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Cell phones, also known as mobile phones, have become a staple in our daily lives. These handheld devices have evolved greatly over the years, offering a wide range of features and capabilities beyond just making phone calls. From taking photos and browsing the internet to running apps and playing games, cell phones have become a central hub for communication and entertainment.
With so many advancements in technology and the widespread use of cell phones, it's no wonder that they have become a popular topic for trivia.
1. In 1999 Shigetaka Kurita invented what keyboard additions for cell phones that would eventually replace emoticons and even get their own movie?
Answer: Emojis
2. With multiple of them, perhaps you could make your own version of the 13th highest-selling video game of all time. The integrated circuit used to authenticate the subscriber and ensure accurate billing in cell phones is known as what sort of card?
Answer: SIM
3. The mobile app development company Niantic struck gold in 2016 with what smash-hit smartphone game that captured tens of millions of players within days of its release? The game became a global phenomenon with players largely playing outdoors.
Answer: Pokémon Go
4. The first Android-powered device from Samsung Mobile also became the first in a long-running product line for the company. What was the name of this device?
Answer: Samsung Galaxy
5. Famously, Siri is the name of Apple's voice assistant and Alexa that of Amazon. What name was given to Microsoft's voice assistant?
Answer: Cortana
6. In 2014, Google partnered with Game Freak and Nintendo as part of an April Fool's Day prank to create a new version of Google Maps populated by small creatures. This prank inspired what massively popular 2016 video game?
Answer: Pokémon Go
7. Now appearing prophetic, what device was announced in 2007 with the following slogan? "This is only the beginning."
Answer: iPhone
8. The 2.0 version of the Android operating system was nicknamed "Eclair" and the 2.3 version was nicknamed "Gingerbread." In between was the five-letter name of a cold dessert that exploded in popularity in the 2000s with self-serve toppings. What dessert is this?
Answer: Froyo
9. With only 13 months between the phone's first release and the discontinuation of the product, the Fire phone was widely considered a commercial flop for what tech giant?
Answer: Amazon
10. During the four-year production run of the V3 version, what device became the world's best-selling clamshell phone with over 130 million units sold?
Answer: Motorola RAZR
11. Andy Rubin is known as one of the three founders of what massively popular cell phone operating system?
Answer: Android
12. How many times would you have had to hit the 4 button to text the word “Hi” on a flip phone’s non-T9 number pad?
Answer: 5 times
13. For Cyber Monday in the U.S. in 2019, Google "baked" Pixel 4 phones inside the pizza boxes of what fast food chain as a limited promotion?
Answer: Domino's
14. The tiny town of Green Bank, West Virginia is located within the National Radio QZ because it is home to the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope. This means that there are strict Wi-Fi and cell phone restrictions in the city. What does QZ stand for in this context?
Answer: Quiet Zone
15. What is the seven-letter branded software standard created by Apple that enables a car radio or touchscreen to be a display and a controller for an iOS device?
Answer: CarPlay
16. "Lumia" is a discontinued mobile phone franchise that was produced by which two companies?
Answer: Microsoft and Nokia
17. "Project Purple" was the internal company codename for what foundational cell phone product?
Answer: iPhone
18. While working at Motorola in the 1970s, Martin Cooper invented what is typically considered the first cell phone. Cooper is a graduate of IIT: an Institute of Technology located in what state?
Answer: Illinois
19. Used in electronic messages and web pages, they are similar to emoticons but are actual pictures instead of typographic symbols. What are they?
Answer: Emojis
20. The integrated circuit intended to securely store information and a key on a mobile phone is widely known as a SIM card. What does SIM stand for?
Answer: Subscriber Identity Module
21. What brand released the world's first commercially available cellular phone?
Answer: Motorola
22. What smartphone app and fintech company was founded by father and son duo Walter Wemple Cruttenden III and Jeffrey James Cruttenden to promote incremental and passive investing in 2014? The company's app features a light green color scheme and shares its name with a seed enclosed in a tough, leathery shell. The portfolio options the company offers were designed in part by Nobel laureate Harry Markowitz.
Answer: Acorns
23. What 7-letter term for fingerprint recognition is trademarked by Apple and used on their devices for biometric access to devices?
Answer: Touch ID
24. What iOS feature allowed users to animate emojis by incorporating the user's facial expressions, as recognized by the iPhone X's camera?
Answer: Animoji
25. What regal company initially released Candy Crush Saga on Facebook in 2012? The game found massive popularity and revenue as a smartphone app.
Answer: King
26. Where does the name for the "old school" form of texting called "T9" get its name (i.e., what does it stand for)?
Answer: Text on 9 keys
27. The DynaTAC 8000X was the first commercially available cell phone. It took about 10 hours to get a full charge, which gave you a half hour of talk time. What technology company released it in 1983, decades before the RAZR?
Answer: Motorola
28. Popular as a standalone smartphone app, Candy Crush Saga initially debuted on what website's games platform?
Answer: Facebook
29. A November 1998 article titled "New CYBERSCAPE: Digital Assistants Get Sophisticated" was the first article in the New York Times' archive to use what now-ubiquitous word which, despite its name, does not necessarily refer to the IQ of a pocket computer?
Answer: Smartphone
30. Google Buzz, Google Friend Connect, and Orkut were all Google products that were retired attempts at a social media platform. The fourth attempt was named what?
Answer: Google+
31. What is the common alphanumeric abbreviation for the "predictive text technology" developed by Tegic Communications and used on mobile phones prior to the widespread adoption of touchscreen keyboards?
Answer: T9
32. In 2005, the telecom giant Sprint merged with what other telecom provider with an "N" name?
Answer: Nextel
33. AMD is an American semiconductor company based in Santa Clara that has been an industry-leader for developing computer processors. The company is a primary competitor to both Intel and Nvidia. What does AMD stand for?
Answer: Advanced Micro Devices
34. What communications giant goes by the stock symbol T on the New York Stock Exchange?
Answer: AT&T
35. Japanese chemist Akira Yoshino switched from low-yield polyacetylene to a carbonaceous material electrode in 1985, locking in what critical piece of cell phone tech?
Answer: Lithium-ion battery
36. The first Apple store was opened in 2001 after years of failed "store-within-a-store" concepts at other chains. This location was located in Tysons Corner in what U.S. state?
Answer: Virginia
37. What does SMS stand for in the context of cellular communications?
Answer: Short Message Service
38. What is the name of the single-player sliding block puzzle game designed by Italian web developer Gabriele Cirulli in which a smartphone user tries to create a certain value by sliding and combining tiles around a grid?
Answer: 2048
39. What Nordic country created mobile phone throwing as an international sport in 2000?
Answer: Finland
40. Within 4 years, what year was the first cell phone sold, for roughly $4,000? Car phones were invented in the 1940s, but this was the first one to be sold to consumers who would use them outside of cars.
Answer: 1984
41. What was the first iPhone model to feature a (now ubiquitous) front-facing camera?
Answer: iPhone 4
42. What are the two southern universities from which Apple's Tim Cook holds a degree?
Answer: Auburn and Duke
43. What is the name of the online service and iOS app used for over-the-air installation and testing of mobile applications on Apple devices? This program is owned by Apple and is frequently used for downloading and testing alpha and beta versions of apps.
Answer: TestFlight
44. In what year did Apple standardize their chargers with the introduction of the Lightning cable?
Answer: 2012
45. The initial unveiling of the iPhone to the public was in 2007 at the Moscone Center in what American city?
Answer: San Francisco
46. When the first iPhone was released, how many GBs of memory was in the cheapest model?
Answer: 4
47. Officially announced in February 2019, the "Mate X" folding cell phone was a product of what electronics giant?
Answer: Huawei
48. What compound word brand name popularly sells a product that acts as an expanding cell phone grip and phone stand?
Answer: PopSockets
49. What five-letter male name was given to the phone deemed the first smartphone? Released by IBM in 1994, the phone featured a touchscreen keyboard, email, calendars and more.
Answer: Simon
50. When creating the first iPhone, Apple underwent a secretive collaboration with AT&T Mobility which was known by what name at the time?
Answer: Cingular Wireless
51. According to Apple, the most popular free game downloaded on iPhones in 2018 was Fortnite. The 2nd most popular game was an "endless play style of game where you try to get a ball down a set of platforms as you avoid red platforms." What was this 2nd most popular game?
Answer: Helix Jump
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