Comments on Never Stop Dreaming: Smartphones, what can you do with it? Do you reall...

AP Yes, I agree. But a netbook has its advantages ...

2009-11-12T15:46:38.388+09:00

AP
Yes, I agree. But a netbook has its advantages too. It has a larger screen, a larger keyboard and runs a regular OS which has more application support. For someone who needs a very portable computer (for word processing, presentations, etc..) a netbook might be more convenient. But for keeping in touch with your friends and family over social networks, browsing the internet and occasional word processing task, a smartphone perhaps is better considering the portability factor.

Dilip Acharya
As I said before, a mobile operating system is highly customized for the phone hardware and phone hardware is highly specialized. But if you take a normal PC, underlying architecture and peripherals are standardized. However, in theory you should be able to replace the OS, because the firmware is changeable; but in real life you can’t. Because, no company is taking the effort to do so and I don’t think anyone will, since the cost of releasing and maintaining different OS editions in a rapidly changing industry like in smartphones simply doesn’t justify the cost. Well, at least that is my opinion.

Thanks for all the encouraging comments. Shahid ...

2009-11-12T15:45:19.283+09:00

Thanks for all the encouraging comments.

Shahid Mukadam
Any phone having a mobile operating system qualifies as a smartphone. Therefore the Nokia N95 8GB is a smartphone because it is running Symbian 9.2 Release 3.1 (commonly referred to as S60 3rd edition). But, unfortunately you cannot change the OS on N95. Smartphone operating systems are highly customized for phone hardware. Therefore in order for you to change it, you have to find tailor made version of the operating system for your specific phone. Up till now Nokia has never released a single firmware update that actually changes OS or even the OS version (i.e Symbian version).However they do release firmware updates for fixing bugs, improving performance and for adding minor features (these updates are more like Windows updates / service packs you get on your Windows PC). However, few manufacturers (i.e Apple and Windows mobile phone manufacturers) are allowing their customers to update only the OS version. For example Apple recently released their new iPhone 3Gs with iPhone OS version 3.1, but previous iPhone 3G users could also update their OS to the new 3.1. But NO company that I know has allowed switching to a completely different operating system.

If you are interested in updating the firmware for bug fixes , you can do it with the Nokia Software Updater. But remember: Updating the firmware could completely erase all your personal data (contacts, messages, MP3s etc..), and if something goes wrong (power failure / system crash) your phone may become permanently unusable. So be careful.

Mehdi
Yes, buying a smartphone on a contact is usually expensive. You might not pay a huge amount upfront, but when you add up all the monthly installments, it will be more than the price of an unlocked phone. When I see an interesting phone, I wait few months for the price to come down, then buy the unlocked version and use it with a basic plan. That way you don’t have to worry about things like using it overseas with a different operator when travelling abroad or terminating/switching contracts before the term ends.

Prajwol
For most users a smartphone might be an overkill. But as you said, there are times when those features can come in handy. And I think there are many out there who want a bit more out of their phones like: social networking, email and media capabilities but don’t want to break the bank to have those features. Due to this, many phone manufacturers are now coming up with cheap regular phones added with extra custom applications to mimic smartphone features, high speed connectivity options and QWERTY keyboards. Try looking in to one of those.

I also agree that iPhone certainly did revolutionize the smartphone industry. Not because it was a technical breakthrough, but because of Apples marketing strategy and the iPhone craze in the U.S. There were smartphones long before the iPhone came (with touchscreen support and all that). But American market was not exposed to this technology; they got to know about smartphones with iPhone. With the iPod already a big hit, success of iPod + cell phone is a no brainer. I think this is the main reason for iPhone’s success, NOT because it is a smartphone. Apple has a good reputation for delivering reliable products, but if you consider the U.S market, iPhone is not a big hit when you consider the customer support and reliability aspects, its not a problem with the iPhone as a product, the problem I with AT&T’s network. Some reports indicate that there are over 30% call drop rate for iPhone on AT&T. But still people buy the iPhone like crazy even if they have a very bad service. Why?

Liked this article. Pretty comprehensive! I am a b...

2009-11-11T07:56:05.588+09:00

Liked this article. Pretty comprehensive! I am a bit wary of smart phones though.. i like my usual call/text/radio/music player combo :) with camera thrown in for good measure

The tragedy with smart phones are that, they are n...

2009-11-10T21:56:06.667+09:00

The tragedy with smart phones are that, they are not always smart.

Two years back when I purchased a cell phone, it was "very smart", after six months time span it became "little smart", now it is 'somehow smart' and I am sure after few more months, it will be 'no more smart', I've been regularly updating it's firmware, though .

BTW, I was always curious to know one thing. Is it possible to completely replace the Os of the cell phone like we can do with pc's (like changing from Windows to Linux) ?

Thanks for this very informative post.

A good article, thanks to the author. In my opinio...

2009-11-10T09:31:14.409+09:00

A good article, thanks to the author.
In my opinion, I don't see anything now that a net-book can do what a Smartphone can't do. It would be worthy investment to spend more on a powerful laptop for accessibility and a good mobile phone for mobility. right?

This is very well composed Smartphone 101 post, ku...

2009-11-09T21:55:42.024+09:00

This is very well composed Smartphone 101 post, kudos to the writer.

Personally, I use an "outmoded" cell phone, because I strongly believe cell phone are there to receive calls, which mine does without a glitch. And, I have access to internet almost 24x7, so I never felt the desire to upgrade to a Smartphone. However, when I go out for shopping, I wished if I had a Smartphone to compare the prices between the different stores. But, primarily, at this moment I can live without it.

I am looking forward to the further development of android platform. Android's open access to developer will ensure greater things to come from a cell phone at lower prices.

I sligtly disagree with the writer on iPhone being limited to Hip and Fashion accessory. Though restrictive in the usage and to the developers, with iPhone come’s the reliability, credibility, and exceptional customer service of Apple Corp, which is unmatched. That piece of phone has really revolutionized how we perceive our cell phone to work.

Thank you Hashita for your brief and informative p...

2009-11-09T09:28:24.463+09:00

Thank you Hashita for your brief and informative post. I am one of those guys very interested in having a smart phone in hand but still can not make a compromise between monthly fees and the nice features of a smart phone...
Thank you Deependra for providing us with this opportunity to learn.

A wonderful post. Thank you author for making clea...

2009-11-09T08:58:06.058+09:00

A wonderful post. Thank you author for making clear the basic understanding of smartphones. Despite the popularity and silky size of iPhones, I think Nokia is the leader even in smartphone market. Nokia is now pushing towards making smartphones that will require less apps. N900, which is to be launched with its full mozilla based mobile browser, it will not require more than half of the apps required for Apple or Android. Besides, the new vesion of Symbian is due to come soon, which will bring a fresh look like that of Maemo. Competition is stil going to be fierce, since their are more players in the market, but if Nokia maintains their solid hardware approach with the new Maemo and improved Symbain OS, they will continue to dominate the smartphone market.

I must say Hasitha has done some helluva job, Want...

2009-11-09T03:38:19.731+09:00

I must say Hasitha has done some helluva job, Wanted to ask would an N95 8GB qualify for a smart phone and can I change the operating system?

I would like to thank my friend, Hasitha, for auth...

2009-11-08T18:01:20.575+09:00

I would like to thank my friend, Hasitha, for authoring this comprehensive article on smartphones. I have observed that most of the smartphone users are passionate about their devices. In recent times, iPhones and other smartphones have even challenged the net-books. I was very enthusiastic to know about the smartphones and hence, I requested Hasitha to write a post explaining the basics of smartphones. I believe that each of us has our own need and desire when it comes to mobile phones. After reading this article, I am sure that the readers will be able get a fair idea about smartphones which may be helpful while choosing an appropriate device for them.