Trendy Phone Shoppers Embrace Cellular Bling; Encrusting With Jewels; Inspired by celebrities, consumers look to add personality to devices.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: MIKE ANGELL

Got cell phone games? Check. Ring tones? Dozens. Cellular screen savers? Enough for several phones. So what's left for the cell phone fashionista looking to primp their phone? Cellular bling of course.

We'll always have Paris . . . to credit -- or blame, as the case may be -- for cell phone bling.

As with any fashion trend, cell phone bling started with celebrities. Most in the industry credit Paris Hilton, who last year started showing off in photos a Sidekick -- a portable e-mail device from T-Mobile -- covered in crystal beads.

Today, cell phone customers are shelling out $100 or more tricking out phones with crystal beads, charms and other doodads in various designs from a person's name to themes to corporate and team logos. A cottage industry has sprung up to decorate -- or as the practitioners call it "bling" -- cell phones and other mobile devices with hundreds of crystals. Taken from a late 1990s hip-hop song, bling generally refers to expensive jewelry and similar style items.

Seeing a growing business in cell phone bling, wireless carriers also are offering ways to trick out cell phones. Some say a proliferation of cheap do-it-yourself blinging kits could be signaling the trend has peaked. But professional blingers say they still see strong demand.

"If you look around, people love to personalize their stuff," Amanda Schlichting, whose designs can be found at TingBling.com.