What American Telegraph and Telecom (AT&T) envisioned in 1915, has now become a practical necessity. What was a mere mobile phone earlier has now spread into smarphones, cameraphones and music phones. What used to be the shape of a brick now comes in several (sometimes absurdyly named) candybar, swivel, slide and clamshell designs. What used to be a screen with red-LED displays, now has transformed into vividly colored, detailed screens which are part of the user input process. Screen can not only be seen, but touched.

But how many of us use cutting edge technology in mobile phones? And what exactly are the features we use? We are a generation who are sometimes even blamed of being addicted to our mobile phones. But how exactly do we use mobile phones? Are there any specific patterns? We spoke to a bunch of young people to find out.

Ishara (26 / Nokia 6020) considers himself a light user. He bought the phone a couple of months, and has no plans of changing the phone anytime soon. "I use the voice recorder function when taking interviews. But I can't take lengthy interviews, only short ones as the time limit per clip is around five minutes" says Ishara, who is studying journalism. He uses the camera on and off, but says that the "quality is not very good, because it's an entry level phone."

On the other end of the spectrum is Nooranie (21 / Nokia E61i). "I used a BlackBerry for over an year, and then I moved to this" says Nooranie. He uses his phone's email and web features heavily, but considers himself a "moderate" user when it comes to sending text messages and making phone calls. "I almost use all the features, including the camera and the WiFi." He says that the camera has come in useful during events when he didn't have a "proper" camera around.

For Natashiya (20 / Sony Ericsson K550i), the phone is more of a camera. She takes it when she goes out. "I use is for messaging mostly. I don't use the music player or radio functions". In her own words she shifted to her current phone after using a "dumb looking one," just over a couple of months ago. In Natashiya's case, the choice phone was more budget driven. "My parents gave me a budget, I looked around, and then all three of us came to a decision with this model."

Lakmali (20 / Sony Ericsson S500i) is different from this lot, because she got her phone as a gift from her boyfriend. Despite the phone having blogging, camera and music features, she only uses it to make phone calls and send text messages. "I don't really use it to listen to music and all that."

"I only have around 40 music tracks on my phone, because I have an MP3 player as well" said Natalie (25 / Sony Ericsson K618i). She uses the camera quite often to take pictures of her friends and loved ones. The phone as 3G connectivity, but Natasha does not user the available fast internet connectivity. "I have ADSL at home. So I don't use the internet on the phone."

For Lahiru (22 / Nokia N73 ME), who is also a journalist in the making, his phone is his companion during his daily commute. "I leave home at 6:15 in the morning, and I never miss the morning radio news. I use my phone for that, and I use its fast internet to use my email when I'm on the road." Lahiru has over 200 music tracks on his phone, and he fully utilizes the music oriented nature of his phone.
Granted, phones have become an integral part of our modern day existence. They function as on-the-road connectivity devices, to fashion statements. Phones are used in crime and they also help fight crime. Camera phones have contributed immensely to the development of the citizen journalism movement, and SMS news links remain one of the quickest ways of passing information. And the mobile phone as we know it, has become an extension of our selves.