Mobile Phone Technology
When mobile phones were first introduced they were called car phones, as the phones were not mobile in the true sense but fixed into your car so you could communicate with the office while you were driving. They were very heavy and cumbersome but most of the weight was due to the battery needed to power them. Since the 1970's mobile phones have advanced extremely quickly and developed to suit the ever growing needs of the consumer and traveller. When mobile phones were released on the 1970's it was an invention that people said would never take off, but now in many Western countries it has become a universal product that everyone has. In a modern family at least over half of them are likely to have a mobile phone. This includes the adults, teenagers and the children.
Mobile phone expansion has been rapid, mainly due to its low establishment costs. The mobile phone masts that are used to relay the signals could be deployed rapidly and cheaply, far quicker and cheaper than the traditional fixed telephone network. All the cellular networks that have been put in place by the different mobile phone companies all work to standard setting so that people from different networks and in different countries can still communicate with each other and the full network can be used.
The modern mobile has now been developed to allow the user to take their mobile phone to different countries and work on that country’s network. This is called an "auto-roaming" feature. Today’s mobile phones have so much to offer and mobile phones that are now widely available are more like a mini computer, or an organiser than a mobile phone. Most mobile phones will have text and picture messaging features now, and having a camera as part of your mobile phone is virtually a standard feature. With this you have the extra features of taking photos and then uploading them onto your computer to store them. Many mobile phones will allow access onto the internet via WAP or GPRS. Since access to the internet can be established from your mobile phone you can then carry out other functions such as send and receive email.