Human Jargon Guide

Network
A network also known as Mobile Network Operator (MNO) is the company which provides the signal for you to be able to make calls, send text messages, etc. Each of the networks works off a frequency -

Virgin Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Asda Mobile, Sainsbury's Mobile, Talk Talk Mobile, etc are reffered to as Virtual Networks (MVNO) because they use the infrastructure of those in the table but just rebrand the name you see on your screen. Virgin Mobile uses T-Mobile's network for exmaple.

Dimensions
The dimensions of each product is measured in millimeters and we use this format (H x L x W).

Weight
The weight of the product includes the standard battery supplied and is measured in grams

Display Type
Displays are generally STN, TFT, TFD or OLED depending on product.

Display Size
Measured in the industry standard pixels - the more pixels the better the graphics will show on the screen

Other Screens
Sometimes you can have two screen like a dual screen mobile and here we will inform you of the other screens measurements in terms of pixels

Ringtones Type
The majority of mobile phones use polyphonic ringtones which give you the nice note sounds. However more up to date mobiles now have the ability to play different music types as the ringtone including actual songs in MP3 format.

Vibration
We will let you know whether your handset vibrates when you recieve a text message or a phone/video call. Some handsets only ring then vibrate whilst others have the ability to do this simultaneously.

Memory
Phonebook - some mobile phones have the ability to store up to the actual phone memory capacity whereas others may be llimited to 500, 1000 or even 2000 names and numbers including the multiple numbers under one name.
Internal - Normally measured in Mb - Megabytes or Gb - Gigabytes. There are 1024Mb in a Gb.
External - External memory allows you to purchase a memory card - common is MicroSD and slot it into your device. We will always inform you of which one is compatible for your device.

Mobile Internet
GPRS - General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) allowed you to access the mobile internet which was promindantely text based.
HSCSD - High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data (HSCSD), is a development of Circuit Switched Data (CSD), It allows maximum transfer rates (using four time slots) up to 57 kbit/s which was the same speed as your home dial up internet.
EDGE - Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) is a digital mobile phone technology which can carry data speeds up to 384 kbit/s in packet mode.
3G - 3G stands for 3rd-generation mobile technology. The services associated with 3G provide the ability to transfer both voice data and non-voice data. 3G brings wireless transmission speeds, which allow full motion video, high-speed internet access and video-conferencing. This technology is currently also reffered to as HSDPA the max speed is currently 7.2Mpbs which is almost home broadband speeds.
Wifi - Wifi or WLAN is a local arean network just like your home wireless system that allows you to connect to the internet at your home broadband speeds and sometimes event faster depending on location.

Bluetooth
Bluetooth is widley used to connect wireless handsfree kits and to send pictures or music between handsets. It is also an industrial specification for wireless personal area networks (PANs). Bluetooth provides a way to connect and exchange information between devices like PDAs, mobile phones, laptops, PCs, printers and digital cameras via a secure, low-cost, globally available short range radio frequency.

Infrared
Older technology which gives the user the ability to exchange data with notebooks, printers, PDAs or other phones wirelessly via invisible infrared light. The connection works only in close distance and direct visibility. You use this on your remote control for your TV.

USB
Now becoming an extremley common standard USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a type of plug-in connection that is used to connect some phones to PC. USB is useful for quickly transferring files to and from phones, or for synchronizing address book and calendar information with a computer application such as Outlook.

Messaging
SMS - Short Messaging Services also known as Text Messaging is a piece of technology that allows you to send text/words using your mobile phone to another mobile anywhere in the world as this is a common industry standard.
E-Mail - Electronic Mail or e-Mail is used to send quick messages between two or more people. All email addresses carry the format of name@somewhere.com for instance stanley@thehumanmanualonline.com is a email adress. Emails are used to send information quickly rather than sending a letter via post.
EMS - Enhanced Messaging Services allows you to send of a combination of simple melodies, images, sounds, animations and formatted text as a message to another EMS-compatible phone.
MMS - Multimedia Messaging Service is an advanced messaging service that allows you to send pictures, music and text all combined to another compatible mobile phone. This is considered to be a standard feature across most mobile phones and is sometimes reffered to as Picture Messaging.
T9 - Predictive Texting is a program which enables you to type words faster because it predicts what you are about to write when typing a text message or email. Normally to type 'hello' on a mobile phone you would tap 4 twice, 3 twice, 5 three times, 5 three times and 6 three times. However using T9 you only need to press the corresponding key once example to type hello using T9 all you need to do is tap 4,3,5,5,6.

WAP
Wireless Application Protocol was our first generation mobile internet which comprised of mainy text and very basic black and white images. It was a informatoin service rather than the acutal internet or mobile internet as we see it today.

HTML/xHTML
Internet coding technology that helps to present information in a particular way which is then read by our mobile phone browsers or home computer browsers.

Games
Games have been welcomed entertainment on devices such as mobile phones as it keeps idel minds busy when bored. Gaming is a massive growth area for mobile communications and over the next few years the graphical content of this will be increased dramatically.

Music
MP3 - a standard audio format for music which can be used on computers, laptops, sat nav's and increasingly mobile phones.
AAC - a highly compressed music format used by Apple's iTunes which can be read by compatible devices such as the iPod, iPhone and various other mobile phones.
WMA - Windows Media Audio is a generic standard created by Microsoft for music files. Normally when you rip/copy music from a CD to your Windows computer it will be in the WMA format and can be read by most devices.

Video
MPEG4 - Also known as MPG4 is a new generic standard for media files that contain both audio and visual content known as films/movie/etc.
DivX - A highly compressed video format that can be read by selected devices. This is to be the new and best video standard.
3GP - is the common standard format for movie files recorded from a mobile phone.

Camera
The ability to take pictures using not only the tradiitonal camera but now seen on mobile phones, laptop computers, even sat nav devices. Camera quality is measured in the form of pixels and you may hear terms such as megapixel. The higher the pixels the better quality the image. However other factors also play a part like lens technology.

Battery Technology
Li-ion - Lithium-Ion type of battery, often used to power wireless communication devices. Considered superior to NiCd and NiMH batteries - they are lighter weight, have a relatively long cycle life and generally do not suffer from "memory" effect.
Li-Po - Lithium Polymer type of battery. Similar to Li-Ion batteries, but slightely lighter and the batteries can be molded to any shape

Haptic
Haptic technology is generally used on touch screen devices or devices with buttons and its a response orientated technology. When pressing a button or touching a screen you will normally feel a slight vibration response from the device to notfiy you that it has registered your input.