Flip (form)

A clamshell phone, open

A clamshell phone, closed

Opened Sharp Electronic Organizer (sold as Sharp Wizard in the US) model QZ-770.

Closed and open Ericsson T39 was a compact flip phone, not clamshell

The flip or clamshell is an electronics form factor which is in two or more sections that fold via a hinge. Motorola used to have a trademark on the term "flip phone",^[1] but the term "flip phone" has become genericized to be used more frequently than "Clamshell" in colloquial speech.

This design is often used in technology, particularly portable devices such as mobile phones, laptop computers, subnotebooks, the Game Boy Advance SP and the Nintendo DS. When the clamshell is open, the device is ready for use. The interface components are kept inside the clamshell, which offers more surface area than when the device is closed. Interface components such as keys and display are protected when the clamshell is closed, and it is less long or wide, making the device easier to carry around.

[edit] History

The form factor was first used by the laptop manufacturer GRiD (who had the patent on the idea at the time) for their Compass model in 1982.^{[citation needed]}

Clamshell design of phones is generally agreed to have been inspired by the Star Trek original series communicator.^[2] A key difference, however, is that the grid that opens on the TOS communicator is solely an antenna, according to The Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual, while the upper part of the clamshell phone contains much of the functionality of the phone itself (the antenna is either internal or extends from the top of the lower half of the phone).

The first Motorola model to support the clamshell design was the StarTAC,^[3] created in 1996, although General Telephone & Electronics (GTE) held the trademark since the 1970s for its Flip Phone^[4] (one of the first small hand-held electronic phones), until 1993.^[5]. The design has since been copied by virtually all mobile phone manufacturers many times over, and Motorola is still best known for its clamshell models such as the RAZR.

The clamshell design has also been used in the Nokia Communicator series, with the first model released in 1996. Early models were very expensive and Nokia did not adopt the traditional clamshell phone design until 2004^[6]

[edit] Uses

Bookbinders build clamshell boxes in which valuable books or loose papers can be protected from light and dust.^{[citation needed]}

The form factor is most closely associated with the mobile phone market, although the design is also used on some landline phones, particularly cordless phones.^{[citation needed]}

Other appliances like pocket watches, sandwich toasters and the George Foreman Grill have long utilised a clamshell design; a very similar concept is used in racing and road legal cars, like the Ford GT40 and Ferrari Enzo, where the whole rear end can be lifted to access the engine compartment and suspension system.

It is also an informal name for General Motors full-size station wagons (manufactured 1971–1976), that featured a complex, two-piece "disappearing" tailgate, officially known as the "Glide Away" tailgate

Social impact

Student taking a photo with a camera phone

Personal photography allows people to capture and construct personal and group memory, maintain social relationships as well as expressing their identity.^[11] Camera phones provide the same opportunities, yet these functions are altered and allow for a different user experience. As mobile phones are constanly carried, camera phones allow for capturing moments at any time. Mobile communication also allows for immediate transmission of content (for example via Multimedia Messaging Services), which cannot be reversed or regulated.

While phones have been found useful by tourists and for other common civilian purposes, as they are cheap, convenient, and portable; they have also posed controversy, as they enable surreptitious photography. A user may pretend to be simply talking on the phone or browsing the internet, drawing no suspicion, and be able to photograph a person or place illegally or against that person's wishes.

As a network-connected device, megapixel camera phones are playing significant roles in crime prevention, journalism and business applications as well as individual uses. They can also be used for activities such as voyeurism, invasion of privacy, and copyright infringement. Because they can be used to share media almost immediately, they are a potent personal content creation tool. On January 17, 2007, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a plan to encourage people to use their camera-phones to capture crimes happening in progress or dangerous situations and send them to emergency responders. Through the program, people will be able to send their images or video directly to 911

Camera phone

"Intellect" Wireless Picturephone - 1993

A Sony Ericsson K800i camera phone

June 11th, 1997, Santa Cruz, CA: Image taken by Philippe Kahn after his daughter's birth.

The camera phone instantly sharing media

For the song performed by The Game Feat. Ne-Yo from the album LAX see Camera Phone.

A camera phone is a mobile phone which is able to capture either still photographs or motion video. Today more than half of all mobile phones in use are camera phones.^{[citation needed]}

Contents [hide] 1 History 2 External camera 3 Social impact 4 Notable events involving camera phones 5 Laws 6 See also 7 References

[edit] History

The camera phone, like many complex systems, is the result of converging and enabling technologies. There are dozens of relevant patents dating back as far as the 1960s. Compared to digital cameras of the 90s, a consumer-viable camera in a mobile phone would require far less power and a higher level of camera electronics integration to permit the miniaturization. The CMOS active pixel image sensor "camera-on-a-chip" developed by Dr. Eric Fossum and his team in the early 1990s achieved the first step of realizing the modern camera phone as described in a March 1995 Business Week article. While the first camera phones, as successfully marketed by J-Phone in Japan, used CCD sensors and not CMOS sensors, more than 90% of camera phones sold today use CMOS image sensor technology.

The first wireless picturephone prototype known as intellect, developed in 1993 by inventor Daniel A. Henderson^[1], was received by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in 2007^[2]. This pioneering system and device was designed to receive pictures and video data sent from a message originator to a message center for transmission and display on a wireless device such as a cellular telephone ^[3]. However, the integration of the cellular phone, the digital camera and a wireless internet infrastructure would take a few more years.

Over the years there have been many video phones and cameras that include communications technologies. None of them had focused on the integration with the wireless Internet which would allow instant media sharing with anyone anywhere. Such experiments include, for example, a device that was known as the Apple Videophone/PDA in 1995.^[4]. There were several digital cameras with cellular phone transmission capability shown by companies such as Kodak, Olympus in the early 90s^[5] There was also a digital camera with cellular phone designed by Shosaku Kawashima of Canon in Japan in May 1997.^[6]

On June 11, 1997, Philippe Kahn instantly shared the first pictures from the maternity ward where his daughter Sophie was born, with more than 2000 family, friends and associates around the world. A sharing infrastructure and an integrated cell-phone and camera combo augured the birth of instant visual communications. ^[7][8]

In Japan, two competing projects were run by Sharp and Kyocera in 1997. Both had cell phones with integrated cameras. However, the Kyocera system was designed as a peer-to-peer video-phone as opposed to the Sharp project which was initially focused on sharing instant pictures. That was made possible when the Sharp devices was coupled to the Sha-mail infrastructure designed in collaboration with American technologist, Kahn. The Kyocera team was led by Mr. Kazumi Saburi.^[9][10]

The first commercial camera phone complete with infrastructure was the J-SH04, made by Sharp Corporation, had an integrated CCD sensor, with the Sha-Mail (Picture-Mail in Japanese) infrastructure developed in collaboration with Kahn's LightSurf venture, and marketed from 2001 by J-Phone in Japan today owned by Softbank. The first commercial deployment in North America of camera phones was in 2002. The Sprint wireless carriers deployed over 1 million camera phone manufactured by Sanyo and launched by the PictureMail infrastructure (Sha-Mail in English) developed and managed by LightSurf.

Like most complex technology-based systems, there are several patents and technologies relevant to aspects of the camera phone. The advent of the CMOS sensor is an enabling technology for mass production.

Camera phones can share pictures instantly and automatically via a sharing infrastructure integrated with the carrier network, thus negating the need for connecting cables or removable media to transfer pictures. Some camera phones use CMOS image sensors, due largely to reduced power consumption compared to CCD type cameras, which are also used. The lower power consumption prevents the camera from quickly depleting the phone's battery. Images are usually saved in the JPEG file format, and the wireless infrastructure manages the sharing. The sharing infrastructure is critical and explains the early successes of J-Phone and DoCoMo in Japan as well as Sprint and other carriers in the United States and the widespread success worldwide.

Mobile Industry Unites to Drive Universal Charging Solution for Mobile Phones

The GSMA and 17 leading mobile operators and manufacturers today announced that they are committed to implementing a cross-industry standard for a universal charger for new mobile phones. The aim of the initiative, led by the GSMA, is to ensure that the mobile industry adopts a common format for mobile phone charger connections and energy-efficient chargers resulting in an estimated 50 per cent reduction in standby energy consumption, the potential elimination of up to 51,000 tonnes of duplicate chargers¹ and the enhancement of the customer experience by simplifying the charging of mobile phones.

The group has set an ambitious target that by 2012 a universal charging solution (UCS) will be widely available in the market worldwide and will use Micro-USB as the common universal charging interface. The group agreed that by the 1^st January 2012, the majority of all new mobile phone models available will support a universal charging connector and the majority of chargers shipped will meet the high efficiency targets set out by the OMTP (Open Mobile Terminal Platform), the industry body who developed the technical requirements behind UCS.

"The mobile industry has a pivotal role to play in tackling environmental issues and this programme is an important step that could lead to huge savings in resources, not to mention convenience for consumers," said Rob Conway, CEO and Member of the Board of the GSMA. "There is enormous potential in mobile to help people live and work in an eco-friendly way and with the backing of some or the biggest names in the industry, this initiative will lead the way."

A universal charger will also make life much simpler for the consumer, who will be able to use the same charger for future handsets, as well as being able to charge their mobile phone anywhere from any available charger. UCS chargers will also include a 4-star² or higher efficiency rating, which is up to three times more energy-efficient than an unrated charger³. Furthermore, with potentially 50 per cent less chargers⁴ being manufactured each year, the industry can expect to reduce greenhouse gases in manufacturing and transporting replacement chargers by 13.6 to 21.8 million tonnes a year. To ensure the uptake of a universal charging solution, the operators and manufacturers who have partnered with the GSMA to launch this initiative are working alongside the OMTP to roll-out the new solution in order to meet the targets set for 2012. The initiative will also work with the wider operator and manufacturing communities to secure global participation and commitment as well as educate the industry and promote the benefits of a universal charger via a targeted marketing campaign.

The initial group of companies who have joined the GSMA's UCS initiative include 3 Group, AT&T, KTF, LG, mobilkom austria, Motorola, Nokia, Orange, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telenor, Telstra, T-Mobile and Vodafone – some of the world's largest mobile operators and manufacturers who together are committed to making a universal charging solution a reality up to 2012 and beyond.


Supporting quotes
"3 welcomes this initiative to reduce the environmental impact of the mobile industry. By working together the mobile industry can make a significant difference to the number of chargers produced, shipped and lying around our homes and offices along with the amount of energy consumed whilst charging. It can only make the whole process of charging up a mobile much more consumer friendly and 3 will work with our handset partners to target 75% of our handset range to be UCS compliant by the end of 2012," said Nigel Field, General Manager, Devices and Applications, 3 Group.

"AT&T is pleased to join this industry initiative as it aligns well with AT&T’s own efforts to provider greener and simpler solutions for our customers," said Kris Rinne, Senior Vice President, Architecture and Planning, AT&T.

Market

In Q3/2008, Nokia was the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones, with a global device market share of 39.4%, followed by Samsung (17.3%), Sony Ericsson (8.6%), Motorola (8.5%) and LG Electronics (7.7%). These manufacturers accounted for over 80% of all mobile phones sold at that time.^[11]

Other manufacturers include Apple Inc., Audiovox (now UTStarcom), Benefon, BenQ-Siemens, CECT, High Tech Computer Corporation (HTC), Fujitsu, Kyocera, Mitsubishi Electric, NEC, Neonode, Panasonic, Palm, Matsushita, Pantech Wireless Inc., Philips, Qualcomm Inc., Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM), Sagem, Sanyo, Sharp, Siemens, Sendo, Sierra Wireless, SK Teletech, T&A Alcatel, Huawei, Trium and Toshiba.^{[citation needed]} There are also specialist communication systems related to (but distinct from) mobile

SIM card

In addition to the battery, GSM mobile phones require a small microchip, called a Subscriber Identity Module or SIM Card, to function. Approximately the size of a small postage stamp, the SIM Card is usually placed underneath the battery in the rear of the unit, and (when properly activated) stores the phone's configuration data, and information about the phone itself, such as which calling plan the subscriber is using. When the subscriber removes the SIM Card, it can be re-inserted into another phone and used as normal.

Each SIM Card is activated by use of a unique numerical identifier; once activated, the identifier is locked down and the card is permanently locked in to the activating network. For this reason, most retailers refuse to accept the return of an activated SIM Card.

Those cell phones that do not use a SIM Card have the data programmed in to their memory. This data is accessed by using a special digit sequence to access the "NAM" as in "Name" or number programming menu. From here, one can add information such as a new number for your phone, new Service Provider numbers, new emergency numbers, change their Authentication Key or A-Key code, and update their Preferred Roaming List or PRL. However, to prevent someone from accidentally disabling their phone or removing it from the network, the Service Provider puts a lock on this data called a Master Subsidiary Lock or MSL.

The MSL also ensures that the Service Provider gets payment for the phone that was purchased or "leased". For example, the Motorola RAZR V9C costs upwards of CAD $500. You can get one for approximately $200, depending on the carrier. The difference is paid by the customer in the form of a monthly bill. If the carrier did not use a MSL, then they may lose the $300–$400 difference that is paid in the monthly bill, since some customers would cancel their service and take the phone to another carrier.

The MSL applies to the SIM only so once the contract has been completed the MSL still applies to the SIM. The phone however, is also initially locked by the manufacturer into the Service Providers MSL. This lock may be disabled so that the phone can use other Service Providers SIM cards. Most phones purchased outside the US are unlocked phones because there are numerous Service Providers in close proximity to one another or have overlapping coverage. The cost to unlock a phone varies but is usually very cheap and is sometimes provided by independent phone vendors.

Applications

The most commonly used data application on mobile phones is SMS text messaging, with 74% of all mobile phone users as active users (over 2.4 billion out of 3.3 billion total subscribers at the end of 2007). SMS text messaging was worth over 100 billion dollars in annual revenues in 2007 and the worldwide average of messaging use is 2.6 SMS sent per day per person across the whole mobile phone subscriber base. (source Informa 2007). The first SMS text message was sent from a computer to a mobile phone in 1992 in the UK, while the first person-to-person SMS from phone to phone was sent in Finland in 1993.

The other non-SMS data services used by mobile phones were worth 31 Billion dollars in 2007, and were led by mobile music, downloadable logos and pictures, gaming, gambling, adult entertainment and advertising (source: Informa 2007). The first downloadable mobile content was sold to a mobile phone in Finland in 1998, when Radiolinja (now Elisa) introduced the downloadable ringing tone service. In 1999 Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo introduced its mobile internet service, i-Mode, which today is the world's largest mobile internet service and roughly the same size as Google in annual revenues.

The first mobile news service, delivered via SMS, was launched in Finland in 2000. Mobile news services are expanding with many organisations providing "on-demand" news services by SMS. Some also provide "instant" news pushed out by SMS. Mobile telephony also facilitates activism and public journalism being explored by Reuters and Yahoo!^[9] and small independent news companies such as Jasmine News in Sri Lanka.

Companies like Monster.com are starting to offer mobile services such as job search and career advice. Consumer applications are on the rise and include everything from information guides on local activities and events to mobile coupons and discount offers one can use to save money on purchases. Even tools for creating websites for mobile phones are increasingly becoming available.