What Network?
Here in the
These companies have networks with transmitters and receivers to allow your mobile phone to talk to the rest of the world. All other companies in the
Mobile phones are continuously being updated. It would therefore be impossible for me to keep an up-to-date list on this web page. The most important thing you need to work out is what you are going to be using your phone for. It’s a complete waste of your money to get an all-singing, all-dancing handset if all you want to do is be able to make the odd emergency phone call. If however, you want to be able to access the internet and your e-mail on your handset, then a simple calls and texts phone won’t work for you at all.
Explaining the technology
Camera – Stills and Video
Many phones now come with a camera or two. Why two cameras? One facing forwards, to allow you to snap what you’re looking at and one facing towards you, so that you can take part in video calling.
- The most basic cameras are the VGA type, which you can use to zoom in once. They are good enough for basic snaps, but don’t expect much detail.
- The next camera-type is a 1.3 Mega Pixel. This will give you some pretty detailed pictures, but it’s still not even close to some of the stand-alone digital cameras of only a couple of years ago.
- Now becoming the standard, the final type of camera you will come across (currently) is a 2 Mega Pixel. The quality of the pictures is far superior to the others. You need to bear in mind that cameras in phones will usually be a couple of years behind stand-alone digital cameras as the technology needs to be shrunk to fit the phone.
All of these cameras come with some kind of software or phone interface that will allow you to take photos or record a video clip and save them to the phone memory. Photos and Videos will take up a lot of space on your memory, so if you’re planning on using this function often, check out the section on memory cards later in this guide.
Multi Media Messaging - or MMS, as it’s known – is simply the sending and receiving of messages containing something other than text. This means that you can send a video clip, a photograph, or any other file small enough to fit on both your phone and that of your recipient (addressee).
Some phones (3G upwards only) are capable of sending and receiving video calls. These phones are equipped with a camera facing the user and a loudspeaker to hear what the caller is saying. Both callers need to:
- have a video phone
- have a 3G calling plan or top-up scheme
- be within a 3G area.
If any of these conditions are not met, then the call can only take place in normal voice mode.
To be honest, video calling is fun for the first five minutes; thereafter it loses its appeal. The cost of using the service is usually a great deal higher than the equivalent voice call. The refresh rate - how often the picture is updated (standard TV being 32 per second) - is usually rather poor, so the images are usually rather blurred and jerky.
Another down side is that you may want to check yourself in the mirror before you begin!
Video calling is only really useful if you’re away from a loved one for some time, or need to demonstrate something to someone in another location.
Bluetooth Connectivity
Bluetooth is the name of a technology developed by a Swedish company. They named their company after a pirate, whose nickname was… Bluetooth! The technology is just a way for devices such as mobile phones, headsets, car kits, printers, laptops and headphones to connect to each other and pass information.
Bluetooth’s a great way to connect to a headset or in-car kit, without having lots of trailing wires. You can use it to connect directly with a laptop. This means you can transfer your clips and photos to your hard drive and delete them off the phone, freeing up your memory on the handset.
The technology can transmit up to about 10 metres, so it’s not suitable for every job.
Infra-red Connectivity
With the advent of Bluetooth, Infra Red is sadly now in decline. It is another method of direct data transfer, but the transmitting and receiving part of the two devices need to be within direct line of sight of each other. To give you an example, your television remote control uses Infra Red. It needs to point at the television, or at a reflective surface within sight of the television to work.
Infra Red is used to connect a mobile phone with another phone or a laptop. You can then use this connection to transfer photos and clips to other people or to allow your phone to be used as a modem.
Cable Connectivity
Apart from the basic models, most handsets now come with a cable that will allow you to connect to a computer. You’ll also get a disk with software that will allow you to change settings on your phone, back up your phone book and copy files. It is very unlikely you will receive any other type of cable than a USB.
USB
Universal Serial Bus, or USB as it is more commonly known, is just a way to connect a computer with another device via a standard socket and cable. If your phone can be connected to a computer, you will either be provided with the appropriate cable, or will be given information on how to buy one and the accompanying software.
MP3s and MP3 Players
An MP3 is a type of sound file that has been compressed to fit into a smaller space. MP3s are of a slightly lower sound quality, but this can only really be detected by the human ear on very good audio devices.
Some phones come with a piece of software or other phone interface that will allow you to play MP3 files.
WAP
Wireless Application Protocol, or WAP, is a pared-down version of the internet. You can view only certain pages that begin with the letters wap instead of www. The pages are mainly text-based, but you will sometimes be able to see basic logos. You will not be able to see full internet pages using this technology.
WAP calls are not charged by the minute, like a dial-up call to connect to your ISP (Internet Service Provider). You are charged for the amount of data you send and receive. In order for WAP to work on your phone, you will need to make sure your phone network (eg
Full Internet
The modern Smart Phones and Handheld Devices have a built-in internet browser that allows you to view full www websites. Some browsers are better than others. I use Opera
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