Mobile technology is the enabling power behind the devices we use to communicate, shop and play games. It has become a critical part of our daily lives, making it almost impossible to imagine life without it. The constant evolution of mobile technology brings new opportunities and challenges for the human race.
When you speak into your cellphone, a microphone converts the up-and-down pattern of sound into corresponding up-and-down patterns of electrical signals. A microchip then turns these into a sequence of numbers. It packs up the numbers into a radio wave, which travels at the speed of light until it reaches the nearest cell phone mast (also called an antenna). The mast then transmits the signal to another mast, and so on.
GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications
In 1982, European telephone companies agreed on a worldwide standard for cellphones to operate on the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) network. This specific mobile technology enables people to use voice and SMS text messaging on their cellphones, as well as access the mobile Internet. It also makes it easy to swap SIM cards between phones.
3G: Third-generation (3G) cellular networks introduced faster data transmission rates and enabled mobile video calling and music downloads. EDGE: Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution
4G: Fourth-generation (4G) cellular networks brought even faster Internet connection speeds and HD mobile television to smartphones.
5G: The fifth-generation of mobile technology offers blazing fast speeds for downloading movies, playing online games and surfing the Web. It will be the foundation for the next generation of connected cars and home automation systems, as well as other emerging technologies.