MOBILE PHONES

INTRODUCTION
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 provided by a mobile network operator.

HISTORY
The first mobile telephone call made from a car occurred in St. Louis, Missour, 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 pounds (36 kg), and the AT & T service, basically a massive party line, cost US$30 per month (equal to $337.33 today) plus 3040 cents per local call, equal to $3.37 to $4.5 today.

The first commercially automated cellular

network (the 1G) was launched in Japan by NTT in 1979, initially in the metropolitan area of Tokyo. 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 Telia Sonera) who ran a 1G NMT network. In 2001, the launch of 3G(Third Generation) was again in Japan by NTT DOCOMO on the WCDMA standard

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. The common components found on all phones are: A battery, providing the power source for the phone functions An input mechanism 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 smart phones. 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.

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.

In 1999, Japanese mobile operator NTT Docomo

introduced its mobile Internet service ,i-MODE, which today is the world's largest mobile Internet service.

Mobile payments were first trialed in Finland in Today, mobile payments ranging from mobile

1998 when two Coca-Cola vending machines in Espoo were enabled to work with SMS payments. 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. Various initiatives, such as the EU Common Power External Supply have been announced to standardize the interface to the charger, and to promote energy efficiency of mains-operated chargers. A star rating system is promoted by some manufacturers, where the most efficient chargers consume less than 0.03 watts and obtain a five-star rating

BATTERY
Formerly, the most common form of mobile phone batteries were nickel-metal hydride, as they have a low size and weight. Lithium ion batteries are sometimes used, as they are lighter and do not have the voltage depression that nickel metal-hydride batteries do. Many mobile phone manufacturers have now switched to using lithium-polymer batteries as opposed to the older lithiumion, the main advantages of this being even lower weight and the possibility to make the battery a shape other than strict cuboids. Mobile phone manufacturers have been experimenting with alternative power sources, including solar cells. The mini solar panel can be installed on the Android phone screen, although the phone battery is still needed due to the solar panel solely has not been able to produce enough energy.

BATTERY

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 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. 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. Those cell phones that do not use a SIM Card have the data programmed in to their memory. The MSL applies only to the SIM, so once the contract has expired, the MSL still applies to the SIM.

SIM CARD

MARKET SHARE
The world's largest individual mobile operator by subscribers is China Mobile with over 500 million mobile phone subscribers. Over 50 mobile operators have over 10 million subscribers each, and over 150 mobile operators have at least one million subscribers by the end of 2009 (source wireless intelligence). In February 2010, there were 4.6 billion mobile phone subscribers, a number that is estimated to grow. Competitive forces emerged in the Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) region at Q3 2010 to the detriment of market leader Nokia. Brands such as Micromax, Nexian, and iMobile chipped away at Nokia's market share plus Android powered smart phones also gained momentum across the region at the cost of Nokia.

Market share of world's top 5 mobile vendor

Source Date Nokia SAMSU NG LG Apple ZTE Others Refere nces

Gartne r

Q2/201 22.8% 1

16.3%

5.7%

4.6%

3.0%

35.8%

[34]

IDC

Q2/201 24.2% 1

19.2%

6.8%

5.6%

4.5%

39.7%

[35]

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 ring back 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. The value of music on phones was worth 9.3 billion dollars in 2007 and gaming was worth over 5 billion dollars in 2007

PRIVACY
The movements of a mobile phone user can be tracked by their service provider and, if desired, by law enforcement agencies and their government. Both the SIM card and the handset can be tracked. China has proposed using this technology to track commuting patterns of Beijing city residents

USAGE
Examples

THE MOBILE PHONE HAS 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

Mobile phones help lift poor out of poverty. The United Nations
has reported that mobile phonesspreading faster than any other information technologycan improve the livelihood of the poorest people in developing countries.

In Mali and some 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 such travel is no longer necessary if the villages are within the coverage area of a mobile phone network.

The TV industry has recently started using mobile phones to

drive live TV viewing through mobile apps, advertising, social TV, and mobile TV.

SHARING
In some parts of the world, mobile phone sharing is common. It is prevalent in urban India, as families and groups of friends often share one or more mobiles among their members. There are obvious economic benefits, but often familial customs and traditional gender roles play a part.[ For example, in Burkina Faso, it is not uncommon for a village to have access to only one mobile phone. The phone is typically owned by a person who is not natively from the village, such as a teacher or missionary, but it is expected that other members of the village are allowed to use the cell phone to make necessary calls

RESTRICTIONS