Accelerometer
An electronic component that measures motion and basic tilt information.
A device with an accelerometer knows what angle it is being held at. It can also measure basic movements such as simple rotation, and motion gestures such as swinging, shaking, and flicking.
One common use in phones it to detect whether the phone is upright or sideways, and automatically rotate the graphics on the screen accordingly.
Another common use is controlling games and other applications (such as music player) by moving or shaking the phone.
In a phone, an accelerometer is a very small electronic component. It's like a microchip, but with moving parts inside. This technology is called MEMS.
An accelerometer typically has extremely tiny weights inside it, suspended on simple springs. Small electric fields measure the position and movement of the weights. In addition to measuring movement, gravity's effect on the weights can be measured, proving orientation (tilt) information.
Most accelerometers are not very good at measuring changes in tilt. The best sensor for this information is a gyroscope:
See: Gyroscope
Last updated Oct 28, 2016 by Rich Brome
Editor in Chief Rich became fascinated with cell phones in 1999, creating mobile web sites for phones with tiny black-and-white displays and obsessing over new phone models. Realizing a need for better info about phones, he started Phone Scoop in 2001, and has been helming the site ever since. Rich has spent two decades researching and covering every detail of the phone industry, traveling the world to tour factories, interview CEOs, and get every last spec and photo Phone Scoop readers have come to expect. As an industry veteran, Rich is a respected voice on phone technology of the past, present, and future.
