Mobile phone companies have embarked on massive advertising campaigns in the wake of a new wave of phone technology.
T-Mobile has hired Catherine Zeta Jones, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf to advertise its products, O2 has joined forces with Big Brother 3 and Nokia has designed a futuristic communicator for Tom Cruise's latest film, Minority Report.
The market may be saturated because everyone who wants a mobile already has one but companies are hoping colour screens, multimedia messaging and downloadable games will reinvigorate sales and boost their revenues.
Unfortunately, buying a suitable mobile phone at a good price remains one of the most challenging tasks facing consumers.
There are thousands of permutations and very little in the way of unbiased advice, so Evolution has compiled this guide to help people communicate their needs.
Ringing the changes can help many users get more from their phone and save money - even those who are not interested in using their phone to take photographs or play the latest games.
The first step in choosing or changing a mobile phone is deciding on a network.
Vodaphone and O2, the renamed BT Cellnet, are the oldest and largest.
Orange and T-Mobile, also renamed from One 2 One, joined the market later.
There are also several virtual network operators which lease lines from the four main networks.
Each network provides reasonable coverage in the UK. Although Vodaphone and O2 lay claim to the best coverage, reception can be affected by obstacles such as hills and tall buildings.
The best advice is to ask friends about their experience of the different networks or ask an impartial mobile phone retailer.
It has been claimed Orange and T-Mobile signals work less well in buildings because of the higher frequency of their signals. The Vodaphone and O2 networks are GSM 900 (900Mhz) while the Orange and T-Mobile networks are GSM 1800 (1,800Mhz).
This is a consideration if you are going to use your phone abroad.
Different countries use either 900Mhz, 1,800Mhz or, in North America, 1,900Mhz networks.
For world travellers, most phone manufacturers offer dual-band (900 and 1900) and tri-band, or "world" (900, 1800 and 1900) phones, which work in most places.
It is also wise to check what networks your friends and family use.
Calls to other networks invariably cost more so, if your partner is on Orange and you use O2, changing to the same network could save you money.
According to research by the government's telecoms regulator, Oftel, only 34 per cent of mobile customers take these issues into account when choosing a mobile.
The next stage is to choose one of the many available tariffs.
The main thing is to match the tariff to your lifestyle and phone habits. A business user making the majority of his or her calls during the day has different needs to someone who only uses his phone in an emergency or for evening social calls.
Things to consider include whether you need services like text messaging, voicemail and internet access and email.
The biggest tariff choice is whether to go for a pay-as-you-go deal or a pay monthly package.
If your lifestyle changes, you should revisit your tariff choice to make sure you are still getting the best value.
Once you've chosen a network and tariff, it's time to choose a phone.
Whichever handset you choose, you should make sure its keypad is locked whenever you are not using the phone. This helps avoid accidental calls, which can annoy friends and run up your bill very quickly.
Certain basic features are worth checking, such as the phone's standby time - how long it can be left on before it needs recharging - and its talk time, how long the battery lasts when making calls. Other things to check include the phone's size and weight, the number of phonebook spaces and whether it has features like predictive texting and voice-activated dialling.
Although many phones are capable of providing mobile internet access, this has not really lived up to expectations since it arrived in 1999 and the industry is waiting for 3G (third generation) phones to arrive, hopefully, later this year.
Regardless, many commentators believe multimedia messaging service (MMS) technology will help make more use of newer WAP and GPRScapable phones in the same way short messaging service (SMS) text messages boosted the existing generation of phones.
MMS is very similar to text messaging but, in addition to text, a MMS message can contain images, graphics and audio files. Eventually, it will also be possible to send video clips.
One of the new wave of phones featuring MMS is the SonyEricsson T68i The T68i, costing about £150 with a contract, supports GPRS, infra-red and Bluetooth wireless communications.
It also has one of the first WAP 2.0 browsers, which supports some colour and provides better security for safer mobile commerce - mcommerce - transactions.
The phone has what is currently a unique selling point. Using its camera attachment, costing an additional £120, it can can take, send and receive photos. The Nokia 7650 has similar features and is seen as a step towards 3G technology.
For those who cannot afford the latest gadgets and gizmos, or who simply are not interested in features beyond phoning and texting, there are dozens of phones coming to market, most of which are WAP-enabled.
Across Europe, Nokia phones, like the 6310 and 8310, are the most popular, partly because they appeal to the young and technology-savvy who like the variety of ringtones and logos.
But Motorola, Siemens, SonyEricsson and Samsung all have new phones with comparable features.
Once you have decided the network, tariff and phone you want to purchase, there are two main ways of buying.
Many High Street outlets are tied to particular networks but retailers like Carphone Warehouse can provide impartial information on best buys.
You will often get a much better deal on a web site but, if you decide to do this, you should stick to established sites and do as much research as possible beforehand.
The last thing to do is to look into insuring your phone for theft or loss.
This is seldom covered in household insurance policies and replacing a phone can be very expensive.
If you lose a contract phone, you must replace the handset at an unsubsidised price and continue to pay line rental charges for the term of the contract.
Networks:
www.orange.com
www.o2.co.uk
www.t-mobile.com
www.vodaphone.com
Manufacturers:
www.ericsson.com
www.motorola.com
www.nokia.com
www.siemens.com
High-street retailers:
www.carphonewarehouse.co.uk
www.dixons.co.uk
www.dxcommunications.co.uk
www.thelink.com
Online retailers:
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