A cellular telephone with information access. It provides digital voice service as well as any combination of e-mail, text messaging, pager, Web access, voice recognition, still and/or video camera, MP3, TV or video player and organizer (see PDA).
Introduced in 1994 by IBM and BellSouth, the Simon Personal Communicator was a combination phone and PDA. Often mentioned as the first smartphone, the Simon was costly and heavy (see personal communicator). It took another decade before smartphones became widely used, and Apple's iPhone caused a frenzy when it came out in 2007 (see iPhone).
Smartphone Operating Systems
The major smartphone environments are Symbian, Blackberry, Palm and Windows Mobile. Microsoft branded the term "Smartphone" (capital S) within its Windows Mobile platform, and the iPhone uses a version of the Mac OS X operating system. See Pocket PC, BlackBerry, iPhone, smartphone virus, WAP, photo messaging and Internet appliance.
One of the First
One of the first smartphones, in 2002, this Treo cellphone used the Palm OS for organizer applications and offered e-mail and Web browsing. (Image courtesy of Palm, Inc.)
Apple's iPhone
No cellphone caused as much buzz as the iPhone. Introduced in 2007, people camped out overnight to be first to own one. Packing many functions in a 2.4x4.5\" case .46\" thick, the iPhone has only one physical button for the main menu. The rest is all touch screen. (Image courtesy of Apple Inc.)
A Lot of Innovation Followed
Packing numerous functions and features, innovative touch screen smartphones followed the iPhone. Introduced in 2008, these HTC Touch Diamond models integrate music player, GPS, camera and high-speed Internet access. (Image courtesy of HTC Corporation, www.htc.com)
Introduced in 1994 by IBM and BellSouth, the Simon Personal Communicator was a combination phone and PDA. Often mentioned as the first smartphone, the Simon was costly and heavy (see personal communicator). It took another decade before smartphones became widely used, and Apple's iPhone caused a frenzy when it came out in 2007 (see iPhone).
Smartphone Operating Systems
The major smartphone environments are Symbian, Blackberry, Palm and Windows Mobile. Microsoft branded the term "Smartphone" (capital S) within its Windows Mobile platform, and the iPhone uses a version of the Mac OS X operating system. See Pocket PC, BlackBerry, iPhone, smartphone virus, WAP, photo messaging and Internet appliance.
One of the First
One of the first smartphones, in 2002, this Treo cellphone used the Palm OS for organizer applications and offered e-mail and Web browsing. (Image courtesy of Palm, Inc.)
Apple's iPhone
No cellphone caused as much buzz as the iPhone. Introduced in 2007, people camped out overnight to be first to own one. Packing many functions in a 2.4x4.5\" case .46\" thick, the iPhone has only one physical button for the main menu. The rest is all touch screen. (Image courtesy of Apple Inc.)
A Lot of Innovation Followed
Packing numerous functions and features, innovative touch screen smartphones followed the iPhone. Introduced in 2008, these HTC Touch Diamond models integrate music player, GPS, camera and high-speed Internet access. (Image courtesy of HTC Corporation, www.htc.com)
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Hands On: The BlackBerry Storm
- First off, a warning: Be very skeptical of any review you read in the next 24 to 48 hours that proclaims to be the definitive word on the Blackberry Storm. While clearly I have my own early impressions, the Storm is so different than any other smartphone...
- Blog posts 2008-11-19
- Walt Mossberg picks hot holiday gadgets
- At a Churchill Club event, The Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg shows CNET News Editor in Chief Dan Farber new gadgets consumers might want to consider buying for the holidays. Mossberg demos some new tech products including RIM's new Blackberry Storm, the MinoHD by Flip Video, and Sony...
- Videos 2008-11-19
- Research In Motion aims to take smartphone market by Storm
- ZDNet correspondent Sumi Das talks to senior editor Sam Diaz about the upcoming launch of the much-anticipated BlackBerry Storm. Diaz also details how the phone stacks up against its formidable competitor, the iPhone, and what's at stake for Verizon and RIM.
- Videos 2008-11-19
- Is the BlackBerry Storm too 'consumer'?
- Enterprise customers getting hold of the long-awaited BlackBerry Storm are discovering that the smartphone isn't quite as "enterprise" as they might have hoped. Is the BlackBerry Storm too "consumer" for business customers' tastes? According to a report in The Register UK, the issue is...
- Blog posts 2008-11-19
- News to know: Microsoft; Psystar; Mozilla; Storm; Office 2.0
- Here are today's notable headlines. You can get News To Know via email alert and RSS daily: Ryan Naraine: Microsoft kills OneCare, replaces it with freebie ‘Morro' Mary Jo Foley: Microsoft kills off Windows Live OneCare and Equipt subscription services Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Microsoft...
- Blog posts 2008-11-19
- Sneak Peek: BlackBerry Storm
- Apple ignited a firestorm of competition when it announced the iPhone in January of 2007. Since then the touchscreen smartphone segment has been ablaze with competition from all the major OEMs and carriers, including Nokia Tube, RIM Blackberry Thunder, LG Voyager, Samsung Instinct, Sony Ericsson (X1), HTC (G1) and yes,...
- Blog posts 2008-11-18
- YouTube on the Blackberry Storm
- Some misinformation floating around on the Web stated that the new Blackberry Storm (a.k.a. 9350) smartphone from RIM and Verizon Wireless wasn't able to play YouTube content because it lacked Flash. In this video (01:12) you'll see how to view YouTube content on the Storm. Although the...
- Blog posts 2008-11-18
- Copy and paste on the Blackberry Storm
- In this video you'll see how the copy and paste function works on the new Blackberry Storm smartphone from RIM and Verizon Wireless. It works like this: select a range of text with two fingers, press the Blackberry menu key, select copy, then launch the destination application, press the Blackberry...
- Blog posts 2008-11-18
- Review: New REDFLY C8N Smartphone Terminal serves as a media player too
- The REDFLY Mobile Companion now marketed as the REDFLY Smartphone Terminal has served me well for a few months as I have stated in my first and second impressions. In October the price on the original C8 model was dropped to US$199 and then extended until mid-November. With today's announcement...
- Blog posts 2008-11-18
- News to know: Jerry Yang, MLB.com, Mark Cuban, USB 3.0
- Here are today's notable headlines. You can get News To Know via email alert and RSS daily: Sam Diaz: Jerry Yang to step down as CEO, back to Chief Yahoo Larry Dignan: With Yang out as Yahoo CEO, Steve Ballmer licks chops ...
- Blog posts 2008-11-18
- Image Gallery: REDFLY C8N Smartphone Terminal
- The Celio REDFLY C8 was released a few months ago as a mobile companion to Windows Mobile devices. The REDFLY provides an 8 inch display and large keyboard with the Windows Mobile device serving as the CPU for the solution. The new C8N brings a media port to the ...
- Image galleries 2008-11-17
- Asus launches 'world's fastest' smartphone
- Yes, you read correctly: Asus has unveiled its latest smartphone, which, it claims is the "fastest business PDA phone in the world." Them's big words coming from a mobile underdog. That's because the juice behind the shell of the Asus P565 is an 800MHz...
- Blog posts 2008-11-17
- Businesses warming up to Apple iPhone
- Consumers just love the sleek face and curvy lines of Apple's iPhone 3G, but what about the business community? According to CNET's Tom Krazit, RIM's BlackBerry is under assault from Apple's "Jesus phone" -- and better keep an eye behind it: The iPhone is making a...
- Blog posts 2008-11-14
- Participate in the TechRepublic Smartphone webcast now
- Just a heads-up that I will be participating in the Smartphone Applications and Services over on TechRepublic in a minute or so (starting at 11 am PST) so if you are interested in talking about mobile phones or participating in this live webcast please join me, Josh, and the others....
- Blog posts 2008-11-13
- Want a sleek RAZR-like Nokia S60 device for just $70?
- My first S60 phone was the Nokia 3650 and it was a device that served primarily as a phone. I don't think many people who owned the device even knew how powerful of a mobile operating system it was and all of the functions they could perform. I know I...
- Blog posts 2008-11-13
- Poll: Are smartphones worth it?
- The Dow dropped more than 400 points yesterday, again. 401ks are tanking. Corporations, big-box and small, are taking nosedives. Grocery store sales are up; restaurants are losing business and the Fed's freaking out. Oh, and that new smartphone is about to come out. Do you bite? ...
- Blog posts 2008-11-13
- Live Webcast: SmartPhone Applications and Services, Part 1
- SmartPhone technology is enabling a whole new generation of mobile communication. From voice, web and email to more advanced applications such as remote access and Customer Relationship Management CRM, there really is no end to all that can now be accomplished with a SmartPhone handset. For IT professionals,...
- Webcasts 2008-11-13
- First Photos: Windows Mobile 6.5
- A major coup by the website Smartphone France purportedly has exclusive images of Windows Mobile 6.5, what they say "should be very close to Windows Mobile 7." They're reproduced below: Think they're legit? Tell us in TalkBack. by Andrew Nusca
- Blog posts 2008-11-12
- With Citrix, iPhone is more attractive to business
- Business-critical applications continue their push into the mobile world and, increasingly, that world includes the iPhone - giving the popular device more respect as a business tool, instead of just a toy, and giving IT administrators one less reason to insist on the Blackberry as a preferred handset. ...
- Blog posts 2008-11-12
- Review: Why Android is for me and the G1 isn't
- For me, when it comes to cell phones, it's a marriage of convenience. I value the basic function of a cell phone to connect me to the rest of the world from almost anywhere, but beyond that, I couldn't care less about the "features." Despite my power...
- Blog posts 2008-11-12
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