ACCESS FEE
A fee that local telephone companies charge all telephone customers for the right to connect with a local phone network.

ACTIVATION FEE
The initial set up fee or cost to turn on a cell phone so that it can operate within the selected carrier network. Many cell phone have activation or set up fees up front, which they could refund to the customer in a form of a rebate later.

AIRTIME
The time spent talking on a cellular telephone. The total airtime usage is both the outgoing and incoming calls you receive.

Alphanumeric Display
A display capable of containing letters and numbers, but not graphics.

ANTENNA
A device used for transmitting, sending and receiving radio signals. Antenna boosters can also be used to increase transmissions.

BELT CLIP
An attachment for a cell phone to 'hook'. Many incorporate a cover for the protection of the cell phone, and some of these covers provide intended protection from Radio Frequency or RF type radiation.

BLUETOOTH
A wireless personal area network (PAN) specification that connects phones, computers, appliances, etc. over short distances without wires by using low power radio frequencies.
Bluetooth allows you to leave your phone in your pocket, while talking on your phone with a Bluetooth headset - with no wires. You can also exchange contact or scheduling information with other Bluetooth-enabled phones nearby, or send such information to a nearby Bluetooth-enabled printer.

CALLER ID
A calling feature which displays the originating phone number of an incoming call.

CALLING PLAN
A rate plan selected by subscribers when they start up cellular service, usually consisting of a base rate for system access and a per-minute rate for usage. Service plans are designed to provide the most cost-effective rates for different types and amounts of usage by the cellular subscriber.

CDMA
Code Division Multiple Access. A type of digital wireless technology that allows large amounts of voice and data to be transmitted on the same frequency.

CELL
The basic geographic unit of a cellular system and the basis for the generic industry term "cellular." A city or county is divided into small "cells," each of which is equipped with a low-powered radio transmitter/receiver. The cells can vary in size depending on terrain and capacity demands. By controlling the transmission power and the radio frequencies assigned from one cell to another, a computer at the Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO) monitors the movement and transfers (or hands off) the phone call to another cell and another radio frequency as needed.

CHARGERS
Please use the correct charger for your cell phone battery. All cell phones we give or sell come with a free desktop charger, unless otherwise stated. Chargers are often referred to as "overnight" or "rapid", with overnight chargers fully charging in eight to ten hours from beginning of cycle. They fill at a low charge rate, and sometimes lack the safety features of preventing overcharge because batteries can better withstand low charging current. Rapid chargers recharge the battery or batteries more quickly. The charge isn't continuous; rather, it's reduced as the battery reaches full charge. Sub types of battery chargers include vehicle cigarette lighter plug-ins, desktop chargers intended for indoor use on a flat surface, and small travel chargers that simply plug into an electrical outlet. There are also solar type cell phone battery chargers on the market.

COVERAGE AREA
The area which a wireless network company offers service for their cell phone subscribers.

DUAL BAND
A wireless phone which is capable of operating on two different frequencies.

DUAL MODE
A wireless device that can be operated on analog or digital transmission networks.

EDGE
Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution. A technology being promoted by the TDMA and GSM communities that is capable of both voice and 3G data rates up to 384 Kbps. The standard is based on GSM standard and uses TDMA multiplexing technology.

EMS
Enhanced Message Service. An extension of SMS that enables the sending of a combination of simple melodies, images, sounds, animations and formatted text as a message to another EMS-compatible phone.

GPRS
General Packet Radio Service. A packet-switched technology that enables high-speed wireless Internet and other data communications. GPRS offers a tenfold increase in data speed over previous technologies, up to 115kbit/s (in theory). Typical real-world speeds are around 30-40 Kbps. Using a packet switching, subscribers are always connected and always on-line.
GPRS is considered a 2.5G technology.

GPS
Global Positioning System. A system of satellites, computers, and receivers that is able to determine the latitude and longitude of a receiver on Earth by calculating the time difference for signals from different satellites to reach the receiver.

GSM
Global System for Mobile communications. The international digital radio standard created by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute. GSM is currently the dominant 2G digital mobile phone standard for most of the world.

HANDSET
A wireless or cellular phone, cell phone, digital, PCS, or analog mobile phone.

HANDS-FREE KIT
With Hands-Free Kits, you can use your cell phone in your car without taking your hands from the wheel, or your eyes from the road. A mounted speaker and microphone provide you with a speakerphone in your vehicle, which can also be set to automatically pick up. The portable hands free uses a cigarette lighter male plug, while mounted hands free cell phone kits connect permanently to the vehicle's power supply. Wireless hands-free kits allow the use of your cellular phone without interfering with driving.

HSCSD
High Speed Circuit Switched Data. An enhancement to GSM networks that enables data speeds to be boosted from 9.6 kbps in multiples up to 57.6 kbps.

IMEI
International Mobile Equipment Identity. A unique serial number used on digital mobile phones.

INFRARED PORT (IrDA)
Allows cell phones, PDAs, and other devices to connect to each other for various purposes. Infrared is a wireless technology that uses a beam of invisible light to transmit information.

JAVA (J2ME)
Java 2 Micro Edition. A feature that allows the device to run specially-written applications. J2ME applications can provide specific functions such as a tip calulator, they can be games, or they can be custom-written corporate applications. Some phones allow you to download new applications directly from Internet while others require a data cable to transfer the applications from a PC.

LCD
Liquid Crystal Display. LCD displays utilize two sheets of polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution between them. An electric current passed through the liquid causes the crystals to align so that light cannot pass through them.
Monochrome LCDs in phones usually have both a backlight and a reflective backing, allowing them to be equally usable in both bright light and complete darkness.
Color LCDs come in many types. STN, TFT, and TFD are several common technologies used.

Li-Ion battery
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 battery
Lithium Polymer type of battery. Similar to Li-Ion batteries, but slightely lighter and the batteries can be molded to any shape.

MMS
Multimedia Messaging Service. A further extension of SMS and EMS. MMS is designed to make use of newer and quicker mobile transmission methods such as GPRS, HSCSD, EDGE and UMTS, involving the attachment of multimedia extensions to messages, such as video and sound.

OFF-PEAK HOURS
The hours after the business day and during weekends when the wireless networks have less transmission. During these hours the rates are usually cheaper.

PEAK HOURS
The hours during the business day when wireless networks have the most transmission. During these hours the rates are the most expensive.

PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER, or PIN
Used together with SIM card technology to place calls using prepaid cell phones.

PREPAID CELLULAR
A payment method often used by folks with a specified budget, allowing one to pay for cellular service minutes in advance. Cell phone calling minutes on prepaid are often much more expensive than those bought under contract.

POLYPHONIC RINGTONES
Polyphonic ringtones can create multiple tones simultaneously. This produces a more natural and realistic sound for melodies. Usually about 16 - 32 tones can be produced at a time.

PREDICTIVE TEXT INPUT
A technology which allows you to enter text by pressing only one key per letter. The phone will automatically compare all of the possible letter combinations against a built-in dictionary of words. The current Predictive Text Input implementations are T9, iTAP and eZiText.

ROAMING
The ability to use a cellular phone outside of your cellular or PCS company's service area.

SIM
Subscriber Identity Module. The smart card used in digital phones. It carries the user's identity for accessing the network and receiving calls and also stores personal infromation, such as phone directory and received SMS messages.

SMS
Short Message Service. A service that enables subscribers to send short text messages (usually about 160 characters) to and from mobile phones.

STANDBY TIME
The length of time that a cell phone is completely ready to send or receive calls, but is not being used in a call. This is one way of evaluating the battery, as well as the efficiency of the cell phone.

STN
Super Twisted Nematic. A type of LCD display technology. STN uses less power and is less costly than TFT technology, but at the expense of image quality and response time.

TALK TIME
The length of time a person can talk on the cell phone without recharging the battery. Usually expressed in minutes.

T9
Predictive Text Input Implementation. See Predictive Text Input for more details.

TDMA
Time Division Multiple Access is a digital transmission format used for D-AMPS and GSM format.

TFD
Thin Film Diode. A type of LCD display technology. TFD technology combines the excellent image quility and fast response times of TFT, with the low power consumption and low cost of STN.

TFT
Thin Film Transistor. A type of LCD display technology. Compared to other types of LCD technology, TFT features excellent image quality and response time, but uses more power, and is more expensive.

UMTS
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

VOICE DIAL
A feature that allows the user to dial a telephone number by speaking.

VOICE MAIL
(Also called voice messaging) A computerized answering service that automatically answers your call, plays a greeting in your own voice and records a message. After you retrieve your messages, you can delete, save, reply to or forward the messages to someone else on your voice mail system.

VOICE RECOGNITION
A feature allowing cell phones to be operated by spoken words.

VIBRATING ALERT
A cell phone feature telling the user of an incoming call by means of a vibration mechanism.

WAP
Wireless Application Protocol. Wireless Application Protocol is an open, global specification that empowers mobile users with wireless devices to easily access and interact with information and services instantly.

WCDMA
Wideband CDMA: Technology for wideband wireless access supporting 3G cell phone services, and allows very high-speed multimedia services like internet access and videoconferencing.

WIRELESS INTERNET
A service granting access to the World Wide Web or internet e-mail via wireless networks.

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