A glossary for parents

The main use of a mobile phone is for a one-to-one 'voice' conversation, usually with someone you know. But as well as being able to make and receive straightforward voice calls, today's mobiles offer lots of other functions and services.

Most young people know and understand these functions and services very well, but some parents may still find some of them a little baffling. So it's well worth swotting up on all the different things mobile phones can do.

The ins and outs of toda‘s mobile phone technology

Voicemail services

If a mobile is switched off or engaged, a voice call can be diverted to a voicemail. This is an electronic answerphone where callers can leave a message. Most people like to personalise their voicemail greeting, but we recommend that your greeting does not include your name or any other personal details.

The call register

The call register on the mobile phone contains the details of all the calls that have been made, received or missed. however this is not totally reliable because records can be deleted and the register may not record calls that were missed when the mobile was switched off.

Withholding numbers

It‘s possible for someone to withhold their number so it does not register on the phone receiving the call and cannot be seen on the handset. It‘s very easy for someone who wants to hide their identity to do this. If you are not sure who is calling you, it may be best not to answer.

Text messaging

Mobile phones are not just for talking. They can also be used for sending and receiving text messages, which are typed on the keypad. The person receiving the message can read it and text a reply back, and recent text messages are stored on the phone until they are deleted. Text messages can also be sent to a phone by email from a computer. It is not possible to withhold a number when sending a text message from a mobile, so any text you send or receive from a mobile can be traced.

Media messaging

Multi-media messaging is similar to text messaging, but messages can contain photos, graphics, videos and sounds, as well as text. You need to have a media messaging handset to be able to swap this sort of message. As with text messaging, recent messages can be kept on the phone, but they can also be sent to an internet album. They can then be stored, altered and sent on to other people.

Text chat

As well as one-to-one text messaging, you can have a conversation with several people at the same time by posting text messages in a chat room. Texting in a chat room is done anonymously, using nicknames. O2 moderates its public chat forums for inappropriate postings and automatically stops people posting phone numbers, personal details like addresses, and swear words.

Private chat

A private chat is a one-to-one chat which may be used by an adult pretending to be a child to gain the confidence of other young people. If you are invited from a public forum into a private one-to-one chat, it's important to remember that people online may not be who they say they are.

Camera phones

Many mobile phones now include built-in digital cameras, so people are able to communicate with photos and videos as well as with a voice or text. The pictures are often of a high quality and they can be sent to other camera phones or to any email address. Camera phones can also receive photos taken by other people.

Multimedia chat

Anybody with a camera phone can also use multimedia chat rooms. This is where photos or video clips taken on camera phones are placed on public message boards. The photos can be viewed by anyone in the chat room. They can also be copied and sent to other people.

Pay-as-you-go

Most of the mobile phones used in the UK are pay-as-you-go phones. Many of these are unregistered, which means we do not know and we cannot trace the person who is using them.

Information messages

Another use for mobile phones is to receive information messages. These are text messages that are requested containing information such as celebrity gossip or football scores. Some information providers offer material that is suitable only for adults, but all 18+ material is blocked on phones belonging to O2 customers who have not verified that they are 18 or over. You can also ask O2 to restrict web access from mobile phones. Information messages can sometimes be expensive. There is usually a premium rate charge for these texts on top of the normal text rate.

WAP browsing

WAP stands for Wireless Application Protocol and is a mobile version of the internet. As with a computer when it is connected to the internet, a mobile phone with WAP capabilities can be used to access a wide range of material, including pictures, video and audio.

My WAP

This is a WAP and mobile web community, where you can create your own mobile site. You can put any information you want to there for other to view, including pictures and sound.

O2 Active

Each mobile telephone company has its own special information and entertainment WAP pages. Our pages are called O2 Active and they cover many areas, including sport, news, travel and games.

Blogs and moblogs

Blogs are personal diaries in which people publish information about themselves and their interests on the web. Social networking websites are similar, but you can restrict the people looking at your pages to just your friends if you want to. Both blogs and social networking sites are quick and easy ways for someone to create their own website and, like all websites, they can be used to share photos, videos and music with the world. Moblogs are mobile phone versions of blogs. Pictures and videos can be uploaded to the web directly from a mobile.

Bluetooth technology

Some phones contain a type of technology called Bluetooth and it’s important to know whether your child’s phone is 'Bluetooth enabled'. If a phone is Bluetooth enabled, it can be detected by another Bluetooth phone in the area. It can then be contacted by the other Bluetooth phone user. In other words, a phone may receive an unexpected and unwanted message from a stranger who is nearby. To ensure you don’t receive unwanted messages from a stranger, simply turn off the phone’s Bluetooth option making it invisible to other Bluetooth users.

For more information, visit o2.co.uk or contact our customer service on 0870 521 4000.