consists of a handheld computer integrated with a mobile phone. It enables the user to make phone calls, browse the Internet, send and receive email, view audio and video files, play games, and access other computer applications. Many smartphones also have a built-in camera for recording and transmitting photographs and short videos.
A smartphone has a display screen and a keyboard for using Web browsers, text messaging, and e-mail. It may have a standard “QWERTY” keyboard like a computer, a keyboard integrated with the telephone number pad, or a “virtual” keyboard integrated into a touch-screen design. A smartphone comes equipped with programs for managing personal information, such as an electronic calendar and address book, which are typically found in a personal digital assistant (PDA). Additionally, it has an operating system (OS) that enables the installation of additional software. Most smartphone manufacturers license an operating system, such as the Microsoft Corporation’s Windows Mobile OS, Symbian OS, Google Inc.’s Android OS, or Palm OS. Research in Motion’s BlackBerry and Apple Inc.’s iPhone have their own operating systems.
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(CC BY-SA 2.0) Michael Oryl © Michael Oryl (CC BY-SA 2.0)
IBM created the first smartphone in 1993, which BellSouth sold. It included a touch-screen interface for accessing its calendar, address book, calculator, and other functions. Integrated circuits and solid-state computer memory became less expensive over the following decade as the market matured. Smartphones became more computer-like, and more-advanced services, such as Internet access via wireless networks, became possible.
Advanced services became widespread with the introduction of the so-called third-generation (3G) mobile phone networks in 2001. Before 3G, most mobile phones could send and receive data at a rate sufficient for telephone calls and text messages. Using 3G, communication could take place at bit-rates high enough for sending and receiving photographs, video clips, music files, e-mails, and more. Later, “4G” networks were introduced that were even faster. In addition, many smartphones can access the Internet via the wireless technology Wi-Fi at free “hot spots.” Wi-Fi allows users to make phone calls over the Internet, rather than paying cellular telephone transmission fees.
The growing capabilities of handheld devices and transmission protocols have enabled a growing number of inventive and fanciful applications. For example, in “augmented reality,” a smartphone’s GPS location chip can be used to overlay local information on the camera view of a street scene, such as the identities of stores, points of interest, or real estate listings.
