What is a Smartphone?
What’s a a Smartphone?
With over 140 million sold every year around the world it is fairly certain that before too long you will know by looking at your phone!
A smartphone is cell phone with features and functions like a computer or others might refer to them as a miniature computer that acts like a cell phone. However smartphones are much more than the mere fusion of cellular phone and personal digital assistant (PDA).
To help get a sense of what a smartphone means a short background of its progression may be of use. While the early cell phones transformed by becoming smaller while simultaneously becoming more powerful, they also added what they could do. The initial chapter toward cellular phones being referred to as smartphones was the introduction of the personal digital assistant (PDA). Just as cell phones main function personal digital assistants, typified by the Palm Pilot, were designed to be used as personal and portable organizers, and little more. PDAs stored address book data, ‘to-do’ lists, and could sync with PC computers. Over time personal digital assistants added wireless connectivity and users began emailing with them. Just as personal digital assistants were incorporated into the mobile office environment, mobile phones began sending and receiving e-mails. PDAs became more like communications devices, cell phones became more like computers. The result was inevitable.
A text-book definition of what is a smartphone doesn’t exist. However there are some typical characteristics among smartphones, including:
QWERTY Keyboard: By most definitions smartphones almost universally include a QWERTY keyboard. Meaning that the keys are laid out in the same manner as they are on typewriters and computer keyboards, rather than in alphabetical order. Paradoxically the QWERTY Keyboard was originally developed in the 1800’s to slow down typists to prevent typewriters from jamming. We’ve been struggling with that design ever since, with no expectation for respite any time soon!
Another typical characteristic among smartphones includes having an Operating System. As a rule, a smartphone will be based on an operating system that allows it to operate software applications similarly a computer. The smartphone operating system is the strongest when identifying a smartphone. Some of the big names hardware manufacturers use their own proprietary system which is exclusive to their brand – BlackBerry and Apple iPhone. Other operating systems are licensed to hardware manufacturers, Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian operating systems are used by a wide range of handset brands. If you say” I have a BlackBerry”, then they have a BlackBerry operating system. If someone says I have an HTC or a Samsung, it might have Android, Windows Mobile or even a Symbian operating system. However not all BlackBerry operating systems have the identical functions. It is important to identify the version, when attempting to verify if the smartphone is compatible with third-party software applications such as Parental Monitoring, Employee Monitoring and Information Backup software from PhoneBeagle for BlackBerry and Android .
Software and Web Access: Just about every brand of cell phones provide some kind of software, as a contact manager for example , however a smartphone is going to have the capability to do many more things. Browse the web create and edit documents and spreadsheets, review files, download additional software programs for various uses . The expansion of high speed data networks combined with the addition of Wi-Fi, makes smartphones very useful.
Communications and Messaging: Any cellular phone has SMS text messaging, but smartphones use email. MMS multimedia message service video and graphics is becoming common too. Exchanging text messages, technically identified as Short Message System (SMS), but typically acknowledged as “texting”, is a uncomplicated, effortless, and handy manner to correspond to and from mobiles. One facet of SMS text messaging that makes it particularly handy for mobile software programs is that it relies on mobile phone fixed identity, the phone number. Short Message Service (SMS) is a communication service component of the GSM mobile communication system. It relies on uniform communications protocols that allow sending and receiving short text messages between mobiles.
A GPS locator isn’t unique to smartphones, however they are taking advantage of this technology. GPS receivers have become very affordable as they have been miniaturized to just a few integrated circuits. These days GPS is becoming integrated into cars, boats, planes, construction equipment, movie making gear, farm machinery, laptop computers and especially phone handsets. To track a cell phone involves several main methods of determining cell phone position. GPS Global Positioning System-Satellites, Triangulation, and CellID. All these technologies convert cell phones into mobile tracking systems.
An extremely interesting software program that helps parents and employers monitor mobile phones and everyone to backup their communications information including GPS location, SMS text messages, MMS messages and phone event/call logs is Phone Beagle.
Mobile Monitoring software for BlackBerrys and Androids from Phone Beagle..
