Two years ago, my wife and I joined a growing trend around the country. We canceled our land-line telephone and decided to rely exclusively on our cell phones.

The move required some thinking and a leap of faith for someone who grew up with the huge, bulky phones. The old, familiar phone number would go away. It kind of felt like we were cutting the umbilical cord from the rest of the world. My parents didn’t understand it and I suspect for months they called the old land-line number, listened to the “this line has been disconnected or is no longer in service” message and wondered if I’d forgotten to pay the bill.

But it’s worked out. Times change and new technology elbows aside the old standards.

Of course, there’s a dark side to technology.

The major consideration in canceling the land line was expense. It seemed redundant to have two services with two different companies and to write two checks every month. Now, of course, our single cell-phone bill is higher than the past land and wireless bill combined.

The other problem with relying solely on cell phones is that you’re continually bombarded with offers from your carrier to upgrade your phone or add more services. Now you can get GPS service, satellite radio, ring tones, answer tones, instant messaging, e-mail and a full Web browser. Just to name a few.

Of course, you pay for all of this and it adds up.

The old land line had one kind of phone, black with a rotary dial, and one unmistakable ringtone.

But in two weeks, AT&T tells me that I’ll be eligible for a phone upgrade. I can dump my old phone, which two years ago was a cutting-edge device and buy a brand spanking new model — as long as I renew my two-year contract.

And, boy, do they make it tempting.

There’s really nothing wrong with my current phone. In fact, it works great. Calls come in as clear as a bell and text messaging is a breeze. Why would I need to upgrade?

Well, that’s easy. I can either continue using yesterday’s technology or buy the latest, cool, sleek device that’s the envy of my friends and family. Imagine how impressed they will be when, all of a sudden, my trademark ringtone (“Back in Black” by AC/DC) sounds off and I pull this futuristic-looking device out of my pocket to take an important call.

Perhaps the lure of a shiny new gadget is the reason behind my compulsive behavior. Indeed for the past few weeks, I’ve compulsively researched each new model available. I’ve studied Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, LG and Pantech, and memorized each feature. I’ve considered the advantages of a full qwerty keyboard over the touchscreen with vibration feedback. I’ve weighed the importance of long battery life. Or, maybe I should just go for the ultimate, the pinnacle, the brass ring ... the iPhone.

Ooh, the iPhone.

Sure, it costs a few hundred dollars and requires a $30 monthly fee just to get the full use of it, but it’s the uncontested King of Phones. It has only one button, yet does so much. It has hundreds of games and applications, all available for a small price. It’s a phone, iPod, PDA and gaming system all wrapped up in one smooth-screened package.

Now you can understand why I’ve been so tired lately. With all these choices to consider and all these phones to choose from, who can sleep? I mean, sure North Korea has nuclear weapons and missiles, but what features will the new Palm Pre include?

I’ve thought saving myself all this mental turmoil and just reconnecting our old land line, but once you’ve advanced, it’s tough to go back. In the end, it probably doesn’t matter which upgraded phone I choose.

After all, I’ll be doing this again in another two years.

Steve Booher’s column runs on Monday. He can be reached at steveb@npgco.com.