We all expect the cellphone to get smaller while packing in an ever broadening array of functions. The real question is what it’ll look like—inside and outin several years. To find the answer, we investigated dozens of on-the-brink technologies, picking the brains of cellphone product engineers, industry analysts and lab researchers. They told us of cameras that zoom, screens that play Star Wars, and micro fuel cells that deliver days of continuous operation.

For years, the phrase â€PDAâ€phone combo†brought to mind clunky bricks that appealed to only the most connectivity-crazed early adopters. But the latest incarnations of these devices, now known by the more marketing-friendly tag â€smartphone,†are finally fit for the rest of us. So why do you want one?Beyond the obvious calling capabilities, smartphones keep your calendar and address book close at hand (and ever more easily synced with your PC), provide access to e-mail and the Web,