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A mobile phone (also called mobile, cellular telephone, or cell phone) is an electronic
device used to make mobile telephone calls across a wide geographic area. Mobile
phones differ from cordless telephones, which only offer telephone service within a
limited range of a fixed land line, for example within a home or an office.A mobile phone
can make and receive telephone calls to and from the public telephone network which
includes other mobiles and fixed-line phones across the world. It does this by
connecting to a cellular network owned by a mobile network operator.In addition to
being a telephone, modern mobile phones also support many additional services, and
accessories, such as SMS (or text) messages, e-mail, Internet access, gaming, Bluetooth
and infrared short range wireless communication, camera, MMS messaging, MP3 player,
radio and GPS. Low-end mobile phones are often referred to as feature phones,
whereas high-end mobile phones that offer more advanced computing ability are
referred to as smartphones.The first handheld mobile phone was demonstrated by Dr.
Martin Cooper of Motorola in 1973, using a handset weighing 2 kg.[1] In 1983, the
DynaTAC 8000x was the first to be commercially available. In the twenty years from
1990 to 2010, worldwide mobile phone subscriptions grew from 12.4 million to over 4.6
billion, penetrating the developing economies and reaching the bottom of the economic
pyramid
History
Radiophones have a long and varied history going back to Reginald Fessenden's
invention and shore-to-ship demonstration of radio telephony, through the Second
World War with military use of radio telephony links and civil services in the 1950s.The
first mobile telephone call made from a car occurred in St. Louis, Missouri, USA on June
17, 1946, using the Bell System's Mobile Telephone Service, but the system was
impractical from what is considered a portable handset today. The equipment weighed
80 lbs, and the AT&T service, basically a massive party line, cost $30 USD per month
(equal to $337.33 today) plus 30 to 40 cents per local call, equal to $3.37 to $4.5 today.
[4]In 1960, the world’s first partly automatic car phone system, Mobile System A (MTA),
was launched in Sweden. MTA phones were composed of vacuum tubes and relays, and
had a weight of 40 kg. In 1962, a more modern version called Mobile System B (MTB)
was launched, which was a push-button telephone, and which used transistors in order
to enhance the telephone’s calling capacity and improve its operational reliability. In
1971, the MTD version was launched, opening for several different brands of equipment
and gaining commercial success.[5][6]Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher and
executive is considered to be the inventor of the first practical mobile phone for
handheld use in a non-vehicle setting, after a long race against Bell Labs for the first
portable mobile phone. Using a modern, if somewhat heavy portable handset, Cooper
made the first call on a handheld mobile phone on April 3, 1973 to his rival, Dr. Joel S.
Engel of Bell Labs.[7]The first commercially automated cellular network (the 1G
generation) was launched in Japan by NTT in 1979, initially in the metropolitan area of

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Tokyo. Within five years, the NTT network had been expanded to cover the whole
population of Japan and became the first nationwide 1G network. In 1981, this was
followed by the simultaneous launch of the Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) system in
Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.[8] NMT was the first mobile phone network
featuring international roaming. The first 1G network launched in the USA was Chicago-
based Ameritech in 1983 using the Motorola DynaTAC mobile phone. Several countries
then followed in the early-to-mid 1980s including the UK, Mexico and Canada.The first
"modern" network technology on digital 2G (second generation) cellular technology was
launched by Radiolinja (now part of Elisa Group) in 1991 in Finland on the GSM
standard, which also marked the introduction of competition in mobile telecoms when
Radiolinja challenged incumbent Telecom Finland (now part of TeliaSonera) who ran a
1G NMT network.In 2001, the first commercial launch of 3G (Third Generation) was
again in Japan by NTT DoCoMo on the WCDMA standard.[9]One of the newest 3G
technologies to be implemented is High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA). It is an
enhanced 3G (third generation) mobile telephony communications protocol in the High-
Speed Packet Access (HSPA) family, also coined 3.5G, 3G+ or turbo 3G, which allows
networks based on Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) to have
higher data transfer speeds and capacity.
Features
All mobile phones have a number of features in common, but manufacturers also try to
differentiate their own products by implementing additional functions to make them
more attractive to consumers. This has led to great innovation in mobile phone
development over the last 20 years.
The common components found on all phones are:
* A rechargeable battery providing the power source for the phone functions
* An input mechanism and display to allow the user to interact with the phone. The
most common input mechanism is a keypad, but touch screens are also found in some
high-end smartphones.
* Basic mobile phone services to allow users to make calls and send text messages.
* All GSM phones use a SIM card to allow an account to be swapped among devices.
Some CDMA devices also have a similar card called a R-UIM.
* Individual GSM, WCDMA, iDEN and some satellite phone devices are uniquely
identified by an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number.
Low-end mobile phones are often referred to as feature phones, and offer basic
telephony, as well as functions such as playing music and taking photos, and sometimes
simple applications based on generic managed platforms such as Java ME or BREW.
Handsets with more advanced computing ability through the use of native software
applications became known as smartphones. The first smartphone was the Nokia 9000
Communicator in 1996 which added PDA functionality to the basic mobile phone at the
time. As miniaturization and increased processing power of microchips has enabled ever

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more features to be added to phones, the concept of the smartphone has evolved, and
what was a high-end smartphone five years ago, is a standard phone today.Several
phone series have been introduced to address a given market segment, such as the RIM
BlackBerry focusing on enterprise/corporate customer email needs; the SonyEricsson
Walkman series of musicphones and Cybershot series of cameraphones; the Nokia
Nseries of multimedia phones, the Palm Pre the HTC Dream and the Apple iPhone.
Other features that may be found on mobile phones include GPS navigation, music
(MP3) and video (MP4) playback, RDS radio receiver, alarms, memo recording, personal
digital assistant functions, ability to watch streaming video, video download, video
calling, built-in cameras (1.0+ Mpx) and camcorders (video recording), with autofocus
and flash, ringtones, games, PTT, memory card reader (SD), USB (2.0), dual line support,
infrared, Bluetooth (2.0) and WiFi connectivity, instant messaging, Internet e-mail and
browsing and serving as a wireless modem. Nokia and the University of Cambridge
demonstrated a bendable cell phone called the Morph

Software and applications


The most commonly used data application on mobile phones is SMS text messaging. The
first SMS text message was sent from a computer to a mobile phone in 1992 in the UK,
while the first person-to-person SMS from phone to phone was sent in Finland in
1993.Other non-SMS data services used on mobile phones include mobile music,
downloadable logos and pictures, gaming, gambling, adult entertainment and
advertising. The first downloadable mobile content was sold to a mobile phone in
Finland in 1998, when Radiolinja (now Elisa) introduced the downloadable ringtone
service. In 1999, Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo introduced its mobile Internet
service, i-Mode, which today is the world's largest mobile Internet service.The first
mobile news service, delivered via SMS, was launched in Finland in 2000. Mobile news
services are expanding with many organisations providing "on-demand" news services
by SMS. Some also provide "instant" news pushed out by SMS.Mobile payments were
first trialled in Finland in 1998 when two Coca-Cola vending machines in Espoo were
enabled to work with SMS payments. Eventually, the idea spread and in 1999 the
Philippines launched the first commercial mobile payments systems, on the mobile
operators Globe and Smart. Today, mobile payments ranging from mobile banking to
mobile credit cards to mobile commerce are very widely used in Asia and Africa, and in
selected European markets.
Power supply
Mobile phones generally obtain power from rechargeable batteries. There are a variety
of ways used to charge cell phones, including USB, portable batteries, mains power
(using an AC adapter), cigarette lighters (using an adapter), or a dynamo. In 2009, the
first wireless charger was released for consumer use.[11]
Development and adoption of a Common Charger Solution for cell phones

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Main article: common External Power Supply


On 17 February 2009, the GSM Association (GSMA), together with 17 cell phone
manufacturers and providers, announced[12] their commitment to implementing a
cross-industry standard for a universal charger for new mobile phones. The standard
charger connector to be adopted by manufacturers in the Open Mobile Terminal
Platform (OMTP) including Nokia, Motorola and Samsung is the micro-USB connector
(several media reports erroneously reported this as the mini-USB). The new chargers
will also be much more energy efficient than existing chargers. Having a standard
charger for all phones, means that manufacturers will no longer have to supply a
charger with every new phone.In June 2009, many mobile phone manufacturers signed
a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), agreeing to make most new data-enabled cell
phones marketed in the EU compatible with a common External Power Supply (charger)
which will be equipped with a Micro-USB connector. All signatories agreed to develop a
common specification for the charger "to allow for full compatibility and safety of
chargers and mobile phones."[13][14] The mobile phone manufacturers who have
agreed to this standard include the original signatories Apple, LG, Motorola, NEC, Nokia,
Qualcomm, RIM, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Texas Instruments as well as Atmel,
Emblaze Mobile, Huawei Technologies and TCT Mobile (Alcatel).[15] Early charger
design recommendations from GSMA and OMTP describe a common charger with a
standard USB-A receptacle and a detachable USB-A to microUSB-B cable.[16][17] The
Memorandum of Understanding also provides for the use of the common External
Power Supply with compliant phones not equipped with a MicroUSB receptacle:
"...4.2.1...if a manufacturer makes available an Adaptor from the Micro-USB connector
of a Common EPS [External Power Supply] to a specific non-Micro-USB socket in the
Mobile Phone, it shall constitute compliance to this article."In October 2009, the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) announced that it had also embraced the
Universal Charger Solution standard - based on input from the GSMA - as its "energy-
efficient one-charger-fits-all new mobile phone solution," and added: "Based on the
Micro-USB interface, UCS chargers will also include a 4-star or higher efficiency rating —
up to three times more energy-efficient than an unrated charger.
SIM card
GSM mobile phones require a small microchip called a Subscriber Identity Module or
SIM Card, to function. 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. The SIM securely
stores the service-subscriber key (IMSI) used to identify a subscriber on mobile
telephony devices (such as mobile phones and computers). 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.
A SIM card contains its unique serial number, internationally unique number of the
mobile user (IMSI), security authentication and ciphering information, temporary

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information related to the local network, a list of the services the user has access to and
two passwords (PIN for usual use and PUK for unlocking).
SIM cards are available in three standard sizes. The first is the size of a credit card (85.60
mm × 53.98 mm x 0.76 mm). The newer, most popular miniature version has the same
thickness but a length of 25 mm and a width of 15 mm, and has one of its corners
truncated (chamfered) to prevent misinsertion. The newest incarnation known as the
3FF or micro-SIM has dimensions of 15 mm × 12 mm. Most cards of the two smaller
sizes are supplied as a full-sized card with the smaller card held in place by a few plastic
links; it can easily be broken off to be used in a device that uses the smaller SIM.
The first SIM card was made in 1991 by Munich smart card maker Giesecke & Devrient
for the Finnish wireless network operator Radiolinja. Giesecke & Devrient sold the first
300 SIM cards to Elisa (ex. Radiolinja).Those cell phones that do not use a SIM Card have
the data programmed in to their memory. This data is accessed by using a special digit
sequence to access the "NAM" as in "Name" or number programming menu. From
there, information can be added, including a new number for the phone, new Service
Provider numbers, new emergency numbers, new Authentication Key or A-Key code,
and a Preferred Roaming List or PRL. However, to prevent the phone being accidentally
disabled or removed from the network, the Service Provider typically locks this data
with a Master Subsidiary Lock (MSL). The MSL also locks the device to a particular carrier
when it is sold as a loss leader.The MSL applies to the SIM only so once the contract has
been completed the MSL still applies to the SIM. The phone, however, is also initially
locked by the manufacturer into the Service Provider's MSL. This lock may be disabled
so that the phone can use other Service Providers' SIM cards. Most phones purchased
outside the U.S. are unlocked phones because there are numerous Service Providers
close to one another or have overlapping coverage. The cost to unlock a phone varies
but is usually very cheap and is sometimes provided by independent phone vendors.
Multi-card hybrid phones
A hybrid mobile phone can take more than one SIM card, even of different types. The
SIM and RUIM cards can be mixed together, and some phones also support three or
four SIMs
Full HD 1080p mobile phone
At January 2011, LG released LG Optimus 2X which has capability to take Full HD 1080p
video and also has processor dual core Nvidia Tegra-2 1GHz. Both are the first in the
world
3D mobile phone
Spice Mobile has launched Spice View M-67 3D Dual-SIM Mobile Phone. India's first 3D
mobile phone allowing users to view 3D pictures and videos along with phone's user
interface without 3D glasses. The phone is equipped with 2 megapixel camera, but only
takes 2D

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Media
In 1998, one of the first examples of selling media content through the mobile phone
was the sale of ringtones by Radiolinja in Finland. Soon afterwards, other media content
appeared such as news, videogames, jokes, horoscopes, TV content and advertising.
Most early content for mobile tended to be copies of legacy media, such as the banner
advertisement or the TV news highlight video clip. Recently, unique content for mobile
has been emerging, from the ringing tones and ringback tones in music to "mobisodes,"
video content that has been produced exclusively for mobile phones.
In 2006, the total value of mobile-phone-paid media content exceeded Internet-paid
media content and was worth 31 billion dollars (source Informa 2007). The value of
music on phones was worth 9.3 billion dollars in 2007 and gaming was worth over 5
billion dollars in 2007.[37The advent of media on the mobile phone has also produced
the opportunity to identify and track Alpha Users or Hubs, the most influential members
of any social community. AMF Ventures measured in 2007 the relative accuracy of three
mass media, and found that audience measures on mobile were nine times more
accurate than on the Internet and 90 times more accurate than on TV.[original
research?]The mobile phone is often called the Fourth Screen (if counting cinema, TV
and PC screens as the first three) or Third Screen (counting only TV and PC screens).
[weasel words] It is also called the Seventh of the Mass Media (with Print, Recordings,
Cinema, Radio, TV and Internet the first six).
Usage
Mobile phones are used for a variety of purposes, including keeping in touch with family
members, conducting business, and having access to a telephone in the event of an
emergency. Some people carry more than one cell phone for different purposes, such as
for business and personal use. Multiple SIM cards may also be used to take advantage of
the benefits of different calling plans—a particular plan might provide cheaper local
calls, long-distance calls, international calls, or roaming. A study by Motorola found that
one in ten cell phone subscribers have a second phone that often is kept secret from
other family members. These phones may be used to engage in activities including
extramarital affairs or clandestine business dealings.[38] The mobile phone has also
been used in a variety of diverse contexts in society, for example:
* Organizations that aid victims of domestic violence may offer a cell phone to
potential victims without the abuser's knowledge. These devices are often old phones
that are donated and refurbished to meet the victim's emergency needs.[39]
* Child predators have taken advantage of cell phones to communicate secretly with
children without the knowledge of their parents or teachers.[40]
* The advent of widespread text messaging has resulted in the cell phone novel; the
first literary genre to emerge from the cellular age via text messaging to a website that
collects the novels as a whole.[41] Paul Levinson, in Information on the Move (2004),

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says "...nowadays, a writer can write just about as easily, anywhere, as a reader can
read" and they are "not only personal but portable."
* Mobile telephony also facilitates activism and public journalism being explored by
Reuters and Yahoo![42] and small independent news companies such as Jasmine News
in Sri Lanka.
* Mobile phones help lift poor out of poverty. The United Nations report that mobile
phones—spreading faster than any other information technology—can improve the
livehoods of the poorest people in developing countries. The economic benefits of
mobile phones are go well beyond access to information where fixed-line or Internet are
not yet available in rural areas, mostly in Least Developed Countries. Mobile phones
have spawned a wealth of micro-enterprises, offering work to people with little
education and few resources, such as selling airtime on the streets and repair or
refurbishing handsets.[43]
* In Mali and some of African countries, villagers sometimes had to go from village to
village all day, covering up to 20 villages, to let friends and relatives know about a
wedding, a birth or a death - but it is no longer necessary anymore since signal of mobile
phone cover them. Like many African countries, the coverage has better than landline
networks, and most people own a mobile phone. However, small villages has no
electricity, leaving mobile phone owners to have to charge their phone batteries with
accu from motorcycle
Restrictions
There exists a community that believes mobile phone use represents a long-term health
risk, although this is currently disputed by the World Health Organization, with
forthcoming mobile phone usage recommendations in 2010.[47] Certain countries,
including France, have warned against the use of cell phones especially by minors due to
health risk uncertainties.[48] Groups of scientists, such as the U.S.-based group
Bioinitiative, argue that because mobile phone use is recently introduced technology,
long-term "proof" has been impossible and that use should be restricted, or monitored
closely, while the technology is still new.
Use while driving
Mobile phone use while driving is common but controversial. Being distracted while
operating a motor vehicle has been shown to increase the risk of accident. Because of
this, many jurisdictions prohibit the use of mobile phones while driving. Egypt, Israel,
Japan, Portugal and Singapore ban both handheld and hands-free use of a mobile phone
whilst many other countries –including the UK, France, and many U.S. states– ban
handheld phone use only, allowing hands-free use.Due to the increasing complexity of
mobile phones –often more like mobile computers in their available uses– it has
introduced additional difficulties for law enforcement officials in being able to tell one
usage from another as drivers use their devices. This is more apparent in those
countries who ban both handheld and hands-free usage, rather those who have banned

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handheld use only, as officials cannot easily tell which function of the mobile phone is
being used simply by visually looking at the driver. This can mean that drivers may be
stopped for using their device illegally on a phone call when, in fact, they were not;
instead using the device for a legal purpose such as the phone's incorporated controls
for car stereo or satnav usage – either as part of the cars' own device or directly on the
mobile phone itself.Cases like these can often only be proved otherwise by a check of
the mobile operators phone call records to see if a call was taking place during the
journey concerned. Although, in many countries, the law enforcement official may have
stopped the driver for a differing offence, for example, for lack of due care and attention
in relation to their driving.
Schools
Some schools limit or restrict the use of mobile phones. Schools set restrictions on the
use of mobile phones because of the use of cell phones for cheating on tests,
harassment and bullying, causing threats to the schools security, distractions to the
students and facilitating gossip and other social activity in school. Many mobile phones
are banned in school locker room facilities, public restrooms and swimming pools due to
the built-in cameras that most phones now feature.
Privacy
Governments, law enforcement and intelligence services use mobiles to perform
surveillance in the UK and the U.S. They possess technology to activate the microphones
in cell phones remotely in order to listen to conversations that take place near to the
person who holds the phone.[50][51]Mobile phones are also commonly used to collect
location data. While the phone is turned on, the geographical location of a mobile
phone can be determined easily (whether it is being used or not), using a technique
known multilateration to calculate the differences in time for a signal to travel from the
cell phone to each of several cell towers near the owner of the phone
Health effects
The effect mobile phone radiation has on human health is the subject of recent interest
and study, as a result of the enormous increase in mobile phone usage throughout the
world (as of June 2009[update], there were more than 4.3 billion users worldwide[54]).
Mobile phones use electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range, which some
believe may be harmful to human health. A large body of research exists, both
epidemiological and experimental, in non-human animals and in humans, of which the
majority shows no definite causative relationship between exposure to mobile phones
and harmful biological effects in humans. This is often paraphrased simply as the
balance of evidence showing no harm to humans from mobile phones, although a
significant number of individual studies do suggest such a relationship, or are
inconclusive. Other digital wireless systems, such as data communication networks,
produce similar radiation.The World Health Organization, based upon the majority view
of scientific and medical communities, has stated that cancer is unlikely to be caused by

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cellular phones or their base stations and that reviews have found no convincing
evidence for other health effects.[47][55] The WHO expects to make recommendations
about mobile phones in 2010.[56] Some national radiation advisory authorities[57] have
recommended measures to minimize exposure to their citizens as a precautionary
approach.At least some recent studies, however, have found an association between
cell phone use and certain kinds of brain and salivary gland tumors. Lennart Hardell and
other authors of a 2009 meta-analysis of 11 studies from peer-reviewed journals
concluded that cell phone usage for at least ten years “approximately doubles the risk of
being diagnosed with a brain tumor on the same ("ipsilateral") side of the head as that
preferred for cell phone use
Environmental effects
The ubiquitousness and rapid technological change has led to mobile phones becoming
a component of the waste stream. Electronic waste such as mobile phones contain
materials that are toxic when they enter into ecosystems and recycling is now carried
out to some extent.

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