A beginner's guide to mobile phone technology

In the last ten years, the mobile phone market has exploded, with handsets becoming evermore technologically advanced. This has allowed phones to be used as more than a means of just calling and texting people. Camera's and MP3 players are now common place in phones. This article will give an introduction into mobile phone technology.

Introduction

Phone technology is moving forward all the time, with companies striving to provide better phones and options for their customers. This means that there are constantly new phones hitting the market. However, they usually fit into one of a few categories. These categories are in their most basic forms.

Smartphones

Smartphones now account for a large proportion of phones sold in the UK and globally every year. They have many useful features such as Wi-Fi, mobile cameras, MP3 Players, GPS, and above all, the ability to download apps to add functionality to your phone. These can include organisational apps, games and many other features and with both the Apple App store and the Android App market boasting 100,000's of apps. There are apps for almost every possible need. Operating Systems Most smartphones run one of three Operating Systems, Android ( phone makers such as HTC or Sony), Apple IOS (exclusively run by iPhones) , Windows (By makers such as HTC). The phone batteries do not always last very long on smartphones as they have big screens and 3G handsets also use more power, but allow for faster Internet speeds. Finally, many companies use BlackBerry phones as work phones as they are great as email phones and have many company-friendly features such as a full qwerty keyboard.

The rest

There are many phones out there that do their job well. If they are not smartphones, they are usually relatively cheap and lacking in features. However, they can provide inexpensive ways to communicate. Many of these phones take one or two features from their more expensive counterparts such as a camera or MP3 player. Some of these phones even start at around £1 which makes them a great value. Finally, whatever phone you choose, make sure that you check on the Internet to get a good deal. Happy phone hunting.