QOTD: What is a smartphone?

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Shaun

qotd27What is your definition of a smartphone? It is a difficult question with so many phones capable of so much on the market nowadays, but I believe that it is… OK, I don’t know the answer.

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21 Responses to QOTD: What is a smartphone?

  1. Jason says:
    November 20, 2009 at 5:58 am

    I think the two features that define smartphones are PIM and connectivity. Dumbphones are blurring the line these days with smartphone features, so it is getting difficult to differentiate.

  2. gavinfabl says:
    November 20, 2009 at 8:52 am

    It is a phone that combines more than one device into a device which starts as a phone eg phone + camera + music player + satnav – 4 devices into 1.

  3. jah says:
    November 20, 2009 at 9:12 am

    1. Not just a phone
    2. Has a SDK
    3. Has various sensor
    4. Has various radio connectivity options

  4. vboelema says:
    November 20, 2009 at 11:51 am

    A device which is much like a miniature computer, in that you can install various applications on it to (more or less) make it do what you can do on your computer.

  5. Chris says:
    November 20, 2009 at 12:07 pm

    Is a device that can run multiple applications at the same time eg load a web page in the background whilst you compose a message . If your phone can only do one thing at once I wouldn’t consider it smart.

  6. Austin says:
    November 20, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    @Chris: is that a pop at the iPhone, the most prevalent of all smartphones?

    TBH, the only thing mutli-tasking on the iPhone would be good for is media streaming. Why can’t Internet radio run in the background like the iPod software?

  7. vboelema says:
    November 20, 2009 at 12:36 pm

    @ chris

    But a very focused phone!
    ;-)

  8. Joel says:
    November 20, 2009 at 12:47 pm

    vboelema said:

    A device which is much like a miniature computer, in that you can install various applications on it to (more or less) make it do what you can do on your computer.

    I agree with this statement and will elaborate. I believe that, yes, dumbphones are catching up. They can sync with outlook and have a calendar, task, and contact app. A dumbphone can also play music and surf the web. They can also do various other tasks as well. However, I have not seen a dumbphone conquer an office document yet. I think that this is the pinnacle of the smartphone. I believe that a smartphone should be considered a smartphone if it can handle office documents, have PIM, and you can install third-party applications. This is what makes it a mini computer; thus, the reason that I carry one.

  9. lazyboy says:
    November 20, 2009 at 1:24 pm

    “@Chris: is that a pop at the iPhone, the most prevalent of all smartphones?”

    If it was a pop at the iPhone then it was an ill-advised one – web pages load quite happily in the background while you are carrying out other tasks.

    @Austin. I agree, the only aspectof multi-tasking I miss is the ability to run an app like Pandora radio in the background. However, internet radio which supports http streaming will play quite happily in the background from Safari; If you get the chance, check our WunderRadio – it’s a great app which allows you to switch to Safari for certain internet streams.

  10. Statto says:
    November 20, 2009 at 3:01 pm

    A smartphone is…

    …only as smart as the user :-)

  11. PreKing says:
    November 20, 2009 at 3:31 pm

    has an easy method of text input, offers opportunity to add in additional apps, could in theory replace one or more other devices…I don’t consider multitasking essential

  12. Pingback: What is a Smartphone? « Clove Technology’s Blog

  13. Chris says:
    November 21, 2009 at 11:38 am

    Why does everyone run to the defense of the Iphone? That was my view along with many others even before the thing came along. The term smartphone is just as dubious as the term multimedia computer Nokia used for the n95 when that came out.as for it being prevalent do you mean popular?if so I have to go to a phone shop to see one around here.I wouldn’t disagree with people if they think its a great device as its probably great for their usage.my doctor has one along with an e63.2devices cover what he requires he said just like my hero and e71 I suppose.

  15. Pingback: What is a smartphone?

  16. mpete says:
    November 23, 2009 at 10:36 pm

    Two things in my eyes

    1 Open to developers for both apps and OS customization

    2 cutting edge hardware

  17. pinguino1 says:
    November 23, 2009 at 11:10 pm

    Ask AT&T. They have a mandatory $30 data plan if your phone is a smartphone.

  18. wordord says:
    November 24, 2009 at 4:05 am

    I agree with mpete, who said:

    “1 Open to developers for both apps and OS customization
    2 cutting edge hardware”
    (= all the goodies available today – gps, hspa, good camera, fast processor, good battery life, preferably touch screen (resistive!) and qwerty-keyboard + virtual keyboard… etc)

    …plus, I want to add my own personal criteria:

    3 not operator-locked/SIM-locked

  19. vboelema says:
    November 24, 2009 at 12:01 pm

    SIM free doesn’t make a phone smart!

    Or is my SIM locked Nokia E71 suddenly dumber than un unlocked one E71?

  20. What is a smartphone? says:
    November 25, 2009 at 10:13 pm

    [...]Over at PDA247 they raised a question I have often pondered on: what does “smartphone” actually mean?[...]

  21. wordord says:
    November 26, 2009 at 12:04 am

    vboelema:
    I was of course being a bit provocative. But since a smartphone is a clever multi-tool which can be used for a large variety of tasks it also becomes more and more indispensable; you want to be able to use it all the time and *everywhere* – also abroad. Since data roaming is so expensive I sometimes prefer to buy local pre-paid SIM cards when I’m abroad. Here in my country I have three different SIM cards for those occasions when I find myself in a remote spot where my primary network doesn’t get a full signal (that’s becoming more and more rare, but was still a real problem only a few years ago). A phone which doesn’t allow you, the owner, to switch SIM cards as you like is definitely not as usable as a phone which lets the owner use whatever SIM card s/he wishes. So, yes, to my mind a SIM locked E71 is more stupid than an unlocked E71, because you can’t use it to its full potential, all the time and everywhere. Your possibilities to fully use the phone have been technically hampered by a third part, i.e. the operator.