Talk:Mobile phone

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[edit] References

One reference for the NMT becoming operational in 1981 is the book by Gordon Stüber: Principles of Mobile Communications, 2nd edition. Can't add it myself because the article is protected. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.69.170.1 (talk) 13:30, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] External Links

I found a pretty good resource on cell phones which doesn't appear to be a shill for a cell phone company or provider. They seem genuinely informative and helpful (and no, I don't work for them - lol). The site is: www.cellphoneinfo.com. Could someone else take a look at the site and confirm its usefulness? i'd like to add it as an external source. - Arcayne (cast a spell) 17:00, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

I have a concern with the sentence in bold: "Study of the University of Segeda, Hungary showed that mobile phones carried in pockets of pants and/or worn on belts could result in loss of quantity and quality of active sperm cells by men. This fact may not be true, especially in wealthier countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia." (http://www.infoniac.com/health-fitness/cellphones-kill-sperm-study-says.html) That claim does not exist at all in the linked source. So where does it come from? Was it made up? I feel such a claim deserves a source. This is why I decided to remove the sentence. If this claim is true I hope someone will find a accurate source and re-insert the sentence. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Swingout (talk • contribs) 16:53, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Etiquette - petrol stations

As far as I know, the "reason" for prohibition at petrol filling stations, at least in UK, is claimed to be risk of electrical discharge/ short circuit, i.e. generation of a static spark, even though there has never been any report ever of such an occurrence having any safety implications. I am unsure, however, if this prohibiton is enshrined in UK law (as the lower age limit for dispensing fuel is) or is merely seen as "good practice" on the part of the petrol retail companies. Perhaps someone could offer a definitive view and/or real evidence from the perspective of UK Health and Safety legislation? Martinevans123 (talk) 21:14, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] supercategory wireless or mobile

There is a discussion to merge one wireless category into another. I'd prefer all wireless categories to be children of the Mobile category. This seems to be the place to discuss. Mathiastck (talk) 22:06, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm not up to date with this debate, but I am wondering how 'wireless phones', that is, fixed (not mobile) phones that connect wirelessly. I'm not confusing them with cordless phones, which simply have a cordless handset, but still connect via a phone cable. Wireless phones connect through a small dish on the roof or a mast, to a server (the same as wireless broadband). The phone itself is just a normal fixed telephone, it is the connection type that differs. Where does this fit in? Tinkstar1985 02:39, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Article Name

Shouldn't this article be called Mobile Telephone? "Phone" is just a colloquialism for Telephone. -GuffasBorgz7- 08:56, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia policy is to use the most common name for an article. Mobile phone or cell phone is the most common name, Mobile telephone is not. And use the move this page, not copy and paste. Corvus cornixtalk 06:21, 17 February 2008 (UTC)
Yes it should be Mobile phone not Mobile Telephone. The secound one just sound strange these days. CrZTgR (talk) 12:28, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

i think it should be cell phone that is the most common name i hear--Wikiscribe (talk) 04:25, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

The term "mobile phone" is ubiquitous in UK while the term "cell phone" is hardly ever used. When do we get the choice between UK Wikipedia and US Wikipedia? Martinevans123 (talk) 09:45, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

your right about that,but in the U.S well where im from nobody ever uses that term mobile phone i mean its not a big deal im not asking for it to be changed to cell phone but just was stateing in other places the term mobile phone is not used--Wikiscribe (talk) 15:01, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

  • Well, hand phone is a pretty common usage, too. Having this at mobile phone is probably best. Cell phone is a poor term as it refers to a specific technology - which will change over time. Cheers, Jack Merridew 15:30, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
    I guess we need to reflect popular useage and unless there is a clean and easy way to accommodate both, perhaps we need to look at numbers or percentage use across the English speaking countries? What do they call it in Canada and in Australia etc? I can't imagine this issue has not cropped up many times before, but I can't seem to find a clear Wikipedia policy. We seem to be a long way from needing official mediation, anyway! Martinevans123 (talk) 15:40, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
    This can't have not been discussed before; look in the archives. Please don't get any serious expectations of this moving anywhere. Cheers, Jack Merridew 15:45, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
    I'm sorry, but does your phone move about on its own? Is it more able to be moved about than the wireless phone you use in your house? Mobile phone, like cell phone, is just an accepted term, no more appropriate or sensible than cell phone. Unlike wikiscribe, I do question why it's mobile phone. The term is not used in the United States, and while Wikipedia is not merely for U.S. readers, it is *from* the U.S., and there are certainly more U.S. users than U.K. users, so why should the U.K. term be default? Thanks for the "cheers" at the end of each comment, by the way. Because that hasn't been done by a hundred million other smarmy people... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.182.31.203 (talk) 06:03, 31 March 2008 (UTC)
    Cheers, "67.182.31.203", but my mobile phone doesn't have a cell. Phew! thanks for clarifying for us all that these wonderful gadgets things are in fact *from* the US. I'm Nokia sure would love to hear that.Martinevans123 (talk) 07:42, 31 March 2008 (UTC)
    p.s. I guess you mean portable phone instead of wireless? Cheers! Martinevans123 (talk) 07:44, 31 March 2008 (UTC)
    --Straw man. Didn't say all gadgets are from the U.S.. Also, you're right; Japan makes cars today, ergo they invented them. I don't understand your portable versus wireless comment. Is it a jibe, or do you think my term incorrect? Either way, only showing why it's an American English page with the U.K. English name better than an argument could.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.182.31.203 (talk) 06:03, 31 March 2008 (UTC)
    67.182.31.203 has a point. Neither does my cell phone move on its own, nor does your mobile phone have a cell and yet it's the same thing. And BTW Nokia, Sony Ericsson and everyone else manufacturing cell phones these days are neither from US, nor from UK. If only there were a name well known and suitable for everyone, but there isn't one, so we should resort to the name used here. Admiral Norton (talk) 21:35, 11 April 2008 (UTC)
  • In Australia the term mobile phone is used. 13:59, 31 March 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.59.176.38 (talk)

BTW, whole article is written in American English and so should be the title, too. Admiral Norton (talk) 21:44, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] See also + Mobile phones template

What about merging these two? The links in See also could be placed in this template and the template placed in See also section. Curently, the links in See also are not categorized, which temlpate could do (like Template:Microsoft for example).--Kozuch (talk) 01:31, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Mobile communication standards template

What does this template do on this page??? It should only reside on pages it lists. It is not about a mobile phone as a device, but about technological standards (which are a completely different thing than an electronic device). I propose its removal.--Kozuch (talk) 01:45, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

I couldnt stand that - removed. It was only disturbing the page.--Kozuch (talk) 01:52, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Cellphone Ban in Canadian Provinces

I think this is relevant to this article. 3 Canadian provinces have banned cellphone usage in cars effective April 1, 2008, with stiff penalties for those caught. [1] The province of Newfoundland and Labrador has already issued its own ban a few months ago, and the provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia are following suit. Seeing as this is not yet mentioned in the current article, i think it would be a good idea to mention it, and to also mention that headset sales for cellphones have skyrocketed in the mentioned provinces in anticipation of the bill's implementation. AnthonyWalters (talk) 00:08, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

    • Cellphones are also banned in many states and counties in the U.S. For example, the state of New York has had a ban for a couple of years, in addition to the county I live in which was the 1st county ban in the U.S. when it occurred a few years ago. One of the primary reasons for the government bans, which ought to definitely be included in this article is the psychology research suggesting that cellphone use while driving is the equivalent of low, but illegal levels of alcohol consumption. This has been confirmed in several peer-reviewed scientific studies.Stevenmitchell (talk) 10:22, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
      • I don't think this should be included in this article - there are A LOT of places in the world where phone usage while driving is not allowed - it would be pointless/impossible to list them all. Tauntz (talk) 15:28, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Cell phone usage low in North America

What is often not mentioned when comparing cellular phone penetration rates amongst various countries is that unlike in Europe and the rest of the world, North American phone companies never charged their customers per minute rates for local, land line phone services. Given the choice between unlimited local service with a landline phone or the ability to make calls with a cellular phone and be charged a per minute rate, I think most consumers would pick the former. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.226.4.163 (talk) 16:32, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] History of Cellphones Requires Revision

The history of cellphones as presented here requires revision as it gives the false impression that cellphones were invented in the United States - which they were clearly NOT. America is actually the last place in the industrialized world to adopt cellphone use, as it is with High Definition Television. Someone with a less Americentric viewpoint needs to take the History portion of this article apart and rebuild it so that provides a closer reflection of reality. I am an American, but this is embarrassing that the contributors of this article would have been so biased as to improperly reflect cellphone development as being led by the technical superiority of the U.S. Unfortunately, for America as history in reality goes, very few companies were investing in technology research of any sort (Bell Labs, Xerox, IBM, being notable exceptions) in the 1970's and early to mid-1980's - computer-technology being the only area of focus (driven by government funding). Anyhoo, the current account of the cellphone's (mobile) history is seriously misrepresented here and in dire need of an overhaul. As with many, if not most of the technology history articles on Wikipedia, there are enormous gaps in information that through the virtue of information abstinence, provide an incorrect depiction of history as it occurred. Regards, Stevenmitchell (talk) 10:22, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Then where were they invented? The history section isn't very well referenced, but the parts in question are. I don't see the need to change any part of it. Admiral Norton (talk) 21:53, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Cell phone and mobile phone is not the same

Using mobile phone and cell phone as synonyms is wrong. Cell phone is just one variety of mobile phone. Mobile phone can be cell phone, sattelite phone, car phone etc., as they all are mobile. This needs to be fixed. Netrat_msk (talk) 20:37, 20 April 2008 (UTC)

This article is not about cell phones only. The problem with renaming it to "Cellular phone" is that cellular technology is slowly becoming obsolete. Some 4G implementations, for instance, don't use the cellular concept anymore.
I guess the correct name would be "Hand-held terrestrial mobile phone" because that's what this article is actually about. But that would be an awkward name, and the term "mobile phone" has become synonymous with the above in most parts of the world. --Cambrasa confab 12:25, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
Isn't "cell phone" term already obsolete?
I'm certain I've read in the past that the original analog mobile phone technology was called "cellular", but that the digital technology which obsoleted it is not officially/technically called "cellular".
So although "cell phone" is still widely used colloquially, you'll never find your telephone company using that term -- always "mobile phone" instead.
Not true? I don't have time to research the issue myself...