MOBILE DEFINITIONS :
C - D
Calculator
The basic functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) are included in all calculators but some offer more advanced options such as square root or trigonomic functions.
Some calculators have the option to convert currency and can calculate mortgage payments.
Calendar
Calendars (also known as PIM - Personal Information Manager) allow you to store information about events such as meetings or reminders (e.g. to remind you of someone's birthday). Usually an alarm can be set to sound an alert.
Some devices offer the ability to synchronize the calendar with the one on your computer or your online clendar/task manager.
Call alerts
The mobile phone can alert you of events such as an incoming call or an incoming message in a number of ways.
The two most popular ones are vibration and ringing.
While vibration is pretty much self-explanatory, the ringing alerts can be of several types depending on the mobile phone.
In the past mobile phones used to allow only monophonic tones to be set as ringing alerts. With the advancement of technology, polyphonic ringtones also became supported.
Later on as mobile phones further evolved, they started using MP3 tones for various alert purposes. As more (presumably superior) audio formats became available (such as AAC), they were also added to the mobile phones' alert system.
Recently, mobile phones have even started to use short video clips as call alerts (not to be confused with video calls ).
No matter what kind of ringing tones the mobile phone uses, users have always enjoyed customizing their ringtones by expanding the preset ones supplied by the manufacturer.
Calling Plan
Services offered by the wireless service provider as a package. These usually include activation, monthly charges, per-minute voice call charges, roaming terms, voicemail, data, and international roaming.
Camera
Some phones feature a camera that gives them the ability to work as a digital camera. Often (though not always) the camera is also able to shoot video. The most important characteristics of a camera are the resolution (measured in megapixels), lens focus type (either fixed or automatic) and the presence of a flash. The flash could be either LED (single or even double) or xenon.
The number of megapixels is not always a good measurement of the quality of the photos, but if you plan to print pictures, you would generally get higher quality ones out of higher megapixel cameras.
Auto focus lens are not a guarantee of better image quality, but fixed focus cameras are usually inferior. Most importantly, only auto focus cameras can allow shooting of really close objects - i.e. macro shooting.
Some phones offer optical zoom but those are rare. Most use digital zoom, which degrades the quality of the photo.
Cameras that can work in "video mode" are characterized by the maximum resolution and framerate (frames per second or fps) of the recorded video.
Capacitive Touchscreen
Capacitive touch sensors are used either as buttons or on touchscreens. They work by sensing the electrical properties of the human body instead of pressure and generally they don't work with a stylus so they don't allow handwriting recognition. However, capacitive touchscreens feel more sensitive than their resistive counterparts.
Capacitive touch screens are also considered more durable than resistive touch screens.
Car Kit
In some countries, it is prohibited to use a mobile phone while driving so special accessories are sold which let you make a call without holding the phone in your hand.
Such accessories are sold as kits that may include a holder for the phone, a battery charger, connections to an external speaker and microphone for better audio quality, an external antenna for better reception and a junction box with data port for optional fax/modem connections.
Carrier
Carriers (sometimes service providers, operators) are the companies that sell the use of a wireless network.
Usually they own the network though some (called MVNO) do not.
The network consists of base stations (cell towers) and the infrastructure linking them.
The service allows the user to access the network and they are billed by the minute (for calls) or by kilobytes (for data transfers). Such services are sold as packages known as "calling plans".
CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access)
CDMA is a digital technology for transmitting data. It is a general technology utilized through various standards.
CDMA has no limit on capacity but the base station will only connect users upon determining that the call quality would fall bellow a predetermined limit.
The term is often used to refer to one specific family of technologies - IS-95 (often referred to cdmaOne) and CDMA2000. Networks using this technology operate in the 800 and 1900 MHz frequency bands and are primarily used in the Americas and Asia.
CDMA2000
A 3G wireless technology, evolved from cdmaOne. Improvements over the old standard include faster data rates,
always-on data service, and improved voice network capacity.
There are three types of CMDA2000:
• 1xRTT doubles the capacity of cdmaOne and supports up to 144 kbps data speeds
• 1xEV-DO supports data rates up to 2.4 Mbps but needs to be deployed in a separate spectrum. This standard doesn't support voice calls and needs to be combined with 1xRTT.
• 1xEV-DV supports data rates of around 3-5 Mbps and voice capabilities.
Cell
Wireless networks are comprised of many overlapping cells (the area covered by a base station).
"Cell" can also refer to one or more connected base stations.
Chipset
Mobile phones run on so-called embedded chipsets, which are designed to perform one or a few dedicated functions, often with real-time computing constraints. They are embedded as part of the complete device including hardware and mechanical parts.
The ever popular smartphones are equipped with more advanced embedded chipsets that can do many different tasks depending on their programming.
Thus their CPU (Central Processing Unit) performance is vital for the daily user experience and people tend to use the clock rate of the main CPU that's in the heart of the chipset to compare the performance of competing end products.
As we already pointed out, the clock rate of a processor is only useful for providing performance comparisons between computer chips in the same processor family and generation.
Also, as mobile gaming is increasingly gaining popularity, users have become more aware of the various types of GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) chips that come as part of the mobile chipsets and sometimes even consider their performance when making buying decisions.
cHTML (Compact HyperText Markup Language)
cHTML is a simplified version of HTML with features such as the accesskey attribute for numpad-optimized web navigation, phone number shortcuts for links, and emoji pictorial characters.
cHTML is used exclusively for iMode, a service that is offered only in Japan and several European countries.
Most phones use the older WML format or the newer XHTML Mobile Profile.
CIF (Common Intermediate Format)
A standard resolution - 352 x 288 pixels - used by some digital cameras for either images or video.
Variations include QCIF (Quarter CIF) - 176 x 144 pixels - and SQCIF (Sub Quarter CIF) - 128 x 96.
Clamshell
The phone consists of two halves connected with a hinge in the middle. The hinge allows the phone to be folded close (much like a sea clamshell, hence the name). When the phone is closed, the keyboard is protected from accidental key presses.
The top half usually hosts a small external display and a large internal main display, while the bottom half incorporates the keyboard. The camera (if present) can be on either half.
CMOS (Complementary metal-oxidesemiconductor)
CMOS is one of two major types of image sensor technologies used in digital cameras (the other being CCD).
The image sensor of a digital camera serves as a digital substitute for film in ordinary cameras.
The camera sensor captures light, converts it to electric charge and processes it into electronic signals.
Generally, CMOS sensors are smaller, cheaper and more energy efficient and currently deliver the same image quality as CCD sensors.
Color depth
This refers to the number of different colors a display is able to produce. A higher number results in a broader range of distinct colors. It is commonly accepted that the human eye can discern up to 10 million colors.
Concatenated SMS
Typically, an SMS is 160 characters in length (using Latin characters) but a concatenated SMS has a longer maximum length. The message is composed as a single message and the phone splits it into several shorter messages that are reassembled by the receiving phone. Maximum length varies between 300 and 1,000 characters depending on the device.
CPU (Central Processing Unit)
CPU (Central Processing Unit) - otherwise known as a processor - is an electronic circuit that can execute computer programs. Both the miniaturization and standardization of CPUs have increased their presence far beyond the limited application of dedicated computing machines. Modern microprocessors appear in everything
from automobiles to mobile phones.
The clock rate is one of the main characteristics of the CPU when performance is concerned. Clock rate is the fundamental rate in cycles per second (measured in hertz, kilohertz, megahertz or gigahertz) for the frequency of the clock in any synchronous circuit. A single clock cycle (typically shorter than a nanosecond in modern non-embedded microprocessors) toggles between a logical zero and a logical one state. With any particular CPU, replacing the crystal with another crystal that oscillates with twice the frequency will
generally make the CPU run with twice the performance. It will also make the CPU produce roughly twice the amount of waste heat.
Engineers are working hard to push the boundaries of the current architectures and are constantly searching for new ways to design CPUs that tick a little quicker or use slightly less energy per clock. This produces new cooler CPUs that can run at higher clock rates.
Engineers are working hard to push the boundaries of the current architectures and are constantly searching for new ways to design CPUs that tick a little quicker or use slightly less energy per clock. This produces new cooler CPUs that can run at higher clock rates.
Scientists also continue to search for new designs that allow CPUs to run at the same or at a lower clock rate as older CPUs, but which get more instructions completed per clock cycle.
The clock rate of a processor is only useful for providing comparisons between computer chips in the same
processor family and generation.
Clock rates can be very misleading since the amount of work different computer chips can do in one cycle varies.
Clock rates should not be used when comparing different computers or different processor families. Rather, some
kind of software benchmarks should be used.
Smartphones are equipped with more advanced embedded chipsets that can do many different tasks depending on their programming.
The performance of the CPU that's at the core of the chipset is vital for the daily user experience and the general computing erformance of the smartphone. People tend to use the clock rate of the main CPU to compare the performance of competing end products. But as we already pointed out, the clock rate of a processor is only useful for providing performance comparisons between computer chips in the same processor family and generation. For all other purposes, it's best to use software benchmarks for determining comparative performance.
Crosstalk
A phenomenon by which a signal transmitted on one circuit or channel creates an undesired effect on another circuit. Generally rare in modern digital wireless phone systems but not entirely eliminated.
Stereo crosstalk for example is one of the parameters of audio quality we test when reviewing mobile phones.
The crosstalk measurement is made to determine the amount of signal leaking across from one channel to another or - in purely non-technical terms - it measures how good the stereo is.
CSTN (Color Super Twisted Nematic)
STN is a type of LCD display technology. STN is black and white while CSTN is the color version. (C)STN displays are used on lower end devices.
Typically an STN display has worse image quality and response times than a TFT LCD, but is cheaper and more energy efficient.
CTIA
CTIA is the International Association for the Wireless Telecommunication Industry, an international organization
dedicated to expanding the wireless frontier.
It's basically an international industry trade group representing all wireless communication sectors.
Custom ringtones
Phones come preloaded with a selection of ringtones, yet some phones also allow the user to load a new ringtone. This could be done by writing the notes in a built-in composer, or by downloading the ringtone via a special SMS/MMS or from the internet.
An easy way to transfer custom ringtones to your mobile phone is via a USB data cable, Bluetooth or a memory card reader.
When you want to use custom ringtones, you should check the phone supported file formats beforehand.
D-Pad (Direction Pad)
A circular- or square-shaped pad that provides navigation keys for the four directions: up, down, left and right.
These are the equivalent of the "arrow keys" on a computer keyboard and are used for navigating the user interface.
An enhanced version of the D-pad called an 8-way D-pad allows for scrolling diagonally as well.
Some D-Pads have a center button usually called "select" or "OK". It is used to select a highlighted item in the user interface.
Digital Zoom
Zoom is a feature common among cameras and is used to make the subject appear closer. Cameras on mobile phones often have a zoom feature as well but most often it is digital zoom.
Digital zoom is implemented in one of two ways:
• Cropping - the software crops the image so that the subject would appear bigger on the screen of the phone but the resulting image is smaller than the maximum resolution of the camera. The photo of the subject does not have any more detail than a non-cropped photo would.
• Stretching - this is similar to cropping but instead it stretches the cropped photo to the selected resolution. Since the stretching is done by an algorithm that uses just the information from the cropped photo no additional detail is visible.
Display type
There are lot of display types used in mobile phones. They can be either color or monochrome. Monochrome displays on the other hand can be alphanumeric or graphic. Alphanumeric displays can show only symbols with a constant size, while graphic displays can show fonts of different sizes and animations.
The color displays usually are CSTN, TFT, TFD or OLED with a predominant use of TFT displays in current mobile lineups. There are also two types of touchscreen displays - capacitive and resistive, which are both based on TFT technology.
CAPACITIVE touchscreens work by sensing the electrical properties of the human body, while RESISTIVE ones
operate by sensing direct pressure applied by the user.
The RESISTIVE type can be activated by pressing not only with human skin but also with a stylus and thus allow handwriting recognition input.
DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance)
DLNA refers to both an organization and the technology they created.
The DLNA standard is used for sharing music, photos and video over an existing home network.
For example, by using DLNA you could stream video from your phone to a compatible TV-set using a Wi-Fi network.
DNSe (Digital Natural Sound engine)
DNSe or the Digital Natural Sound engine is a DSP audio enhancement technology developed by Samsung in 2003 and further on implemented throughout many of their product lineups - from TVs and DVD players to portable music players and lately - mobile phones.
As Samsung puts it, the aim of DNSe is to restore the best sonic experience to the end user. Purportedly, the sound engine yields higher quality sound with more natural effects than conventional methods by reproducing the 'genuine' stereo sound intended by the music content creators. It achieves this by actively working on overcoming the limitations of earphones and less-than-ideal speakers to offer realistic stereo and deep bass sounds.
In addition, Samsung have created ideal listening presets that further compensate for the native restrictions of portable multimedia players. The system uses several basic processing methods aiming at various imperfections of the sound produced by portable players.
Concert Hall recreates life-like reflected and reverberated sounds to simulate the experience of a live performance in a concert hall. 3D speaker separates and combines sound to create realistic sense of both space and distance through small-sized speakers. Clarity enhancement tries to electronically restore the distorted
harmonics of the digitally compressed music. Bass Extension applies an electronic harmony logic to correctly play hi-fidelity sounds at an ultra-low frequency through earphones or small-sized speakers. And finally, Street mode selectively adjusts volume so that the tiny notes are audible even in the loud street environment without the uncomfortable boosting of the general volume level.
The DNSe sound enhancement system combines those sound enhancements with different equalizer settings to create various user-centric presets to suit the most common listening scenarios. If that is not enough, the system alows creating custom presets as well.
Samsung DNSe is not to be confused with the Samsung proprietary DNIe (Digital Natural Image engine) technology. DNIe is used in Samsung plasma and high definition television sets (HDTV). Purportedly, DNIe offers better detail than conventional televisions by using four proprietary processes that optimize and enhance image quality: a Motion Optimizer, a Contrast Enhancer, a Detail Enhancer, and a Color Optimizer.
Downlink
The one-way connection from a server (such as the cellular network) to the user device (such as a mobile phone).
Mobile phones typically utilize a two-way connection consisting of downlink and uplink (the connection from the user device to the server) which is asymmetrical - that is, the downlink is much faster than the uplink.
DRM (Digital Rights Management)
Manages the use of copyright-protected data such as music, graphics, videos etc.
For example, DRM can prohibit you sending a downloaded media file to other media such as CD, DVD, or even PC.
Dual-band
Mobile phone networks work using signals on specific frequency bands and a phone must support those bands in order to work with the network. Dual-band refers to the phones ability to work with two different bands. It is important to specify which bands exactly.
Networks in different geographical locations work on different bands - GSM networks in the Americas use the 850 MHz and 1900 MHz bands while networks in Europe, Brazil, Asia and Africa use the 900/1800 MHz bands.
For example an 900/1800 dual-band phone won't work in the US and an 850/1900 phone won't work in Europe. A 900/1900 phone should work on at least one network in most countries around the world.
Dual-Mode
A dual-mode phone is a phone capable of sending/receiving data in two different ways. For example, a dual-mode phone could support both GSM and CDMA.
Dual-SIM
This specifies whether a device is capable of supporting two SIM cards. The two major types of dual-SIM phones are active and standby. Dual-SIM Standby (DSS) requires the user to specify which of the two SIMs is able to make and receive calls, while Dual-SIM Active (DSA) enables both cards to receive calls at the same time. This latter feature usually requires an additional transceiver for the secondary SIM card, and as such consumes more
battery life. More recent models feature Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS) technology which enables them to have two active SIMs with only one transceiver.
DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld)
A European standard specifically for the broadcasting of television content to hand-held devices based on DVB-T.
As of 2007, live trial runs of DVB-H have started in many European countries, as well as other countries around
the world.
Dynamic Memory
A way or organizing different types of data in the phone's memory. Also referred to as Shared memory.
Dynamic memory means that all types of data are stored in the same memory (there is no separate memory for photos, ringtones etc.).
An advantage of dynamic memory over partitioned memory is that it is more flexible - with partitioned memory,
you can fill up the photo memory for example and you won't be able to take any more photos even if other types of memory are free.
