We explain what a smartphone is, its features and differences with other phones. In addition, we tell you how it originated and its history.
What is a smartphone?
A smart phone, also known as a smartphone (from the English smart, “intelligent”, and phone, “telephone”), is a portable device that combines the traditional functions of a cell phone with those of a pocket computer or touch tablet. Its name “smart” comes from the fact that it is capable of performing many complex functions, in addition to simply communicating two people by telephone.
Smartphones are a type of cell phone, and they are the technological evolution of the phone, the most advanced version of the phone, which was made possible by the invention and popularization of the Internet and the so-called Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). Thus, a smartphone not only allows you to make calls and send text messages, but also to browse the Internet, make video calls, send emails, use social networks, take photos, scan documents, and many other new functions. You must read about Ordinal Numbers once.
The appearance of smartphones is considered a milestone of great importance in the contemporary history of technology, which has quickly left a deep mark on our way of doing things, from working and shopping to finding a partner and entertaining ourselves. After less than 20 years of mass presence, smartphones are more popular than ever and are deeply integrated into our daily lives, making them an indispensable tool of the 21st century.
As is often the case with anglicisms and foreign language borrowings, the term smartphone is always written in italics, and academic institutions recommend using “smartphone” instead.
Origin and history of smartphones
The first smartphones emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s, through the integration of traditional cell phones and digital diary devices or pocket computers, then known as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant).
These early “hybrid” phones offered the functions of both devices in one: the ability to make phone calls and small analog screens, which allowed the recording of names and numbers, as well as small notes and messages.
The leap forward for this type of device was brought about by the OmniGo 700LX, manufactured and marketed by Hewlett-Packard in 1996. It was a hybrid telephone with a grayscale LCD screen, compatible with the DOS 5.0 operating system and capable of making calls, creating and receiving text messages, as well as emails and faxes. A single device combined an HP 200LX and a Nokia 2110 cell phone, which represented an advance on the milestone achieved in 1993 by IBM with its hybrid models.
However, the first smartphone proper emerged in 1999, almost hand in hand with third generation technology (3G), which emerged in 2001 and allowed the transmission of information at high speeds, which allowed the sending of larger data packets (photos, videos, etc.). This first truly smart phone was the pdQ Smartphone, from the company Qualcomm, and combined a Palm PDA with a CDMA cell phone with Internet connectivity.
Another quantum leap in smartphones came in 2007 with the launch of the first iPhone by Apple, which significantly changed the standards and aesthetics of telephony forever. Its operating system (iOS) was revolutionary and its only real competitor appeared in 2008: Android. Both were the dominant systems in smartphones for the next decade.
Since then, smartphones have only gained functions and grown in complexity. The marked trend towards miniaturization of cell phones, for example, began to reverse with the adoption of the touchscreen, which required increasingly bulky devices to have functional and color screens, along with the large batteries needed to power the system.
Added to this is the emergence of 4G networks (from 2010 onwards) and the announcement of 5G (expected for 2025), which brought with it a huge increase in the capabilities of smartphones, thanks to apps that can be downloaded from the internet and the addition of increasingly better quality cameras. Maybe you should definitely read about Polygon once.
Differences between a smartphone and a basic cell phone
The big difference between a smartphone and a conventional cell phone has to do with the ability to handle large amounts of data through the telephone signal, which allows the smartphone to connect to the internet, and thus send and receive emails, instant messaging and other software packages.
While traditional cell phones stuck to the idea of being a phone (and therefore, used to make calls or, at most, send and receive short text messages), smartphones took a step forward. Telephone communication is just one of the many functions of a smartphone, and it may even be one of the least used, since they are, at their core, pocket computers. On the other hand, a basic cell phone is committed only to its task of making calls.
Main features of a smartphone
The main technical features of a smartphone are:
- It combines the functions of telephone communication with the data processing typical of computers.
- It allows connection to the Internet and to different information transmission networks, such as GPS (Global Positioning System). Through them, it can send and receive large data packets.
- It has a screen that responds to touch and allows the user to enter information into the system, just like the keyboards and pointers of ordinary computers. Generally, the screen is made of liquid crystal.
- It contains some type of operating system that regulates the allocation of resources and follows the user’s instructions.
- It has added and built-in functions such as a camera (front and back), Bluetooth receiver, microSD memory card reader, SIM Card reader, wireless connectivity through radio waves (WiFi), fingerprint recognition, among many others. It is a multitasking device.
- It also serves as a personal organizer and diary, as well as a device for entertainment, socialization, mathematical calculations, and many other uses, depending on the software downloaded (apps or applications).
Advantages and disadvantages of smartphones
Like all technology, smartphones facilitate human tasks and provide great opportunities, but they also bring with them important challenges. Some of their advantages and disadvantages are:
Advantages of smartphones
- They centralize very different processes (telephony, personal agenda, gaming tool, among others) in a single device that fits in a pocket.
- They expand the possibility of human communication to levels never seen before and through different channels and tools: oral, written and audiovisual.
- They allow for online shopping and browsing the Internet with ease and practicality, which makes the smartphone a useful tool for work and also for enjoying leisure.
- The large number of apps that are generated daily allow for a very versatile operation of the device, even as a work tool.
- They are relatively light and small devices, which fit in a pocket and can be connected to other devices in a wired and wireless manner.
Disadvantages of smartphones
- As with all ICTs, they can produce a certain degree of isolation and distancing from real society, which can negatively affect the socialization capacity of younger generations.
- The number of built-in functions subjects the user to a state of continuous stimulation and distraction, which prevents them from valuing leisure and practicing concentration.
- They are expensive devices, with high replacement costs, compared to basic cell phones, which are much cheaper.
- They require a much higher power supply than traditional phones, which is reflected in the weight and size of the battery.
- Their enormous connectivity represents a challenge for the defense of the intimate and private, since they are devices that go with us everywhere and that continually collect information about our lifestyles.
