What Makes A Phone “Smart”, And What Are The Benefits Of Owning One?
If you’re thinking about buying a new phone, then perhaps it’s time to get the smartphone definition straight in your head. How does a smartphone differ from any other kind of phone? What makes it “smart”? And is it worth buying one?
A Basic Smartphone Definition
|
||||
Put simply, a smartphone still functions primarily as a mobile phone, but it also comes with the features of a personal computer. That is, you can connect to the web, download applications, listen to music and more – amazing isn’t it?. Smartphones are designed to combine a number of portable devices into one.
Traditional cell phones started off with the main function of making and receiving calls, and didn’t do much else. You could send text messages to other phone users, but you couldn’t do too much else. It was a while before phones even had the capability of playing music or downloading multimedia files.
Eventually, the cell phone and PDA world merged. PDAs, short for personal digital assistants, were used as personal organizers – less powerful computers that could be taken on the go. The smartphone is a more advanced combination of these features alongside the ability to make and receive phone calls.
What Do You Usually Find In A Smartphone?
The truth is that the smartphone definition isn’t set in stone. Smartphones are changing all the time, as manufacturers come out with more complex and powerful devices. However, there are a few main features that most smartphones have in common:
- Operating System: Just like a standard computer, smartphones come with an operating system on which all of the software runs.
- Wi-Fi and Mobile Broadband: Pretty much all of the latest smartphones allow you to connect to the internet via Wi-Fi hotspots and mobile data networks (i.e. 3G)
- Apps: Apps is another word for applications i.e. software. Smartphones can run a huge range of apps, from playing music to using Facebook to games and more!
- Keyboard: Where traditional cell phones had number pads, smartphones usually have a full Qwerty keyboard (laid out the same way as a computer keyboard) either physically or a virtual keyboard on a touchscreen.
- Web Browsing and Email: The inclusion of web browsing and email apps is common on most modern smartphones.
- Synching: Most smartphones also come with the ability to synchronize to your computer. What this means is that you can keep your smartphone up to date with music and videos you store on your computer, and vice versa.
So now you have the smartphone definition explained, you can now find the best smartphone for you.
