What Is A Smartphone…

December 17th, 2008

Today we thought we’d explain a little bit what a “smartphone” is.

…There is no agreement in the industry about what a smartphone actually is and definitions have changed over time. According to David Wood, EVP at Symbian, “Smart phones differ from ordinary mobile phones in two fundamental ways: how they are built and what they can do.” Other definitions put different stresses on these two factors.

Most devices considered smartphones today use an identifiable and open operating system, often with the ability to add applications (e.g. for enhanced data processing, connectivity or entertainment) – in contrast to regular phones which only support sandboxed applications (like Java games). These smartphone applications may be developed by the manufacturer of the device, by the network operator or by any other third-party software developer, since the operating system is open.

In terms of features, most smartphones support full featured email capabilities with the functionality of a complete personal organizer. Other functionality might include an additional interface such as a miniature QWERTY keyboard, a touch screen or a D-pad, a built-in camera, contact management, an accelerometer, built-in navigation hardware and software, the ability to read business documents in a variety of formats such as PDF and Microsoft Office, media software for playing music, browsing photos and viewing video clips, internet browsers or even just secure access to company mail, such as is provided by a BlackBerry. One common feature to the majority of the smartphones is a contact list able to store as many contacts as the available memory permits, in contrast to regular phones that has a limit to the maximum number of contacts that can be stored.

Now what does this mean. Basically it’s a “do everything” phone. It makes calls, emails, surfs the internet. This way you can stay intouch no matter what. There are variations where some phones come with more features then others. Take the Nokia N97 for example. It, which is slated to be released in 2009, is a phone that will have everything. It, technically, has many more features then the iPhone.

Overall your phone needs are your own. What you want to do or not do is up to you. These days though the consumer has a lot more choice with what they can do. Gone are the days where all you could do was make a phone call.