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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: engineer who wrote (25866)	4/2/1999 12:29:00 AM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 152472

Cell Phone Use Up Big Time> Cell Phone Use Up Dramatically Associated Press Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of mobile telephone users in the United States rose 25 percent last year to 69.2 million people, according to the industry's most recent figures. The increase -- the industry's largest one-year gain -- was driven by fierce competition that continues to drive down monthly charges, said Thomas Wheeler, president of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, which compiled the figures. In many markets, people have a choice of six different mobile phone providers, Wheeler said Wednesday. Of the 69.2 million customers, nearly 28 percent subscribed to the newer digital mobile phone service, which offers improved sound quality and more features. The rest of the customers subscribed to regular analog service. The number of mobile phone customers surpassed the number of cable TV customers in the United States -- now at 67 million -- Wheeler said. "It's not your father's car phone anymore," Wheeler said. "The wireless phone has changed in the way in which people use it. It is now a take-me-anywhere, use me to call anywhere, treat me as a local call kind of service." In 1997, 55.3 million people used mobile phones in the United States. Reflecting the increased competition, customers' average monthly bill decreased by 7.8 percent last year to $39.43 compared to $42.78 in 1997, according to the industry figures. Industry revenues, meanwhile, rose 20 percent last year to $36.6 billion, compared with $30.5 billion in 1997. That reflects customer growth and an increase in the amount of time people talk on their mobile phones, Wheeler said. The revenues include "roaming" fees that customers pay when using their phones outside core service areas. Publication Date: March 31, 1999

To: engineer who wrote (25866)	4/2/1999 12:46:00 AM
From: Morgan Drake	Respond to of 152472

Engineer: I really like your stuff. Thanx for your posts. They're very informative and thought provoking. Morgan Drake

To: engineer who wrote (25866)	4/2/1999 12:59:00 AM
From: Maurice Winn	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 152472

* Battery Life * Thanks engineer. They carry whiskey and brandy in dirty great big breakable bottles, so they can hardly complain about whiskey safely sealed inside an electronic gadget. Methanol and ethanol are both very benign compared with lighter fluid which burns very fast. Even if methanol did catch fire, it wouldn't be of much concern. The flammability of the seating material is the real worry and since people used to be able to smoke on planes and still can on some and that involves getting a naked flame onto a cigarette which people can then drop on the seat in their drunken stupor. No worries! A safe little 100ml can of methanol or ethanol shouldn't be a problem either as passengers load up with hundreds of gallons of duty free high proof alcohol and are allowed to cart it onto the plane with their cigarettes. The screens of WWeb devices will always gobble a lot of power [I guess] so even with the Silicon Germanium chips and all the tricks, batteries will still deplete quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if methanol fuel cells are for real in 4 years time. I actually wouldn't be surprised in 2 years but I'm learning to be patient! Okay, 5 years. Which isn't that long from now. I hope Q! is up with the play and planning for handsets swimming in methanol or ethanol. Maybe they should buy the company. I forget the name of it - I think it was in New York. Mqurice