Cell phones open more paths for marketers: "Marketers are cooking up creative ways to get at you through your cell phone. That was evident in Las Vegas, where about 40,000 people gathered for the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association's Wireless trade show this month.

'Your phone is about you in ways that are unlike traditional mass media,' says Linda Barrabee, an analyst at the Yankee Group research firm. Marketers are dabbling in text messaging, video, location-based services and mobile-payment schemes. Examples:

• Under a deal Sprint announced with the Luxor Las Vegas Hotel, when you land in the city and turn on your cell phone, the Luxor can check you in before you exit the plane.

During your stay, you might get mobile coupons for discounted meals, show tickets and other offers. Using the phone's GPS capabilities, the Luxor can see if you are off the hotel premises and tailor mobile promotions to lure you back.

Sprint is also working with the Las Vegas Monorail on a service permitting riders to buy tickets wirelessly. You punch in a five-digit code plus the keyword 'ride,' and get a text message with a mobile ticket. You can either wave the phone at a gate scanner to board, or visit kiosks to print a "