Smartphone Details, Meaning Smartphone Article and Explanation Guide

Smartphone Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description

A smartphone is generally considered any handheld device that integrates personal information management and mobile phone capabilities in the same device. Often, this includes adding phone functions to already capable PDAss or putting "smart" capabilities, such as PDA functions, into a mobile phone.

The key feature of a smartphone is that one can install additional applications to the device. The applications can be developed by the manufacturer of the handheld device, by the operator or by any other 3rd party software developer.

As of 2004 smartphones are an increasingly large part of the mobile phone market. In a couple years, it is likely that most phones sold will be considered "smart", except for disposable phones.

Most common operating systems are Symbian (developed by a group including Nokia), Windows CE (developed by Microsoft), BREW (technically a platform, developed by Qualcomm), Linux and Palm OS. In an August, 2004 report by In-Stat/MDR, Symbian-based smartphones will dominate over the next 5 years. Microsoft's platform will be second by 2006.

Smartphones in the US tend to be PDAs with phone capabilities while those in Japan tend to be phones with PDA capabilities. Features tend to include Internet access, email access, scheduling software, built-in camera, contact management, and occasionally the ability to read business documents in a variety of formats such as PDF and Microsoft Office. In the CTIA conference held in Atlanta, Georgia in March 2004, incorporation of television into the smartphone was among the topics discussed.

Opera's "Small-Screen Rendering" is a special way to reformat webpages to fit inside the small screen width, hence eliminating the need for horizontal scrolling.

Table of contents

1 List of smartphones

1.1 Symbian OS
1.2 Palm OS
1.3 Windows CE / Windows Mobile
1.4 Linux
1.5 Other

2 See also