Already, people are lining up and spending freely to buy the newest version of the iPhone

Apple Inc. boasts of its better battery, slimmer design and improved screen. Some of the buyers the AP interviewed are in the 'must have newest gadget' category; others are like a medical student in New York, who said a friend dropped her old phone in a pitcher of beer.

Whatever the reason, people are buying these phones by the hundreds of thousands and I'm sure soon to be millions. Different surveys and news stories say more than 90 percent of Americans use cell phones. Many of those users own their own gadgets.

If you have a cell phone, how important is it to you to have all the bells and whistles? Can your phone take photos, video and surf the Web? Or do you use it for (gasp!) calls only? What about text messages; have they usurped some of what you used to do in a phone call?

I know some people who have been using the same cell phone for years. I know others who seem to upgrade every year, at least. Where do you fall on the scale, and why?