(CELLular telePHONE) The first ubiquitous wireless telephone. Originally analog, all new cellular systems are digital, which has enabled the cellphone to turn into a handheld personal computer (see smartphone).
Introduced in the mid-1980s, cellphone sales exploded worldwide in the 1990s. By 2008, there were more than three billion in use, and many users have become addicted (see nomophobia). A cellphone is also called a "mobile phone" or "mobile," especially outside the U.S.
Major Carriers
In the U.S., the major cellular carriers are AT&T (formerly Cingular), Verizon Wireless (formerly Bell Atlantic Mobile and Alltel), Sprint Nextel (merger of Sprint and Nextel), T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile USA. The largest cellular company in the world is UK-based Vodafone, which includes substantial ownership in Verizon Wireless.
Cell Technology
Geographic areas are divided into a number of slightly overlapping circular "cells." Each cell contains a base station, which is identifiable by its transmitting and receiving antenna located on a tower at the top of a hill or building. The base stations connect to the landline telephone system of the country.
The multiple cells combined with low power transmitters allow the same frequencies to be reused with different conversations in different cells within the same city or locale. The primary digital cellphone technologies are TDMA, CDMA and GSM. See 3G, PCS, AMPS, GSM, TDMA, CDMA, WAP, cellspace, screaming cellphone and cordless phone.
The Cells
The cellular system uses multiple base stations to cover a geographic area. As the mobile phone user travels from cell to cell, the call is automatically "handed off" to the next station. The more cells, the more customers can be handled in the entire system overall, because the same frequencies can be reused within the cell.
First Cellphone in U.S.
Introduced in 1983, this Motorola DynaTAC cost $3,995 and weighed two pounds. (Image courtesy of Motorola, Inc.)
Could They Have Imagined?
As Europeans began to use their new-fangled Ericsson phones in the late 1800s, could they have imagined the wireless world 100 years later? Picture taken at Antoni Gaudi's famous \"La Pedrera\" apartment house in Barcelona.
Introduced in the mid-1980s, cellphone sales exploded worldwide in the 1990s. By 2008, there were more than three billion in use, and many users have become addicted (see nomophobia). A cellphone is also called a "mobile phone" or "mobile," especially outside the U.S.
Major Carriers
In the U.S., the major cellular carriers are AT&T (formerly Cingular), Verizon Wireless (formerly Bell Atlantic Mobile and Alltel), Sprint Nextel (merger of Sprint and Nextel), T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile USA. The largest cellular company in the world is UK-based Vodafone, which includes substantial ownership in Verizon Wireless.
Cell Technology
Geographic areas are divided into a number of slightly overlapping circular "cells." Each cell contains a base station, which is identifiable by its transmitting and receiving antenna located on a tower at the top of a hill or building. The base stations connect to the landline telephone system of the country.
The multiple cells combined with low power transmitters allow the same frequencies to be reused with different conversations in different cells within the same city or locale. The primary digital cellphone technologies are TDMA, CDMA and GSM. See 3G, PCS, AMPS, GSM, TDMA, CDMA, WAP, cellspace, screaming cellphone and cordless phone.
The Cells
The cellular system uses multiple base stations to cover a geographic area. As the mobile phone user travels from cell to cell, the call is automatically "handed off" to the next station. The more cells, the more customers can be handled in the entire system overall, because the same frequencies can be reused within the cell.
First Cellphone in U.S.
Introduced in 1983, this Motorola DynaTAC cost $3,995 and weighed two pounds. (Image courtesy of Motorola, Inc.)
Could They Have Imagined?
As Europeans began to use their new-fangled Ericsson phones in the late 1800s, could they have imagined the wireless world 100 years later? Picture taken at Antoni Gaudi's famous \"La Pedrera\" apartment house in Barcelona.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Mobile Music Polyphonic 4.01 (Windows)
- Mobile Music Polyphonic is a polyphonic ringtones composer and converter, which allows you convert midi, mp3, wave, mmf, avi, rmvb, rm, wma, wmv, mpeg to cellphone polyphonic ringtone format (smaf(*.mmf), amr-nb, amr-wb, amr-wb+, sp-midi. You can convert midi to mmf, midi to sp-midi, mp3 to mmf, wave to mmf ,...
- Software downloads 2009-11-22
- Cool Radio Recorder 3.2 (Windows)
- Cool Radio Recorder will capture radio broadcasts and store them onto your hard drive. You can then upload to your mobile cellphone, MP3 player, or iPod. Record rare music and talks from underground or alternative stations or just tune into your favorite Internet radio and listen. Thousands of radio and...
- Software downloads 2009-11-21
- Google makes Chrome OS open source today
- I like itThe ChromeOS demo looked pretty cool!I'm almost 100% webapp-based already, so I could see myself using a simple, fast & no maintenance OS like that the majority of the time.I like it too, but, for me, I need to compile and run programs locally. I would imagine that...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- AT&T loses bid to stop Verizon ads, responds with its own
- AT&T could use Apple's patentApple has patented a technique where a user is forced to watch an ad and then answer a quiz about that ad before they are allowed to use their Apple device. AT&T could use this to force all iPhone users to watch AT&T ads.AT&T has no...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- AT&T loses lawsuit over Verizon's map commercial
- Ha! Take THAT Such a silly waste of the court's time. If they finally lose, I hope they are made to pay treble court costs just as a lesson in frivolous lawsuits clogging the courts. That would send a much needed messageThat if a corporation is going to...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-18
- Google to demo Chrome OS; Detail launch plans
- the windoze killer has arrivedChrome OS will put the final nail in M$ coffin!You really can't be seriousyou have to be a fake or something.Your posts are allways way off the mark.By like a continent or two.Windoze? Grow up, manI hope Chrome is good - because it will make...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-17
- Android army keeps growing as Dell enlists; Will the mobile OS war follow PC history?
- Well, this is exactly what MS wanted to do with Win Mobile - that fizzled.I think that was mostly due to that fact that Win Mobile was is so bad.But, Android is the real thing, and is a great OS, to the point that nobody is even talking about Win...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-13
- Size zero devices: How thin is too thin?
- Thin is betterIt is better to be skinny than fat, and in ITthin and light weight is best!"learn to type with our tongues"I believe the rest of us call that speaking, but nice concept. :pYou know where this is heading don't you?I call it "tatoo tech" you need a new...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-10
- Electrocution fears prompts Nokia charger recall
- Cellphone giant Nokia is recalling 14 milion phone chargers because of a possible risk of electric shock. by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
- Blog posts 2009-11-09
- RoadMovie 1.9.1 (Mac)
- Your movies subtitled, metadata tagged, chapterized, encoded and uploaded to your portable device or website. Main Features Subtitle support from SubRip (.srt), SubViewer 1 & 2 (.sub), SubStation Alpha (.ssa/.ass) and MicroDVD. Support for adding/editing iTunes/QuickTime Metadata. Support for adding/editing iTunes/QuickTime Chapter Tracks. Tracks inspector. ...
- Software downloads 2009-11-09
- ApecSoft IVR to WMV MP3 Converter 2.0 (Windows)
- Apecsoft IVR to WMV MP3 Converter allows you to convert Realplayer recorded video (IVR, RM, RMVB...) and other windows media video(such as asf asx wmv mp4 flv 3gp mov...) to iPod, iPhone, PS3, Xbox360, Zune, Blackbery, Cellphone video, and mp3, aac, m4a, wma audio formats. It helps you put your...
- Software downloads 2009-11-09
- Submerge 1.8.3 (Mac)
- Create subtitled movies for your computer, mp3-player, cellphone or game console. Submerge can easily create hard-coded subtitled movies for your computer, mp3-player, cellphone or game console. It will merge your subtitle file with your movie and create a new file that is suited for your needs. It supports almost all...
- Software downloads 2009-11-04
- In recession, VoIP makes strong case for cutting your home landline
- Tempting, but I will passI've considered VoIP several times over the years, but it usually just takes a few phone calls with a friend or relative who is using VoIP before I change my mind! Not infrequently, the conversation becomes a warbling mess. Then there are times we...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-30
- Smartphone wars; one platform will never rule them all
- UbuntuThere are enough potential customers out there, and enough open source software available for potential OS builders that you don't really need that much market share to remain vital.Mac OS has only a fraction of the entire computer market and Ubuntu only has a fraction of Mac OS's market share....
- Discussion threads 2009-10-28
- US-CERT warns about BlackBerry spyware app
- Justification for Apple's model?It can't be said just yet, but it's looking like a pool of trusted applications may be a good idea after all, despite the level of control wielded by Apple.No....Gee, just because someone releases a spyware app doesn't mean we need to only let RIM distribute apps....
- Discussion threads 2009-10-28
- Google, Android 2.0 sticks fork in GPS devices
- It would also be great if Android could automatically re-route you in real-time, when things like the Bay Bridge suddenly close. This means munincipalities automatically posting closures on a web site, that all providers can use in real-time. Munincipalities could also distribute traffic in real-time. Lots of possibilities to replacing...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-28
- Movavi Flash Converter 2.9.2 (Windows)
- Movavi Flash Converter - the ideal tool for downloading video from YouTube, Google and other popular video-sharing websites and converting Flash (.flv) videos to any format for any device. With Movavi Flash Converter, in just a couple of minutes, you can save Flash video even in HD to your iPod,...
- Software downloads 2009-10-28
- Windows 7 will shine in medicine
- not convinced by touchI have a touch phone & a tablet.Frankly, never use the tablet, use keyboarded machines instead, and hanker for a phone with buttons again and not a slide phone.If you want to try to look cool, I can understand having one, but really, they are pretty awkward...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-23
- Nokia sues Apple over iPhone
- Nokia, the world's biggest cellphone manufacturer, has said that it is suing Apple for infringing patents on technology used in the iPhone. by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
- Blog posts 2009-10-22
- Attackers could steal crypto keys from mobile devices
- Nothing New HereThose of us with even just a little knowledge about crypto and security have long known: physical access to the device is crucial. Keep that secure, and you have enabled all your other security measures. Allow physical access to the wrong people and you enable them instead of...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-21
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
- Save time with automated shipping solutions
-
The Business Essentials Guide provides you useful tools and templates to help grow your business and save you time with automated shipping solutions.
- Visit the UPS Business Essentials Guide
- Reduce risk. Reduce complexity. Increase reliability.
-
A simplified IT environment isn't just less complex. It's also more reliable. Standardize on a single Linux platform with SUSE Linux Enterprise from Novell, and get the world's most interoperable Linux
- Learn more >>
- Keep Up With The Latest In Document Management with The DocuMentor.
-
Doc delivers the scoop on today's enterprise content management, printer maintenance, and all other issues related to document management. It's the DocuMentor Blog.
- Learn more >>
- New Online Dashboard for IT Leaders
-
Read about top issues IT decision-makers face every day, plus get cost-effective solutions to real-life IT problems.
- Learn more >>
SmartPlanet
- Thought-provoking progressive ideas on diverse topics that intersect with technology, business, and life, and matter to the world at large. Visit SmartPlanet
- More from IBM
-
- How to Drive Better Business Outcomes with Exceptional Web Experiences Download the eBook
- Driving Business Agility through SOA Connectivity & Integration Read the White Paper from IBM
- Linking Decisions and Information for Organizational Performance Read the Tom Davenport study
