Cellular telephones

Cellular telephones were introduced to the American marketplace in 1983. The early models of these transportable communications devices included large battery packs and carrying cases, and cost thousands of dollars. Only a decade later, cellular telephones are even smaller than a package of cigarettes, and some models are capable of multitasking activities such as transmitting computer files, paging, maintaining continuous communications through e-mail and voice-mail connections, and even "surfing" the Internet.