MOBILE DEFINITIONS :
A - B
A-GPS (Assisted GPS)
Assisted GPS (A-GPS) is used to speed up start-up times of GPS-based positioning systems. GPS may have
problems getting a lock when the signal is weak and in such a case A-GPS would assist in getting a lock.
This, however, is achieved by the use of an Assistance Server, so a data connection is required and charges
may apply for the data transfer.
A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile)
A2DP is used for streaming stereo music wirelessly to headphones or speakers over Bluetooth.
Unlike other Bluetooth profiles (Headset and Handsfree), A2DP is one-way only and streams a stereo signal.
AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)
AAC is a file format for storing digital audio. It's commonly used for storing music on the Internet, PCs and
portable music players and phones.
It is similar to MP3, but it was designed to be its successor and offers better quality and sma ller file sizes. It also
supports DRM, which enforces copyright.
AAC+ and AAC++ are newer versions of the standard.
Accelerometer
The accelerometer is a built-in electronic component that measures tilt and motion. It is also capable of detecting rotation and motion gestures such as swinging or shaking.
The most common use for it is to activate auto screen rotation on mobile devices when the user changes their orientation from portrait to landscape or vice-versa.
Another modern application for the accelerometer is to control the mobile device music player with gestures (Sony Ericsson Shake control or Samsung Motion play technologies).
Accelerometers are also utilized for enriching the gaming controls (navigating by tilting the device instead of by pressing keys).
Another popular mobile phone feature based on an accelerometer is turn-to-mute. It allows user to mute an incoming call, silence an alarm or pause the mobile music player simply by turning the device face down.
Alarm Clock
This is a feature allowing a mobile phone to act like a common alarm clock but with more flexibility.
Currently, all mobile phones offer this functionality with varying feature sets. For example, most devices allow you
to set an unlimited number of alarms and set them to repeat on a daily or weekly basis. Some even allow a
customizable snooze period and with the most advanced devices you can silence an alarm just by turning the
device face down.
Using a favorite FM radio station as an alarm tone is also an option with some handsets.
Some phones require the device to be on for the alarm to work while others do not.
Alphanumeric
A string of characters containing both letters (A-Z) and numbers (0-9).
An alphanumeric text entry field will accept both letters and numbers. An alphanumeric keypad is one with both
letters and numbers on the keys.
AMOLED display (Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode)
AMOLED is an emerging display technology used in portable devices like mobile phones. Active-matrix OLED displays provide the same performance as their passive-matrix OLED counterparts, but they consume significantly less power.
This advantage makes active-matrix OLEDs well suited for portable electronics where battery power consumption is critical.
Analog
A method of transmitting information using energy waves. It doesn't have discrete levels but is a continuously variable wave. Human voice for example is transferred by directly converting the sound wave to electricity.
Analog cell phones (known also as 1G) used this technology. However virtually all modern cell phones use digital signals (2G or later).
Android
Android is a Linux-based smartphone operating system and software platform created by Google.
The Android platform is supported by the Open Handset Alliance and is open source. Any manufacturer can use Android on their phones and software written for the platform will run on Android-based devices regardless of manufacturer.
Android competes with Windows Mobile, S60, and other smartphone platforms.
Antenna
The physical device used for sending/receiving radio waves. Older phones used external antennas while most current phones use an internal antenna. The size and shape of the antenna is designed according to the type of radio waves being used.
APN (Access Point Name)
APN is the name (web address) of an access point for GPRS/EDGE/UMTS data connection. Usually wireless
carriers provide the APN to their end users.
Audio jack
A common connector for plugging in a standard pair of music headphones such as the ones found on music
players, computers and most other electronic devices with audio outputs.
It can support stereo and/or microphone, depending on the number of separate connector rings on the jack.
Some phones offer only a 2.5 mm jack, which is a smaller variety of the same principle.
Headphones supplied with mobile phones usually have a mic somewhere along the cable and a remote button that allows for managing calls without using the phone.
Some manufacturers opt for placing a 3.5mm audio jack on this remote control instead of directly on the phone itself. The reason for this is that 3.5mm jacks take up quite a lot of internal space; plus, in this way the user gets
to keep the remote control/mic functionality while using third -party headphones.
Auto-focus
Auto-focus is a feature of digital cameras that allows them to focus correctly on a subject. It enhances the quality
of the photo over fixed-focus cameras and allows for close-ups (or the even closer macro shots).
Phones use passive auto-focus with contrast measurement. This means that the camera needs contrast to focus
and have problems focusing on a blank wall or in low light conditions.
Some phones can use their camera LEDs as a focus assist light to help deal with the latter case.
AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile)
AVRC is a Bluetooth profile that allows remote control of media playback on other devices. Supported functions are play, pause, stop, next, and previous.
It is usually coupled with A2DP so that, for example, wireless headphones use A2DP to stream the music and AVRC to control playback.
Band
A specific range of frequencies (for example those between 1850 MHz and 1995 MHz) are called a band.
Bandwidth
Bandwidth is used to measure the data throughput of a channel or connection. It's the amount of data that can be
sent over a connection in a given amount of time without distortion. It should not be confused with band.
Bar
The bar form factor is the most common and simple form factor for a mobile phone. The body of a bar phone is one, single block and has no moving parts (aside from the buttons). "Locking" the keyboard is done to prevent accidental key presses when the phone is carried in a pocket, purse, etc.
Base Station
A fixed station that uses radio waves to communicate with mobile devices. It serves as the link between the user's device and the carrier's network.
Base stations range in size and area of coverage. Some may cover a radius of several kilometers while others cover only a few city blocks. Most stations transmit in all directions but there are also directional antennas aimed at a specific direction.
Usually base stations are owned by a single carrier but may offer roaming coverage for other networks.
Bit
A binary digit. The values of a bit are either "0" or "1". Eight bits form a byte.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks.
There are two important parameters of Bluetooth devices - class and supported profiles.
"Class" signifies the distance at which a Bluetooth connection is possible. Most mobile devices are Class 2,
which means they have a range of up to 10 m. Class 1 devices are rare and have a range of up to 100 feet.
A "profile" is a type of Bluetooth connection. The most common are the Headset (HSP) and Handsfree (HFP)
profiles that enable the device to connect to a wireless headset or handsfree.
Some other profiles are OBEX (OBject EXchange) which allows transfer of files, contacts and events; A2DP, which adds support for streaming of stereo sound and AVRC, which allows remote control of playback.
BPS (Bits per Second)
A measure of data transmission speeds, the amount of bits transferred in a single second. Typically, speeds are measured in kbps (1000 bits per second).
Note: kBps (with a capital B) denotes bytes per second.
Brand
Not necessarily the same thing as a manufacturer, as most carriers do not fabricate their own devices, but rather
acquire them from manufacturers and sell them under their own brand. This is called re-branding.
Broadband
In data communications, a "broadband connection" is a connection with a high speed of data transfer (greater than 56 kbps). Generally, it is fast enough to support streaming video.
Browser
A piece of software that allows the user to access Internet sites.
Most current handsets are equipped with browsers capable of viewing common websites (those intended for a desktop browser).
Web browsers on budget cellphones may be capable of viewing only websites specially made for mobile devices.
The most advanced devices currently have web browsers with full Flash support that allows them to play even embedded Flash video (such as the videos from YouTube).
Byte
A string of 8 bits.
Typically, one byte equals one character of text but in some cases (especially with non-Latin alphabets), two or more bytes are used. Because of this, an SMS written in Cyrillic or Chinese alphabets has shorter maximum length than one written in the Latin alphabet.
