If you’re lost in some of the technical acronyms mentioned that have become immensely popular and are being used by millions across the globe, don’t worry – you‘re not alone.

Why do we need to know the meaning of these concepts? In the world of wireless communication, it pays to have a working knowledge of the most popular technology concepts and terms. Not just to be in vogue, but knowing what a certain acronym means, say SMS or short messaging service, will make it easier for users to understand how technology works and how it can help us in the home, at the office, or on the road.

The ubiquitous and rather cheap SIM card serves as the “identity” of the phone when exchanging “text” messages.

“Texting” has become so popular in the Philippines that the country now has the distinction of being the SMS capital of the world. Cell phone users, numbering a little less than 20 million, casually exchange millions of messages everyday.

Although indirectly, the sending and receiving of simple text messages also became the precursor of WAP, or wireless application protocol, a programming language which allows Internet content to be read directly via your phone. Via WAP, Internet data is presented in simple text form. Your device needs only a GSM modem to connect to the Internet.

By now, much have been said about MMS or multimedia messaging service, touted to be the next big thing in wireless communication. All the promises are there – voice, data, audio, and graphics, among others, can now be exchanged between cell phones with support for MMS.

Much like SMS, MMS also uses a GSM network.

However, unlike SMS, MMS needs a bigger bandwidth to enable the exchange of more data. Bandwidth basically means the capacity of a network to carry information. Thus, the wider the bandwidth, the larger the amount of information which can be exchanged over the network. A GSM modem is simply too slow for the exchange of rich information.

Eventually, the availability of higher bandwidth means that with the right device, information from the Internet, all the eye candies included, can now be utilized.

While laptop computers and notebooks with support for wireless networks have always been the “in” thing for mobility, it was not long before technology wunderkinds would up the ante in mobile productivity.

This desire for an alternative to the mobile computer eventually gave rise to PDAs or personal digital assistants. As the term suggests, PDAs function to help a user to organize, connect and work while on the move without a cumbersome laptop.

The early days of the PDA meant that without connectivity, these gadgets were considered “glorified electronic organizers”.

But wireless connectivity technology designed particularly for mobile devices soon emerged. As mentioned earlier, high bandwidth is needed for the exchange of more information. Thus, technologies such as GPRS or general packet radio service gave way for wireless devices to connect to the Internet. GPRS essentially means information in packet form can now be exchanged over a radio frequency.

GPRS also promises an “always on” and much faster Internet access for mobile devices.

However, the emergence of richer Internet content, more robust computer programs for mobile devices, and the need for mobile devices to mimic actual computers, soon gave birth to another technology which again promises to take wireless communication to the next level.

3G, or third generation wireless communications standard, promises mobile users faster access to the Internet – fast as in being able to view streaming video over your mobile phone, for example. Think of the simple cellular phone network as first generation, GPRS as second generation and 3G, well, you probably get the drift.

Speaking of mimicking an actual computer, companies which are into mobile technology soon came up with scaled down versions of the most commonly used computer applications. While Palm, the maker of the Palm device and its OS or operating system, still rules the PDA world in terms of users, new mobile OSes such as PocketPC are seen steadily catching up. An OS also refers to the program that runs a device.

Further, the pace of technology in the wireless arena is also blurring the line between cellular phones and PDAs. We see phones with PDA-like quality and PDAs which can double up as cellular phones. Hybrid PDAs/phones are now emerging.

The emergence of mobile devices also mean that users now need to conveniently connect to the Internet wirelessly.

Thus, a technology called Wi-Fi or wireless fidelity soon emerged. This technology promises users fast access to the Internet using radio frequency in a designated effective radius. It is also called WLAN or wireless local area network, since you are actually connecting to a local network wirelessly. Think of it as connecting without plugging into a data socket.

WI-FI means no more cluttered wires when you want to connect to the Internet. No more searching for phone jacks. All it takes is a Wi-Fi compatible device, and a Wi-Fi base station, located in a cafe, an airport, or a barber shop, and you’re ready to surf.

Further, most companies now have DSL or digital subscriber line, connecting them to the Internet. A DSL simply means that the capacity of the traditional phone line is extended or stretched to accommodate more data coming in and going out. So chances are, hooking up on a Wi-Fi hotspot will give you faster connection speeds.

Knowing the language of mobile technology can be very confusing, especially if the technology is just beginning to be explored. But it is good to understand their meanings just the same, for you will never know when you will finally need them.