Welcome to Mobile World Network (MWN) - The goal of MWN is to provide you with information about the rapidly growing Mobile Network that is changing our World.

Mobile History
Over the past 60 years, mobile devices evolved from handheld vehicle mounted two-way radios to advanced handheld cell phones now called Smartphones. Development of the mobile devices and mobile network has truly been a worldwide effort. The Mobile Telephone system A (MTA) was first developed in Sweden in 1956 with a phone that weighed 90 pounds. The MTB was introduced in 1965 and weighed 20 pounds. The USSR developed the Altay national civil mobile phone service in 1958. In 1971, AT&T proposed cellular service to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Also in 1971, Finland launched the ARP public mobile phone network. In 1973, Dr. Cooper, an employee of Motorola placed a call to AT&T's Bell Labs while walking down the street in New York City. Bell Labs launched the first commercial trial of a cellular network in Chicago during 1978.

The Largest Mobile Networks
China Mobile with around 500 million subscribers is the largest mobile network in the world. China Mobile serves China, Hong Kong and Pakistan.

Vodafone from the United Kingdom (UK) is second largest with 260 million subscribers. They serve Europe, India, USA, Australia, and parts of Africa and the Middle East.

The third largest mobile network is Telefonica with 189 million subscribers. Telefonica and Movistar serve Central and South America along with parts of Europe.

Mobile Phone Standards
The two most popular mobile communication technologies are Global System for Mobile (GSM) and IS-95 (cdmaOne). Currently, GSM has about 80% of the market and IS-95 has about 15 % of the world market.

GSM uses Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) technology that is used in GSM's 2G. TDMA divides up the channel into sequential time slices. Each user of the channel takes turns to transmit and receive signals. In reality, only one person is actually using the channel at a specific moment. This is the same as time-sharing on a large computer.

IS-95 uses Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology that is used in GSM's 3G. IS-95's 2G uses a special type of digital modulation called spread spectrum which spreads the voice data over a very wide channel in somewhat random fashion. The receiver collects the random bits together to produce the sound.

The Best New Mobile Devices
It can be difficult to keep up with the rapid development of new mobile technology. The new generation of Smartphones that started with the iPhone has given rise to a host of new mobile competitors. Some of the best new mobile devices are the iPhone 3G, T-Mobile G1 (Android), Blackberry Storm, along with the trio of Windows Mobile devices the AT&T Fuze, Palm Treo Pro and the HP iPaq 910c.

Apple iPhone 3G is a hi-tech mobile phone that allows you to make a call by simply tapping a name or number in your address book, favorites list, or call log. The iPhone 3G uses fast 3G and Wi-Fi wireless connections to deliver HTML email, Maps with GPS, and Safari-the most advanced web browser on a portable device. iPhone 3G automatically syncs bookmarks from your PC or Mac and has Google and Yahoo! search built in. Since iPhone 3G multitasks, you can even make a phone call while emailing a photo or surfing the web over a Wi-Fi or 3G connection.

T-Mobile G1 features a full QWERTY keyboard, 3G support, Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth. The Google Android operating system offers integration with Google applications as well as access to the Amazon MP3 Store and YouTube. The G1 will become a more powerful smartphone for all types of users as more applications become available.

Blackberry Storm by Research In Motion (RIM) offers a unique touch screen that provides tactile feedback to confirm your selection. The Blackberry Storm also offers dual-mode functionality for world-roaming capabilities as well as EV-DO Rev. A and UMTS/HSDPA support. Other features include GPS and a 3.2-megapixel camera.

Windows Mobile devices include the AT&T Fuze, Palm Treo Pro and the Hewlett-Packard iPaq 910c. All three include support for Office applications and Microsoft back ends.

Delivering Web Content To Mobile Devices
The Best Practices Working Group (BPWG) as part of the Mobile Web Initiative developed a document that describes the best way to deliver Web content to mobile devices. The document was developed to enhance user experience of the Web when accessed from mobile devices.

The document is for creators, maintainers and operators of Web sites. Users of the document should be familiar with the creation of Web sites, and should have a general familiarity with the technologies involved, such as Web servers and HTTP. The users are not expected to have a background in mobile-specific technologies.

The Future Of Mobile Devices
Internet usage is increasing, and the need to deliver a true mobile internet experience is crucial. In order to do so, a device must address four key areas: Performance, broadband connectivity, software compatibility and wireless connectivity.

Mobile devices will also make it possible to run high-definition 1080p video and games as complex as World of Warcraft. Social-networking and location-based services will also be in the forefront. Mobile devices will be smaller, have increased memory and storage capacity and will consume less power.