Mobile Community Games

Some companies, e.g. Cellufun, have started to come up with unique community games made for mobile phones like Call of the Pharaoh, which won "Best Mobile Game" at the Global Mobile Awards 2008. In these games, players use their cellphones to access a community website where they can play browser-based games with thousands of players. This type of game works well on a limited platform like mobiles, because they do not require a lot graphical content. The essence of the game consists rather of the interaction between a multitude of participants. The fact that most users always have their cell phone with them make possible new kinds of games. In recent years we have seen a move towards ad wrapped mobile games which are then distributed free to the end user and paid for by advertisers. This area has been driven by companies like Greystripe and partners like Thumbthug.com.

A mobile game is a video game played on a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA, handheld computer or portable media player. This does not include games played on handheld video game systems such as PlayStation Portable or Nintendo DS.

The first game that was pre-installed onto a mobile phone was Snake on selected Nokia models in 1997^[1]. Snake and its variants have since become the most-played videogame on the planet, with over a billion people having played the game.

Mobile games are played using the technologies present on the device itself. For networked games, there are various technologies in common use. Examples include text message (SMS), multimedia message (MMS) or GPRS location identification.

However, there are non networked applications that simply use the device platform to run the game software. The games may be installed over the air, they may be side loaded onto the handset with a cable, or they may be embedded on the handheld devices by the OEM or by the mobile operator.

Mobile games are usually downloaded via the mobile operator's radio network, but in some cases are also loaded into the mobile handsets when purchased, or via infrared connection, Bluetooth or memory card.

Mobile Magazine is an online publication^[1] which started in December of 2000. Mobile Magazine covers mobile technology, including notebook computers, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, MP3 players, digital cameras, mobile gaming, and other portable electronics and computing devices as well as automotive technology.

Mobile Magazine is a registered trademark with the USPTO and CIPO, in the USA and Canada respectively, and owned by Pilato Private Consulting. In June of 2005, "Mobile PC" published by Future Network USA changed their name to "Mobile". A cease and desist order on the use of the confusingly similar magazine name and website domain MobileMagazine.com was sent to Future Network USA. The print publication "Mobile" ceased publication as of November 2005 due to undetermined reasons and the domain name MobileMagazine.com was transfered to Pilato Private Consulting. Outstanding subscriptions to Mobile PC were fulfilled by subscriptions to Maximum PC, a sister technical magazine.

Mobile radio or mobiles refer to wireless communications systems and devices which are based on radio frequencies, and where the path of communications is movable on either end. There are a variety of views about what constitutes mobile equipment. For US licensing purposes, mobiles may include hand-carried, (sometimes called portable), equipment. An obsolete term is radiophone. ^[1]

A sales person or radio repair shop would understand the word mobile to mean vehicle-mounted: a transmitter-receiver (transceiver) used for radio communications from a vehicle. Mobile radios are mounted to a motor vehicle usually with the microphone and control panel in reach of the driver. In the US, such a device is typically powered by the host vehicle's 12 volt electrical system.

Some mobile radios are mounted in aircraft, (aeronautical mobile), shipboard, (maritime mobile), on motorcycles, or railroad locomotives. Power may vary with each platform. For example, a mobile radio installed in a locomotive would run off of 72- or 30-volt DC power. A large ship with 117V AC power might have a base station mounted on the ship's bridge.