Phones
A smartphone is a mobile phone offering the owner advanced capabilities beyond a typical mobile phone. The operating systems cover a wide range - Symbian, Windows Mobile, RIM Blackberry, Palm OS, Linux and now, more recently, the list includes IPhone OS. All Smartphones offer a PC-like functionality with ability to read (and sometimes write) documents, connect to the Internet for browsing or collecting emails. Some contain more advanced features such as the ability to use special software to automatically synchronise with web 2.0 sites such as Flickr or Facebook or have the visual functionality to see QR codes.
Advice from mobile phone operators can be very valuable especially if you are looking to purchase data packages to fit your needs.
So what is an unsmartphone? There is no true definition to be found, but a basic phone with the ability to send SMS messages, to phone people, one that has simple organisational tools and might also include a camera - but without true Internet connection - could be considered an unsmartphone.
Smartphones
With so many devices on the market, and so many mobile phone contract providers it may be difficult to know which device to buy - especially if you're considering a device to buy for staff or learners at your institution. Reading reviews can often help and the Mobile Tech Review provides a healthy list of various Smartphones, however BlogWired also reviews 8 Linux-based Smartphones which are becoming increasingly popular with phone owners who want something a little different.
Motorola have been developing Linux-based for 5 years - it is available for free. "But cost wasn't the reason Motorola made the move, the company said. It believes it can develop products faster by tapping into the rapid pace of the open-source community that cooperatively produces Linux". The TZDNet article explains more about the Linux system.
Having decided on the desired operating system there are other things to take note of when purchasing a device, such as:
- Phone coverage across the UK - particularly in your institution's area.
- GSM phone card required for overseas usage
- WiFi for access to regular hotspots
- How much typing you'll be doing- emails or notes
- What capacity for downloading - games, software and streaming video
There are coverage maps at every carrier's website. Vodaphone coverage map easily shows the extent of Vodaphone access across the country.
If you are wanting to use the device abroad with learners on field trips then GSM (Global System for Mobile) is required, so make sure the SIM card is appropriate.
If you live and work in a city then WiFi might be an easy way to connect up - especially if you favour visiting coffee shops!
Text entry can be laborious unless you use a comfortable way to enter it. Some devices have QWERTY keyboards - flip open, slide down or across and yet others use a mobile phone key pad with predictive text (T9) available.
3G connection will speed up any data transfers from web browsing and email to video downloads and streaming. 3G services offer a much richer variety of content options; streamed Mobile TV services and video calling are just some extra services you’ll be able to access via 3G.
Keep up to date with SmartPhone news.
Unsmartphones
"It's a phone but it's not smart. I wanted to replace my Kyocera 8135 smartphone with something that could browse the Internet at reasonable speeds and with a more useable (bright) screen. The Q was the only phone that seemed to be the right size with the right features, including a camera. I almost went with a Blackberry but they didn't have a camera and were bigger then I wanted so the Q it was. Other then the internet speed and bright screen, everything else about the Q is worse then the 8135. It's a maze of menus to do most things, just getting into the calendar takes 5 keypresses. The text to voice mostly produces gibberish when you do voice dialing. Does do voice dialing it uses the speakerphone for the commands so everyone it the immediate vicinity has to suffer while listening to the phone ask you questions."
This Motorola Moto Q Smartphone has certainly disappointed its owner. Read the Motorola Q Review and see what else didn't work well.
Engadget quickly declared the original IPhone as an Un-Smartphone, as you can't put new software onto the device. It has no 3G connection, no link to ITunes, no Wifi syncing, no expandable memory,replaceable battery and, more importantly, no link to Exchange or Office documents.
Not as a result of Engadget, but noticeably fast after the launch of the IPhone, has come the IPhone 3G which addresses all the shortfalls of its predecessor. Read about the IPhone 3G's specifications on the Apple website.
An predictive article written in 2003....
The Smartphone is doomed!!
"There's been a lot of excitement in the air lately about how smartphones are supposed to change the mobile world as we knew it until now. Simple plan: take the best PDA, take the best mobile phone, melt them together, rely on Moore's law to get it down to an acceptable size, and there you have it: the ultimate mobile device of the 21st century! Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to THE DEVICE: mobile phone, PDA, mp3 player, voice recorder, digital still & video camera, GPS, Gameboy, calculator, exchange rate converter, remote controller for your appliances... all in one and bundled with a wireless headset or stereo headphones!"