A smartphone" rel="tag">smartphone is an electronic handheld device representing a class of handsets with a mobile operating system such as Symbian, Microsoft OS, RIM or Palm. You might think of a smartphone as a mobile phone, one that has built-in features and functionalities in its handset that makes it a mobile information center and entertainment device for the user.

You might also think of a smartphone as a hybrid device, one that has all the features of a mobile phone and most of the features of a personal digital assistant (PDA) such as calendar, e-mail, Web browsing and office applications. Smartphones are one of the fastest growing segments in the consumer devices market.

Typically, smartphones can take care of your communication, handheld computing, and multimedia needs. Unlike traditional cellphones, a smartphone offers a personal information manager (PIM), functionality (e.g., contacts, calendars, and tasks) and allows professionals to install and run assorted computer applications that can edit documents, search the Internet, and retrieve information from enterprise servers.

Smartphones are generally designed for one-handed operation, with keypad access to both voice or data features. They are often optimized for voice and text communication, wireless access to MicroSoft Outlook information and encrypted browsing of corporate and Internet information and services. As well, smartphones generally have longer battery lives and cannot be customised quite as much.

Motorola redefined the smartphone category by providing a clip-on personal organizer for its existing StarTAC phones.

Smartphones are equipped with complete operating systems that determine what kinds of functions and applications are available for that device. They provide a convenient way to carry several hand-held digital devices in one body. They allow you to easily sync e-mail accounts so you can get e-mail messages as they arrive on your phone, but they also allow you to view e-mail attachments and click on links in e-mail to the web.

Smartphone2002 and Smartphone2003, made by Microsoft, have great capability, performance and conveniences. But they are not exactly what you would call “license-free.”

Still, from where we stand today, smartphones are slated to become the most prominent personal computers on the planet, ultimately able to do everything that desktop computers currently do. However, there are times when people need a large screen and full-size keyboard.

Smartphones have become increasingly popular because they provide “all-in-one” convenience by integrating traditional mobile phones with handheld computing devices. However, the flexibility of running third-party softwares also leaves the smartphones open to malicious viruses. That’s a little beyond the intended scope of this article, so we’ll only mention this in passing.

Suffice it to say, “smartphones are so smart” because of all we’ve just discussed, and as evidenced by the fact that they are fast becoming the new PDA phones . . . and, because these feature-packed mobile phones are pervasive, they could very easily become the default physical interface for ubiquitous computing applications, providing the foundation for a new, interaction paradigm.

Tags: ipod, nokia, facebook, social networking, gadgets

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