With over 140 million sold every year around the world it is pretty likely that soon you will know by looking at your phone!

A smartphone is a device which lets people to make cell phone calls, while also offering added features which  fundamentally are typically related to computers.   But smartphones are much more than just the combining of cell phone and personal digital assistant (PDA).  

To better understand what a smartphone means a short background of its progression may be of use.   While the early mobile phones changed by getting smaller while simultaneously becoming more powerful, they also added features.    The first step toward cellular phones turning into smartphones was the introduction of the personal digital assistant (PDA).   Just as cell phones main function  personal digital assistants, epitomized by  the Palm Pilot, were intended to be used as personal and portable organizers, and little more.   PDAs stored   address book data, ‘to-do’ lists, and could synchronize  with desktop computers.  Over time PDAs added wireless connectivity and users started emailing with them.   Just as personal digital assistants began incorporated into the mobile office environment, mobile phones  began sending and receiving e-mails.   PDAs became more like communications devices, cell phones became more like computers.    The result is the smartphone.

There is not a mobile phone industry standard definition for what represents a smartphone.   However there are some common functions among smartphones, including:

QWERTY Keyboard:  By most definitions smartphones commonly include a QWERTY keyboard.  Meaning that the keys arearranged similarly to they would be on typewriters and computer keyboards, not in alphabetical order.   Ironically the QWERTY Keyboard was originally designed in the 1800’s to slow down typists to prevent typewriters from jamming.  We’ve been struggling with that design ever since, with little hope for change any time soon!

One more common characteristic among smartphones is having an Operating System.  In general, a smartphone will use an operating system that allows it to operate software applications just like a computer.   The smartphone operating system is the strongest when identifying a smartphone.   Some of the leading handset manufacturers use their own proprietary system which is exclusive to their brand – BlackBerry and Apple iPhone.   Other operating systems are licensed to handset manufacturers, Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian operating systems are used by a wide range of hardware  brands.  If you say” I have a BlackBerry”, then they have a BlackBerry operating system.  If someone says I have an HTC or a Samsung, it might have Android, Windows Mobile or even a Symbian operating system.  However not all BlackBerry operating systems have the identical functions.  It is critical to identify the version, if attempting to check if the smartphone is compatible with third-party software applications such as Parental Monitoring, Employee Monitoring and Information Backup software from PhoneBeagle for BlackBerry and Android .

Software and Web Access:  Almost all cell phones provide some kind of software, as a contact manager for example , but a smartphone is going to have the capability to do many more things.  Browse the internet work with documents and spreadsheets, view files, download third-party software applications for various uses .   The growth of high speed data networks added to the addition of Wi-Fi, makes smartphones very practical. 

Communications and Messaging:   Every cell phone has SMS text messaging, but smartphones can handle email.  MMS multimedia message service extends SMS text messaging to include longer text, graphics, photos, audio clips, video clips and is becoming common too.   Not just a exceptional manner for people to correspond, SMS texting can be a practical method for software applications to exchange simple messages, and even setup commands, between  mobile phones.  SMS texting doesn’t need a direct connection between mobiles; the communications infrastructure for the system is already prepared, and it works across most cellular service providers.  One feature of text messaging that makes it particularly useful for mobile software applications is that it uses smartphone fixed identity, the phone number.   Short Message Service (SMS) is a communication service component of the GSM mobile communication system.  It relies on uniform communications protocols that allow incoming and outgoing short text messages between mobiles.

A GPS locator isn’t unique to smartphones, however smartphones are making more use of this technology.  Before long GPS will become almost as common as the telephone, or more likely included with every mobile phone.  GPS can calculate locations accurate to a matter of.  In fact, amazingly with advanced equipment it is possible to make measurements to less than a centimeter!  In a sense it’s like assigning every square meter on the globe a unique address.  These systems can be viewed as Network Based, Handset Based or a Hybrid approach.  GPS location is Handset based as it needs software applications installed on the smartphone  along with GPS hardware.  Triangulation and CellID are Network Based as they use the equipment and data from the cellular provider.  Hybrid systems combine techniques to make best use of available data and to make position cell phone tracking faster.

A very interesting software application that assists parents and employers monitor smartphones and everyone to backup their communications data including GPS location, SMS text messages, MMS messages and phone event/call logs is Phone Beagle. 
Mobile Monitoring software for BlackBerrys and Androids from Phone Beagle..

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To track a cell phone involves several main ways of determining  smartphone location.  GPS Global Positioning System-Satellites, Triangulation, and CellID.   All these technologies convert smartphones into mobile tracking systems.   These systems can be viewed as Network Based, Handset Based or a Hybrid approach.  GPS location is Handset based as it needs software applications installed on the cell phone  along with GPS hardware.  Triangulation and CellID are Network Based as they use the equipment and data from the cellular provider.  Hybrid systems combine techniques to make best use of available data and to make position mobile phone tracking faster.  

Mobile phone GPS is what people commonly think of when considering locating smartphones.   GPS (Global Positioning System) using satellites is the most popular and more accurate way of tracking.   But GPS needs satellites to be in direct line of site of the handset.  It doesn’t work as well indoors or in dense cities.  If the handset is in a structure, for example your school, mall, or often riding in a car the signals might not reach the cell phone.   Sometimes heavy cloud cover and dense trees interferes with reception.  Some mobile phones will retain the last known GPS location, others might not.  

Another issue with handset GPS location is the possibility of battery drain.  It is important to be able to remotely adjust the frequency of taking GPS position.  Selecting real-time or periodic sampling affects both the accuracy of finding location as well as how long the battery will last.  

GPS receivers, whether in a mobile phone, or a dedicated GPS tracking device, compute position by precisely timing the signals transmitted by GPS satellites.  This data includes the time the message was transmitted, precise orbital information (the ephemeris), and the general system condition and rough orbits of all GPS satellites (the almanac).  GPS receivers often take longer to become ready to use after it’s turned on because it must acquire some basic information in addition to capturing GPS satellite signals. This delay is sometimes caused if the GPS smartphone  has been turned off for days or weeks, or has been moved a significant distance while unused for.  The GPS must update its almanac and ephemeris data and store it in memory.  The GPS almanac is a set of data that every GPS satellite transmits. When a GPS receiver has current almanac data in memory, it can acquire satellite signals and compute initial location faster. 

GPS Hot Start is when the GPS enabled cell phone  remembers its last calculated position, the satellites that were in view at the time, the almanac data in memory, and tries to obtain the same satellites and compute a new position based upon the previous information. This is usually the quickest GPS lock but Hot Start only works if the phone is generally in the same location as when the GPS was last switched off. 

GPS Warm Start is when the GPS enabled mobile phone  recalls its last known location, and almanac used, but not which satellites were in view. It performs a reset and makes an attempt  to connect to satellite signals and computes a new position. 

The GPS receiver has a general idea of which satellites toseek because it stored its last known position and the almanac data helps identify which satellites are in range. The Warm Start will take longer than the Hot Start but not as long as a Cold Start. 

With GPS Cold Start, the device dumps all the previous data, and attempts to locate satellites and accomplish a GPS lock. This takes more time because there is no known reference information.  The GPS enabled mobile phone   receiver has to attempt to lock onto a satellite signal from any available satellites. 

In order to have better GPS lock times cellular manufacturers and wireless operators introduced Assisted GPS technology.  It downloads the ephemeris and helps triangulate the cell phone   general position.  GPS Receivers can get a faster lock at the expense of a few kilobytes of data transmission. 

Assisted GPS, also known as A-GPS or AGPS, improves the performance of standard GPS in devices connected to the cell network.   In the United States  Sprint, Nextel, Verizon Wireless, and Alltel all use AGPS. Which is a method of utilizing the cell network to speed up finding of GPS satellites.  A-GPS assists location tracking functions of cell phones (and other connected devices) in a couple of ways:

One way is by assisting to obtain a faster “time to first fix” (TTFF). A-GPS acquires and storesinformation about satellite positionvia the cellular network so the coordinates information does require to be downloaded via the satellite. 

Another method is by helping locate  cell phones when GPS signals are weak or blocked.  As mentioned before GPS satellite signals may be impeded by tall buildings, and do not penetrate building interiors well. A-GPS utilizes proximity to cellular towers to estimate location when GPS signals are not available. 

If satellite signals are not available, or accuracy is less important than battery life, using Cell-ID is a good substitute to GPS cell phone location.  The position of the mobile phone can be calculated by the cellular network cell id, which identifies the cell tower the phone is connected to.   By knowing the location of this tower, then you can know approximately where the handset  is.  However, a tower can cover a huge area, from a few hundred meters, in high density areas, to several miles in lower density areas. This is why location CellID accuracy is lower than GPS accuracy. Nonetheless location using CellID still provides a very viable alternative.    

Another method of formulating  handset position is Triangulation or Mobile Location Services (MLS).  Cell Tower Triangulation uses signal analysis data to calculate the time it takes signals to travel from your phone to at least three cell towers to determine location.   

To comply with Federal Communications Commission guidelines, cellular phone companies must be able to provide authorities with smartphone latitude and longitude to an accuracy of 50 to 300 meters.   Cell Tower Triangulation doesn’t always meet this requirement.  For comparison commercially available GPS modules are able to achieve accuracy down to less than 10 meters.  This depends upon many factors, as GPS signals are often very weak and are affected  by many environmental factors.   With Mobile Location Services (MLS), the GSM cell network provider utilizes triangulation techniques to compute the location of the device, its accuracy is proven to be less than than that of GPS.  MLS is further affected by the same issues as  GPS in the sense of the barriers affecting signal quality and the density of GSM towers to help in the triangulation effort.   In rural areas position accuracy may be off as much as a mile. 

Generally speaking it is a matter of what location tracking system is available, and the need for accuracy.  Hybrid methods are emerging that use various techniques in tandem to provide best available location given available resources.  It may be important to consider how GPS location software programs handle the data and controls handset settings.   Having real time tracking on demand, or preferring to minimize battery use and data transmission should be expected.  Typically the application determines the location with a GPS receiver and transmits the tracking data to a server through a cellular packet data connection. The data connection to the server is usually made using the Internet.  How often GPS samples are taken and how often and by what method the data is sent to the server affect effectiveness and costs. 

Keep in mind that there is a basic difference between handset GPS Tracking and Navigation.  GPS cell tracking is normally associated with a third-party keeping records of either real-time or historical smartphone  location, while Navigation deals with the mobile phone  user figuring out how to get from point A to point B.

A really great software package that includes remote control of cell phone settings, and combines Cell Phone Tracking  with SMS text message, Call Log,  MMS multi-media message monitoring, and a web account for storage and review is PhoneBeagle.  

Follow this link if you are interested in    Cell Phone Monitoring Software  compatible with BlackBerry  and  Android  Smartphones, used or Parental Monitoring and Small Business Employee Monitoring .  

Visit this link for more information regarding the latest software for
Cell Phone Tracking .

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Now, I know there can be thousands of reasons you may not ever be in the mood anymore: children, the recession, Fox News, etc. These same factors affect men as well, yet we still do our part to feed the relationship ( Crisis communication ) with communication.

If you want to save your marriage, maybe you should take a look at 500 Lovemaking Tips & Secrets written by the guest of one of Oprah’s highest rated episodes, Michael Webb. I know… it is also necessary for men to read.

The Asshole

No, this is not a continuation of the previous section ( Corporate communications ) . Some of you may have just married “the asshole”. This is the guy who is going to cheat on you no matter what you do. You know the type. Simply provide him time and he will indicate you his genuine colors. Your friends have made efforts to tell you about hime for years in each manner but entirely,yet you stay. If you think back far adequate,you’ll remember that he was dating somebody else when you two began stepping into a deeper relationship.

Signs you’re with this guy:

1. When he needs something from his email,he will make you stand up as a result ,he can log in rather than simply provide you the password.

2. His cell phone has a password which you are not aware of it.

3. He turns his phone off as soon as he gets home to avoid unexpected texts.

4. He takes “business calls” in another room.

5. He’s a grown man that occasionally spends the night at his best friend’s house.

When it comes to this man,there is no way to rescue your marriage. There is no solvement ,but to leave.

You’ve heard this before yet done nothing, so I’ll move on.

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There are many reasons to record calls, other than spying on someone. These include

• verification of a sales transaction
• financial transactions
• health or medical information given to patient
• legal issues
• insurance claims
• interviews
• improve call handling
• improve customers service skills.

Basically any type of conversation that you feel is necessary or required by law, to avoid any misunderstandings at a later date

In the most simplistic form a single line recorder uses an adapter/device to connect to a telephone line and to the USB port on a computer. Once you record the call it is automatically saved to the computer. Because the calls are saved on a computer, you have the ability to share these calls through email .wav or mp3 file format. You can record from portable telephones as long as the recorder is connected to the base unit.

Depending on the product you purchase, the recorder can be configured to record calls by voice activation, or manually select the calls you want to record. If you are using this in your home, and have only one telephone line, you may want to manually select the recording of calls.

Telephone recorders are available in all sizes, from recording a single line to recording hundreds of lines simultaneously. Ports, channels and telephone lines all mean the same thing. Be sure to check the regulations for your State. Each State has certain requirements for legally recording calls as to how parties to the call are notified the call is being recorded.

Now what about recording cell phones?

Because there is no physical connection to the cell phone, a third party service will handle these recordings. You dial the telephone number provided by the service prior to making the call and then dial the number to be recorded.

If you require cell calls to be recorded on the fly, there is another type of service available that will give you a telephone number to use to record all incoming and outgoing calls. You will be charged by the minute when using a service to manage cell phone recordings.

Recording telephone calls is not that difficult. You can find good single line telephone recorders for under $150. Evaluate the specifications and features to ensure you are purchasing the best recorder to meet your needs. For larger office type recording applications, you will want to ensure the telephone recorder is compatible with your telephone system.

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