Articles tagged with smartphones
SMS stands for short message service and is used to send text messages between cell phones, also known as "texting."...keep reading
MMS stands for multimedia messaging service, a type of text messaging that allows cell phone users to send photos, videos, documents, or sound clips as attachments. The ability to send different types of media files is why the term multimedia is used....keep reading
Emojis are images used in text-based communication that express an idea or concept, and emoticons are characters or images that express an emotion. You've probably seen the smiley face emoticon ? used in messages....keep reading
Gorilla Glass® is a trademarked brand name of a very durable type of glass created by the Corning company. If you or someone you know owns a smartphone, you have probably heard of Gorilla Glass, since it's used in almost every smartphone as part of the display that makes up the touchscreen....keep reading
A locked phone is any phone that has software installed to prevent the phone owner from using the phone with any other carrier's network than the carrier that originally sold the phone. The terms locked and unlocked usually apply to cellular phones, not land lines, since cellular companies sell their phones with a contract for cellular service that often...keep reading
An app store is a resource on the Internet that allows software applications, also known as apps, to be downloaded and installed on a computer, smartphone, tablet, or another device. While Apple, Microsoft, Google, and other companies include many applications with their different operating systems, the availability of apps developed by other people...keep reading
Siri is a software program from Apple that responds to voice commands to perform a variety of tasks on an iPhone or iPad. Apple describes Siri as an "intelligent personal assistant."...keep reading
An in-app purchase is made from within a smartphone or tablet app to buy upgraded features. Examples of in-app purchases include an upgrade to remove ads from an app, additional storage, and an upgrade to unlock premium features of an app. All in-app purchases are made from within the...keep reading
5G is the next generation (5th generation) of wireless technology for mobile devices like smartphones. 5G is an upgrade from the previous generation, 4G LTE (for 4th generation Long Term Evolution). 5G has a high enough speed that it might replace the need for WiFi in many locations since 5G can be as fast as WiFi speeds....keep reading
LTE is the acronym for Long Term Evolution; the name used to describe a type of cellular technology. The term LTE is used by cellular network companies like AT&T, Verizon Wireless. Sprint, T-Mobile, etc. to describe a specific type of network capability that can provide speeds faster than older...keep reading
A touchscreen is a display surface that can interpret when something (usually a person's finger) touches its surface. The act of touching the screen produces an electrical signal. This signal can be used just like a press of a key on a keyboard or a click of a mouse button. A touchscreen is different from other touch-sensitive surfaces because it also includes a visual display that can display graphics and text....keep reading
An "app" is short for a mobile application. It comes from the word application, which describes software that runs on computers. Since mobile devices are smaller than desktop and laptop computers, the term application becomes commonly shortened when referring to an application that works on a mobile smartphone or tablet and has stuck....keep reading
A recent survey* showed that 88% of all adults over the age of 18 in the U.S. have a cell phone. One of the more complex and often mind-boggling decisions the non-tech-savvy person is confronted with is understanding the differences and choosing among the many mobile phones on the market now....keep reading