Jargon Helper

Get help with technical mobile phone jargon here.
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  Jargon   Meaning   Yes But What Does That Mean!?  
  Body Style   A general description of the body shape and style of a phone.   5 main types to be seen amongst these phones:
  • Normal/Bar - is your average block shaped phone with screen at the top and buttons at the bottom. Solid build, but may suffer from smaller buttons as there is less space beside the screen.
  • Slider - uses a sliding mechanism to hide the buttons underneath the screen. Fairly solid, usually with larger buttons, but may be bulkier.
  • Flip - also known as a clamshell design, folds buttons and screen onto each other. May not be built so solidly, but generally plenty of space for buttons, and screen.
  • Swivel - quite rare, but uses a rotating action to tuck the buttons underneath the screen. Rare phone style, usually quite bulky.
  • Touchscreen - is similar to normal/bar phones, but may remove all buttons in favour of a touch sensitive screen. New style, becoming more popular (iphone style), that uses an oversize screen with no buttons.
 
  Digital Camera   Some phones have an integrated digital camera. Quality of the camera varies greatly, and is measured in megapixels (the horizontal and vertical pixel values multiplied together).   In addition to a camera feature, many phones allow you to use the camera to record video fottage also. Quality would be reduced slightly to make this possible.  
  Depth   Considered by many people to be the most important measurement of a phone's dimensions.   Measured in millimetres, from the front of the phone to the back. Gives an indication of how much the phone will stick out of your pocket.  
  FM Radio   Some phones contain an inbuilt FM frequency radio.   Most phones with inbuilt radio require the plugging in of headphones, so that the wire of the headphone cable can act as a radio aerial.  
  Frequency Range   Mobile phones are able to operate on different frequencies. Having more than one frequency in one device is useful to enable roaming between different countries or to allow a better coverage in the same country.   Quad band phones can use 4 frequency bands, tri ban phones use 3, and dual band phones use 2.

The frequency bands are:

  • 850MHz (America)
  • 900 MHz (Europe and parts of Asia)
  • 1800 MHz (Europe and Asia)
  • 1900 MHz (America)
  
  SAR Rating (w/kg)   Short for Specific Absorption Rate, and measured in the number of watts of energy absorbed per kg of organic tissue. This is a measurement of the amount of radiation absorbed into the head while using a mobile phone.   The lower the rating the better really. Below 0.5 is low, between 0.5 and 1.0 is average, and above 1.0 is high. A legal limit of 2.0 watts per kg has been set as the European safety level.  
  Smartphone   When a phone incorporates an operating system of some sort, it can be classified as a smartphone.   Operating systems (OS) allow you to install programs on your phone that increase its functionality. Symbian, Mac OS x, and Blackberry make OS that allow for anything from GPS satnav, to office applications to be used.  
  Standby   An approximate measurement of the time a phone can remain switched on and ready to use, with a full battery charge.   Normally measured in hours, the standby time varies widely according to the battery type, and capacity. Other factors such as screen size and phone efficiency will affect the overall figure.  
  Talktime   An approximate measurement of the time a phone can be in active use on a phonecall.   Normally measured in minutes, the talktime varies widely according to battery type and phone efficiency.  
  Volume   Indicates how bulky a phone will be.   By multiplying height, width and depth together, the cubic centimetre measurement should tell you how much 'airspace' the phone takes up. This should give an idea how bulky the phone will feel in your hand or pocket.