Mobile phone vs Cell phone

Guest   Sat Aug 12, 2006 4:10 pm GMT
"We could care less. Your Portuguese sounds like a mess for any Brazilian speaker. We don't even understand it for how badly it is spoken. "

Brazilians are iliterates only 63% can read and write

Brazilian portuguese is the Portuguese spoken in favelas and slums
Kendra   Sat Aug 12, 2006 4:18 pm GMT
''Brazilians are iliterates only 63% can read and write ''

The same numbers for Portugal. The poorest country in Western Europe.
That's why you hafta emmigrate.
from OHIO   Sat Aug 12, 2006 9:15 pm GMT
'Wireless Phone'>>>>
Not necessary. It could be cordless also.
B - American   Tue Aug 29, 2006 7:53 pm GMT
It's obvious that you were not around for the first "mobile" or "cellular" phones. The first portable phones in the United States were installed in vehicles. The phone was unable to travel outside of you car or truck. This is the type of phone that coined the slang term 'cell phone'. These phones were limited in their mobility. It wouldn't make sense to term them "mobile" phones as they were not exactly mobile. It is obvious that none of the people arguing this point have considered that these phrases were created before technology advanced to what we have now.

It is also natural for original slang phrases to be used in addition to new slang phrases as technology advances. In short, whether you use the phrase "cellular" or "mobile" it still conveys that you are speaking of a portable phone. Of course the original slang term doesn't fit the new technology. But who cares?! Keeping the original slang term is meant to be a reminder of how far our technology has come.

Tit for Tat - this is a silly arguement that obviously took a very sour turn toward its end. I would hope that forums of this sort would allow us to embrace our differences rather than show our ignorance.
John   Mon Sep 24, 2007 1:46 am GMT
I agree with B. American.

I am also from the US, and I remember in the late 80s that these phones were called either "mobile" if they were installed in a vehicle or "portable" if they had to be setup.

Back then many "portable phones" where bulky had large batteries and were carried in something resembling a large briefcase. I don't recall calling these telephone back then "cell(ular) telephone" but rather "Mobile Phones" or "Portable Phones" which used cellular technology.

According to Merriam-Webster mobile has the following meanings:


1 : capable of moving or being moved : MOVABLE <a mobile missile launcher>
2 a : changeable in appearance, mood, or purpose <mobile face> b : ADAPTABLE, VERSATILE
3 : MIGRATORY
4 a : characterized by the mixing of social groups b : having the opportunity for or undergoing a shift in status within the hierarchical social levels of a society <socially mobile workers>
5 : marked by the use of vehicles for transportation <mobile warfare>
6 : of or relating to a mobile
7 : CELLULAR 3 <a mobile phone>

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=mobile

Many Americans would tend to lean more heavily toward meanings 1 and 5 when it comes to "equipment" which is "mobile" a vehicle of transportation is understood to be involved. When these phones became small and practical to carry in the pocket, the term "mobile" was not so suitable yet the phones still used cellular technology.

Additionally, Cellular One was one of the first companies in the US to sell these hand held units to the masses which probably also helped push the word "cellular" there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_One

It is also important to know that the cellular telephone/mobile was invented in the United States in the early 1980s so the terminology associated with the technology used there was established much earlier than in many other countries such as those in Europe.