Dial a call with a cellphone? Why?

Who would have predicted that being able to make a phone call with a cellphone would be a mere added bonus? Many cellphone users now use their phones to take pictures, to download images and music from the Internet, or to play games.

Given that the current crop of devices from the major manufacturers come equipped with color displays and integrated or plug-in cameras, it's no wonder that dialing up friends and family is an afterthought.

"We do still in fact make cellphones without color displays or MMS service," says Marco Kreye, product manager for Nokia.

Yet the Finnish company also sees picture-taking mobile phones as the prevailing trend of the moment.

In addition to devices with integrated cameras, the firm also offers a "fun camera" that can be hooked into six different phones.

Other devices, such as the Nokia 6220, can also record videos via their built-in camera.

The situation is similar at Sony Ericsson and Motorola: all models beyond the most basic class offer cameras and color displays.

"The design of the Z600 model is fully intended for this dual function," says Sony Ericsson's Myriam Hoffmann.

The back side of the device looks like a digital camera, and the changeable faceplates are designed to accommodate this.

Most cell phone makers offer high-end devices to accompany the basic and mid-line phones.

These usually offer significant extra functionality. US maker Motorola offers the MPX200, for example.

The flip-style phone is the first from a major manufacturer to come with Microsoft software pre-installed, says Rej Husetovic, a spokesman for the firm.

This software allows for easy use of programs such as Outlook, Media Player, and Internet Explorer.

The 6600 and 3660 models from Nokia allow for external memory cards to be inserted.

"These can store up to 1000 images," says product manager Kreye. Photos can also be edited, and videos recorded, edited, and combined with sound.

The N-Gage from Nokia is intended to speak to a younger audience. The device is first and foremost a gaming console, and Nokia has announced plans to bring 50 new games to market this year.

Yet the N-Gage is also equipped to make telephone calls, play games over the Internet, and hook up to other devices via the Bluetooth wireless standard.

Siemens has also put a high-end device on the market, the SX1, which combines a variety of talents. In addition to the built-in camera, video and music player, and gaming platform, the cellphone also offers organizer and address book programs intended to appeal to the business crowd.

In terms of development, the sky is the limit, the cellphone makers report. Motorola, for example, is planning to tout the "push-to-talk" function popular in the US but not elsewhere.

Pressing a special button puts the cellphone users into immediate contact with specified individuals or groups.

"This kind of new service is often initially mocked, but then ends up being very successful," says Motorola's Husetovic.

Nokia plans on bringing out the Nokia 7700 in the second quarter this year, a cell phone that is as much of a media terminal as it is a telephone.

"This will blend together cellular communication and the media branch," says product manager Kreye.

The 7700 will offer a particularly large touch-screen with around 65,000 colours, he says.

The device can be controlled through a stylus, making the model particularly well suited for dialing into the Internet, Kreye believes.

Streaming video and audio files from the Internet will then be accessible in real time.

Siemens spokeswoman Klein foresees such special services like video and audio streaming as soon making a breakthrough into the mass market.

She also feels that improvements of existing technology are more likely than major new technical developments.

"It will always be possible to cram more colors into the displays," says Klein. Sony's Hoffmann presumes that the pixel count for cellphone photos will be on the rise, leading to an improvement in quality.

From the manufacturer's point of view, one priority is development of larger storage capacity that can handle the requirements of these new applications, says Kreye.

"Open standards are important so that cellphones from different makers can perform these new services on different cell networks," Kreye says.

This means that the network operators will need to be creative to determine what will succeed photos, videos, and multimedia messages.

Motorola's Husetovic is sure of one thing: "The future will bring us services that we haven't even thought of yet."