Mobile phone

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A mobile phone or mobile (also called cellphone and handphone, as well as cell phone, wireless phone, cellular phone, cell, cellular telephone, mobile telephone or cell telephone) is a long-range, electronic device used for mobile voice or data communication over a network of specialized base stations known as cell sites. In addition to the standard voice function of a mobile phone, telephone, current mobile phones may support many additional services, and accessories, such as SMS for text messaging, email, packet switching for access to the Internet, gaming, Bluetooth, infrared, camera with video recorder and MMS for sending and receiving photos and video, MP3 player, radio and GPS. Most current mobile phones connect to a cellular network consisting of switching points and base stations (cell sites) owned by a mobile network operator (the exception is satellite phones, which are mobile but not cellular).

As opposed to a radio telephone, a mobile phone offers full duplex communication, automatised calling to and paging from a public switched telephone network (PSTN), handoff (am. English) or handover (European term) during a phone call when the user moves from one cell (base station coverage area) to another. A mobile phone offers wide area service, and should not be confused with a cordless telephone, which also is a wireless phone, but only offer telephony service within a limited range, e.g. within a home or an office, through a fixed line and a base station owned by the subscriber.

The International Telecommunication Union estimated that mobile cellular subscriptions worldwide would reach approximately 4.1 billion by the end of 2008. Mobile phones have gained increased importance in the sector of Information and communication technologies for development in the 2000s and have effectively started to reach the bottom of the economic pyramid.

For more information about Mobile phone, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with cell phone

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A woman dials a cell phone in her car

Study shows cell phone users miss the obvious, like a unicycling clown

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (5) | comments 0

How blind to their surroundings can people be when they're talking on their cell phones?


Study: Internet use leads to more diverse networks

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- A new study confirms what your 130 Facebook friends and scores of Twitter followers may have already told you: The Internet and mobile phones are not linked to social isolation.


Mobile phone and Motorola researcher Martin Cooper said mobile devices have become too complex

Mobile phone inventor wants devices to go back to basics

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity 2 / 5 (2) | comments 0

The inventor of the mobile phone said Wednesday the devices have become too complex, with a range of features from cameras to music, since he made the first-ever wireless call over three decades ago.


Spacesuits with artificial intelligence may look for life on Mars

Spacesuits with artificial intelligence may look for life on Mars

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronauts may in future be wearing spacesuits equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) and digital eyes, turning them into what the researchers call cyborg astrobiologists.


T-Mobile says phone service outage resolved (Update)

Technology / Telecom

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- Wireless provider T-Mobile USA Inc. says it has cleared up service problems that were interfering with calls and text messaging for about 5 percent of its customers.


China Unicom eyes one million China 3G subscribers per month

Technology / Telecom

created Nov 03, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Mobile operator China Unicom said Tuesday it aimed to boost the number of its 3G mobile phone subscribers in China by one million per month, following its launch of Apple's iPhone there.


Google Voice 'light' works with existing cell phone numbers

Technology / Internet

created Oct 30, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Google Voice, the service that can route calls to multiple phone numbers and access voice mail, is now available on users' existing cell phone numbers.


House Minority Whip Eric Cantor

Republicans to whip up support with Blackberry app

Technology / Software

created Oct 29, 2009 | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 0

The Republican leadership in the US House of Representatives unveiled a free application for the Blackberry on Thursday to keep users up to date on the latest in Congress through their cellphones.


New rechargeable zinc-air batteries coming soon

New rechargeable zinc-air batteries coming soon

Technology / Energy

created Oct 29, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (40) | comments 15

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new breed of rechargeable zinc-air batteries is soon to be available, and may replace lithium-ion batteries in cell phones, laptops and other consumer items. Lithium-ion batteries store ...


Motorola's shares surge with unexpected profit (AP)

Motorola's shares surge with unexpected profit (Update)

Technology / Business

created Oct 29, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- The turnaround effort long sought at Motorola Inc. finally could be on track.


Qwest Communications 3Q earnings fall 6 pct

Technology / Business

created Oct 28, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- Qwest Communications International Inc. reported a 6 percent drop in third-quarter profit Wednesday as customers continue to give up traditional landline telephones.


Music service Lala heralds MP3-killing iPhone app

Technology / Internet

created Oct 27, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (3) | comments 1

(AP) -- Online music retailer Lala is preparing to launch an iPhone application that its co-founder says paves the way for the end of downloading songs in the MP3 format.


A woman dials a cell phone in her car

WHO study suggests link between cell phones and tumors

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Oct 27, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (23) | comments 17

(PhysOrg.com) -- Preliminary results of an International investigation by the World Health Organization (WHO) suggest there may be a "significantly increased risk" of some types of brain tumors after use of ...


Charge your cell phone using light, courtesy SunCore

Charge your cell phone using light, courtesy SunCore

Technology / Energy

created Oct 26, 2009 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (11) | comments 2

SunCore is a little known Irvine, Calif.-based company that's on the cusp of shipping some potentially revolutionary technology.


Researchers Use Cell Phones to Collect Real-Time Data on Substance Use

Medicine & Health / Other

created Oct 21, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scenario: A group of friends are drinking at the local pub, when one gets a cell phone call. He takes it in a quiet corner; nothing unusual. But this isn't a "What's Up" call from a friend: It's a "What-are-you-doing-right-now?" ...