A download don't
Q: I've roamed the Web far and wide in search of free ring tones for my Nokia 3285 Verizon Wireless phone, but the ring tones I find are never compatible with Verizon. Can you help me?
--aiheadap

A: Unfortunately, Verizon Wireless doesn't currently have ring-tone service for its phones, which is why you can't download them to your model. However, your mobile can accept five downloadable ring tones, so if Verizon eventually offers this service, you'll be ready to go.

X marks the spot
Q: I hear that GPS (Global Positioning System) cell phones are now available. I often get lost when I drive to new places. I've been told that if I call a number, the system will give me directions to that location. Is this true?
--Andrew

A: Yes GPS-enabled cell phones are now available, and most carriers have at least one offering. However, at this stage of the rollout, these phones can not pinpoint your exact location in terms of longitude/latitude coordinates. This means that you can't just call up a number and expect to get directions when you ask, "Hey, I'm lost. I'm trying to get to the Cheesecake Factory on Mission Street. Can you give me directions from my current location?" But some providers offer other location-type services. For example, when you call information from a Sprint PCS phone, you can get the address of a location and even a cross-street.

If you frequently get lost when you're driving and need directions, I recommend the Garmin Street Pilot III, a GPS device that you can use in just about any car. Additionally, it's portable, so you can move it from car to car. It automatically recalculates your directions whenever you take a wrong turn, and you can set it to give voice prompts.

Wedding plans
Q: I am heading down the lovely road of matrimony, and it seems that most of my cell minutes are spent talking to my soon-to-be wife. I want to get a cell plan with my wife-to-be that will allow us to talk to one another for free without using our plan minutes.

I know there are some family plans out there, but do they count the minutes you talk to someone in your plan? I live in a rural area of Northern Virginia and currently use Sprint PCS, while she uses Cingular Wireless. Thus, we will have to go to one or the other's carrier or even a brand-new service. What's your opinion?
--kschmohl

A: Congratulations on getting married! You are correct; a family plan is definitely the best way to go. Since you haven't told me when you and your fiancé most often make and/or receive calls and how many minutes you both currently use, it's tough to say which of the two carriers is the best fit. However, I'm inclined to recommend Cingular over Sprint PCS because it offers the feature you want most, which is free mobile-to-mobile minutes.

Be aware that when you start sharing minutes and signing up for family plans, you're typically going to have to pay an extra $10 to $20 per month for the additional cell phone number. Both Sprint and Cingular have this requirement for their respective plans. Sprint plans, however, tend to offer more minutes than Cingular plans. But you'll need to read the fine print to ensure that the bulk of the minutes that you're getting from Sprint best fits your needs. For example, you can sign up for a 3,500-minute family plan in which only 200 minutes are Anytime minutes (not to be confused with mobile-to-mobile minutes). While you may end up with fewer minutes from Cingular, it shouldn't make a difference if the majority of your calls are to each other. And if you go with Cingular, your wife-to-be will probably be happy to keep her phone number, though you'll lose yours.