Mobile Phones: No More a Comfort, But a Necessity

The long range, portable electronic device used for telecommunication that uses a network of specialized base stations known as cell sites are popularly known as mobile phone. Also known as hand phone, this gadget supports many other services and accessories such as SMS for text messaging, email, and MMS for sending photos and videos. Most of these Mobile Phones connect to a cellular network of base stations which are interconnected to the public switched telephone network. The history of the phones that require no cable begins from 1945. It was in that year, the zero generation of handsets got introduced. Motorola Dyna TAC was the first approved mobile phone that got released in 1983. The cellular systems needed various leaps of technology including handover that permits a conversation to continue from cell to cell. In the present day, these phones have become a popular device.

NTT launched the first commercial cellular network in 1979 in Japan. It was in the middle of eighties that fully automatic cellular networks got introduced. Radiolinja launched the first modern network technology on digital 2G in Finland in 1991. This was the beginning of the competition among the mobile companies. Nokia mobile phones, Samsung mobile phones, and LG mobile phones are some other leading names in the mobile phone market. The handsets in those periods were of big size and could not be easily carried in the pockets. It was by the middle of nineties that they became portable. The market of this particular type of phones showed a sudden increase in the developed countries. In many European countries, the total number of mobile phones is more than the number of the people. As per a study by Eurostat, Luxembourg has the highest mobile penetration rate at 158 mobile subscribers per 100 people followed by Lithuania and Italy. The mobile penetration rate in Hong Kong is 139.8% of the total population while in the U.S, it is 81%. The growth rate of African cellular markets is twice faster than Asian markets. It is the availability of pay-as-you go services that helped in the growth of the African market. India is one of the largest growing markets for mobile networks. It adds up about 6 million phones every month taking the total number of subscribers to 256.55 million.

The main problem faced by the handset users is the rise in the number of models in the market. Each model comes out carrying features and services that are technically advanced. Sony Ericsson has recently released a few models that are really stunning. It becomes necessary for the user to consider various factors while using a mobile phone. In most of the cases, it is seen that users use up every last drop of their energy before they recharge; which should be avoided. It will be foolish to recharge the phone, while it is not holding the charge for a long time. In such a case the purchase of a new battery will be more beneficial.

The life of the handset could be extended by lowering the brightness of the screen back light. The receiving of the signal is a big reason for the drainage of the cell battery. It will be therefore better to limit playing games, listening to music, taking picture or surfing internet on the handset as all these will drain the battery faster. Make it sure that the downloading of web features, games, ring tones, wall paper and screen savers do not recur fees as it may eat a big share of the monthly bill.

The mobile subscribers while purchasing a cell phone with one or two year contract or pay-per use agreement must have a complete idea of the usage of phone. This will help in cutting short the phone bills. Never forget to ensure that the roaming charges are a part of the deal as otherwise the bills will shoot up while traveling. Be careful of the hidden costs before signing the agreement. The user should also make sure that the parts and accessories could be easily obtained from any regular phone store. Even the purchase of the mobile phone from any internet based company should not create problems in availing the spare parts.