Home> Technology> m-Jargon

m-Jargon

Dual Band
A phone capable of operating on two different GSM frequencies - 900MHz and 1800MHz.

EFR
(Enhanced Full Rate) A type of enhanced digital coding that delivers a better sound quality. However, EFR is only beneficial if the network you are connected to also supports the system.

GPRS
(General Packet Radio Services) An enhancement to GSM designed to boost the speed of mobile networks. Where a current GSM phone connects to the Net at 9.6K per second, GPRS promises 115K per second.

GSM
(Global System for Mobile Communication) The digital cellular standard used by mobile phone networks around the world. GSM currently operates using three frequencies: 900MHz, 1800MHz and 1900MHz.

HTML
Hypertext Markup Language) The name given to the code used in scripting Web pages.

Infrared
(IrDA) If a phone has an infrared port, it can be used to transfer contact details or electronic business cards between compatible phones. Handsets with built-in modems (eg, Nokia 7110, Ericsson R320s) can use the modem and the Infrared port to wirelessly connect to the Internet via a laptop or PDA.

LCD
(Liquid Crystal Display) The screen on a mobile phone, capable of displaying monochrome characters and some pictures. WAP handsets take advantage of bigger displays for easier text-browsing.

Microbrowser
Software built in to the phone or SIM card to enable the handset to access and view WAP pages on the Net.

PDA
(Personal Digital Assistant) A digital personal organiser which features e-mail, word processing and spreadsheet functions in addition to the basic address book and calendar options.

Portal
A WAP site which provides a full-range of news, sport and entertainment information. A Portal may also provide a network subscriber's initial connection to the Internet.

Predictive Text Input
Often referred to as T9, a phone with Predictive Text Input has a built-in vocabulary and will attempt to guess the word that you are spelling. Using this system, SMS messages and sometimes e-mails are quicker and easier to write.

Pre-Pay / Pay-As-You-Go
The tag used to describe a way of running a mobile phone without a contract. Instead of being billed for your calls, you buy a voucher that pays for your calls in advance.

SIM
(Subscriber Identity Module) The SIM card is the tiny chip inside each phone that holds the details (and some addresses) of the handset's owner.

Smartphone
A next-generation device that combines the functionality of a mobile phone with the enhanced features (ie, e-mail, organiser, etc) found in a PDA.

SMS
(Short Message Service) Text messages sent and received by mobile phones.

Standby
The number of hours that a battery can power a phone if no calls are received or made from it.

Talk-time
The number of hours that a battery can power a phone when receiving or making a call.

Tri-Band
A phone capable of operating on three different GSM frequencies: 900MHz, 1800MHz and 1900MHz. This enables the phone to use networks in Europe, Asia (900MHz, 1800MHz) and parts of America (1900MHz).

UMTS
(Universal Mobile Telephone System) Orange, Vodafone, BT Cellnet, One 2 One and TIW bid over £22.5 billion for the rights to run the next-generation (3G) phone system. Scheduled for 2002, UMTS phones promise connection speeds fast enough to deliver streaming media such as video.

WAP
(Wireless Application Protocol) The globally adopted set of rules for delivering Internet-based content to mobile devices. WAP has been designed to be viewed on simple displays.

WML
(Wireless Markup Language) The name given to the code used in scripting WAP pages. As a WAP phone cannot process an HTML Web page, WML was developed to deliver content to small and primitive screens.