Cellular Telephones

The head of the Boston-area transit authority said Saturday that he would ban all train and bus operators from even carrying cellphones on board after a trolley driver told police that he was texting his girlfriend before a collision Friday. About 50 people were hurt in the underground crash in downtown Boston, though none of the injuries was life-threatening.

Ladies and gentlemen, weighing in at 4.79 ounces, is the new contender for Coolest Phone in the Universe -- the Palm Pre. Can the Pre, which goes on sale today, beat the 4.78-ounce reigning champion, the Apple iPhone? Here's a comparison of the two phones' major features: -- Price Both phones have a basic cost of $199, but the Pre requires a payment of $299 upfront with a $100 mail-in rebate. Winner: Tie, as long as you don't mind waiting for the Palm rebate.

The Internal Revenue Service could make it easier for employers to give workers cellphones by simplifying its record-keeping rules. The agency said this week that it was considering adopting one of three methods that would relieve employers of some record-keeping requirements that have been in place since 1989. Phone companies have been urging the IRS to relax the rules for years, saying they are too burdensome.

The Internal Revenue Service had a moment of clarity Tuesday and backed off from its plan to crack down on personal use of office cellphones -- sort of. Just last week, the agency stirred up a hornets' nest of bad publicity by announcing it would ramp up enforcement of a long-standing -- and largely ignored -- federal law requiring that personal calls made on company cellphones be taxed as income.

The chairman of a Senate panel on antitrust issues on Tuesday called on the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department to scrutinize competitiveness in the cellphone industry, pointing to a 100% increase in some text messaging charges by four companies that control most of the market. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin) said that from 2006 to 2008, the price charged by the four biggest carriers for sending and receiving such messages rose from 10 cents to 20 cents.

To true believers, the iPhone is not just another phone. "It's a device that does everything in my life," said Vartan Nadjaryan, who already has an iPhone but still showed up at an AT&T store in Glendale at 3:30 a.m. Friday to be among the first to get his hands on the latest incarnation of Apple Inc.'s popular touch-screen device, the iPhone 3G S.

Cellphone customers have long complained about exclusive deals between handset makers and wireless carriers -- many, for instance, won't buy the iPhone because it runs only on the AT&T network -- and federal authorities now are being prodded to take action. Concerns have mounted that the power that major carriers have amassed is stifling consumer choice and, perhaps, improperly propping up prices. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.

Cellphones in prisons have become a big problem, with inmates devising ever more exotic ways of smuggling them in. So federal prison officials have a new plan: If you can't beat 'em, jam 'em. The proposed Safe Prisons Communications Act of 2009 would allow prisons to install wireless jamming systems that would make cellphones useless behind bars. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., intensifying competition in the low-cost mobile service market, said Wednesday that it would begin selling prepaid cellphone service starting at $30 a month. The Straight Talk service, which will include an unlimited calling plan for $45, will be available for purchase at more than 3,200 Wal-Mart stores nationwide beginning Sunday. The $30 monthly plan includes 1,000 minutes, 1,000 texts, 30 megabytes of mobile Web access, nationwide coverage and 411 calls at no extra charge.

Cheyenne, Wyo., City Councilman Jim Brown, thinking it was time his city joined the national movement to keep drivers from being distracted by their hand-held cellphones, steered an ordinance banning the practice into law last month. Now he's getting an earful from outraged Wyomingites. "We have the right to bear a cellphone," said M. Lee Hasenauer, 49, who collected more than 3,500 signatures for a petition against the ordinance. If the city clerk validates at least 2,800, officials must put the ordinance to a public vote or repeal it. If the effort -- dubbed "Can You Hear Me Now?"