Understanding mobile phone jargon

Confused about Android, PUK, geo-tagging and SMS? Our guide makes mobile phone jargon clear.

By James Sherwood - 07/07/2010 print

The mobile phone market is awash with technical terms. Some are easy to understand and others need a little explanation.

This guide will ensure you aren’t bamboozled with technical terminology next time you buy a new mobile phone.

A guide to mobile phone technical terms?

Accelerometer: a sensor inside a mobile phone that detects sideways and horizontal movement and rotates the display accordingly.

Android: a mobile phone operating system developed by Google. Android is especially common on smartphones manufactured by HTC.

Apps: small programs that can be downloaded from online shops directly onto mobile phones. All sorts of apps are available, from games and photography to entertainment and navigation. The most common online app stores are the iPhone App Store and Google Android Market.

Bluetooth: a way of wirelessly sending data, usually pictures or data files, between mobile phones.

Cameraphone: a type of mobile phone that’s especially good at taking pictures. Mobiles with more than 10 megapixels are usually referred to as cameraphones.

Geo-tagging: a mobile phone that remembers the geographical coordinates of images captured using its camera.

GPS: a wireless connection between mobile phones and satellites which allows your geographic location to be shown on the phone’s screen.

HDMI, PAYG and Micro SIM

HDMI: a type of cabled connection that lets your phone send HD resolution images and videos to other devices, usually your TV.

Memory cards: 21st century floppy disks (but much smaller) that give mobile phones somewhere to save data, usually pictures and music files. SD and Micro SD are the most common types of memory card.

Micro SIM: a smaller version of the standard SIM. Currently Micro SIMs are only used by the Apple iPhone 4 (read our iPhone 4 review) and the Apple iPad (watch our iPad video review).

Galaxy S3(blue) £0.00	300 min Unlimited texts	£32.00
Galaxy S3(blue) £0.00	100 min 500 texts	£26.00
Galaxy S3(blue) £0.00	900 min Unlimited texts	£31.00
Galaxy S2(black) £0.00	100 min Unlimited texts	£18.50

MMS: pictures – usually taken by your phone’s camera – sent wirelessly to another mobile phone. MMS messages are often combined with texts so you can explain your picture to the recipient.

PAYG: a pre-pay network deal that requires you to add credit before your phone can make calls, send texts or surf the internet.

PUK code: a four digit code provided by your network operator and used to unlock your SIM card.

SIM: a removable card – about the size of your thumbnail - that allows your phone to connect to a mobile network and make calls, etc.

Smartphones, SMS and touchscreens

SIM only: a type of network deal that only includes a SIM card and not a new mobile phone.

Smartphone: an advanced mobile phone able to send/receive emails, surf the internet, take pictures, download apps and more.

SMS: short text messages or “texts” sent between mobile phones.

Touchscreen: usually found on smartphones. A touchscreen lets you do everything from surfing the internet to writing text messages (SMS) by placing your fingertip onto the glass surface.

Wi-Fi: a fast wireless broadband connection – typically used in homes, cafes and airports - that smartphones can use to connect to the internet via Wi-Fi. 3.5mm jack: the standard size of headphone connector for mobile phones. Buying a mobile phone without a 3.5mm jack means you will have to use the phone’s supplied headphones.

3G: a speed of wireless data communication usually found on smartphones. 3G phones access the internet and download content, such as videos and pictures, at similar speeds to your PC.