| General | 2G Network | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
|---|---|---|
| 3G Network | HSDPA 900 / 2100 | |
| SIM | Mini-SIM | |
| Announced | 2010, June | |
| Status | Available. Released 2010, July |
| Body | Dimensions | 113.5 x 55 x 12.9 mm (4.47 x 2.17 x 0.51 in) |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 109 g (3.84 oz) |
| Display | Type | TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 240 x 400 pixels, 3.2 inches (~146 ppi pixel density) | |
| Multitouch | Yes | |
| - Touch Wiz 3.0 |
| Sound | Alert types | Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones |
|---|---|---|
| Loudspeaker | Yes | |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes | |
| - DNSe (Digital Natural Sound Engine) |
| Memory | Card slot | microSD, up to 32GB, 1GB card included |
|---|---|---|
| Internal | 512MB ROM, 256MB RAM |
| Camera | Primary | 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, check quality |
|---|---|---|
| Features | Geo-tagging, face and smile detection | |
| Video | Yes, QVGA@15fps | |
| Secondary | No |
| Battery | Standard battery, Li-Ion 1500 mAh | |
|---|---|---|
| Stand-by | Up to 620 h (2G) / Up to 510 h (3G) | |
| Talk time | Up to 15 h 30 min (2G) / Up to 7 h 15 min (3G) |
| Misc | SAR EU | 0.58 W/kg (head) |
|---|---|---|
| Price group |  |
| Tests | Loudspeaker | Voice 71dB / Noise 66dB / Ring 71dB |
|---|---|---|
| Audio quality | Noise -91.2dB / Crosstalk -89.9dB | |
| Camera | Photo |
The first generation (1G) of mobile phones (1970s – 1980s) involved:
The second generation (2G) began in the early 1990s and saw the introduction of digital transmission allowing SMS to be integrated into the service of mobile phones. The advance into new technology during the millennium, such as WAP, has been called 2.5G: this is where we are now and 3G is just around the corner.
3G is the era for the introduction of broadband so that the number of possibilities from a mobile phone could be endless such as interactive media e.g. high quality video-conferencing. Web pages will become more accessible and will be received at much higher speeds of around 2Mbps. 3G will also allow mobile phones to support Java so that interactive web pages can be downloaded.
The next generation of mobile phones will also see the introduction of MMS (Multimedia Messaging) allowing images, animations, clips and text to be sent to another MMS phone or PC. The phones that offer this capability were available to buy in the UK around May 2002 at prices averaging £150. The introduction of colour screens on mobile phones made available during the same time further enhances the MMS feature.
Built-in mobile phone cameras, made available at the same time as MMS, allows images to be displayed on mobile phone screens (just like a digital camera). Images can then be saved as JPEG’s and can be stored or sent to other MMS mobile phones and PCs.
It is predicted that 3G technology will see mobile phones (and other mobile units such as Palm-tops) being used just as much as desktop PCs once the technology has been fully integrated. As a result, it has been suggested that mobile phones are mass-produced as lap-top computers.
With the introduction of WAP, came the availability of e-mail from mobile phones. The user must first have an on-line e-mail account: these can usually be set up directly with your mobile phone service provider by registering your details on their web site.
To send an e-mail, you would write it on your mobile phone (as you would text messages) and send it directly to the required address. The length of the e-mails is not restricted in length and so you can write messages in full. To receive an e-mail, you would download your e-mails directly to your phone by using WAP to connect to your e-mail account via the Internet. Some service providers send an indication to your phone when you have received a new e-mail usually in the form of a load “beep” or SMS.
Some of the newer phones without WAP do offer an e-mailing option but e-mails can only be sent and not received. The lengths of these e-mails are still limited to the 160-character length as for SMS.
Blue-tooth is a technology that allows communication between digital devices such as PCs, mobile phones, lap-tops and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA). It is achieved by a short-range (around 10 metres) wireless connection that will vary in form depending on what hardware it is to be associated with:
Not all mobile phones are compatible for blue-tooth technology but the phones that are becoming available do compensate for such use. The most common mobile phone that is compatible for the use of blue-tooth communication is the Nokia 6210e pictured on the right.
The blue-tooth technology can be used to create a three-way connection allowing three pieces of hardware to be connected together at any one time. Information can then be replicated from, say, a mobile phone to a PC by sending the data via the wireless (infra-red) blue-tooth connection. For information to be transferred, all devices must have the same software application in which the data can be replicated i.e. a mobile phone must have the application Microsoft Word for a Word document to be replicated from a PC.
GSM is the digital mobile phone network that is used throughout Europe and in most other areas around the world. GSM can provide for voice-mail (answer phone service), faxing, SMS and high-speed data transfer (WAP) as well as for talk..
GPRS is a technology that does not replace GSM, but uses the GSM network to allow data to be sent/received at higher speeds.
Further, the technology (without going into the science) allows you to pay only for the time that the information takes to send/receive. This payment method is only valid for the use of WAP (see below) and does not apply when talking.
The advantages of GPRS are further highlighted in the next section.
WAP is a technology designed to allow Internet material (web pages, e-mail, etc) to be viewed on mobile phones. WAP browsers on the phone display text-only versions of web pages as images have to be removed due to the limited bandwidth that the network currently has to offer. GSM offers speeds of around 9.6Kbps but the new GPRS has allowed speeds of around 20-24Kbps. The older WAP phones will still use the original GSM network but the new WAP phones that you see available today will use GPRS.
GSM phones have to go through the slow log-in processes when using WAP, but GPRS provides a continuous connection for the day once logged in. As said before, GPRS will allow web pages to be read without the worry of cost because the time used to download the information is the only chargeable period for using WAP (Important: talk time rates will be independently charged): GSM charges for the total time connected.
The information that can be viewed by WAP mobile phones is currently limited to news, finance, directories, travel, shopping, sport and e-mail (detailed later) but can be extremely useful. Although GPRS has expanded the capabilities of WAP such as faxing and e-mailing, the next generation technology will make a huge difference to how we will interact between mobile phones and the Internet.
Under its new name, the organization will build on the monumental success of 3G Americas' work to promote, facilitate and advocate for the deployment and adoption of 3GPP mobile broadband technologies throughout the Americas region and will continue its efforts in the following areas:
* Support the 3GPP technology path as it evolves to 4G technology
* Continue to address standards recommendations, technical requirements and advocacy for 2G and 3G technologies
* Serve as the best resource for information on the 3GPP family of technologies throughout the Americas
3G Americas' Board of Governors unanimously voted to change the name of the association as well as modify its mission and objectives to address the changing landscape of the wireless industry. The evolution to 4G Americas and the broadening of the organization's mission will encompass not only the end technology but now the empowerment of the technology as well. With some of the world's largest wireless operators and vendors as its members, the organization will work collaboratively on regulatory and technical issues for the benefit of customers throughout the Americas and will embrace emerging devices and a broader ecosystem of services, applications and vertical markets.
"Since its inception in 2002, 3G Americas has become a leading resource for government, telecom companies and industry influencers to learn about existing and emerging mobile broadband technologies. With the emergence of HSPA+ and LTE technologies in the Americas and the mobile data opportunity these technologies enable, the change to '4G Americas' better reflects the decisions and conversations the organization is helping to inform," said Neville Ray, Chief Network Officer for T-Mobile USA and Chairperson of 4G Americas' Board of Governors. "The association's move to 4G corresponds with the mobile broadband transformation that's fueling a world increasingly connected by wireless networks."
"4G Americas will be the unified voice to represent the 3GPP technology family, bringing together both major vendors and operators to enhance the prospects for mobile broadband growth throughout the Americas, as we move toward the fourth generation," added Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas. "We will focus on areas that may affect educational, social, enterprise and economic development for mobile communications such as spectrum planning, technical interoperability, public policy and regulatory issues.
"Even though 3G technologies will lead in the marketplace for years to come, the timing is right for the name change. 4G Americas will make great efforts for a mobile broadband community using the 3GPP family of technologies to transform communications for people, businesses and societies throughout the Americas," he said.
More information can be found on the newly launched 4G Americas website at www.4gamericas.org.
About 4G Americas: Unifying the Americas through Mobile Broadband Technology 4G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of leading telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization's mission is to promote, facilitate and advocate for the deployment and adoption of the 3GPP family of technologies throughout the Americas. 4G Americas contributes to the successful commercial rollout of 3GPP mobile broadband technologies across the Americas and their place as the No. 1 technology family in the region. The organization aims to develop the expansive wireless ecosystem of networks, devices, and applications enabled by GSM and its evolution to LTE. 4G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., with an office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Dallas. More information is available at www.4gamericas.org.
4G Americas' Board of Governors members include: Alcatel-Lucent, América Móvil, Andrew Solutions, AT&T, Cable & Wireless, Ericsson, Gemalto, HP, Huawei, Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, Openwave, Powerwave, Qualcomm, Research In Motion (RIM), Rogers, T-Mobile USA and Telefónica.
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