Today, mobile phones are globally ubiquitous, and in almost half the world’s countries, over 90% of the world population, or approximately 7.2 billion people, owns at least one. These include text messaging, multimedia messaging, email, and internet access (via LTE, 5G NR or Wi-Fi), as well as short-range wireless technologies like Bluetooth, infrared, and ultra-wideband (UWB). Modern mobile telephony relies on a cellular network architecture, which is why mobile phones are often referred to as ‘cell phones’ in North America.
The introduction of Apple’s App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch in July 2008 popularized manufacturer-hosted online distribution for third-party applications (software and computer programs) focused on a single platform. The first mobile news service, delivered via SMS, was launched in Finland in 2000, and subsequently many organizations provided « on-demand » and « instant » news services by SMS. A mobile app is a computer program designed to run on a mobile device, such as a smartphone. Of the two, Android has been the best-selling system worldwide on smartphones since 2011, and as of March 2025, Android had 71.9% of the overall market share, while iOS had 27.7%.
The growth in popularity has been rapid in some places; for example, in the UK, the total number of mobile phones overtook the number of houses in 1999. Mobile phones are considered an important human invention as they have been one of the most widely used and sold pieces of consumer technology. For feature phones as of 2016update, the top-selling brands were Samsung, Nokia and Alcatel. The first handheld mobile phone was demonstrated by Martin Cooper of Motorola in New York City on 3 April 1973, using a handset weighing c.
Feature phones have basic software platforms whilst smartphones have a fully-featured operating system (commonly abbreviated to an OS), with the two most-used platforms being Android and iOS. SIM and R-UIM cards may be mixed together to allow both GSM and CDMA networks to be accessed. A hybrid mobile phone can hold up to four SIM cards, with a phone having a different device identifier for each SIM Card. The SIM card allows users to change phones by simply removing the SIM card from one mobile phone and inserting it into another mobile phone or broadband telephony device, provided that this is not prevented by a SIM lock. The SIM card is approximately the size betsomnia of a small postage stamp and is usually placed underneath the battery in the rear of the unit. Most modern mobile phones use lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, which are designed to endure between 500 and 2,500 charge cycles.
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A major breakthrough came in 1973, when the first handheld cellular mobile phone was demonstrated by John F. Mitchell and Martin Cooper of Motorola, using a handset weighing 2 kilograms (4.4 lb). Early mobile phones required vehicle installation due to their size and power needs. The advances in mobile telephony have been traced in successive « generations », starting with the early zeroth-generation (0G) services, such as Bell System’s Mobile Telephone Service and its successor, the Improved Mobile Telephone Service. Early predecessors of cellular phones included analog radio communications from ships and trains. A handheld mobile radio telephone service was envisioned in the early stages of radio engineering. « Mobile phone » is the most common English-language term, while the term « cell phone » is in more common use in North America – both are in essence shorter versions of « mobile telephone » and « cellular telephone », respectively.
Capacity was further increased when phone companies implemented digital networks. Due to bandwidth limitations each cell will have a maximum number of cell phones it can handle at once. The cell towers are usually interconnected to each other and the phone network and the internet by wired connections. In the earliest mobile phone systems by contrast, all control was done manually; the customer would search for an unoccupied channel and speak to a mobile operator to request connection of a call to a landline number or another mobile. The critical advantage that modern cellular networks have over predecessor systems is the concept of frequency reuse allowing many simultaneous telephone conversations in a given service area. Feature phones and basic mobile phones tend to use a proprietary, custom-designed software and user interface.
Smartphones are defined by their advanced computing capabilities, which include internet connectivity and access to a wide range of applications. These first-generation (1G) systems could support far more simultaneous calls but still used analog cellular technology. The race to create truly portable telephone devices began after World War II, with developments taking place in many countries. Furthermore, mobile phones offer satellite-based services, such as navigation and messaging, as well as business applications and payment solutions (via scanning QR codes or near-field communication (NFC)). In addition, they enable multimedia playback and streaming, including video content, as well as radio and television streaming. Mobile phones also support a variety of multimedia capabilities, such as digital photography, video recording, and gaming.
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A study by the London School of Economics found that banning mobile phones in schools could increase pupils’ academic performance, providing benefits equal to one extra week of schooling per year. They also stated that with the lack of data for the research and the usage periods of 15 years will warrant further research for smartphones and the cause of brain tumors. While there are rumors of mobile phones causing cancer, there was a study conducted by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that stated the there could be an increase risk of brain tumors with the use of smartphones, this is not confirmed.

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