Today's cell phones can do all sorts of things: surf the Web, show videos, take photos, play games, you name it. These newfangled features are nifty, except that even in this era of ingenious wireless technology, there are still occasions when you can't make a simple phone call. Thirty-two years after the first cell-phone call was made, and 200 million U.S. subscribers later, users continue to complain about the basics: dropped calls, dead zones and static. "All of the carriers are racing toward providing more and different services – location services, concierge services – and the core service that most...