If you're in the market for a new cell phone, now days you don't have to plop down your hard earned money for the latest new cell phone styles unless you are looking for a phone with all the bells and whistles.

If you want a nice up-to-date phone that's also very practical, then you should first take a look and compare cell phone rate plans that include a free cell phone as part of their offer. Cell phone companies like: Motorola, Verizon, Nokia, Lg, Sprint and Cingular are more than willing to give away a free cell phone in exchange for you taking a look at their rate plans.

The heavy competition between these companies is great for you, the consumer. The best cell phone companies all have very competitive rates, but some may suit your needs better than others. The savvy consumer can easily find comparisons of cell phone companies online.

If you have a family who uses cell phones, you'll want to compare cell phone family plans. If you make a lot of international calls, you can find the best international cell phone plans that will keep your cost down to a minimum so you can enjoy talking to friends and family overseas without worrying over huge bills.

If you're in the market for a pay as you go prepaid cell phone, you can find these online as well. Prepaid cell phones or pay as you go cellular plans mean you don't have to have a credit check to obtain a phone. Often you'll find a decent plan that will give you a free or cheap prepaid cell phone as part of the deal.

After you get your new cell phone, you may find that you want to purchase some additional phone accessories. Most cell phone manufacturers offer a wide range of discount phone accessories including: batteries, colorful faceplates, cases, hands free kit (great for driving), and car phone battery chargers.

And who can resist all the other popular freebies you can get with a cell phone these days: Free cell phone ringtones or ringer (pop and rap music ringtones are especially popular); Free cell phone games; Free cell phone downloads to your computer; Free cell phone number search; and Free cell phone wallpapers are just a few.

It's hard to believe that only a few years ago cell phones were something that only certain businesspeople used. Now, they're practically everywhere and may actually make the old style telephones obsolete in the near future.

While they aren't quite as cool as those Star Trek communicators, they're pretty close. Best of all, they're free for the taking.