I found a way for sims other than Alice and Stephen to have cellphones. Download Monique's Hacked Computer , then use the computer's shop online feature to buy a cellphone. The phone will appear in the sim's inventory and he will be able to use it. So far, I haven't found any problem with sims using it.

I tried buying an MP3 player, too, and letting the sim use it. He looked like he was listening to the MP3 because he was dancing a bit and his fun increased, but no MP3 player can be seen. There's an object in his inventory that was shaped like an MP3, but was covered with numbers. The item disappeared from his inventory after he listened to it. The handheld game doesn't work. The sim just stood there doing nothing.

Only the cellphone seemed to be working fine.

I tried this and didn't get the cell phones although the money was taken. It may be one of those things that some items work while others don't for different game set ups. The work at home option seems to be okay.

I use SimPE to give a sim a phone (through the Neighborhood Memory). Edit: This method is used only after the scenario is over and the player has access to all the households in the neighbourhood.

If there's already a sim with a mobile in the family, it's easy to clone the existing phone as many times as needed with this old glitch that was never fixed in any Sims 2 game, as far as I know:

-put the phone on a table, for instance.

-put the table with phone on it in the sim's inventory, go to live mode, unpause if the game is on pause, and pause again. Open the inventory, take out the table + phone, remove the phone and put the table back in the inventory.

-Without going back to live mode or anywhere else, click on the Aspiration Rewards tab, and, immediately, back on the Inventory tab again: the table is there, with a new phone on it.

-repeat as many times as needed. That is, take the table, complete with free phone, out of the inventory, remove the phone, still not going in Live mode, put the empty table back in the inventory, click the third tab (Aspiration Rewards) and the bagpack (Inventory) again, the table has a new phone on it again. Take out from the inventory, pick the phone and put the table back in the inventory, click the Aspiration Rewards tab, then the Inventory tab again, and so on.

Back up before doing anything, especially the SimPE part. The glitchy multiplication of objects is of course experimental so save beforehand too. (Of course, it works in reverse too if you want the inventory to eat objects, for instance if you need the family to be poorer for a challenge. All those expensive statues that can be placed on a table, coffee table, whatever, can be lost this way.)
I think (?) the gift giving feature doesn't exist in the Pet Stories, otherwise it would be easy to just give phones to anyone who'll accept gifts from you, but at least Alice and Stephen can "clone" their phones for their spouses and children, and if you do the SimPE thing, you don't have to redo it every time a new member joins the family, just clone a new phone.

I think buying through the computer doesn't work if you haven't finished either Alice's story or Stephen's story, because I tried it both when I haven't finished them yet and when I have finished Alice's story and it only worked when I have finished the story.

Anyway, in the Stories, apart from cosmetic CC, bodyshop stuff (hair, make up, clothes), it's always safer to wait with everything until the scenario is over, and make very frequent back-ups.

Normally you cant play other Sims until the stories are over anyway and is not good to use to many mods also.

I'm going to test the computer for cell phone again. I've been playing in Arbor Falls at the time I tried the computer and recently went to Alice's neighborhood and realized I may not have saved at the very end where she needed to pet a puppy or whatever the very last part was. She then moved into the full version. The paw, which didn't show up before, now appears so the cell phone may work. I don't use mods until both stories are done. Saving often is a very good idea in case something goes wrong. I always save just as each new step begins in case I need to redo it.

Confirmed cell phone still doesn't work. Doesn't matter for me, regular phones are okay. Sim gets a jump bug after purchase money is deducted so I won't bother trying again.

You can play the Sims in the Free Play neighborhood even if you're not yet through with the stories.

But yeah, I agree there's not much use for a cellphone anyway since the table and wall phones work fine. I just find it convenient that my sims don't have to walk to the phone to call/answer a call and that they can call in community lots when they have a cellphone. And that teens can own cellphones, which for me is realistic.

You can get the "College Adjuster" http://www.simbology.com/smf/index.php?topic=7.0 and give your Sims Cell Phones but only use it for none University things or you could break your game. Also only use it for things that are in the game or else you may break something or another.