Mobile phone From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search "Cell phone" redirects here. For the film, see Cell Phone (film) . "Handphone" redirects here. For the film, see Handphone (film) . For the mobile personal computer, see Smartphone . Evolution of mobile phones, to an early smartphone A mobile phone , known as a cell phone in North America, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while the user is moving within a telephone service area. The radio frequency link establishes a connection to the switching systems of a mobile phone operator , which provides access to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Modern mobile telephone services use a cellular network architecture, and, therefore, mobile telephones are called cellular telephones or cell phones , in North Americ...