Mobile phone Wikipedia
Today, mobile phones are globally ubiquitous, and in almost half the world’s countries, over 90% of the world population, or approximately 7.2 billion people, owns at least one. Mobile phones also support a variety of multimedia capabilities, such as digital photography, video recording, and gaming. Modern mobile telephony relies on a cellular network architecture, which is why mobile phones are often referred to as ‘cell phones’ in North America.
A major breakthrough came in 1973, when the first handheld cellular mobile phone was demonstrated by John F. Mitchell and Martin Cooper of Motorola, using a handset weighing 2 kilograms (4.4 lb). Early mobile phones required vehicle installation due to their size and power needs. These 0G systems were not cellular, supported a few simultaneous calls, and were very expensive. The advances in mobile telephony have been traced in successive “generations”, starting with the early zeroth-generation (0G) services, such as Bell System’s Mobile Telephone Service and its successor, the Improved Mobile Telephone Service. A handheld mobile radio telephone service was envisioned in the early stages of radio engineering.
3G is able to provide mobile broadband access of several Mbit/s to smartphones and mobile modems in laptop computers. These first-generation (1G) systems could support far more simultaneous calls but still used analog cellular technology. Early predecessors of cellular phones included analog radio communications from ships and trains. “Mobile phone” is the most common English-language term, while the term “cell phone” is in more common use in North America – both are in essence shorter versions of “mobile telephone” and “cellular telephone”, respectively.
The introduction of Apple’s App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch in July 2008 popularized manufacturer-hosted online distribution for third-party applications (software and computer programs) focused on a single platform. A mobile app is a computer program designed to run on a mobile device, such as a smartphone. Of the two, Android has been the best-selling system worldwide on smartphones since 2011, and as of March 2025, Android had 71.9% of the overall market share, while iOS had 27.7%. SIM and R-UIM cards may be mixed together to allow both GSM and CDMA networks to be accessed.
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In addition, they enable multimedia playback and streaming, including video content, as well as radio and television streaming. These include text messaging, multimedia messaging, email, and internet access (via LTE, 5G NR or Wi-Fi), as well as short-range wireless technologies like Bluetooth, infrared, and ultra-wideband (UWB). This radio frequency link connects to the switching systems of a mobile phone operator, providing access to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). While there are rumors of mobile phones causing cancer, there was a study conducted by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that stated the there could be an increase risk of brain tumors with the use of smartphones, this is not confirmed. In Europe, regulations and technology have allowed the limited introduction of the use of passenger mobile phones on some commercial flights, and elsewhere in the world many airlines are moving towards allowing mobile phone use in flight.
- Studies have shown that around 40–50% of the environmental impact of mobile phones occurs during the manufacture of their printed wiring boards and integrated circuits.
- Mobile phones are considered an important human invention as they have been one of the most widely used and sold pieces of consumer technology.
- Beyond traditional voice communication, digital mobile phones have evolved to support a wide range of additional services.
- A study by the London School of Economics found that banning mobile phones in schools could increase pupils’ academic performance, providing benefits equal to one extra week of schooling per year.
- Feature phones typically provide voice calling and text messaging functionality, in addition to basic multimedia and Internet capabilities, and other services offered by the user’s wireless service provider.
- For feature phones as of 2016update, the top-selling brands were Samsung, Nokia and Alcatel.
- Soon afterwards, other media content appeared, such as news, video games, jokes, horoscopes, TV content and advertising.
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- In Japanese mobile phone culture for example, mobile phones are often decorated with charms.
- The introduction of Apple’s App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch in July 2008 popularized manufacturer-hosted online distribution for third-party applications (software and computer programs) focused on a single platform.
- Mobile phones are considered an important human invention as it has been one of the most widely used and sold pieces of consumer technology.
- In Europe, regulations and technology have allowed the limited introduction of the use of passenger mobile phones on some commercial flights, and elsewhere in the world many airlines are moving towards allowing mobile phone use in flight.
- In February 2014, 93% of mobile developers were targeting smartphones first for mobile app development.
- Mobile phones also support a variety of multimedia capabilities, such as digital photography, video recording, and gaming.
Smartphones are defined by their advanced computing capabilities, which include internet connectivity and access to a wide range of applications. Mobile phone technology has progressed significantly since its origins, evolving from large car-mounted systems to compact, handheld devices. Furthermore, mobile phones offer satellite-based services, such as navigation and messaging, as well as business applications and payment solutions (via scanning QR codes or near-field communication (NFC)). The Motorola Razr V3 and LG Chocolate are two examples of devices that were popular for being fashionable cash lounge casino while not necessarily focusing on the original purpose of mobile phones, i.e. a device to provide mobile telephony.
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In the earliest mobile phone systems by contrast, all control was done manually; the customer would search for an unoccupied channel and speak to a mobile operator to request connection of a call to a landline number or another mobile. A cellular network mobile phone system gets its name from dividing the service area into many small cells, each with a base station with (for example) a useful range on the order of a kilometer (mile). As well, technical limitations such as antenna efficiency and receiver design limit the range of frequencies a customer unit could use. The critical advantage that modern cellular networks have over predecessor systems is the concept of frequency reuse allowing many simultaneous telephone conversations in a given service area. Feature phones and basic mobile phones tend to use a proprietary, custom-designed software and user interface.
Some audio-quality enhancing features, such as Voice over LTE and HD Voice, have appeared and are often available on newer smartphones. Liquid-crystal displays are the most common; others are IPS, LED, OLED, and AMOLED displays. Screen sizes are often measured in diagonal inches or millimeters; feature phones generally have screen sizes below 90 millimetres (3.5 in). Depending on the device’s type and design, the screen fills most or nearly all of the space on a device’s front surface. Mobile processors commonly use heterogeneous multicore architectures, combining cores with different performance and power characteristics so that computational workloads can be distributed according to their processing requirements and energy constraints. With smartphones, NAND flash memory was adopted as it has larger storage capacities and lower costs, but causes longer boot times because instructions cannot be executed from it directly, and must be copied to RAM memory first before execution.
Screen time, the amount of time using a device with a screen, has become an issue for mobile phones since the adaptation of smartphones. As of 2007, some hospitals had banned mobile devices due to a common misconception that their use would create significant electromagnetic interference. This database of laws provides a comprehensive view of the provisions of laws that restrict the use of mobile communication devices while driving for all 50 states and the District of Columbia between 1992 when first law was passed, through 1 December 2010. Japan prohibits all mobile phone use while driving, including use of hands-free devices.
A hybrid mobile phone can hold up to four SIM cards, with a phone having a different device identifier for each SIM Card. The SIM card allows users to change phones by simply removing the SIM card from one mobile phone and inserting it into another mobile phone or broadband telephony device, provided that this is not prevented by a SIM lock. The SIM card is approximately the size of a small postage stamp and is usually placed underneath the battery in the rear of the unit. Most modern mobile phones use lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, which are designed to endure between 500 and 2,500 charge cycles. The typical lifespan of a mobile phone battery is approximately two to three years, although this varies based on usage patterns, environmental conditions, and overall care.
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