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. The first handheld mobile phone was demonstrated by Martin Cooper of Motorola in New York City on 3 April 1973, using a handset weighing c.
Depending on the device’s type and design, the screen fills most or nearly all of the space on a device’s front surface. Mobile CPU performance depends not only on the clock rate (generally given in multiples of hertz) but also the memory hierarchy also greatly affects overall performance. Mobile processors commonly use heterogeneous multicore architectures, combining cores with different performance and power characteristics so that computational workloads can be distributed according to their processing requirements and energy constraints. With smartphones, NAND flash memory was adopted as it has larger storage capacities and lower costs, but causes longer boot times because instructions cannot be executed from it directly, and must be copied to RAM memory first before execution. The first GSM phones and many feature phones had NOR flash memory, from which processor instructions could be executed directly in an execute in place architecture and allowed for short boot times. Additionally, short-range Wi-Fi infrastructure is often used by smartphones as much as possible as it offloads traffic from cell networks on to local area networks.
The introduction of Apple’s App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch in July 2008 popularized manufacturer-hosted online distribution for third-party applications (software and computer programs) focused on a single platform. 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. A mobile app is a computer program designed to run on a mobile device, such as a smartphone. 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%.
- In February 2014, 93% of mobile developers were targeting smartphones first for mobile app development.
- Mobile phones also support a variety of multimedia capabilities, such as digital photography, video recording, and gaming.
- Mobile phones are considered an important human invention as they have been one of the most widely used and sold pieces of consumer technology.
- Up until that point, smartphone application distribution depended on third-party sources providing applications for multiple platforms, such as GetJar, Handango, Handmark, and PocketGear.
- 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.
- Mobile phone use while driving, including talking on the phone, texting, or operating other phone features, is common but controversial.
The typical lifespan of a mobile phone battery is approximately two to three years, although this varies based on usage patterns, environmental conditions, and overall care. Some audio-quality enhancing features, such as Voice over LTE and HD Voice, have appeared and are often available on newer smartphones. Screen sizes are often measured in diagonal inches or millimeters; feature phones generally have screen sizes below 90 millimetres (3.5 in).
Software platforms
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Many states in the United States have banned texting on cell phones while driving. A study conducted betsomnia by the University of Vienna examined approaches for reducing inappropriate and problematic use of mobile phones, such as using mobile phones while driving. 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.
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Screen time, the amount of time using a device with a screen, has become an issue for mobile phones since the adaptation of smartphones. 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. In many countries, mobile phones are used to provide mobile banking services, which may include the ability to transfer cash payments by secure SMS text message. By contrast, smartphones generally use a mobile operating system that often shares common traits across devices.
- A common data application on mobile phones is Short Message Service (SMS) text messaging.
- Screen time, the amount of time using a device with a screen, has become an issue for mobile phones since the adaptation of smartphones.
- Many states in the United States have banned texting on cell phones while driving.
- As of 2007, some hospitals had banned mobile devices due to a common misconception that their use would create significant electromagnetic interference.
- The race to create truly portable telephone devices began after World War II, with developments taking place in many countries.
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). In developed countries, smartphones have largely replaced earlier mobile technologies, while in developing regions, they account for around 50% of all mobile phone usage. This ensures it can be applied to mobile Internet access, VoIP, video calls, and sending large e-mail messages, as well as watching videos, typically in standard-definition quality. 3G is able to provide mobile broadband access of several Mbit/s to smartphones and mobile modems in laptop computers. This was followed by 3.5G or 3G+ enhancements based on the high-speed packet access (HSPA) family, allowing UMTS networks to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity. These 0G systems were not cellular, supported a few simultaneous calls, and were very expensive.
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. These include text messaging, multimedia messaging, email, and internet access (via LTE, 5G NR or Wi-Fi), as well as short-range wireless technologies like Bluetooth, infrared, and ultra-wideband (UWB). Modern mobile telephony relies on a cellular network architecture, which is why mobile phones are often referred to as ‘cell phones’ in North America.
Smartphones are defined by their advanced computing capabilities, which include internet connectivity and access to a wide range of applications. These first-generation (1G) systems could support far more simultaneous calls but still used analog cellular technology. The race to create truly portable telephone devices began after World War II, with developments taking place in many countries. Furthermore, mobile phones offer satellite-based services, such as navigation and messaging, as well as business applications and payment solutions (via scanning QR codes or near-field communication (NFC)). In addition, they enable multimedia playback and streaming, including video content, as well as radio and television streaming. Mobile phones also support a variety of multimedia capabilities, such as digital photography, video recording, and gaming.
