Jargon Buster

Listing Articles 41 to 58 of 58

Roaming

Is to use a mobile phone outside the user's home country.

Sat Nav

A short name for 'Satellite Navigation'.

Shake Control

The easy way to change your tune: just shake your phone. With Shake control activated, press and hold the Walkman key, then flick your wrist. A vibration lets you know that the track has been changed - a new song from your current playlist is selected randomly then played automatically.

Smartnav

A real-time Satellite Navigation system that keeps drivers moving on the roads.

SIM

The SIM ('Subscriber Identity Module') card is a small postage-stamp sized card that fits inside your phone and contains information about your phone number and can also be used to store your contact names and numbers.

SMS

This stands for 'Short Message Service', allowing users to send and receive mobile phone text messages up to 160 characters long.

Symbian / Series 60

Talking ringtones

Talking ringtones mix the name of the caller with the ringtone so you know who's calling without looking at the screen

Talktime

The length of time a mobile phone battery will retain a charge with the mobile continually making or receiving calls.

Text-to-speech

TrackID

Tri-band

A feature on a mobile phone which enables it to automatically switch between three different frequencies for use in different countries worldwide.

UPnP

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is a set of computer network protocols. The goals of UPnP are to allow devices to connect seamlessly and to simplify the implementation of networks in the home (data sharing, communications, and entertainment) and corporate environments. UPnP achieves this by defining and publishing UPnP device control protocols built upon open, Internet-based communication standards.

The term UPnP is derived from plug-and-play, a technology for dynamically attaching devices directly to a computer.

USB

Stands for 'Universal Serial Bus', which is a standard connection for computers.

uPlus interface

uPlus interface - the latest Samsung's have a selection of these new uPlus services (not all models have every feature)

Black/White UI - Stylish new menu features pop-up sections and a choice of black or white menus.
uMenu - lets the user personalise their own menu of shortcuts for their most often used functions
uGo - An adaptive user interface that automatically responds to the location of the handset. The main screen displays a landmark picture of the country it is in, even adjusting the picture to the time of day or night. There are also tailored graphics and animations alerting you of missed phone calls and other intuitive information.
uTrack - When the sim in the handset is changed, uTrack automatically sends an SMS message to a chosen number (set up by the original owner). The message contains the mobile number of the sim that has been inserted. This is repeated every time the sim is subsequently changed.
Vivid Messaging - gives text messaging even more impact. When a message is received the words are displayed one by one on the screen (like a football vidiprinter). Even better, words like love, happy, car and home are converted into little animated pictures!
Cookie crumb navigation - lets the user navigate quickly and intuitively. It remembers the last menu choice. That way, when the user wants to do something they have just done, they can do it quickly and easily in just a few clicks.  

VOIP

Stands for 'Voice over Internet Protocol' and is the description for voice calls that are made over the Internet.

VPN

Stands for 'Virtual Private Network' for computers, which allows users to access a network securely from mobile locations.

WAP

WAP is the technology that enables a slimmed-down version of the Internet to appear on the screen of a mobile phone. It's ideal for travel information, sports headlines and e-mail - in fact, anything where you need concise information within seconds. The abbreviation stands for Wireless Application Protocol, although most people simply talk about 'WAP sites' and 'WAP phones'.