- Cellular redirects here. For the 2004 movie see Cellular (movie).
A mobile phone is a device which behaves as a normal telephone whilst
being able to move over a wide area (cf. cordless phone which
acts as a telephone only within a limited range). Mobile phones allow connections to be made to the telephone network, normally by directly
dialling the other party's number on an inbuilt keypad. Most current mobile phones use a combination of radio wave transmission and conventional telephone
circuit switching, though packet switching is already in use for some parts of the mobile phone network, especially for services
such as internet access and WAP.
Mobile phone manufacturers include Audiovox, Kyocera (formerly the handset division of Qualcomm), Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic (Matsushita Electric), Samsung, Sanyo, Siemens, Sony Ericsson, Alcatel, LG and Sagem.
There are also specialist communication systems related to, but distinct from mobile phones, such as satellite phones and Professional Mobile Radio.
Worldwide deployment
Mobile phones have a long and varied history
that stretches back to the early 1970's. Due to their low establishment costs and rapid deployment, mobile phone networks have
since spread rapidly throughout the world, outstripping the growth of fixed telephony. Such networks can often be economic, even with a small customer base, as mobile network
costs are mostly call volume related, while fixed-line telephony has a much higher subscriber related cost component.
In most of Europe, wealthy parts of Asia, and
Australasia, mobile phones are now virtually universal, with the majority of
the adult, teenage, and even child population owning one. They are somewhat less common in the United States — while widely used, market penetration is lower than elsewhere in the developed
world (around 66 percent of the U.S. population as of 2003). Reasons advanced for this include incomplete coverage, relatively
high minimum monthly service charges (around $30), and the availability of relatively low-cost fixed-line networks (around $30
for unlimited local calling).
Mobile phone features
Mobile phones are designed to work on cellular networks and
contain a standard set of services that allow phones of different types and
in different countries to communicate with each other.
Before the phone can be used, a subscription to a mobile
phone operator (a.k.a. carrier) is required. The operator will issue a SIM card
which contains the unique subscription
and authentication parameters for that customer. Once the SIM card is inserted into the phone, services can be accessed.
Mobile phones do not only support voice calls; they can also send and receive data and faxes
(if a computer is attached), send short messages (or "text messages"; see SMS), access WAP services, and provide full Internet access
using technologies such as GPRS. Mobile phones usually have a clock and a calculator and often one can play some games on them.
Many mobile phones support 'auto-roaming', which permits the same phone to be used in multiple countries. For this to work,
the operators of both countries must have a roaming agreement.
Newer models also allow for sending and receiving pictures and have a built-in digital camera. This gives rise to some concern about privacy,
in view of possible voyeurism, for example in swimming pools. For this reason, Saudi Arabia has
entirely banned the sale of camera phones (although the country allows
pilgrims on the Hajj to bring in camera phones); South Korea has ordered manufacturers to ensure that all new handsets emit a beep whenever a picture is
taken.
GPS receivers are starting to appear in cell phones, primarily to aid in dispatching
emergency responders.
Newer models have included many features aimed toward personalisation, such as user defined and downloadable ring tones and logos, and
interchangeable covers, which have helped in the uptake by the teenage market.
Usually one can choose between a ring tone, a vibrating alert, or a
combination of both.
Multi-mode mobile phones
A multi-mode (a.k.a. dual, tri or quad band) mobile phone is a phone which is designed to work on more than one GSM radio frequency. The multi-mode case occurs mostly in GSM which
originated in the 900 MHz band, but expanded to other bands including 1800 and 1900Mhz bands. Some multi-mode phones can operate
on analog networks as well (e.g. dual band, tri-mode: AMPS 800 / CDMA 800 / CDMA 1900).
Multi mode phones have been valuable to enable roaming but are now becoming most
important in allowing the introduction of WCDMA without customers having to give up the
wide coverage of GSM. Almost every single true 3G phone
sold is actually a WCDMA/GSM dual-mode mobile. This is also true of 2.75G phones
such as those based on CDMA-2000 or EDGE.
The special challenge involved in producing a multi-mode mobile is in finding ways to share the components between the
different standards. Obviously, the phone keypad and display should be shared, otherwise it would be hard to treat as one phone.
Beyond that, though, there are challenges at each level of integration. How difficult these challenges are depends on the
differences between systems. The different variants of the GSM system have only different frequencies and so aren't even
considered true multi-mode phones but rather are called multi-band phones. When talking about IS-95/GSM multi-mode
phones, for example, or AMPS/IS-95 phones, the base band processing is very different from system to system. This leads to real
difficulties in component integration and so to larger phones.
An interesting special case of multi-mode phones is the WCDMA/GSM phone. The radio interfaces are very different from each
other, but mobile to core network messaging has strong similarities, meaning that software sharing is quite easy. Probably more
importantly, the WCDMA air interface has been designed with GSM compatibility in mind. It has a special mode of operation, known
as punctured mode, in which, instead of transmitting continuously, the mobile is able to stop sending for a short period and try
searching for GSM carriers in the area. This mode allows for safe inter-frequency handovers with channel measurements which can
only be approximated using "pilot signals" in other CDMA based systems.
A final interesting case is that of mobiles covering DS-WCDMA and MC-CDMA the 3G variant of CDMA-2000. Initially, the chip rate of these phones was
incompatible. As part of the negotiations related to patents, it was agreed to use
compatible chip rates. This should mean that, despite the fact that the air and system interfaces are quite different, even on a
philosophical level, much of the hardware for each system inside a phone should be common with differences being mostly confined
to software.
Health controversy
Main article: Mobile phone
radiation and health
As with many new technologies, concerns have arisen about the effects on health from
using a mobile telephone. There is little scientific evidence for an increase in certain types of rare tumors in long-time, heavy users. More recently a pan-European
study provided significant evidence of DNA damage under certain conditions. So far, however,
the World Health Organization Task Force on EMF
effects on health has no definitive conclusion on the veracity of these allegations. (see also Electromagnetic radiation hazard).
Another controversial but perhaps more lethal health concern is the correlation with automobile accidents. Some countries,
provinces and states are considering banning hand mobile phone use whilst driving or require that a “hands-free”
system be used. Many European countries already require a “hands-free” device for mobile phones be used in a
vehicles.
Security concerns
Earlier mobile phones were fairly simple and security wasn't much of a concern, but in 2004, even basic phones can send and receive text messages which
makes them vulnerable to attack by worms and viruses. Advanced phones capable of e-mail can be susceptible to viruses
that can multiply by sending messages through a phone's address book. Of more important concern, a virus may allow unauthorized
users to access a phone to find passwords or corporate data stored on the device. Moreover, they can be used to commandeer the phone to make calls or send messages at the
owner's expense. Unlike computers that are restricted to only a few widespread
operating systems, cellular phones use a variety of systems that
require separate programs to be designed in order to disable each one. While reducing overall compatibilty from an application
design standpoint, this has the beneficial effect of making it harder to design a mass attack. However, the rise of cellular
phone operating system programming platforms shared by many manufacturers such as Java, Microsoft operating systems, Linux or Symbian OS, may in the future change
this status quo.
Bluetooth is a wireless
communication feature now found in many higher-end phones, and the virus Cabir hijacked
this function, sending Bluetooth phones on a search-and-destroy mission to infect other Bluetooth phones. In early November 2004, several web sites began offering a specific piece of software promising ringtones and screensavers for certain phones. Those who downloaded the software found that it
turned each icon on the phone's screen into a skull-and-crossbones and disabled their
phones, so they could no longer send or receive text messages or access contact lists or calendars. The virus has since been dubbed "Skulls" by security experts. The Commwarrior.A virus was identified in March 2005, and it attempts to replicate itself through MMS to others on the phone's contact list. Like Cabir, Commwarrior.A also tries to communicate via
Bluetooth wireless connections with other devices, which can eventually lead to draining the battery. The virus requires user
intervention for propagation however.
Mobile phone culture
In less than twenty years, mobile telephones have gone from being rare and expensive pieces of equipment used by businesses to
a pervasive low-cost personal item. In many affluent countries, mobile phones now outnumber land-line telephones, with most
adults and many children now owning mobile phones. Mobile phone penetration is increasing around the world; this is particularly
true of developing countries, where there is little existing fixed-line infrastructure.
With high levels of mobile telephone penetration, a mobile phone culture has evolved, where the mobile phone becomes a key social tool, and
people rely on their mobile phone addressbook to keep in touch with their friends. Many people keep in touch using SMS, and a whole culture of "texting" has developed from this.
The mobile phone itself has become a totemic and fashion object, with users decorating, customizing, and accessorizing their mobile phones to reflect their
personality.
The capabilities of mobile phones are now being expanded further, to become smartphones which can adopt the roles of Internet
browser, game console, personal music player
and personal digital assistant.
Mobile etiquette has become an important issue with mobiles ringing at funerals, weddings, movies and plays. Users often speak
at increased volume, with the effect of nearby people hearing personal conversations that they don't necessarily want to
hear.
Future prospects
There is a great deal of active research and development into mobile phone technology that is currently underway. Some of the
improvements that are being worked on are:
- One difficulty in adapting mobile phones to new uses is form factor. For
example, ebooks may well become a distinct device, because of conflicting form-factor
requirements — ebooks require large screens, while phones need to be smaller. However, this may be solved using folding
e-paper or built-in projectors.
- One function that will be useful in phones is translation function.
Currently it is only available in stand-alone devices, such as Ectaco translators.
- mobile phones will include various speech technologies as they are being developed. Many phones already have rudimentary
speech recognition in a form of voice dialling. Of particular
interest will be real-time voice translation (that must include speech recognition, machine
translation and speech synthesis). However, more natural speech
recognition and translation in these devices requires a drastic improvement in the state of technology: the phone's processor
must be faster by several orders of magnitude with the phone
requiring far more internal memory, or new ways of processing
speech data must be found. Natural language processing requires inordinately powerful hardware.
- developments in miniaturised hard disks to solve the storage space issue,
therefore opening a window for phones to become portable music libraries and players similar to the iPod.
- the emergence of integration capabilities with other unlicensed access technologies such as a WiMAX and WLAN, as well as
allowing handover between traditional operator networks supporting GSM, CDMA and UMTS to unlicensed mobile networks.
- further improvements in battery
life will be required. Colour screens and additional functions put increasing demands on the device's power source, and
battery developments may not proceed sufficiently fast to compensate. However, different display technologies, such as OLED displays, e-paper or retinal displays, smarter communication hardware (directional antennae, multi-mode and peer-to-peer phones) may reduce
power requirements, while new power technologies such as fuel cells may provide
better energy capacity.
- Speculative improvements in the future may be inspired by an English team led by James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau who in 2002, developed an
implant designed to be inserted into a tooth during dental surgery. This device consists of a radio receiver and transducer, which transmits the sound via bone conduction through the jawbone into the ear. Sound is transmitted via radio waves from another device
(ostensibly a mobile phone) and received by the implant. The implant is currently powered externally, given that no current power
source is small enough to fit inside the tooth with it. In addition, the implant was only designed to receive signals, not
transmit them. Directly tapping into the inner ear or the auditory nerve is already technologically feasible and will become practical as
surgical methods advance.
Terminology
Mobile phone terms
- Cell phone or cellular telephone
- Term used currently in America and during the 80s to refer to most mobile phones. This term applies specifically to mobile
phones which use a cellular network.
- Handy
- pronounced "Hendi", this is a pseudo-anglicism, derived from
the term Handy Talkie for a handheld military radio, that is used in Germany
for a mobile phone (rare alternative spelling: Händi). Similarly another pseudo-anglic term Hand phone is used in
South Korea.
- Mobile phone
- A term covering cellular phones, satellite phones and any phones giving wide ranging mobility.
- Mobile
- Short form of the above, a term in everyday usage in some English speaking countries such as the UK.
- Satellite phone
- A mobile phone which communicates with a satellite rather than a land-based network.
- Wireless phone
- This is a term which is generally used to refer to a mobile phone although it could legitimately cover almost any phone which
does not use a wire.
- 3G phone
- A mobile phone which uses a 3G network.
Related systems which are not mobile phones
- Cordless Phone (Portable Phone)
- Cordless phones are standard telephones with radio handsets. Unlike mobile phones, cordless phones use private base stations
that are not shared between subscribers. The base station is connected to a land-line.
- Radio Phone
- This is an term which covers radios which could connect into the telephone network. These phones may not be mobile, e.g. they
may require a mains power supply.
- Professional Mobile Radio
- Professional mobile radio systems are very similar to mobile phone systems and attempts have even been made to use TETRA, the international digital PMR standard, to implement public mobile networks, but normally
PMR systems are sufficiently separate from the phone network to not really be considered phones but rather radios.
Terms in other languages
- In many Asian countries they are called hand phones.
- In Andorra, they are called mòbils.
- In Australia, they are called mobiles.
- In Belgium, they are called GSMs (Global System for Mobile
communications).
- In Brazil, they are called celulares (singular form celular).
- In Canada, they are called cell phones or cells.
- In Mainland China, they are called "show ji" (hand machine) in
Mandarin
- In Czech Republic, they are called mobilní telefony or
simply mobily.
- In Denmark, the device is called a mobiltelefon or a mobil.
- Users of Esperanto usually talk about poŝtelefonoj ("pocket
phones", pronounced poshtelefonoy).
- In Finland, they are called matkapuhelimet (literally travel-phones,
singular form matkapuhelin) or kännykät (singular form kännykkä, very close in meaning to the German
Handy), this Finnish word actually trademarked by Nokia in 1987 but fallen into generic use and would probably not be
upheld any more if contested in a court of law.
- In France, they are called portable (literally portable).
- In Germany, they are called Handys.
- In Hong Kong, they are called sau (hand) kei (machine), in Cantonese.
- In Iceland, they are Called Farsími (Official for all mobile phone
systems), Gemsi (means young sheep, referring to GSM), GSM-sími (For phones using the GSM System), or
NMT-sími (For phones using the Nordic Mobile Telephone-system).
- In India, they are called cell phone and mobile or just cell.
Most cell phones in India are GSM but there is also CDMA phones operated by Tata
Group and Reliance Infocomm.
- In Indonesia, they are called Ponsel (telepon selular,
cellular phones), or HP (shortened from Hand Phone, but pronounced ha-pe, not like HP in English)
- In Ireland they are called mobile short for mobile phone, however
in irish the states offical language, they are called Fón Póca So-Gluiste Literly meaning //phone-pocket-that-moves//
- In Israel, they are called /pelefon/ (literally wonder-phone), as derived from the first such operator, or /najad/ (portable). But in
formal hebrew they are called /telefon selolari/(cellular phone).
- In Italy Telefonino (meaning small phone), or Cellulare (short form for
Telefono cellulare).
- In Japan Keitai.
- In the Netherlands mobieltjes.
- In Malaysia and Singapore, they
are commonly called handphones.
- In New Zealand, they are called mobiles.
- In Norway, the device is called a mobil or mobiltelefon.
- In the Philippines, they are called cellphones.
- In Puerto Rico, they are called cellulares.
- In Poland, they are called komórki (singular form komórka) or
telefon komórkowy, meaning cells/cellular phone.
- In Portugal, they are called telemóveis (singular form
telemóvel).
- In Romania, they are called telefon mobil (pl. telefoane mobile),
but the short form is more common: mobil (mobile)
- In Russia, they are called mobilny telefon (= mobile phone), or
mobilnik for short. Older names are sotovy telefon (= cell phone) and trubka (= handset).
- In Somalia, they are called telefoonka gacanta (literally "hand's
phone").
- In South Africa, they are called cellphones.
- In Spain, they are called móviles in Spanish and mòbils in
Catalan.
- In Sweden, they are called mobiltelefon or sometimes called nalle, or
teddy bear translated to English, originally referring to the term yuppie
nalle since in the beginning only rich yuppies could afford them and they showed them off in a way that looked as they
where carrying a yuppie teddy bear, nowadays only nalle is used representing that people always carry them around and feel
insecure if they misplace them, like a child missing their teddy bear.
- In Switzerland, they are called Natel.
- In Thailand, they are called Meu Teu.
- In the UK, they are called mobiles.
- In the U.S., they are called cell phones or even simply
cells.
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