There's a whole host of terms and expressions in the mobile industry that can sometimes cause confusion. We've listed the main ones below as a guide. You'll also find a submission form at the bottom of this page in case you want clarification on anything.
Jargon Buster |
Listing Articles 1 to 40 of 58 |
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3G |
Is the 3rd generation of mobile digital technology and provides improvements in capacity, speed and efficiency. 3G Services on your Vodafone device can include face-to-face video calling, mobile TV and high speed internet browsing. 3G coverage continues to grow and Vodafone has now started upgrading the network to HSPA speeds. Their extensive 2G (GSM) network covers 99% of the population - allowing users to make and receive calls, send text and picture messages and access mobile email across the UK. |
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A2DP |
| Advanced Audio Distribution Profile. Basic audio in the Bluetooth specification provides a very narrow frequency response that is optimized for voice communication—great for speech, not so great for music. By contrast, A2DP allows high-fidelity audio to be streamed from one Bluetooth device to another. |
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A-GPS |
A-GPS (Assisted GPS) - This feature, which can currently be found on many of the latest handsets including the Nokia 6210 Navigator and the HTC Touch Pro, uses the mobile phone network to assist the GPS, which makes the initial connection to GPS quicker and gives a more exact location. |
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AVRCP |
| This profile is designed to provide a standard interface to control TVs, Hi-fi equipment, etc. to allow a single remote control (or other device) to control all of the A/V equipment to which a user has access. It may be used in concert with A2DP or VDP. |
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BlackBerry |
The BlackBerry solution consists of smartphones integrated with software that enables access to email and other communication services. The BlackBerry solution gives mobile users access to email, phone, data, applications, games and the Internet from a smartphone. The solution can be customised to meet the needs of one person or an entire enterprise, to any scale, in any industry. |
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Bluetooth |
A low power radio technology developed with the objective of eliminating wires. Bluetooth headsets paired to mobile phones are a common application for hands-free calls. Why is it called Bluetooth? The Viking king Harald Bluetooth united Norway and Denmark. He was renowned as a great communicator, skilled at bringing people together to talk to each other - but he would never have guessed that a thousand years later a powerful technology would be named after him! |
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DARP |
| DARP (Downlink Advanced Receiver Performance) is a method that increases network capacity by reducing interference in mobile radio networks, and can mean better voice quality on calls. |
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DLNA |
The Digital Living Network Alliance is an international, cross-industry collaboration of consumer electronics, computing industry and mobile device companies. Members of DLNA share a vision of wired and wireless interoperable networks where digital content such as photos, music, and videos can be shared through consumer electronics (CE), personal computers (PCs), and mobile devices in and beyond the home. DLNA is focused on delivering an interoperability framework of design guidelines based on internationally recognized open industry standards together with a certification and logo program to officially verify and validate the conformance and interoperability of compliant products for consumers.
There are more than 3000 DLNA CERTIFIED products from 36 different manufacturers registered as of September 2008, out of which about 900 are publicly listed on the DLNA website. |
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Exchange Active Sync |
Exchange ActiveSync in Microsoft Exchange Server lets devices such as a browser-enabled cellular telephone or a Microsoft Windows Mobile powered device access corporate information on a server that is running Exchange. Exchange ActiveSync is a data synchronization service that enables mobile users to access their e-mail, calendar, and contacts and retain access to this information while they are offline.
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Extranet |
Connection of a organisation's Intranet to the Internet, usually to allow selected users to access information and applications. |
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Flight mode |
| In Flight mode (sometimes known as offline mode), the radio function is turned off so it doesn't disturb sensitive equipment, e.g. in a plane or hospital. You can't make or take calls, but you can still use some of the functions in your phone ie music player, camera, etc.
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FM Transmitter |
A built-in FM transmitter lets you share your music the easy way. Just tune in your phone to an FM frequency and send the music to other FM receiver devices, i.e. a car radio. |
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FPS |
| Frame rate, or frame frequency, is the measurement of the frequency (rate) at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to computer graphics, video cameras, film cameras, and motion capture systems. Frame rate is most often expressed in frames per second (FPS) and in progressive-scan monitors as hertz (Hz). |
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GSM |
Stands for Global System for Mobile Communications and is a digital mobile telephone system widely in used in Europe and beyond. As many GSM network operators have roaming agreements with their foreign counterparts, users can often use their mobiles when abroad. |
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GB |
| A gigabyte is a unit of information or computer storage meaning either exactly 1 billion bytes or approximately 1.07 billion bytes.The usage of the word "gigabyte" is ambiguous: the value depends on the context. |
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GPRS |
Stands for General Packet Radio Service and provides mobile phones with a continous wireless connection. Users do not pay for the time they are connected, only for the amount of data sent or received. |
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GPS |
Stands for Global Positioning System and is a worldwide radio-navigation system using satellites. |
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Hands Free |
An expression used for equipment that will allow calls to be made without physically holding a handset. |
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Handwriting Recognition |
| Text input using stylus on touchscreen: write a character as you would with a pen, and it transforms it into the corresponding letter on a keyboard. |
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HSPA |
HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) is like having your home cable broadband experience delivered to your mobile phone or notebook.
HSPA is part of the GSM 3G network and is (predominately) a software upgrade of the network infrastructure. To use the high speed variant, you need a mobile device that is HSPA-enabled - most new mobile phones and high-end notebooks have these as standard.
The two HSPA enhancements that are available now are HSDPA and HSUPA, with HSPA+ to follow, most likely in 2009. |
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HSDPA |
| HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) or Mobile Broadband is a recent mobile telecommunications protocol, which has also been called 3.5G. Vodafone UK was the first UK operator to launch HSDPA and now provides downlink speeds of up to 7.2MB/sec. |
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HSUPA |
| HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access) - this is a further enhancement to increase the speed by which you communicate from your mobile device - for example, this enables you to upload videos to YouTube in seconds so that you can share the experience in real time. The upload speeds which were at 384kb/s with HSDPA are now increased to a maximum of 5.7Mb/s. |
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IMEI |
Stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity, & it's the equipment's serial number. |
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Intranet |
An internal website providing information. |
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IP |
Stands for Internet Protocol, and is the method by which data is sent from one computer to another on the Internet |
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ISP |
Stands for an Internet Service Provider, and it's a company that provided access to the Internet. |
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LAN |
Stands for Local Area Network. |
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Landline |
This is a term to describe a fixed telephone line. |
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MB |
| A megabyte (MB) is a unit of information or computer storage equal to either 1,000,000) bytes or 1,048,576 bytes, depending on context. |
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Memory cards/sticks |
| A memory card or flash memory card is a solid-state electronic flash memory data storage device used with digital cameras, handheld and Mobile computers, telephones, music players, video game consoles, and other electronics. They offer high re-record-ability, power-free storage, small form factor, and rugged environmental specifications. Typically used on mobile phones to store music and photos. The most common memory cards today are the microSD and the Sony Memory Stick M2 which come in sizes up to 8GB. |
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MMS |
Is an acronym for Multimedia Messaging Service, which allows you to send and receive text, pictures and sound in one message. |
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NIPS |
| Nokia proprietary processing algorithm (NIPS) for better pictures in challenging lighting conditions |
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OS |
| Operating System - the platform which controls the operation of a mobile device. Popular OS include Symbian, Symbian UIQ, Palm and Microsoft's Windows Mobile. An group of companies, the Open Handset Alliance, headed by Google, are to launch the latest OS, Andriod, during 2008. |
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PAC |
Stands for 'Porting Authorisation Code', and it's used by customer's as their authorisation from their current mobile network to enable them to take their mobile number to another network. |
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PDA |
Stands for a 'Personal Digital Assistant' and is a small, handheld computer that is used as a personal organiser and communicator. |
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PIN |
| Personal Identity Number - a security code (often 4 digits) that is manually set by a customer to prevent unauthorised usage of a service. The default PIN on the Vodafone network is 0000. |
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Port |
Means to transfer a number to or from another mobile network. |
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POP3 |
Stands for Post Office Protocol version 3, which is a protocol used for sending email over the Internet. |
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PUK Code |
This is PIN Unlocking Key, and is required when a PIN has been entered incorrectly several times. This code can only be obtained from the user's mobile network. |
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Quad-Band |
A feature on a mobile phone which enables it to automatically switch between four different frequencies for use in different countries worldwide. |
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