
Cell phones have undoubtedly become an integral part of our lives. I’m pretty sure you never leave your home without one. But how many of you use it for more than making calls or sending text messages? Do you know what a modern smartphone is capable of? I’m guessing most of you do, but when Deependra asked me to post about something interesting related to technology, I thought why not write about smartphones. After all, they are the future of computing devices. And personally I believe desktops and bulky laptops will soon become a thing of the past, and these tiny mobile computing devices will dominate.
What is a smartphone ?
Some of you might be wondering what a smartphone really is? And how does it differ from a normal cell phone? Well, the answer is not as clear cut as it used to be few years back. Conventionally, a smartphone is a mobile phone that runs a mobile operating system and offers PC-Like functionality. Perhaps the main distinguishing feature is the mobile operating system, which provides a standardized platform for 3rd party application developers. This allows the users to download and install 3rd party applications to enhance their phone’s functionality beyond what is originally supported by the manufacturer. Software capabilities of smart phones generally differ from a regular phone due to:
- Rich web clients and browsers that can provide PC-like browsing capabilities
- Fully fledged Email clients (supporting SMTP/POP/IMAP/ActiveSync)
- Advanced internet based application support (VOIP services, Instant Messengers, Social networking)
- Advanced PC syncing capabilities (Contacts/calendar entries/Organizer)
- Support for running multiple applications simultaneously
- Support for custom GPS navigation applications (e.g.: Google Maps, Garmin, etc.)
- Allowing 3rd party applications to access all the hardware features of the phone (this has led to the development of so many creative and innovative applications)
On top of this, smartphones generally offer better hardware features too, such as:
- Faster micro processors (based on Advanced RISC Machine : ARM chips)
- Advanced graphics capabilities (2D and 3D hardware acceleration)
- More memory (more RAM for running applications and expandable storage for file storage)
- Better connectivity options (i.e : High-speed internet)
- Full QWERTY keyboards
- Large high resolution screens with touch input capability
- Built-in GPS units with compasses
However, as I said before the differences between a smartphone and a regular phone are fading away as the later has now started to provide some of the smartphone like features. Therefore, the features mentioned above are no longer exclusive only to smartphones, but as you go further apart in the scale of smart phones and regular phones, differences become obvious.
Almost all phones support Java Platform Micro Edition (formally known as J2ME). This allows 3rd party Java applications to be installed and run on any phone (including standard phones). In the early days, Java applications couldn’t do much, because they didn’t have access to most of the core phone features. But things are changing with new revisions. However, because regular phones are manufactured with limited hardware capabilities (to reduce the cost and increase portability and battery life), they are still not as versatile as smartphones even with Java.
Mobile Operating systems
There are a number of smartphone operating systems, some of the most popular ones are listed below:
- Symbian
- Windows Mobile
- iPhone OS
- Android*
- BlackBerry
- Palm WebOS*
- Maemo* (an upcoming OS for Nokia smartphones)
- Linux
* based on Linux.
And some of the leading smartphone manufacturers are:
- Nokia (Symbian, Maemo)
- SonyEricsson (Symbian, Windows Mobile)
- Apple (iPhone OS)
- Samsung (Symbian, Windows mobile, Android)
- HTC (Windows Mobile, Android)
- BlackBerry (BlackBerry OS)
- Palm (Palm OS)
If you are looking to buy a smartphone, then choosing the correct operating system is as important as any other phone feature (i.e: Number of megapixels in the camera, screen size/resolution/type, battery life etc.). The chart below shows the market share of Smartphone operating systems as of Q2/2009 (Canalys).
As you can see, Symbian is the dominating OS followed by Blackberry and Apple. Blackberry OS is popular because of the business oriented BlackBerry phone and it’s unique hardware and software support (QWERTY keyboard, email web etc.). But now, other big players (Nokia, Samsung) are also coming up with smartphones having the same hardware and software features to the Blackberry (but running a different OS). Therefore, I speculate that Blackberry market share might drop in the future.
Reason for Iphone OS’s popularity is obvious: The Apple iPhone. But I don’t think iPhone OS is popular due to it’s smartphone capabilities. Majority of the iPhone users are buying it for the iPod (music) capabilities and as a fashion accessory. Every teenage needs an iPhone, because they think its cool and hip. But If you compare an iPhone with another high end smartphone by another company (i.e Nokia or SonyEricsson) you will quickly notice that iPhone is inferior in terms of hardware capabilities. But Apple has managed to make the iPhone a successful smart phone due to their creative marketing strategies and application store support (Apple App Store).
But perhaps the most exiting smartphone OS out there right now the Android OS by Google. So far it has a very low market share because the OS itself and devices supporting it are new. The operating system was first launched just over a year ago. But there are plenty of Android devices out in the market right now and more are coming out each day. With the support of Google and huge open source community behind it, tables will turn pretty soon and Android will become a strong competitor in the smart phone OS industry.
New trends
Social networking is the buzzword in today’s smartphone world. Every smartphone OS is now putting out a ton of applications and widgets to support popular social networking services like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter etc.. If you look at some of the recent phones, you will see that social network integrations run deep in to phone’s operating system. On some phones for example, now you can see the latest Facebook profile picture along with the status message when someone is calling you. You can have all your favorite news feeds and live weather/traffic updates right on the home screen. Access to all sorts of information is right there at your fingertips.
Business capabilities of smartphones are also getting more advanced each day. Sending and receiving emails has never been easier, you can sync your phone with multiple email accounts. With Office packages now you can create or edit spreadsheets and word documents right from the mobile phone. With full QWERTY physical keyboards typing on a phone is no longer an issue.
Few years back, having a MP3 player in your phone was considered a huge convenience. But now, with high-speed internet and all these connectivity options you have access to more than few MP3s or small video clips stored on your memory card. There are live TV support and video on demand capabilities with support for online gaming.
GPS based services are another fast evolving trend in mobile phones. With almost all smartphones now having an integrated GPS unit, GPS navigation has become a standard feature. All you have to do is speak the name of the place you want to go, and then the phone will take you there with turn by turn voice guided instructions. With options like Geotagging now you can keep your friends or family informed of your location allowing them and you to find one another easily. When taking a picture or a video, the phone will automatically the tag it with location information, so you don’t have to worry about renaming or entering those details manually. Possibilities are endless when you couple a smartphone with a GPS and high-speed internet.
Are there any drawbacks?
Everything about a smartphone seems so wonderful and tempting, isn’t it? But all these features come at a cost. To begin with, the price of a smartphone is usually several times more compared to a regular phone. But that is not the only compromise you have to make. Due to all these new technologies, a smartphone is usually very bulky and heavier than a regular phone. Furthermore, the high end components and connectivity options have a negative impact on the battery life. A typical high end smartphone with all of its bells and whistles turned ON will not last more than a day. That means you have to constantly keep an eye on the battery meter. And then, for most of the above fun features to work, you need a high speed always connected internet/data plan (which are normally expensive in most countries). So, at the end of the day you have to pay more for the phone and for your contract then tolerate a heavier, bulker device that won’t last more than a day on a single charge.
Is it for you?
Well…., now I guess you have an idea what is a smartphone, and what it can do and its drawbacks. Deciding whether you really want one or not should depend on your needs. If you are just a regular user wanting only a phone for its calling and texting features then I see no reason for spending more to get a bulky device that you need to charge every day. But if you are one of those who want to be always up-to-date and with touch with all your friends (eMail, news, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc..) then a regular phone will not simply cut it.
(*The author, Hasitha Ariyaratne, hails from Colombo, Sri Lanka)