for nearly two blocks after she got out to retrieve her stroller from the trunk. He took off-with the back door open and her baby still strapped into the back seat!

It used to be, when I walked down a Manhattan street and heard someone talking to themselves, I knew to walk carefully around them. Now, I realize that they're simply talking on a cellphone. More than once, I've turned around and responded, "Hi," and smiled questioningly at someone, thinking that I was being greeted, only to realize that it was the beginning of a cellphone conversation.

It's almost as if the talkers assume that they are protected by one of the now-obsolete glass, sound-proof phone booths that you sometimes still see in old restaurants. They speak several decibels louder than normal, as if the persons on the other end of the lines are hard of hearing. News flash: They aren't, we aren't, and neither is anyone else in the restaurant, store, or anywhere! We all hear every detail from their dates last night, the gossip about parents at their private schools, what they think of their bosses, and … well, I think I'll keep it clean. How can people be so indiscreet, so oblivious to the fact that anyone might recognize them or know the persons they're mentioning? There is no fear or embarrassment that they'll be overheard and certainly, no consideration for others.

Like their busy owners, today's cells multi-task. According to Ad Age, of the 200 million cellphone owners in the U.S., approximately 4 million are now video-equipped. CBS Corp. is introducing Entertainment Tonight ("ET to Go"), for a subscription fee of just $3.99 per month, and "CBS News to Go," for 99 cents per month-all transmitted directly to your own small screen. CBS also has plans for a "mobile soap opera" and an online cellphone store, where subscribers can buy ring tones and wallpaper. I'm waiting for one that makes coffee in the morning! Fox Corp., through Fox Mobile Entertainment, has introduced Mobizzo, a global phone-content company whose products are available for a subscription fee of $5.99 per month. And don't be surprised if advertisements soon begin cropping up on your cellphone … at your expense!

Most cellphones are also camera-ready. Photos taken by "citizen reporters" at major events, natural disasters, and crime scenes are frequently the ones that show up in broadcast and print reports. Who hasn't noticed the many arms holding cellphones raised high in the air-photographing a Britney Spears taking off in a car with her baby on her lap, Angelina Jolie shopping on Madison Avenue sans makeup, or a minor fender-bender on Park Avenue? Cellphones are certainly keeping everyone honest.

In the near future, we might see even more cross-pollinating of communication services into fewer portable units. It's not far-fetched to imagine iPods ringing, cellphones singing, and Blackberrys as the ultimate "do-everything, go anywhere" device, more versatile and indispensable than the Star Trek crew's transformers ("Beam me up, Scottie!").

Maxwell Smart (on the 60s sit-com, Get Smart) was truly ahead of his time. He was always answering a ringing shoe-loudly, and at the most inopportune moment. Well, some things don't change, but let's try to be courteous when we play with our toys.

Happy 130th birthday to a revolutionary device that once had a "singular" voice-the sweet serenade of ding-a-ling-a-ling, ding-a-ling-a-ling!