A 'mobile phone' or 'mobile' (also called 'cellphone' and
'handphone',[{{cite web
| title=Of Cigarettes and Cellphones last=Ulyseas first=Mark date=2008-01-18 url=http://www.thebalitimes.com/2008/01/18/of-cigarettes-and-
| cellphones/ publisher=The Bali Times accessdate=2008-02-24
}} ] 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). A mobile phone, as opposed to a radio telephone, offer 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 cell phone offer 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. |