Mobile phone

Sound
In sound, smartphones and feature phones vary little. Some audio-quality enhancing features, such as Voice over
LTE and HD Voice, have appeared and are often available on newer smartphones. Sound quality can remain a
problem due to the design of the phone, the quality of the cellular network and compression algorithms used in
long-distance calls.[26][27] Audio quality can be improved using a VoIP application over WiFi.[28] Cellphones
have small speakers so that the user can use a speakerphone feature and talk to a person on the phone without
holding it to their ear. The small speakers can also be used to listen to digital audio files of music or speech or
watch videos with an audio component, without holding the phone close to the ear.

Battery
The average phone battery lasts two–three years at best. Many of the wireless devices use a Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion)
battery, which charges 500–2500 times, depending on how users take care of the battery and the charging
techniques used.[29] It is only natural for these rechargeable batteries to chemically age, which is why the
performance of the battery when used for a year or two will begin to deteriorate. Battery life can be extended by
draining it regularly, not overcharging it, and keeping it away from heat.[30][31]

SIM card
Main articles: SIM card and Removable User Identity Module

Typical mobile phone mini-SIM card

Mobile phones require a small microchip called a Subscriber Identity Module or SIM card, in order to function.
The SIM card is approximately the size of a small postage stamp and is usually placed underneath the battery in
the rear of the unit. The SIM securely stores the service-subscriber key (IMSI) and the Ki used to identify and
authenticate the user of the mobile phone. The SIM card allows users to change phones by simply removing the
SIM card from one mobile phone and inserting it into another mobile phone or broadband telephony device,
provided that this is not prevented by a SIM lock. The first SIM card was made in 1991 by Munich smart card
maker Giesecke & Devrient for the Finnish wireless network operator Radiolinja.[citation needed]

A hybrid mobile phone can hold up to four SIM cards, with a phone having a different device identifier for each
SIM Card. SIM and R-UIM cards may be mixed together to allow both GSM and CDMA networks to be accessed.
From 2010 onwards, such phones became popular in emerging markets,[32] and this was attributed to the desire
to obtain the lowest calling costs.

When the removal of a SIM card is detected by the operating system, it may deny further operation until a
reboot.[33]

Software
Software platforms

Android smartphones
Main article: Mobile operating system
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This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2018)
Feature phones have basic software platforms. Smartphones have advanced software platforms. Android OS has
been the best-selling OS worldwide on smartphones since 2011.

Mobile app
Main article: Mobile app
A mobile app is a computer program designed to run on a mobile device, such as a smartphone. The term "app"
is a shortening of the term "software application".

Messaging
See also: SMS and MMS

A text message (SMS)

A common data application on mobile phones is Short Message Service (SMS) text messaging. The first SMS
message was sent from a computer to a mobile phone in 1992 in the UK while the first person-to-person SMS
from phone to phone was sent in Finland in 1993. The first mobile news service, delivered via SMS, was launched
in Finland in 2000,[34] and subsequently many organizations provided "on-demand" and "instant" news services
by SMS. Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) was introduced in March 2002.[35]
Application stores
Main article: List of mobile app distribution platforms
The introduction of Apple's App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch in July 2008 popularized manufacturer-
hosted online distribution for third-party applications (software and computer programs) focused on a single
platform. There are a huge variety of apps, including video games, music products and business tools. Up until
that point, smartphone application distribution depended on third-party sources providing applications for
multiple platforms, such as GetJar, Handango, Handmark, and PocketGear. Following the success of the App
Store, other smartphone manufacturers launched application stores, such as Google's Android Market (later
renamed to the Google Play Store), RIM's BlackBerry App World, or Android-related app stores like Aptoide, Cafe
Bazaar, F-Droid, GetJar, and Opera Mobile Store. In February 2014, 93% of mobile developers were targeting
smartphones first for mobile app development.[36]

Sales
By manufacturer
See also: List of best-selling mobile phones and List of mobile phone brands by country
Market share of top-five worldwide mobile phone vendors, Q2 2022
Rank Manufacturer Strategy
Analytics
report[37]
1 Samsung 21%
2 Apple 16%
3 Xiaomi 13%
4 Oppo 10%
5 Vivo 9%
Others 31%
Note: Vendor shipments are
branded shipments and exclude
OEM sales for all vendors.
As of 2022, the top five manufacturers worldwide were Samsung (21%), Apple (16%), Xiaomi (13%), Oppo (10%),
and Vivo (9%).[37]

History
From 1983 to 1998, Motorola was market leader in mobile phones. Nokia was the market leader in mobile
phones from 1998 to 2012.[38] In Q1 2012, Samsung surpassed Nokia, selling 93.5 million units as against Nokia's
82.7 million units. Samsung has retained its top position since then.

Aside from Motorola, European brands such as Nokia, Siemens and Ericsson once held large sway over the global
mobile phone market, and many new technologies were pioneered in Europe. By 2010, the influence of
European companies had significantly decreased due to fierce competition from American and Asian companies,
to where most technical innovation had shifted.[39][40] Apple and Google, both of the United States, also came
to dominate mobile phone software.[39]

By mobile phone operator

Main article: Mobile phone operator
The world's largest individual mobile operator by number of subscribers is China Mobile, which has over 902
million mobile phone subscribers as of June 2018.[41] Over 50 mobile operators have over ten million subscribers
each, and over 150 mobile operators had at least one million subscribers by the end of 2009.[42] In 2014, there
were more than seven billion mobile phone subscribers worldwide, a number that is expected to keep growing.

Use
See also: Smartphone § Use

Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants. 2014 figure is estimated.

Mobile phones are used for a variety of purposes, such as keeping in touch with family members, for conducting
business, and in order to have access to a telephone in the event of an emergency. Some people carry more than
one mobile phone for different purposes, such as for business and personal use. Multiple SIM cards may be used
to take advantage of the benefits of different calling plans. For example, a particular plan might provide for
cheaper local calls, long-distance calls, international calls, or roaming.

The mobile phone has been used in a variety of diverse contexts in society. For example:
A study by Motorola found that one in ten mobile phone subscribers have a second phone that is often kept
secret from other family members. These phones may be used to engage in such activities as extramarital affairs
or clandestine business dealings.[43]
Some organizations assist victims of domestic violence by providing mobile phones for use in emergencies. These
are often refurbished phones.[44]
The advent of widespread text-messaging has resulted in the cell phone novel, the first literary genre to emerge
from the cellular age, via text messaging to a website that collects the novels as a whole.[45]
Mobile telephony also facilitates activism and citizen journalism.
The United Nations reported that mobile phones have spread faster than any other form of technology and can
improve the livelihood of the poorest people in developing countries, by providing access to information in
places where landlines or the Internet are not available, especially in the least developed countries. Use of
mobile phones also spawns a wealth of micro-enterprises, by providing such work as selling airtime on the
streets and repairing or refurbishing handsets.[46]
In Mali and other African countries, people used to travel from village to village to let friends and relatives know
about weddings, births, and other events. This can now be avoided in areas with mobile phone coverage, which
are usually more extensive than areas with just land-line penetration.
The TV industry has recently started using mobile phones to drive live TV viewing through mobile apps,
advertising, social TV, and mobile TV.[47] It is estimated that 86% of Americans use their mobile phone while
watching TV.
In some parts of the world, mobile phone sharing is common. Cell phone sharing is prevalent in urban India, as
families and groups of friends often share one or more mobile phones among their members. There are obvious
economic benefits, but often familial customs and traditional gender roles play a part.[48] It is common for a
village to have access to only one mobile phone, perhaps owned by a teacher or missionary, which is available to
all members of the village for necessary calls.[49]
Content distribution
In 1998, one of the first examples of distributing and selling media content through the mobile phone was the
sale of ringtones by Radiolinja in Finland. Soon afterwards, other media content appeared, such as news, video
games, jokes, horoscopes, TV content and advertising. Most early content for mobile phones tended to be copies
of legacy media, such as banner advertisements or TV news highlight video clips. Recently, unique content for
mobile phones has been emerging, from ringtones and ringback tones to mobisodes, video content that has been
produced exclusively for mobile phones.[citation needed]

Mobile banking and payment

Mobile payment system

Main articles: Mobile banking and Mobile payment
See also: Branchless banking and Contactless payment
In many countries, mobile phones are used to provide mobile banking services, which may include the ability to
transfer cash payments by secure SMS text message. Kenya's M-PESA mobile banking service, for example, allows
customers of the mobile phone operator Safaricom to hold cash balances which are recorded on their SIM cards.
Cash can be deposited or withdrawn from M-PESA accounts at Safaricom retail outlets located throughout the
country and can be transferred electronically from person to person and used to pay bills to companies.

Branchless banking has also been successful in South Africa and the Philippines. A pilot project in Bali was
launched in 2011 by the International Finance Corporation and an Indonesian bank, Bank Mandiri.[50]

Mobile payments were first trialled in Finland in 1998 when two Coca-Cola vending machines in Espoo were
enabled to work with SMS payments. Eventually, the idea spread and in 1999, the Philippines launched the
country's first commercial mobile payments systems with mobile operators Globe and Smart.[citation needed]

Some mobile phones can make mobile payments via direct mobile billing schemes, or through contactless
payments if the phone and the point of sale support near field communication (NFC).[51] Enabling contactless
payments through NFC-equipped mobile phones requires the co-operation of manufacturers, network operators,
and retail merchants.[52][53]

Mobile tracking
See also: Cellphone surveillance and Mobile phone tracking
Mobile phones are commonly used to collect location data. While the phone is turned on, the geographical
location of a mobile phone can be determined easily (whether it is being used or not) using a technique known as
multilateration to calculate the differences in time for a signal to travel from the mobile phone to each of several
cell towers near the owner of the phone.[54][55]
The movements of a mobile phone user can be tracked by their service provider and, if desired, by law
enforcement agencies and their governments. Both the SIM card and the handset can be tracked.[54]

China has proposed using this technology to track the commuting patterns of Beijing city residents.[56] In the UK
and US, law enforcement and intelligence services use mobile phones to perform surveillance operations.[57]

Hackers have been able to track a phone's location, read messages, and record calls, through obtaining a
subscribers phone number.[58]