When cell phones are everywhere (not yet)
Is that my phone ringing?
Urban dwellers may think that virtually everyone has a cell phone, but apparently that estimation is far from the truth. According to a new study by Portio Research, less than half of the earth's population owns a cell phone. But, the study continued, the 50 percent parity mark will be reached next year. Yes, that's means half of the human race (at least those humans that live on Earth) will be yakking away.
But wait, there's more. Portio also suggests that from 2008 to 2011, an additional 1.5 billion people will adopt cell phones, which would add up to a 75 percent mobile penetration by 2011. That's a a lot of cell phones; no wonder Samsung has gone into overdrive lately.
Kent German is a senior editor for cell phone reviews at CNET. When he's not testing the newest handsets on the market, he's blogging about cell phone news for Crave. In his On Call column, he answers reader questions and gives his take on the rapidly changing mobile industry. E-mail Kent. 
