Areas to check on before buying a cellphone and service

Remember the old Science Fiction comics you read as a kid? The ones with characters sporting TVs on their wrist watches? One of the truly personal pieces of electronics this year (and previous years) is the cellphone. We all now have a portable telephone with us at all times, chained to our hips like a boulder.

Many of us cruise the web, email and look at satellite maps on our phones as well. Talk about a personal gadget that does everything. But, just because it does everything does not mean you should pay everything for it, right? As I always do when signing, you know, a contract, examine every inch of it and investigate your options fully. That's right -- get into lawyer-mode.