Glossary: Smartphone technical terms explained

2G: A term describing the second generation of mobile networks, now firmly covering the majority of the world but fast being replaced by 3G networks (see below). 2G networks are perfectly adequate for calls and texting, but struggle for speed when it comes to transferring data, meaning slow internet connection and download/upload capabilities.

3G: So called because it was the 'third generation' of mobile technology, 3G is much better at handling data than the previous 2G networks. The early 3G networks are slowly being upgraded to HSPA technology (see below), which improve data speeds further. Most of the UK population is now covered by 3G network signals from the leading mobile network suppliers.

4G: The next generation of mobile network, promising even faster data speeds. There are two competing technologies hoping to enter this market (see below for details): LTE and WiMAX.

aGPS: See GPS, below.

App: This is a shortening of the word application, and is often used when describing programs and games for smartphones. Smartphones come with many apps already included, with many more being available to download via 'app stores'. These range from silly free apps (bubble wrap and lightsabres for touchscreens), to practical apps (Google maps, document readers) and games, and range from free up to £10 or more for higher end games and business apps.

Capping: Capping describes a cap, or limit, on how much you are allowed to download on a certain smartphone contract - if you exceed this cap, you may have to pay an excess charge.

Evolved HSPA: See HSPA and HSPA Evolved (below).

Femtocells: A femtocell is a wireless access point that provides localised 3G coverage. None the wiser? Well, it basically means you buy a very small base station that receives your mobile ISPs signal and boosts it around a small area, such as your house. They look like a router and are easy to install, using your home broadband connection to boost your 3G signal to make your phone work better. This technology has obvious positive implications for boosting mobile broadband signals in all kinds of environments.

Gb (or gigabit): Gb is short for gigabit, which is a unit used to describe the speed at which data travels across an internet connection (also sometimes seem written as Gbps, or gigabits per second). Current data connections are measured in Mb (megabits per second) - there are 1024Mb in 1Gb.

GB (or Gbps, or gigabyte): GB is short for gigabyte, which is often used to describe the size of computer files and memory storage capacity. There are 1024 bytes in a kilobyte (KB), 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte (MB), and 1024 megabytes in a gigabyte. To give a better idea of usage, a small Notepad file could be measured in bytes, a basic Word document in kilobytes, a music file in megabytes and a DVD quality film in gigabytes.

GPS: This stands for 'global positioning system' and is the process of finding your geographical position via satellite. It is most commonly used on phones for sat nav and mapping apps. You may also see GPS+/aGPS/A-GPS, which stands for assisted GPS; an improved version which should find your location quicker.

HSPA, HSDPA, HSUPA: HSPA stands for 'high speed packet access' (the others are high speed 'download' and 'upload' packet access, describing the same technology either sending or receiving data). It is the latest advancement in quality for mobile broadband usage, working on the nation's various 3G (see above) mobile phone networks to improve the speed of data transfer whilst you're online. For this reason it is also sometimes known as 3.5G.

HSPA Evolved, HSPA+: The next generation of HSPA, Evolved HSPA (or HSPA+) promises mobile broadband speeds of up to 42Mb. HSPA+ is fast becoming a reality in countries such as Australia and Hong Kong. Already rolling out in Greece and Portugal, expect HSPA+ networks to be springing up across Europe throughout 2010.

IM: IM is the abbreviation for instant messaging or instant messenger. These terms refer to computer software that lets people chat (via typing on a keypad) to each other instantaneously. These are often connected to web-based email accounts (such as Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo Mail) and social networking sites (such as Facebook and MySpace), but there are also popular dedicated programs such as eBuddy, Skype and ICQ.

ISP: ISP stands for internet service provider - basically, the company responsible for billing you for your internet connection. So, if you get your broadband down a BT line but you pay your bills to O2, O2 is your internet service provider. It's exactly the same for mobile broadband and smartphones, where your mobile broadband ISP is usually the company that operates the mobile network you receive your service from.

Kb (or kilobit): Kb is an abbreviation of kilobit, which is a term used to describe internet speeds - you may also so it written as Kbps, or kilobits per second. This was commonly used to measure dial-up internet speeds (dial-up has largely now been replaced by broadband in the UK) and still crops up with slower data connections and slow uploads and downloads of internet files. There are 1024Kb in an Mb.

KB (or Kbps, or kilobyte): KB is short for kilobyte, which is a term used to describe the size of computer files and storage capacity. See 'GB' above for more details.

LTE: LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, one of the next generation of mobile technologies (alongside WiMAX). It is said to be capable of data transfer rates 15 to 100 times faster than current 3G mobile networks, which could see it seriously competing with fixed-line broadband in the not too distant future. LTE may become available in some parts of the world as early as late 2010, but don't hold your breath for a reliable UK service for a while yet.

Mb (or Mbps, or megabit): Mb is an abbreviation of Megabit. You may also see written as Mbps, which stands for megabits per second, as Mb is currently the term most often linked with the measurement of internet speeds. A Mb is 1024Kb, while there are 1024Mb in a Gb.

MB (or megabyte): MB is short for megabyte, which is a term used to describe the size of computer files and storage capacity. See 'GB' above for more details.

MP3: There are several formats available for digitising music so that it can be stored and played from a computer, but MP3 is the most popular and common. An MP3 is essentially a digitised version of a song that can be played via an MP3 player and stored on a hard drive.

Megapixel: A megapixel is one million pixels - the tiny coloured dots that make up a digitised image. Used to describe smartphone camera technology, a high number helps indicate the quality of the snapper (1-2MP is low end, 8MP or more high end). However, also remember that image stabilising, flash, zoom and particularly lens quality will also play a key part.

Operating system: See 'OS' below.

OS: Short for 'operating system', the OS is the key software that manages how you work your way around your smartphone. Just like on home computers, the likes of Microsoft (Windows Mobile) and Apple (iOS) make smartphone operating systems, alongside the likes of BlackBerry, HP (WebOS) and Google's Android.

Push email: Push email systems are always on, actively transferring (or 'pushing') messages directly to your smartphone as they arrive at your email client.

QWERTY: Used to describe a standard keyboard set up, as opposed (on many handsets) the numerical keypad which has several letters ascribed to each key. Many smartphones have QWERTY keyboards, either physical (like many BlackBerrys) or on-screen touchscreen versions (such as the iPhone).

Smartphone: A smartphone is a mobile phone handset that is powered by an operating system giving it advanced functionality, making it much like a mini version of a home computer.

Touchscreen: Many smartphones now incorporate a touchscreen, the most talked about being Apple's iPhone range. The screen can be used either via touch or by a stylus, improving many tasks such as web browsing and organisational tasks.

UI: Short for 'user interface', this refers to the furniture (buttons, menus etc) you see on the smartphone's screen that aids you in navigating your handset's functions. Closely tied with the operating system, the ease of using a particular UI is often a key choice in smartphone choice.

Upload speed: This term describes how fast your mobile connection can send data from your smartphone. A good example of uploading is sending your photos to an online website or portal, or sending emails. Anything that goes across the internet from your smartphone is considered to be 'uploaded'. Similarly, anything coming in the other way is being 'downloaded' (anything from getting your emails or a web page to live, streaming television or entire computer programs).

Usage allowance: This describes how much data you are allowed to download through your smartphone connection. This will either be a fixed monthly allowance, or a pay as you go allowance you can top-up. Beware - using more data than you're contracted for can prove costly, and even more so abroad.

User interface: See UI, above.

Webmail: Webmail refers to services that store a customer's emails online, instead of downloading them via a program such as Outlook. The most common webmail services in the UK are Hotmail, Yahoo! and Gmail, but there are many around - most of them free. They are often seen as preferable to more static, ISP-based forms of email (known commonly as POP3) due to their flexibility - you can keep your email address when you change provider and can access your email from any internet connected computer. Webmail can also be set up to receive emails from POP3 email accounts, and often has built in anti-spam and anti-virus software.

Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi refers to products that have been certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance as working in tandem with other Wi-Fi products. However, in common usage it is taken by most to mean electronic items that work wirelessly over a Wi-Fi network (which should correctly be referred to as WLAN, not that many of us do!). In smartphone terms, the most common usage is when referring to Wi-Fi hotspots: places such as hotels, airports and cafes which offer the internet in public areas, either for free or charged. In these places you use a wireless connection to get your data (usually from a fixed-line broadband connection), so can often save your smartphone data allowance for another time.

WiMAX: This term is short for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access - a new broadband technology that claims to offer a wireless broadband alternative without the need for cables. Like LTE (see above) WiMAX is being touted as the next generation of mobile broadband, but could be a serious long-term threat to fixed-line broadband too.

WLAN: WLAN is the abbreviation for wireless local area network, and is more commonly known as Wi-Fi. For more details, see Wi-Fi (above).