What makes a Smartphone smart?

TWO weeks ago, we featured the Samsung Galaxy S3 and its reviews about why it is selling like a hot cake in PNG.  But do you really wonder why people around the world are getting crazy onto it?
Yes we knew the fact that it’s a new model and yes, you’ve heard the word smartphones tossed around a lot, but what is a smartphone? What makes it smart? How does it differ from a regular phone?
Basically, phone is a device that lets you make telephone calls, right? In a nut shell, smartphone not only making calls but also adds in features that, several years ago, you would have found only in a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or in a computer – to send and receive emails and edit office documents for example.
But, to really understand what a smartphone is (and is not), it is better to understand first how cell phone evolved since it first came out.
In the beginning, there were cell phones and personal digital assistants (or PDAs). Cell phones were used for making calls – and not much else – while PDAs, like the Palm Pilot, were used as personal, portable organisers. A PDA could store your contact info and a to-do list, and could sync with your computer.
Eventually, PDAs gained wireless connectivity and were able to send and receive e-mail. Cell phones, meanwhile, gained messaging capabilities, too. PDAs then added cellular phone features, while cell phones added more PDA-like (and even computer-like) features. The end result is the smartphone you see today.
Key Smartphone Features
While there is no standard definition of the smartphone, Fone Haus realised that it would be helpful to point out first what are the key features you should looking for when you are buying a smart phone and what we consider as a cellphone. 
Here are some of the key features:
1. Operating System: In general (just like a computer), a smartphones are based on an operating system that allows it to run applications.  Different mobile phone brands have their own OS.
Apple (iPhone) runs IOS, Blackberry runs Blackberry OS. The rest of the phones run Google Android and Microsoft Windows Mobile. 
 
2. Apps: While most of the phones have some sort of software installed in it (e.g. address book, contact managers) the smartphones even have an ability to do more.
It may allow you to create and edit Microsoft Office documents or view the files (PDF, etc).
It may allow you to download apps, such as personal and business finance managers, organisers and other apps what we normally find and can use only with desktop computers such as Skype, Viber and others.
You can also use your smartphone to create playlist of digital tunes. Apps can allow you to edit your photos or get driving directions via GPS.

3. Web Access: Smartphones can access the web at a higher speed, thanks to network technology that keeps on improving. 
In PNG so far we have the latest 4G network and 3.5G (HSDPA) network for faster data streaming.  You can also access the webpage through WiFi connection because all smartphones are Wifi capable.

4. QWERTY Keypad: A smartphone must have a QWERTY keypad. This means that the keys are laid out in the same manner as the computer keyboard.
The keypad can be hardware (just like the physical keys that you type on) or software (like on a touch screen such as Iphone.

5. MESSAGING: All cellphones send and receive SMS but what makes smartphones different is how it handles email. 
A smartphone can sync with your personal and, most likely, your professional email account. Some smartphones can support multiple email accounts. Others include access to the popular instant messaging services like Yahoo! Messenger, FB Messenger, Twitter and Google Plus.
These are just some of the features that make a smartphone smart. The technology surrounding smartphones and cell phones is constantly changing, though. What constitutes a smartphone today may change next week, next month, or next year.
Stay tuned! Fone Haus is lining up more smartphones (new models and new brands) until the end of this year as we aim to sell only the best and latest gadgets to our customers.

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