Ever since Alexander Graham Bell said in his first telephone transmission, "Watson, come here; I want you," technology and romance have been intertwined.

The "it" thing now is mobile phones – our textual relations have us communication with dates in new ways. Some of those new ways include "embarrassing."

Once, while waiting for a date to arrive, I sent him a text message, hoping to make him laugh. Except I typed in the wrong phone number and told a complete stranger that I'd be waiting for him at the bar wearing assless chaps. That was a decidedly new situation to find myself in.

My attempt to be flirty/funny via text is hardly unusual (although I'll bet it's one of the few times that a particular item of clothing has been part of the communication).

Samsung recently commissioned a study of 500 unmarried females ages 18 to 35 with cellphones – whom they called "Single Mobile Females" (SMFs) – and found that nearly half prefer to flirt through text messages with someone they are interested in.

SMF Cari Weinberg, 34, says "sending clever, flirty texts" strikes a good balance in a relationship. "It's a nice way to stay in touch through the day when a call or an e-mail would be too much," she said.

But there's fallout from all the messages flying about: text shame. Nearly four out of 10 SMFs have had the experience of sending out a text only to regret it the next morning. I can certainly relate.

But I can barely remember what my own cellphone looks like, let alone a date's. Apparently most women are more observant; almost one-third of the SMFs said they "can tell a good amount about a person" by the type of phone he has.

"I disagree – I think it's only important if you're gadget-minded," said Weinberg. "Besides, there are far more personality types than the 10 basic phone types I saw the last time I dropped by my Cingular store."

That might be true, but one in ten women said that they would be less likely to date someone if they had a big ol' honkin' cellphone. Which maybe these guys should have so they can keep better track of where it is: 70 percent of SMFs admitted to snooping, either by reading a date's text messages or picking up the phone to see who is calling. Check out the sidebar for some more stats about how cells and dating are so well-matched.

E-mail chapless ass tips to Leah at lashafer@gmail.com.

BY THE NUMBERS

10 percent of females surveyed said that the "three day rule," which is waiting to call someone until three days after a first date, only applies to calling and you can send a text message to someone before day three.

80 percent of females surveyed prefer to give their cellphone number to someone they are attracted to.

66 percent of women of women have ditched traditional address books for their cellphones to keep track of contacts.

63 was the average number of cellphone contacts.

40 percent of respondents have faked technical difficulties to avoid someone they were not interested in dating.