Smart Phone

Smart Phone

A Smart Phone is a digital cellular phone that has text messaging, web access and other data services, along with voice. It is a mobile phone with more advanced computing capability and connectivity than basic feature phones.

Smart phones typically include the features of a computer with those of another popular consumer device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a media player, a digital camera, and/or a GPS navigation unit.

Later smart phones include all of those plus the features of a touchscreen computer, including web browsing, Wi-Fi, 3rd-party apps, motion sensor and mobile payment capabilities.

The first mobile phone with PDA features was sold in 1994 by BellSouth with the name Simon Personal Communicator. The Simon was the first device that was truly a “smartphone”, even though that term had not been coined yet (it appeared in print in 1995 describing AT&T’s “PhoneWriter(TM) Communicator” as a “smart phone”). In addition to being able to make and receive cellular phone calls, Simon could send and receive faxes and e-mails, and included several other apps such as address book, calendar, appointment scheduler, calculator, world time clock, and note pad through its touch screen display.

There are four main variants of smart phone available on the market: Apple’s iPhone, Android, Windows and Blackberry. Each have their fan base although most models offer the same basic functionality.