subject: Is Your Phone Smart? A Closer Look on Smart Phones and OS [print this page] Is Your Phone Smart? A Closer Look on Smart Phones and OS
There's the landline telephone with cord. There's the cordless telephone. Then comes the mobile phones. And now, the smart phones.
But what exactly is a smart phone?
According to Wikipedia, "a smart phone is a mobile phone that offers more advanced computing ability than a contemporary basic feature phone." Moreover, it states that a smart phone user can install and be able to run more advanced applications on his device based on a certain platform like Java. So basically, our smart phones resemble a personal pocket computer with mobile phone functions.
It is interesting to note that the first smart phone was called Simon, designed by the company IBM in 1992. Since Simon's introduction, every year, there is an increasing demand for more advanced smart phone devices and corresponding smart phone operating system or OS.
Let us take a look into the top smart phone devices and phone accessories available in the market nowadays and maybe this will help you take your pick:
iPhone. The first iPhone was introduced in 2007 by Apple Inc. It is said that iPhone was the first to use a "multi-touch interface". The first generation iPhone recorded some complaints and other lacking features, prompting Apple to release in 2008 a second generation iPhone which already has a 3G support. The App Store was also created it delivers smart phone applications (developed by third parties) directly to the iPhone devices through wifi even without the presence of a PC. The App Store became a big success and has documented 3 billion application downloads in January 2010. The latest craze among iPhone fanatics is the iPhone 4, released only a few months ago.
Nokia N8. Of course, Nokia won't let itself to get left behind. It recently introduced Nokia N8, with its 12 megapixel camera, with great cellphone accessories to top the iPhone 4. This smart phone is the first mobile to use the Symbian 3 OS.
LG Optimus series. In July 2010, LG Electronics launched its LG Optimus ("best" in Latin) series, which included LG Optimus Chic catering to fashion aficionados and LG Optimus One which offers Google mobile features. Both carry Android OS.
Samsung Galaxy Apollo. This Android-powered smart phone was introduced last June 2010. According to Samsung, this device features Social Hub, an integrated phonebook that lets users connect with families and friends 24/7, apart from the impressive media experiences it will surely give to its users.
The latest market share statistics for smart phone sales to end-users by operating systems was released by Gartner, and it covered Quarter 2 of 2010. Its results are as follows:
Symbian - 41%
RIM - 18%
Android - 17%
Apple - 14%
Windows Mobile - 5%
Linux - 2%
Others - 2%
Obviously, Symbian is the market leader here. Other statistics also showed that from 2nd Quarter of 2009 until 2nd Quarter of 2010, Symbian devices' shipment volume grew by 8 million units or 41.5%, from 19M to 27M units.
Yearly, mobile phone companies produce and introduce newer models of smart phones due to tough competition in telecommunications. Operating systems are almost always upgraded to suit the needs of these smart phone devices. We really wouldn't be so sure which will top the charts in terms of sales. It's a surprise every quarter; but what we are certain of is that these key players in the smart phones and OS industries will be here to stay. Let's just keep ourselves updated on the numbers.
