A Brief Smartphone Description

Smartphones are cell phones with advanced technological capabilities that go well beyond the basic cell phones functionality. Year after year the gap in performance between a desktop computer and smartphone shrinks down. These powerful gadgets give you plenty of customization features, allowing you to download many apps that personalize your phone to the maximum. For example, the Apple iPhone comes preinstalled with various applications that serve various purposes, like business and entertainment. Via Apple’s iTunes store, users have access to thousands of applications that are within “a click’s” reach, usually a few seconds away from your smartphone. These apps enhance your entertainment experience or improve your efficiency in your work environment or business.
Before the smartphones hit the mainstream, people only used normal phones for making phone calls and sending text messages. There were a few basic applications but they were very uncomfortable to use due to the small screen and the tedious generic type pad. The PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) was the ancestor of the smartphone but it couldn’t make phone calls. In several years the technology evolved well enough and engineers managed to integrate PDA technology into cell phones, creating what we now call a “smart phone”.
The operating system (OS) is a very important component of a smartphone. Some of the most popular operating systems up to date are : Android, iOS, Symbian and Windows Mobile Phone. The Symbian system for instance, was a very user friendly interface, a framework that operated the most common applications. The Symbian OS is powering the Nokia’s and RIM’s smartphones. The model who made the Symbian such popular OS was the well known RIM Blackberry handset.
Apple created the first multimedia smartphone with the launch of their first iPhone back in 2007. Over this period of time users have downloaded more than 2 billion applications from the popular online store iTunes onto their iPhones. Also, the iPhone was the first smartphone that used accelerometer which automatically changes your screen display mode from portrait to landscape, depending on how you are holding the device. Ever since, the iPhone’s competitors have started to incorporate this technology into their smartphones.
The capacitive touch screen is another popular feature that was introduced by the iPhone into the mainstream consciousness. With just a couple of finger gestures you are operating the handset through taping, pinching and sliding.
How useful a smartphone would be without Internet capabilities? Probably not that much. All smartphones today are featuring at least 2G capability and Wi-Fi. Most operate on 3G networks while some have started to tap into the 4G technology. In a couple of years all smartphones will operate under 4G coverage, and who knows, maybe 5G soon?
Another capability that makes the smartphone such a powerful device is the QWERTY keyboard. This is a PC keyboard but on a smaller scale and usually of a better quality. Some cell phones use physical keyboards like Nokia and Blackberry while others use touch screen virtual keyboards, like HTC and iPhone. Before the QWEETY keyboard for cell phones was invented, the users had to press one button multiple times and the letters would rotate in order to form the right word. This was a very uncomfortable process.
Connectivity features are also very important in a smartphone. Email access, instant messenger, social media platforms all need to be included and enabled on these devices.
Buying a smartphone is not a very easy task if you want to do it properly. Most smartphones today have specific functions and they target a specific segment of the market. You have to know your needs, your priorities and how much money are willing to spend on such an item. Also, keep in mind that there are a lot of used cell phones for sale out there for almost half the price of a new. Keep your options open when you are looking to buy a smartphone.

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