In the past some waxed futuristic, saying that someday there will be a cell phone in every car. No one, not even its creator, could imagine that the cell phone would become the most significant consumer electronic device in history; bigger than its wired cousin; bigger than TV's; even bigger than PC's. But that's exactly what's happening.

A report by the Gartner Group projected that by 2009, manufacturers will be selling 1 billion cell phones each year. "By then, 2.6 billion people worldwide will be using cell phones," Gartner says.

The cell phone's impact is so huge because it's so widespread. A business associate of mine visiting a developing country in Latin America noticed a man riding a bike with a state of the art cell phone on his belt. To him a cell phone took priority over motorized transportation. Anything so big, so powerful, so far reaching can literally transform society.

Many sources project that this year cell phones will outnumber land lines in the US. Right now the mighty cell phone is challenging the desktop PC as the single most important productivity and entertainment tool. With worldwide ring tone sales reaching more than US $4 billion last year, most via over the air downloads charged to the cell phone bill, the viability of the cell phone as a commerce platform has already been proven.

So it's easy to see how social change can happen. Cell phones are now an intrinsic part of our life. When we misplace them we panic, when we break them we seek counseling, when we lose them we mourn. Our entire life - phone numbers, contact names, important dates, kids pictures, favorite games, CD collection - is stored on this mass of silicon and copper wiring.

Just exactly how the cell phone will affect our future no one can be certain. But we can be certain that the effect on society will be huge. Will our identity be tied to our cell phone number; will cell phones become digital wallets; will they be electronic leashes keeping track of our children; will we someday be able to get USDA approved Motorola cell phone implants?

Who knows? One thing we do know is that new businesses will pop up, new ways to make money will be discovered, we'll find new ways to be entertained and the cell phone will continue shape society.

The easiest and best way to make all your vacation business calls is to use a prepaid calling card. The calling card prepaid minutes will give you unit credits as they are called and will allow you to make calls from your hotel a phone booth or hostile. Depending on how you travel you wont have to be concerned if it's a landline link or even your mobile cell phone you have no need to worry about keeping in touch with your family and friends.

Telecommunication companies offer prepaid phone cards as a service to buy their phone call service in advance and allow you to use them when you need to. Calling card prepaid minutes gives you long-distance connection time with the ability to use them at a different time, so when you use the phone card the phone service will deduct the amount of fees that it takes to make your call. The calling card provider will charge you depending on the duration of the length of time you're on the phone and sometimes a connection fee or any maintenance or surcharges that are on your particular calling card policy. Prepaid calling card minutes is the only thing that you will need to make all of your telephone calls with the benefit of not having to search for coins or worrying if you have enough money for the call. Prepaid calling cards is the fastest and easiest way to make long-distance phone calls, one main reason is the ability that you can regulate all your calling time so you can save money. This will allow you to know how much you have spent and how much time credit you have left.

How is the best way to save on calling card prepaid minutes?
If your looking for a convenient way to make all your phone calls then the prepaid calling card is a great way not only to make your long-distance phone calls but even regular landline or cell phone calls as well. By doing some online research you can avoid a lot of the policy pitfalls associated with phone cards, the key is to find a phone card that will cover all your personal telephone needs. One tip that is particularly useful is once you find a card you think will work you should buy a small amount of time to see if the card is everything you thought it might be, buy more prepaid calling card minutes if the card works for you. Another good tip is to check out customer reviews they are always a good way to evaluate a phone card company that you are buying from, this way you can hear how they address customer problems and how fast they will take care of them. All prepaid phone calling card companies will validate your card upon purchase and will have an expiration date and time that you have to use up the minutes, make sure you check the amount of time that they allow. When you buy your prepaid calling card minutes make sure you evaluate the extra fees and taxes that may apply to get your average per minute calling time rate.

What is the most important thing to look for in a prepaid calling card?
There are many calling card plans that you will be able to choose from depending on where you might need to use it or where you might want to call from, everyone has different calling patterns. If you travel frequently whether domestic or international purchasing the international phone cards with prepaid minutes will allow you to phone from just about anywhere and allow you to keep your costs to a very minimum. One of the first things you should be aware of is does the phone card that you choose have international origins that will allow you to phone the USA, Asia, Europe or whatever the country you call home. Another good tip is to make sure that the calling card you choose is specific for the countries that you will be calling from so you won't get any extra billing for unit time charges or any conversion differences and fees that may be associated with it.