How-do-cell-phones-work
By Mark Dunne
Todays fast-paced world of innovation has made technology readily available to just about anyone who is willing to embrace its convenience. The fact is that many technologically advanced devices have been incorporated into our daily lives and, much like breadboxes became handy household items during our grandparents earlier years, have been welcomed into our homes. It has gotten to the point where we take computers, electronic organizers, pagers and cell phones for granted, but do we really understand how they work?

Let us take cell phones, for example. We have all learned how to punch their keys because that is easy, but how many of us utilize all their advanced features or know what to do when something goes wrong? Are we using them properly and to their full extent? I say, no and no again. Granted, technology is not so easy to understand but if you continue reading this article you might gain some more valuable insight as to how cell phones work. Understanding your will help you stay connected whenever and wherever you choose to be, and it will relieve you of some of the frustration it causes at times.

What is Your Capable of Doing?

Just about every available in todays market is equipped with features that were not even conceived of as recently as twenty years ago. Would users of the earlier cell phones have ever thought that their handhelds should or even could incorporate calendars, contact lists, games, text or picture messaging, calculators, converters, Internet connectivity, cameras and videos, radios, music and media players and so on? I dont believe so. And what about watching television and viewing your office document through your cell phone? Again, I do not believe so.

Technology as a whole has made more advancements in the last few years than it has ever done before. With so must competition in the arena, technology has made tremendous advancements with new features being built into the devices, seemingly, each day. All these technological enhancements may make some consumer thrilled for having more options and many more toys to tinker with. However, those consumers who want only to use the for an occasional conversation or text message become more confused than ever. Whether you are thrilled and wanting more or you are confused and frustrated, the following information will undoubtedly be useful to you.

Radio Frequencies and Channels

Did you know that cell phones are really only radios? Yes, they have more advanced features and they look nothing like the radios we are familiar with but, in fact, the mechanisms and systems contained within are the same because they use the wireless technology and the same connectivity. And just like radios require frequencies and channels, so do cell phones.

It is radio frequencies that allow you to dial a number on your and be able to communicate with someone thousands of miles away. towers that have been raised throughout the United States and the world receive your voice and convey it via a radio frequency to the person or persons you are talking to and vice a versa; their voices are received by the towers and than transmitted to your via a different frequency and so on and on. Two separate radio frequencies are used in the phone conversation so that your voice does not interfere with the voices on the other end of the line and their voices doe not interfere with yours.

As essential as radio frequencies are to communication, channels are every bit as crucial because without them calls would not be transmitted. Each call utilizes its own channel and it is the channels that enable a specific number of users in a certain geographic location to be using their individual cell phones to make the calls they need. With the increased number of transmitters and the many more towers being continually constructed, there are more and more channels to accommodate the ever growing number of users.

Up-To-Date Technology

The actual technology of todays is essentially the same as that of the earliest cell phones. However, that same technology has been upgraded, updated and made more efficient to open up more possibilities for cell phones to perform many more functions. For example, in the beginning or the first generation cell phones were using the analog system while the cell phones of today which are of the second and the third generations (a.k.a. 2G and 3G) use the digital system. The difference between the two systems is that the digital system is compressed to make more channels available which translates into

the larger capacity for more users and therefore more efficiency in the communication. Furthermore, todays cell phones can hold up to much heavier usage than their predecessors were ever able to.

It is due to their tremendous complexity and their highly developed components that allow cell phones to be continually evolved and take on more and more tasks. As a matter of fact, all you need to do is take a closer look at all the features and functions that are packed into the modern handheld cell phones and you will soon appreciate just how much technology is packed into their very small bodies which, by the way, are becoming smaller and lighter all the time. To comprehend how cell phones work, you must first understand their elaborate components.

Components of Cell Phones

Each consists of a conglomeration of scores of tiny components that work in harmony and cooperation to enable you to perform the tasks that you expect from your cell phone. The following are but a few of the basic components contained in todays cell phone: a battery, a speaker, a microphone, a keyboard, an antenna, a liquid crystal display screen (LCD) as well as a circuit board which is the commend post, if you will, of the cell phone.

The circuit board is the component that makes everything happens within the cell phone. The circuit board is where a number of chips reside and facilitate the making and receiving of calls because they convert analog to digital and digital to analog. The microprocessor resides in another part of the circuit board and recognizes the users commends and performs them with speed and accuracy.

The ROM and Flash memory also reside on the circuit board and those are the storage compartments into which the users are able to save the results of the functions their cell phones perform such as photos, appointments, music, contact numbers and whatever else users tend to amass in their cell phones. Designers of circuit boards were intuitive enough to realize that storage space is not infinite and added memory card slots to circuit boards in order to give users the option of increasing their storage space. Incidentally, the cards used for the memory card slots are removable and may be used with other cell phones.

The 3G Revolution

Modern day users have learned to expect their cell phones to perform extraordinary number of very technologically advanced functions. However, the most recent third generation (3G) technology went beyond users expectations by designing their cell phones for multimedia. Consequently, 3G cell phones transfer data at significantly higher rates which makes it possible to download office documents, music and image files much faster. 3G cell phones may have been intended for the business community but they have become increasingly more popular with private individual for their personal uses.

To summarize it all, there is nothing new in the basic technology because it is based on the time proven radio frequencies and channels and there is little chance that it will change in the future. What will change in the future, however, are the expanded and more advanced features and functions of cell phones. The more you understand how cell phones work, the easier it will be for you to adapt to whatever new gimmicks appear in future cell phones.

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:
Mark Dunne
Mark Dunne runs a website dedicated to keeping you up to date with all the news and buzz in the world of mobile technology. Mobile phones and services are steadily shaping up the world we live. http://www.mobile.ie

Keywords: Mobile Phones, Mobile phone, Cell phones

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