The State Of Smartphones
Smartphones are exploding in
popularity. According to Instat, smartphones accounted for less than 20% of
total handsets in 2010 but will account for 43% of all mobile phone by 2015.
IDC predicts that smartphones will experience double-digit growth in the coming
years as they snatch market share from feature phones.
Smartphone
vs. Feature Phone
The
iPhone 4S runs iOS 5, the latest version of Apple's smartphone software.
The biggest distinction between a
smartphone and every other mobile phone is the ability of that phone to run an
advanced mobile platform, such as Apple's iOS, Google's Android, Microsoft's
Windows Phone 7, RIM's BlackBerry OS, and to a lesser extent, Nokia's Symbian,
and the Linux-based Maemo and MeeGo. These phones are designed to let users run
third-party software, typically downloaded from a platform-exclusive
applications marketplace. They also support Web connectivity, email, photo and
video capture, digital compass and GPS-based navigation, and more.
Who
Makes'Em?
Although the smartphone user
experience is mostly defined by the platform, it is important to note that
smartphone manufacturers do have some impact on what you see and feel with
regard to the device.
Apple and RIM (Research In Motion)
don't just make smartphone OSes, they also manufacture iOS-based iPhones and
BlackBerry OS-based BlackBerrys, respectively. For instance, every iPhone 4S
sold around the world is, from a hardware and software standpoint, identical.
With each new OS iteration, both Apple and RIM tend to launch new smartphones
that show off the latest features. Both firms allow a handful of phones from
the previous OS revision upgrade, but the older models tend to get left out.
Google and Microsoft, on the other
hand, rely on third-party hardware manufacturers to create devices that will
run the respective Android and Windows Phone 7 operating systems. Companies
such as HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, and Nokia create hardware and work with the
carriers (Sprint, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, etc.) to get a version of the
target OS installed. At press time, the latest version of Android is 4.0, also
called Ice Cream Sandwich. For Windows Phone 7 devices. Mango is the name of
the latest update to the platform.
Samsung’s
Touch Wiz user interface elements differ from that of stock Android.
Unlike with BlackBerry and iPhone,
Windows Phone 7 and Android phones come in a much wider variety of designs,
screen sizes, and features. To make their devices stand out, many of these
manufacturers also add software tweaks to give the phones a unique look and
feel. For instance, Samsung's phones use the TouchWiz interface and HTC-based phones
use the HTC Sense interface.
Mobile
Must-Haves
HTC's
Sense user interfece is used on a variety of Android-based smartphones from
HTC.
Among Apple, Google, Microsoft, and
RIM, smartphones offer a surprisingly uniform list of specifications, but there
are a few features that set them apart. Apple's iPhones are renowned for being
intuitive and let users manage and purchase audio and video content using the
firm's iTunes software. Similarly, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 devices use the
Zune software to manage and buy content. Microsoft's phones also offer a unique
user interface that favors large text and flat icons. One of the best things
about Android-based devices is the sheer number of models available, from
inexpensive to over-the-top. BlackBerrys have a reputation for being extremely
business-friendly and having a rock-solid email and messaging scheme.
