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 cash lounge casino telephony relies on a cellular network architecture, which is why mobile phones are often referred to as ‘cell phones’ in North America.
Mobile phones are considered an important human invention as it has been one of the most widely used and sold pieces of consumer technology. 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. They also stated that with the lack of data for the research and the usage periods of 15 years will warrant further research for smartphones and the cause of brain tumors. In most jurisdictions, prison inmates are forbidden from possessing mobile phones due to their ability to communicate with the outside world and other security issues.
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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  • A common data application on mobile phones is Short Message Service (SMS) text messaging.
  • 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)).
  • 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.
  • Depending on the device’s type and design, the screen fills most or nearly all of the space on a device’s front surface.

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.

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  • A hybrid mobile phone can hold up to four SIM cards, with a phone having a different device identifier for each SIM Card.
  • In 2013, a national survey in the US reported the number of drivers who reported using their cellphones to access the Internet while driving had risen to nearly one of four.
  • In addition, they enable multimedia playback and streaming, including video content, as well as radio and television streaming.
  • The first handheld mobile phone was demonstrated by Martin Cooper of Motorola in New York City on 3 April 1973, using a handset weighing c.
  • By contrast, smartphones generally use a mobile operating system that often shares common traits across devices.
  • 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%.

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 while not necessarily focusing on the original purpose of mobile phones, i.e. a device to provide mobile telephony.

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Other countries, such as China and the Netherlands, have introduced special lanes for smartphone users to help direct and manage them. Many passengers are pressing airlines and their governments to allow and deregulate mobile phone use, while some airlines, under the pressure of competition, are also pushing for deregulation or seeking new technology which could solve the present problems. In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations prohibit the use of mobile phones aboard aircraft in flight. The dataset contains information on 22 dichotomous, continuous or categorical variables including, for example, activities regulated (e.g., texting versus talking, hands-free versus handheld), targeted populations, and exemptions. Many states in the United States have banned texting on cell phones while driving. A study conducted by the University of Vienna examined approaches for reducing inappropriate and problematic use of mobile phones, such as using mobile phones while driving.

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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.

The growth in popularity has been rapid in some places; for example, in the UK, the total number of mobile phones overtook the number of houses in 1999. Mobile phones are considered an important human invention as they have been one of the most widely used and sold pieces of consumer technology. For feature phones as of 2016update, the top-selling brands were Samsung, Nokia and Alcatel. In 1979, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) launched the world’s first cellular network in Japan.
The petition is part of a joint effort by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón and was directed to the CEOs of the major smartphone manufacturers and telecommunication carriers. 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. China has proposed using this technology to track the commuting patterns of Beijing city residents. Enabling contactless payments through NFC-equipped mobile phones requires the co-operation of manufacturers, network operators, and retail merchants. A pilot project in Bali was launched in 2011 by the International Finance Corporation and an Indonesian bank, Bank Mandiri.
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.