I think there is no difference. "Mobile' is obvious but how did it get the name "Cellular"?. The 'mobile' phone picks the signals, as you move, from various signal towers located at some distances, typically every 5 Kms, and thus they make a sort of net, with each tower at the centre of a circular area, this circular area to which the signal towers serve is known as "Cell" and hence the name.

Hope this helps.

I am not totally certain about English -but if I compare with the same question in French I would say that all cellular phones are mobile phones, but a mobile phone may also be the kind of wireless phone with a base and a separate element, plugged on one's regular line, that we can move inside the house but not much further.

I find this confirmation in Termium :
"OBS – All cellular telephones are portable, but not all portable telephones are cellular. "

As far as I know...

One mobile phone that is not cellular in the usual sense is a satellite phone, but usually that particular type of phone is only referred to as a "satellite phone". A satellite phone is also really cellular too because different satellites cover different portions of the earth's surface just like the cellphone's antennas. The "cells" are just bigger.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary does not show "mobile phone" but lists "cell phone" (two words) as a "cellular telephone" and then defines cellular as follows:

"of, relating to, or being a radiotelephone system in which a geographical area (as a city) is divided into small sections each served by a transmitter of limited range so that any available radio channel can be used in different parts of the area simultaneously"

That probably generally presents the US slant on this subject. I believe many Americans still say "cell phone" although I like "mobile phone" better.

NODE – The New Oxford Dictionary of English lists "cellphone" (one word) as "another term for mobile phone" and then defines mobile phone as "a telephone with access to a cellular radio system so it can be used over a wide area, without a physical connection to a network". The one-word spelling is not supported by the Internet searches below.

These two NODE definitions tell me two things about UK usage:

1. In the UK, "mobile phone" seems to be synonymous with "cellphone" for everyday purposes, although a purist might go for Jan's monkey and mammal argument.

2. "mobile phone" is probably more widely used in the UK. This is supported by my own experience and Rolf's suggestion.

Some people somewhere may look at it that way it, but I don't think translators should write that a cordless phone is a mobile phone. NODE gives this separate definition for "cordless":

"ADJECTIVE: (of an electrical appliance or TELEPHONE) working without connection to a main supply OR CENTRAL UNIT: NOUN: a cordless telephone

"mobile phone" draws 195,000 worldwide Google English hits, 89,000 .uk hits and 164,000 .com hits.

"cell phone" draws 1,400,000 worldwide Google English hits, 10,500 .uk hits and 1,350,000 .com hits.

"cellphone" draws 167,000 worldwide Google English hits, 4,400 .uk hits and 161,000 .com hits.

"cellular phone" draws 560,000 worldwide Google English hits, 7,000 .uk hits and 441,000 .com hits.

The search result numbers seem to add up fairly logically for "cell phone" and "cellphone" and could be accepted for "cellular phone". They do not add up right at all for "mobile phone". Does anybody know why?

All the above BS might help clear up how and where the two English terms are used but doesn't explain why your text differentiates between the two terms and I haven't the foggiest idea why your author uses both terms.

HTH

Dan