smartphone
(1) A cellular telephone with built-in applications and Internet access. It provides digital voice service as well as any combination of e-mail, text messaging, pager, Web browsing, voice recognition, still and/or video camera, MP3, TV or video player and organizer (see PDA). In addition, smartphones have become application delivery platforms, turning the once single-minded cellphone into a tiny mobile computer (see Pocket PC, Symbian OS, Palm, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, iPhone and Android).
It Took More than a Decade
In 1994, IBM and BellSouth introduced a combination phone and PDA called the Simon Personal Communicator. Often touted as the first smartphone, the Simon was costly and heavy (see personal communicator). It took another decade before smartphones became small and powerful enough to be widely used. See smartphone keyboard.
(2) (Smartphone) Microsoft has branded the term with a capital "S" within its Windows Mobile Platform.
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| An Early Smartphone |
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| 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.) |
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| Apple's iPhone |
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| No cellphone caused as much buzz as the iPhone. Introduced in 2007, people camped out overnight to be first to own one. Its touch screen caused a paradigm shift in mobile user interfaces (see iPhone). (Image courtesy of Apple Inc.) |
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| More Innovation Followed |
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| Other innovative touch screens soon 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) |