In my last column, I outlined my top 10 reasons that cells phones can be a pain-in-the-neck. And many readers have already sent me your own set of cell phone annoyances (which I'll share in a future column). But I love having a cell phone -- even more than I liked my bag phone in the '80s. So here's my personal top 10 list of reasons that cell phones are indispensible.

10. You always have your list of phone numbers ready to use. Most of the time you use them to call from your cell phone; but there are many times that you simply want to convey a number to a friend or associate while you're in a face-to-face discussion so the other person can call that number later.

9. Cell phone numbers are portable, so you can move them from phone to phone and even from city to city if you change where you live, and never have to change your phone number. I know a number of people who have moved from West Coast to East Coast (or vice versa) and have kept their own number, complete with their old area code. This ensures that old friends don't lose you. (Since the first three digits are no longer tied to a geographic area, perhaps we should lose the phrase area code.)

8. There's always a way to check your messages when you're on the road. In the old days, I used to have my favorite phone booths on my well-traveled routes. Now, I can keep going, because I can call in for messages from the cell phone. Of course, that assumes that you still get your messages on your home or business phone. If you get your voice mail on your cell phone line, it works just as well.

7. Seeing sights while on vacation is more fun because your cell phone replaces that clunky old camera; so you can snap your shots anyway without the extra weight. Then you can send them immediately to share with your family. If you're more online-savvy, you can even post your photo to Facebook or some other social media of your choice. This benefit goes for serious situations too. So if you are in a car accident, you can take a photo of the damage to use with your insurance company, or you can keep historical records or PR shots of people meeting together for business.

6. Your cell phone can double as a music player -- very helpful for long trips or just whenever you're away from home with periods of downtime. No need to carry around an iPod.

5. E-mail can reach you while you're out of the office. This is an addictive behavior that is loved by many, but I don't have it turned on, because I find the spam filters on cell phones to be poor. I'm looking forward to a time where I will use my cell phone for email.

4. Texting allows you to reach somebody who can't hear because it's too noisy where they are.

3. Synchronizing your calendar with your Smart Phone lets you always know where you have to be and when you need to be there.

2. You can always be in touch during an emergency.

1. When you're running late for dinner, you can call your spouse and let her know exactly when to expect you. Better yet, you can call and say, "Hey, honey, why don't you meet me at [name her favorite restaurant] instead of cooking tonight?" As with all good top 10 lists, I had to save the most important for last.