Alexander Graham Bell would be amazed

The biggest drawback, says Weber, is that his phone doesn't have Bluetooth, a wireless earpiece feature. "I thought that would be really good if you were in your tractor, but I don't know if I need it because Nextel has such a good speaker phone," he says.

Weber considered buying a model 7100 Blackberry, another hand-held device that combines e-mail, web-browsing and cellular phone technology. "But the biggest reason I didn't get it was that the data package was $45 a month, plus your phone package," he says. "With this Motorola I-930 through Nextel, you get unlimited data for $10 a month."

Faster e-mail

For Ken McCauley, who farms 4,000 acres of corn and soybeans with son Brad and wife Mary near White Cloud, Kansas, the Blackberry works just fine.

"It's vastly improved over my old cell phone," he says. "We don't have very good cell service because the terrain here is so hilly, but it doesn't take near the signal to have the Blackberry receive messages. I've had messages sent to both my home computer and Blackberry and I will get those messages on Blackberry probably an hour before they appear on my home computer."

McCauley says in addition to monthly cell phone charges, it costs him about $25 more per month for the data package that enables e-mails and web access. "Rather than getting on the web, I'd like to be able to get marketing information on e-mail every half hour," he says. "That would be a lot better for me because e-mails come quick and that browser takes awhile."

As president-elect for the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), McCauley can get important (yet silent) text messages from his son back on the farm while he's attending meetings. "I can get right back to him without having to leave a meeting," he says. "That's a big deal. A lot of people don't realize that if they have text messaging on their phone they never have to actually answer the phone to get the message."

McCauley synchs his Blackberry, which is Bluetooth enabled, to his home PC to use as a calendar, appointment and address book. He also hopes to be able to use it with web cams placed around his farm so he can literally see what is going on in the shop or at the grain dryer when he's away on NCGA business.

About 3 million Blackberry users in the United States are waiting anxiously for the outcome of a court battle involving RIM, makers of the Blackberry, and another company over patent infringement. Worst case scenario: RIM may have to shut down or alter its Blackberry e-mail service.)

Another well-known PDA/phone device is the Treo, made by Palm, Inc. The company's newest model, the Treo 700w, is 'Bluetooth enabled' and provides e-mail, web and organizing tools that easily rival the Blackberry. It also features 'touch and tap' technology - using a stylus, you can touch numbers and other icons on the screen to move more quickly through applications. Treo's 'smartphone' technology allows you to easily navigate multiple conversations at one time. Or, you can touch someone's on-screen photo and the phone will dial the number.

Alexander Graham Bell would be smiling if he could see what his simple invention has become.