Mobile phone Wikipedia

Restrictions on the use of mobile phones are applied in a number of different contexts, often with the goal of health, safety, security or proper functioning of an establishment, or as a matter of etiquette. In Israel, similar phones to kosher phones with restricted features exist to observe the sabbath; under Orthodox Judaism, the use of any electrical device is generally prohibited during this time, other than to save lives, or reduce the risk of death or similar needs. Demand for metals used in mobile phones and other electronics fuelled the Second Congo War, which claimed almost 5.5 million lives. Even so, mobile phones typically have less value on the second-hand market if the phones original IMEI is blacklisted.
Most early content for mobile phones tended to be copies of legacy media, such as banner advertisements or TV news highlight video clips. There are a huge variety of apps, including video games, music products and business tools. The first mobile news service, delivered via SMS, was launched in Finland in 2000, and subsequently many organizations provided «on-demand» and «instant» news services by SMS.
Screen time, the amount of time using a device with a screen, has become an issue for mobile phones since the adaptation of smartphones. As of 2007, some hospitals had banned mobile devices due to a common misconception that their use would create significant electromagnetic interference. This database of laws provides a comprehensive view of the provisions of laws that restrict the use of mobile communication devices while driving for all 50 states and the District of Columbia between 1992 when first law was passed, through 1 December 2010. Japan prohibits all mobile phone use while driving, including use of hands-free devices.

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• Enabling contactless payments through NFC-equipped mobile phones requires the co-operation of manufacturers, network operators, and retail merchants.
• 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).
• 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%.
• The automation systems can control the «hand off» of a customer handset moving between one cell and another so that a call in progress continues without interruption, changing channels if required.
• A hybrid mobile phone can hold up to four SIM cards, with a phone having a different device identifier for each SIM Card.

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 telephony relies on a cellular network architecture, which is why mobile phones are often referred to as ‘cell phones’ in North America.

• This is more apparent in countries which ban both handheld and hands-free usage, rather than those which ban handheld use only, as officials cannot easily tell which function of the mobile phone is being used simply by looking at the driver.
• The International Telecommunication Union measures those with Internet connection, which it calls Active Mobile-Broadband subscriptions (which includes tablets, etc.).
• Early predecessors of cellular phones included analog radio communications from ships and trains.
• While there are rumors of mobile phones causing cancer, there was a study conducted by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that stated the there could be an increase risk of brain tumors with the use of smartphones, this is not confirmed.
• Some audio-quality enhancing features, such as Voice over LTE and HD Voice, have appeared and are often available on newer smartphones.
• Former systems would cover a service area with one or two powerful base stations with a range of up to tens of kilometers’ (miles), using only a few sets of radio channels (frequencies).

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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.
Mobile phones are considered an important human cash lounge casino 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.

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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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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.

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. This can lead to drivers being stopped for using their device illegally for a phone call when, in fact, they were using the device legally, for example, when using the phone’s incorporated controls for car stereo, GPS or satnav. This is more apparent in countries which ban both handheld and hands-free usage, rather than those which ban handheld use only, as officials cannot easily tell which function of the mobile phone is being used simply by looking at the driver. Due to the increasing complexity of mobile phones, they are often more like mobile computers in their available uses. In March 2011, a US insurance company, State Farm Insurance, announced the results of a study which showed 19% of drivers surveyed accessed the Internet on a smartphone while driving. In September 2010, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 995 people were killed by drivers distracted by cell phones.
Beyond traditional voice communication, digital mobile phones have evolved to support a wide range of additional services. Contrary to popular misconception, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does not actually prohibit the use of personal electronic devices (including cell phones) on aircraft. By contrast, smartphones generally use a mobile operating system that often shares common traits across devices.