Smartphones: Mobile Phone Essay

Let’s Live the Smart Life

You can think of a Smartphone as a mini computer that can also make and receive calls. The simplest way to tell a cell phone apart from a Smartphone is to determine whether or not the device has a mobile operating system. A mobile operating system is much like what’s powering your personal computer at home or at work. In the mobile world, the software goes by different names; while cell phones don’t have operating systems at all.
According to U.S Cellular salesman John Lee, Smartphone’s are the most selling phone he ever seen in the history of selling phone; and he been selling phones for over seven years. “A Smartphone is just what they sound like a smart phone. This phone can do everything you ever need a phone to do from Facebook to reading the newspaper and even e-mailing your boss; Smartphone’s can do it.” (Weaver2) I have a Smartphone and I happen to agree with Lee it’s nothing my phone can’t do, “It’s just like I’m carrying a mini laptop around with me.” (Weaver2) "In the old days, there was the Internet, the intranet and the internal corporate network, and each was distinct from the other. But today, with miniature yet powerful mobile devices carrying data wherever a person can go.” (Brandel)
You probably hear the term "Smartphone" tossed around a lot. But if you've ever wondered exactly what a Smartphone is, well, you're not alone. How is a Smartphone different than a cell phone, and what makes it so smart? In a nutshell, “A Smartphone is a device that lets you make telephone calls, but also adds in features that you might find on a personal digital assistant or a computer--such as the ability to send and receive e-mail and edit Office documents, for example.” (Cassavoy) But, to really understand what a Smartphone we should start with a history lesson. In the beginning, there were cell phones and personal digital assistants or PDAs. Cell phones were used for making calls and not much else while PDAs, like the Palm Pilot, were used as personal, portable organizers. “A PDA could store your contact info and a to-do list, and could sync with your computer. Eventually, PDAs gained wireless connectivity and were able to send and receive e-mail. Cell phones, meanwhile, gained messaging capabilities, too.” (Cassavoy) PDAs then added cellular phone features, while cell phones added more PDA-like and even computer-like features. The result was the Smartphone.
While there is no standard definition of the term Smartphone across the industry; here are the features we look at Operating System. In general, “a Smartphone will be based on an operating system that allows it to run productivity applications.” (Fendelman) A mobile operating system is much like what’s powering your personal computer at home or at work. In the mobile world, though, the software goes by different names. “While cell phones don’t have operating systems at all, Smartphone’s can be powered by Windows Mobile, iPhone OS, Google’s Android, Symbian OS, RIM’s BlackBerry, Palm’s WebOS, and Linux.” (Fendelman) The iPhone OS comes from other operating systems that are related to UNIX. Palm’s WebOS and Google’s Android are built on top of Linux. Smartphone’s can typically view and sometimes edit documents from Microsoft Office.
All cell phones can send and receive text messages, but what sets a Smartphone apart is its handling of e-mail. A Smartphone can sync with your personal and, sometimes, your professional e-mail account. “Some Smartphone’s can support multiple e-mail accounts. Others include access to the popular instant messaging services, like AOL's AIM and Yahoo Messenger.” (Cassavoy) These are just some of the features that make a Smartphone smart. But right now, they're the features we use when deciding whether a phone is a Smartphone or a cell phone. The technology surrounding Smartphone’s and cell phones is constantly changing, though. What constitutes a Smartphone today may change by next week, next month, or next

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