Interesting Facts About Cell Phones

Cell phone (telefone celular) is a wireless, portable, long-range, electronic telephone, which during travel can seamlessly change antenna connections, from one radio reception cell to another radio reception cell, without dropping or losing the ongoing call.

Besides the standard voice function of a telephone, latest cell phones (telefone celular) have features such as SMS for text messages, MMS for multimedia messages, radio, games, internet connectivity for email, browsing, blogging, music (MP3) playback, memo recording, built-in cameras and camcorders, ringtones, personal organizers, Push-to-Talk (PTT), Bluetooth and infrared connectivity, call registers, streaming video, downloading video, video call, and also serve as wireless modems for PCs that can be connected to the Internet.

The power in a cell phone (telefone celular) is obtained from rechargeable batteries, which can be recharged from the mains, a USB port or a cigarette lighter port in an automobile. Nickel Metal Hydride were the most common types of batteries, which due to the "memory effect" (the user can recharge only when the entire battery is drained off) were replaced by Lithium-Ion batteries, which did not suffer from any memory effect.

Cell phones (telefone celular) came into existence because of the invention of hexagonal cells in 1947, for the base stations by Bell Labs engineers at AT&T. This was further developed during the 1960s by Bell Labs. During a call, the channel frequency could not be changed automatically from one cell (base station coverage area) to another cell (base station coverage area) as the person traveled from the area of one cell to the area of another cell. Amos Joel of Bell Labs invented a breakthrough invention and called it as the `call handoff` by which the channel frequency could be changed automatically from one cell to another cell, during the same call, as the mobile user traveled from one cell to another cell. Due to their heavy construction, these phones were used mainly in automobiles.

The first practical cell phone in a non-vehicle setting, and which could be handheld, was invented by Martin Cooper, the General Manager (Communications Division) of Motorola, who made the world`s first handheld cell phone (telefone celular) call on April 3, 1973.

The technology by which the cell phone (telefone celular) works depends on the mobile phone operator; however, all of them use electromagnetic radio waves, which are in touch with a cell site (base station). The base station is composed of several antennas which are mounted on a pole, tower, or building. Cell sites are spread at a distance of 5 to 8 miles (approx. 8 to 13 km) from each other. The low power transceiver from the cell phone transmits the voice and data to the nearest cell site. During movement, the cell phone will "handoff" the information to other cell site. Mobile phone operators use many technologies to maintain the smooth stream of digitized data from the cell phone to the cell site and vice versa.

The wireless telephone technologies are grouped under heads known as generations, starting from zero generation or 0G. The current generation going on is 4G; however, there are old cell phones (telefone celular) that still operate on 1G, 2G, and 3G technologies. The wireless telephone technologies used in each generation are as given below:

0G: PTT, MTS, IMTS, AMTS, OLT, MTD, Autotel/PALM, ARP

1G: NMT, AMPS/TACS/ETACS, Hicap, CDPD, Mobitex, DataTac

2G: GSM, iDEN, D-AMPS, IS-95/cdmaOne, PDC, CSD, PHS, GPRS, HSCSD, WiDEN, CDMA2000 1xRTT/IS-2000, EDGE (EGPRS)

3G: W-CDMA, UMTS (3GSM), FOMA, TD-CDMA/UMTS-TDD, 1xEV-DO/IS-856, TD-SCDMA, GAN (UMA), HSPA, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, HSOPA

4G : UMB, UMTS Revision 8 (LTE), WiMAX

Frequency bands: SMR, Cellular, PCS

The impact of cell phone (telefone celular) usage on human health has been of considerable worldwide concern. Research studies in Copenhagen, from the Danish Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, the National Cancer Institute, and the Institute of Cancer Research, do not establish any link between cancer and cell phone usage. However, an intergovernmental agency IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) forming part of the World Health Organization of the United Nations, undertook a study of 4,500 users and found a statistically significant link between cell phone usage and tumor frequency. Further research is going on.

Cell phone (telefone celular) usage and driving is a common worldwide phenomenon. Some jurisdictions have banned usage of hand-held phones during driving, but allowed the hands-free fashion of cell phone usage while driving. However, studies have found out that the distraction is caused by the conversation itself; hence, both hand-held and hands-free cell phones contribute towards road traffic accidents. Further studies on cell phone usage and driving are going on.

Nokia Corporation is currently the world`s largest manufacturer of cell phones (telefone celular). Other notable cell phone manufacturers, in alphabetical order, are 3G, Audiovox (now UT Starcom), Benefon, BenQ-Siemens, Fujitsu, High Tech Computer Corporation (HTC), Kyocera, LG Mobile, Motorola, NEC, Panasonic (Matsushita Electric), Pantech Curitel, Philips, Research In Motion, Sagem, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Siemens, Sierra Wireless, SK Teletech, Sony Ericsson, T&A Alcatel, Toshiba, and Verizon.
by: Roberto Sedycias

Nintendo Wii + Wii Sports - Good for fitness in children?

The Nintendo Wii it seems, puts pay to the concerns in recent years over the inactivity in children due to their interest in video games consoles. The Wii console really sets itself apart from the rest with its revolutionary motion sensitive controller, which actually requires movement in order to play the games.

The Nintendo Wii comes with the game Wii Sports, which includes tennis, baseball, bowling, golf and boxing. In tennis you will be swinging the remote as if it were a tennis racket and flicking it up to toss the ball into the air with a quick swing to serve. The other Wii Sports games work in a similar way simulating controller movements for like movements onscreen. Boxing however is the only Wii Sports game that uses the nunchuk attachment and is the most physically exhausting game of them all. In order to hit your opponent in the head or body, you will have to aim high or low with your swings.

There are three different activities with each game. In training mode, you will participate in random challenges, after which you will be assigned a fitness age, based on your performance. Sound familiar? The Nintendo DS game, Brain Training comes to mind...a physical version perhaps?

The important thing here is that gamers are becoming more physically active without even realising it - you could say it has a 'kill two birds with one stone' effect, combining video game play with physical activity. Given this 'physical' nature of the Wii, I wouldn't be suprised if parents rushed out to buy the Nintendo Wii just to get their kids off the sofa!

Another great thing about the Nintendo Wii is that it appeals not only to children and teens but to adults too, so its something the whole family can enjoy.

Could the Nintendo Wii revolutionize the way we play video games in the future? It will be interesting to see what Nintendo's competitors come up with next - this could be a tough one to beat!
by: Karen Bennett

What You Need to Know about iPod Movies

iPod devices that are equipped with video players must have the movies from their original format converted to one that can be read and played by the iPod movie player system. This means that the movie can either be downloaded from an iPod-friendly site such as the Apple iPod Store or another website dedicated to iPod music and movies, or the user must purchase the appropriate conversion software. Most of the iPod movie conversion systems can convert most types of movie files such as AVI, MPEG, WMV, MOV, MP4, RM, RMVB, H.264, VOB or DivX formats into the MPEG-4 video format that the iPod uses.

In addition to just converting the format, the system must also match the resolution of the iPod movie player. The typical resolution for the iPod display screen is 640 by 480 for optimum viewing and clarity of picture. Without the appropriate software conversion, the picture would be highly distorted. Other resolutions are possible and the software application will usually optimize the file for viewing, selecting the appropriate resolution.

There is also a great program offered by Apple, called QuickTime 7 Pro, that allows you to use home videos and videos that are not professionally made and convert them to play on your iPod, just like an iPod movie that you can download. This is a great way to personalize your iPod video, or send a home movie to a friend or family member.

The process is simple: start by downloading the QuickTime 7 Pro from the Apple website. If you have a Mac computer, simply upload your movie to your computer and click on the title of the movie in the drop down box found on the QuickTime program menu. If you have a PC, upload the movie from the device as per the manuals and then save it in the QuickTime file. Once the movie is selected you will again need to use the drop down box and select the export feature, then click on Movie to iPod and let the computer do the rest.

A scrolling bar will keep you informed of the transfer process and will allow you to see how much more time is required for the transfer to occur. You will then need to synch the iPod with the computer to play the movie the first time, then it will be stored on both your computer and the iPod for future use.

The vast number of iPod movies and the ease of using the conversion software means that more people, even those that are not experts on the computer, can easily keep their favorite movies as well as their favorite songs close at hand on their iPod.
by: Terry Roberts