By Katie Walker

The ABC’s (well. . . sort of) of cell phones. Everything you ever wanted to know but didn’t want to look stupid asking.

A is for AIRTIME: Airtime is any time you spend talking on the phone. Back in the early days of cellular phones, the person who initiated a phone call would pay for it. Nowadays, it doesn’t matter if you call your boy toy, or if he calls you-you still have to fork it over.

C is for CALL LOG: Cell phones have the neato feature of call logs: dialed calls (calls you make), received calls (when people call you), missed calls (calls you didn’t quite make it to in time). This way, if somebody pranks you, you have the number saved on your phone.

E is for EARLY TERMINATION FEE: This bites. Big time. If, at any point during your agreement, you decide you don’t want the phone anymore, or you want to cancel your contract, you have to pay an early termination fee. Some companies will charge a flat fee; others will charge you up to $150 PER MONTH left in your contract.

H is for HANDS-FREE: A cool feature for talking on your cell phone while driving. You insert a small, wired microphone and earpiece into your phone, mount the phone holder to your console or dash, and you can drive without actually holding the phone to your ear. Definitely a good idea, very safe.

K is for KEYGUARD: Simple, but another good idea. Use it whenever you put your phone in your purse or pocket. Keyguard locks the buttons on your phone so you won’t accidentally hit 911 or speed-dial your ex’s number. Believe me, it does happen.

L is for LONG DISTANCE: Long distance on cell phones is a tricky thing. It’s not calculated from where you’re calling; rather, it’s where your cell phone is based. For example, my cell phone is based in Northern Kentucky, where I’m from. If I’m in Louisville, and I decide to give Ma and Pa Walker back home a friendly phone call, technically it’s not long distance. However, if I want to call my friend Kris on his Louisville line, I get charged a fee.

O is for ONE-TOUCH DIALING: Just like speed-dial. You can program an entire phone number into one button. This way, you don’t have to go searching through your phone book looking for your great aunt’s number so you can wish her a happy 90th birthday.

R is for ROAMING: Whenever you’re in an area that doesn’t have a strong signal, where you’re normal service is displayed it will now say ROAM. A lot of companies charge for calls made while you’re roaming. I, fortunately, have free long distance and roaming, so whenever I visit my boyfriend in Podunk, KY, I don’t get charged a mega-fee to call home.

R is also for ROLLOVER MINUTES: Another very very cool feature. Any minutes left over from a previous month will be “rolled over” into next month. If you pay for 150 minutes per month, and one month you only use 45, then you’ll have 255 for use next month. People like me who gab for hours beyond their prepaid minutes one month, but use about five seconds the next could definitely use this.

S is for SIGNAL STRENGTH: Typically on the left side of your phone screen are four (maybe three, maybe five-depends on the brand) bars that measure signal strength. If all the bars are lighted, it indicates a full signal. If you only have one or two, you have a weak signal. If there are no bars lit, you’re probably in Podunk where there is no cell phone tower for 100 miles. This could be considered roaming (see above).

T is for TEXT MESSAGING: One of the newest features available on cellular phones. Perhaps you’ve seen the commercials with MTV’s Carson Daly? Now you and your pals can send textual messages to each other without using voicemail (see below) and without using minutes.

W is for WIRELESS INTERNET: Another novel idea for cell phones-allowing users to access email, stocks, sports scores, etc. online without connecting to the computer. Warning: this feature can be very costly, so unless it’s job-necessary, you probably don’t want to waste your money.

There you have it! The ABC’s for newcomers to the world of cellular technology! Since so many folks are using cell phones nowadays, it certainly doesn’t hurt to be up on the latest lingo.