| As
mobile phones and PDAs evolved, it became obvious that the
connectivity of mobile phones, and the programmability and
extensibility of PDAs could nicely complement each other.
From the user's point of view, carrying a
single device that does everything on the road is much better
than having to carry multiple devices and manage their synchronizations.
Addressing those needs, smartphones started to emerge. Smartphones
can be built from a PDA or from a mobile phone.
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A smartphone can be a PDA with added network
connectivity and phone functionalities. Representative models
in this category include the Microsoft PocketPC Phone and
Palm Treo. They target existing PDA users.
Those smartphones have large touch screens,
fast CPUs, and thumb keyboards (or handwriting recognition
systems). However, they are also relatively bulky, have poor
voice quality, and short battery life. The PDA-style smartphones
are popular among business users who desire the computing
power and don't mind much about the inconvenience.
A smartphone can also evolve from a regular
mobile phone. In this case, it is a mobile phone with a programmable
brain. Representative models of those smartphones include
all Symbian smartphones from Nokia, Sony Ercisson, Motorola,
as well as Microsoft's Windows Mobile smartphones. They target
the general consumers.
This type of smartphone excels in voice calls
and text messaging, but is less effective for computational
intensive tasks or applications that require a lot of typing.
Power users can find many advanced PDA features behind the
simple UI of these smartphones.
The term smartphone is best known as the
marketing names for Nokia Series 60 devices, Microsoft Windows
Mobile devices, and Palm PDA phones. But in fact, the scope
of smartphones is much greater than those devices.
For instance, the vastly popular Nokia Series
40 phones, which have sold more than 250 million units, perfectly
match the smartphone definition. If you're buying a new mobile
phone today, you are probably getting one of the programmable
smartphone packed with PDA-like features.
The Smartphone is hugely successful in the
marketplace. Nokia alone ships more than 10 million Symbian-based
smartphones (Nokia Series 60 and 80 devices) every year. And
the annual growth rate of the smartphone market has been over
100 percent.
The "mobile phone-style" smartphones
far outsell the "PDA-style" smartphones, despite
their similar price points. In the U.S., the once large PDA
market has been almost completely squeezed out by smartphones.
What makes smartphones so successful? Let's check out some
core smartphone features.
What
is a Smartphone ? | Emergence
of the Smartphone | What
Can a Smartphone Do? |
Access
Web 2.0 | Developing
Smartphone Applications | Microsoft
Smartphone Tips and Tricks |
Motorola
MPx200 Smartphone 2002 | Samsung
SGH-i750 | What
Makes A GPS Cell Phone |
Nokia
N73: Inspirational Technology | PDA
& Handheld Computers buying guide
|
