Rockin' ring tones
Q: Can you tell me where to find free ring tones for my Nokia 3390 phone?
--Amber

A: A good place to start is at CNET's Download.com, which has a list of free ring tones and converters.

That said, there are loads of sites that offer free downloadable ring tones. You can try American Nokia Phones Tips and Tricks. Just be aware that the 3390 can store only four downloadable ring tones.

Another option is to use the composer tool on the 3390 and create your own tunes. Don't worry if you're not musically inclined; you can always visit a site that provides the codes to popular tunes from groups such as ABBA, Depeche Mode, Metallica, and others. Phoneringsong.com is one such site that lists free codes for the Nokia composer tool.

Ricochet blues
Q: Since wireless service provider Ricochet has gone away, is there another mobile wireless solution for a PC user in Northern California?
--Ashley

A: Rumors are that a company may buy Ricochet's network and begin offering service in the fall, so you may want to wait before researching other alternatives, especially if you already have a Ricochet modem.

As far as those other alternatives go, they're not so desirable. You can log on to the Internet wirelessly using wireless data services from AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Sprint PCS, and others. But you'll have to buy a PC Card modem and you'll crawl along at a maximum speed of 19.2Kbps. Some carriers offer plans that let you share cell phone minutes with your wireless modem connection, which can sometimes be more affordable than getting a separate plan for a modem. But remember that when you're surfing at speeds that slow, you'll be eating up more minutes than you may realize.

Trade-ins: when are they a good idea?
Q: Is a year too soon to upgrade to Samsung's SPH-N200 from the SCH-3500? How often do you usually keep your phones before you trade up?
--Jeremy

A: In my opinion, a year is a sufficient amount of time to own a cell phone before upgrading to a new model. The question you need to ask: Do you want to wait for phones using next-generation technology or just an update to your current model? Realistically, we won't see next-generation phones for Sprint PCS until the middle of 2002. By that time, you might be ready to upgrade again.

As far as getting the SPH-N200 to replace your SCH-3500, I think you'll find it will be money well spent. I recently had an opportunity to compare the performance of the two models side by side and found that the SPH-N200 consistently got better reception and battery life than the SCH-3500.

Family business
Q: Are there phones that allow two family members to have the same phone number? Or do they need two different phone numbers and two different accounts?
--CarmineM

A: Two phones can't share the same number. However, two cell phones can share the same pool of minutes. These plans are typically called family plans and are designed so that groups of people (usually families) can share a set number of minutes. With some family plans (depending on the service provider), calls made between plan members aren't counted against the total minutes used.