The Smartphone Primer 2007
A guide for people seeking out the perfect smartphone for their needs
April 20, 2007
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INTRODUCTION
A couple years ago I wrote an article for New Mobile Computing, OSnews.com's defunct sister website, called the Smartphone Primer. In the two years that have passed, technologies have evolved, new players have entered the market, and some players are on their way out, in other words, it's time for an update to a timeless classic! The purpose of this article is to expose the readers to the various possibilities that exist in the smartphone world - because as is well know - one size does not fit all.
In the mix we've got hardware capabilities and operating system capabilities to consider. Just like last time, let me start by saying that if you are looking for the perfect smartphone, you are most likely not going to find it, but you may come very close to it. In the mix of influencing factors in the purchase of a smartphone: the air interface, the hardware features, the operating system and finally the aesthetics.
AIR INTERFACE
For the purposes of this article, we will only consider the two most prominent world telecommunications technologies: The GSM family of technologies and the CDMA family of technologies. There are other types of technologies such as AMPS (Legacy US/Canada based Analogue telephone system), iDEN (most commonly known for the Nextel walkie-talkie) TDMA, TD-SCDMA (Chinese standard, not implemented yet), PHS (used in Japan in South-East Asia), and various Satellite technologies, as well as WiMAX / WiBro. I will not be mentioning any of these though due to the fact that technologies are either too young, they are dying out, or there just aren't many, if any at all, smartphones for them!
GSM
GSM, and its third generation counterparts UMTS, HSPA, is the group of technologies that is most widely available around the world. If you have a phone that supports Quadband GSM you are pretty much guaranteed to have a phone that words almost anywhere in the world. You can go to gsmworld.com and check out global coverage of the GSM standard. If you do not already have a carrier, or are thinking of switching, besides their own website, you can also check out gsmworld for coverage maps. On gsmworld you can also find out what frequencies carriers use, which can impact what phone you might get. GSM has the most variety in smartphones because it is the dominant standard in mobile communications. As a sidenote, there are a number of satellite/GSM hybrid phones (Thuraya/GSM and Iridium/GSM). While there are no smartphones yet, they might be out after this article comes out.
CDMA
CDMA, Code Division Multiple Access, is another standard for mobile communications that is quite popular. There are many carriers that support the standard however it's not as widely spread as GSM. This means that compared to GSM, CDMA will have fewer smartphones. Most CDMA smartphones are Windows Mobile or Garnet OS based. Some are linux based as well, however those are mostly found in Korea or Japan.
Many people have a black-and-white view of the world and will most likely ask: Which is better? GSM or CDMA? Honestly, it really depends on the carrier implementation. Both standards, when it comes to data and voice, are more or less on equal footing. There are a number of fanboys on both sides of the argument, and you can see many debates (and some flamewars) on quite a few forums. My personal preference is GSM, however I do have a work-issued CDMA blackberry and that has worked very well for as long as I've had it. As I've said before, coverage is the most important thing when choosing a carrier, not the technology they run.
OPERATING SYSTEMS
Just like computers have many operating systems that can run on their hardware, so do smartphones. There are at least four mainstream smartphone operating systems, and just like their desktop counterparts, there are a number of pros and cons associated with each and every one of them. When looking at your smartphone's operating system you need to take several factors into consideration:
OS Stability - OS stability is something that is very important in a desktop operating system. Many of us geeks boast of our long uptimes (times between reboots - the longer they are, the better your OS - or so the reasoning goes). In a smartphone OS stability is imperative. You don't want your operating system crashing - ever! Sometimes things will go bad and the system will crash, but you don't want to crashing while you are making that important phone call!
Built-in Applications - Just like desktop operating systems, smartphone operating systems come built-in with certain applications. These application vary by operating system and by carrier. Some might offer more than others. Generally speaking, when you buy a smartphone you will get a mix of productivity apps, connectivity apps, and games (for those few moments of downtime you've got)
Available Applications - What good is a smartphone if you can't get programs that are useful for you? Depending on your needs, you might need productivity apps, messaging apps, development apps, remote access apps, etc. A good way to gauge if your target platform has many applications is to visit a mobile software reseller, such as handago, and browse through their selections
Syncing with a computer - No smartphone is an island! They were just not designed to be that way. In order to install applications, synchronize your data, move contacts to and from your device and provide you with a more complete smartphone experience. Microsoft Windows users generally do not have to worry about this aspect much, almost all smartphones come with synchronization and connectivity software for the windows platform.
Mac users have two options: Missing/Sync and PocketMac. I've used both for Microsoft Windows Mobile based devices, with different results. They both have pros and cons, and they continue to improve constantly. Some devices, such as GarnetOS, OS X and BlackBerry OS devices provide out-of-the-box compatibility with the MacOS.
I use linux as a desktop OS, however not that often to know what the sync options are for linux users. Linux and other OS users will need to do some research to see if their PDA will sync with their computer and how much usability they can get out of it.
Desktop Value-Added - Some smartphones come with value added software. Examples of such software are Nokia's PC Suite and Nokia's Lifeblog. Both are great applications that I use very frequently. The problem, for me, is that I can only use them on my work PC since they are Windows-only applications and at home I use a Mac. Nokia also offers applications that tie into iTunes to enable tranfer of music into your music enabled phone. Looking at desktop value-added software offered by the phone manufacturer is a good idea as it can increase productivity (and entertainment).
Localization - Most people reading this are fluent in English, so it might not be important to you, however software localization is very important. A proper operating system these days need to be fully localized. When I visit a Greek or Chinese website, or receive and email, or text message, I need to be able to read that content in the language it was sent. I don't want to see funny squigglies on my screen because the OS can't interpret what was sent! Additionally, if I want to have the OS in Greek, Russian, Chinese, Japanese (etc), I should be able to select another language from a control panel, and the interface of the OS is translated into that language. I should not have to reflash (reinstall the OS in other terms) in order to get this functionality.
Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile has been around for quite some time now. Quite honestly, it used to stink - big time! I've used several versions of 'Windows Mobile' since 1998. In these past nine years it's gotten incrementally better. It still has quite some way to go, in my opinion, but others would argue that it's fine. I'll let you be the judge. The one thing to remember is that applications built for one kind of Windows Mobile do not run on other versions of windows mobile, so what is built for standard won't run on professional.
Standard - Windows Mobile Standard was also known as smartphone edition in a previous life. An example of a device that runs this OS is the HTC excalibur. This OS is based on the non-touch screen way of interacting with your smartphone, something that seasoned Windows Mobile users might find annoying. Users of Nokia's Series60 (further down this article) might feel at home should they decide to switch to Standard. Applications built for Professional won't work on Standard, but the good news is that we are currently in the second (going onto third) generation of Standard and many productivity (and game!) applications have been ported over. I have not personally used a device that runs Standard but I have worked with people that have used it, and I have heard many good things about the current version. Here are some screenshots of what Standard looks like.
Professional - This was formerly known as PocketPC, and it has been around for a while. The good news is that you have a number of devices that use this operating system, many devices from HTC and other makers have ensured that many software titles are available for this platform. Over the years this platform has become better with each iteration. Windows Mobile Professional is a touch-screen interface, and all devices that run this OS come packed with a stylus. Some devices include built-in keyboards, so you've got the option of screen-based input or keyboard based input. Choice is good!
The bad news is this: I've used a number of versions of professional, from 2.0 to 5.0. The current version is 6.0, which I have not used (yet). I always get excited about using a new version of Windows Mobile, however I always invariably get disappointed as to how unstable it is. If you have many applications that you run, you have to reset your phone quite often. I reset mine twice a day! In the end, it got tiring and I changed my phone. As I said, it's gotten better over time, but from my experience, it's not completely there yet.
Windows CE - Windows CE is really the 'daddy' of both Windows Mobile Professional and Windows Mobile Standard. Some companies, instead of using Standard and Professional decided to use the core operating systems and mold it to their own specifications. There are several examples of this. First example is the H42. This user interface is the standard Windows CE interface. Its basic interface is a desktop interface, like the one on your PC, and it still retains almost the same look and feel as all other Windows CE devices from the 1.0 days.
Secondly we have the Neonode devices running Windows CE, however they have their own custom made User Interface called Neno. There are three neonode devices, the N1, the N1m and the N2. I have not seen the Neonode in any stores, so I think that you will have to special order this device.
Finally, we have the Meizu M8 (also known as the miniOne). This device runs Windows CE 6.0, and it has it's own custom user interface, which reminds people of the user interface on Apple's iPhone (comparison with the iPhone).
The problem with WinCE applications is that applications built for Standard or Professional will not work on your Windows CE phone. Additionally, applications built for one WinCE based OS like the Neonode will not run on another WinCE based OS such as the Meizu M8. Therefore, if your WinCE OS 'distribution' is not that common, you won't be able to fully take advantage of your smartphone, that is if you want to install many applications on it.
Symbian
The Symbian platform has been around for quite a while now with roots in the EPOC operating system that ran on Psion's PDAs. It started from the ground up to be an operating system for mobile devices.
There are several flavors of this operating system. The two most prominent are S60 and UIQ. More information on the Symbian platform can be found here: >>click<< Also here is an exhaustive list of Symbian OS Phones: >>click<<
S60 - Nokia's S60 Symbian platform is by far the most popular platform. There are a number of manufacturers and a boatload of phone models that run on this platform, including Nokia's new Communicator. The S60 platform is a non-touchscreen type of smartphone that is based on a one-handed interface model. This platform has the advantage of having a lot of software available for it, both free and commercial. Additionally due to the plethora of devices that are powered by this platform, chances are that you will find something to satisfy your needs. The major disappointment is that in order to be able to add language support to your phone, you need to reflash your phone to another firmware version, which can be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. Since most people reading this though will be using English as their main language, this isn't of major concern to you. Click to see the S60 wiki. Also if you are interested, click here to see my Nokia N80 review.
UIQ - UIQ (the acronym doesn't stand for anything anymore) is a Symbian based user interface that is owned by SonyEricsson. It is a both an interface that works both as pen-based and as a non-touch screen, one handed operation, smartphone, similar to Nokia's S60. There are a number of applications available for the UIQ platform, which make the platform desirable by people that wish to expand the capabilities on their smartphone. Sadly, the number of UIQ based smartphones is really dwarfed by the number of S60 phones that exist in the market. Click here for a list of UIQ phones. My first smartphone was a SonyEricsson P800. It was a great phone, but every now and again the thing would crash, requiring me to reset the unit. The software was always intact after a reset. The current version of UIQ is version 3.1, I believe that the stability issues I experienced are now solved to a large extent. The feature that I absolutely loved about my P800, and the UIQ, was the ability to install language packs that translated your user interface to another language without the need to reflash your OS! Recently, with UIQ 3.1, the platform also has the ability to use the phone as a non-touchscreen interface. A phone that features this interesting MOTO RIRZ Z8.
Series 80 - As of February 2007, Nokia abandoned Series80 when it introduced the S60 communicator at 3GSM this year. Series80 up until this point powered Nokia's Communicator line of smartphones which includes the following models: 9210, 9210i, 9290, 9500, 9300, and 9300i. You can see videos of the Nokia 9500 communicator, probably the best Series80 communicator, here, here and here. Since Series80 was recently killed off, there is still a number of good software out there for the platform. You will not find as much software for it as compared to S60 and Windows Mobile, but you will find a fair amount of it. The one gripe that many users of Series80 had, was that the communicator lines always seemed underpowered and under-featured when compared to their contemporaries in the S60 line. A serious poweruser might not find the 9500 adequate, but others might. Prices might come crashing down on ebay now that the platform is no more. Series80 phones do not have touchscreens. Click here for the Wiki.
Series 90 - Series90 no longer exists. It was an interesting effort by nokia to create a pen-based input for cellphones. There was one phone made with this operating environment, the Nokia 7710, a triband GSM phone. You can see a small video of the phone here and you can see a demonstration of the interface here (it's in Turkish, but you get the idea). You can most likely get this device on ebay for rather cheap money. Since the platform is no longer supported by Nokia, you will not be able to find many applications. There were a few applications made for this platform, including the TomTom GPS navigation software. Taken everything into consideration, this is probably a device for hobbyists medium/low end smartphone users.
MOAP - The Japanese just love acronyms, and MOAP stands for Mobile Oriented Applications Platform. MOAP is a Symbian OS platform for NTT DoCoMo phones such as the F900i, SH903i, F903, SO903 and more. Generally these phones are all clamshells and are not sold outside of the NTT DoCoMo network. However, since FOMA is essentially UMTS, and some of these do support GSM many hobbyists and geeks (like me) like to import unlocked versions of the phone for use on their networks. Applications and customizability of these phones are a bit of an unknown since they are meant to be used only on the DoCoMo network and as such probably won't have a big following for people reading this article. MOAP phones are generally clamshells by design.
Linux
Linux is undoubtedly an OS with many fans and many people trying to cram it into every possible device that can run it. In this spirit, both hobbyists and corporations have created various versions of linux that can run on different phones. There are good reasons to buy a linux phone, and there are equally good reasons to avoid one. Among the reasons to buy a linux phone is that a lot of thought and development went into making an OS that would run with a great degree of stability.
Now there are two bad things about the state of mobile linux: First, applications built for one linux will not work with another linux! Additionally, motorola appears to have disabled the ability to mess with the linux installed in their phones, so you cannot customize the OS as one would typically be able to do with a desktop flavor of linux. Personally, I do not see a lot of applications available for mobile linux to begin with, certainly not as many Symbian and Windows Mobile. Also, if you want to use a language other than chinese and english, you seem to be out of luck. Motorola, a major player in the linux phone market, appears to be pushing this product in China and in English speaking countries. If you need to input text in Greek, Cyrillic, Hebrew or Arabic alphabet - you are probably out of luck.
There have been a few governing bodies and committees bend on creating mobile linux interoperability, and creating a standard for mobile linux, but since it has not exactly happened yet on the desktop, it will take even longer to trickle down to the mobile end of things. By that time another smartphone primer will be out.
Here is a list of the most known linux mobile flavors
EZX - Montavista linux is the linux that powers a number of motorola phones under the EZX platform banner. Among those phones are the: A1200 and the A780. Motorola has solidified it's position to use linux in future phones, so we should be seeing more motorola phones running linux. The major problem with this platform is that there appear to not be that many software titles available for it.
Mizi Linux - Mizi Linux is a Korean linux and it is sort of old, version 2.0 released in Oct 2001. This operating system Pen based, and it closely resembles Windows Mobile Professional. This distribution appears to be discontinued since it is nowhere to be found on the company's website, but I am listing it as a possibility anyway just in case you run across it in your smartphone buying exploration. It is not a wide spread distribution, so you might have trouble finding software for it, but you will definitely get the basics (PIM, Phone, Internet, Media Playaback) bundled in the phone package.
Mizi Prizm - Mizi Prism appears to be the linux OS that Mizi, the same Mizi as above, is focusing on these days. This operating system is a non-pen based OS, similar to Nokia's S60. Due to the predominantly Asian market for this OS finding applications will definitely be a problem. Version 2.5 is most current version of this OS. The Samsung SCH-i819 runs Prizm.
Maemo - Maemo is not a phone linux per-se. Nokia's 770 and N800 internet tables run on linux and on the Maemo platform. These devices sport WiFi capability and thus can be used with GoogleTalk to place calls over the internet. These devices use a pen-based interface and appear to have several active efforts to bring more applications to the platform.
OpenMoko - OpenMoko is the linux platform that will power the Neo1973 smarphone which has been apply dubbed the iPhone clone (see next section about the iPhone). This platform, like the Meizu M8 and the iPhone is completely driven by tactile input - i.e using your fingers. Developer released of the phone are out now and full commercial release is certainly expected by the end of 2007. Since it runs on linux, and it is reported to be 'open', as in you can customize it to your heart's content and many applications will be available for it, it is expected to be one of those coveted mobile linux unification platforms. The device, and the OS look really nice, friendly, functional and worth while looking into.
Qtopia - Qtopia is by far the most popular traditional linux PDA and smartphone distribution. It, like Windows Mobile, has a couple of varieties in the user interface department, and I believe that the software built for one UI is incompatible with another. There is a PDA like interface akin to Windows Mobile Professional, a non-touchscreen smartphone version akin to Windows Mobile Standard which powers the GW1 phone, and finally they havea new Greenphone initiative, also akin to WM Standard (see engadget post about Greenphone and also see review of Greenphone). Qtopia also powers the Sony Mylo (not quite a smartphone, but you can make VoIP calls). Despite its prominence in the mobile linux world, you still don't see a ton of Qtopia powered phones, and as such you might find it hard getting such a phone locally. With their greenphone initiative though, hopefully things will turn around.
ALP - Access Linux Platform is the continuation of the legendary PalmOS. A quick history less: Palm owns PalmOS --> Palm splits into two (hardward and software companies) --> Software company buys a Chinese linux company to evolve the PalmOS, and then is bought by Japanese company (Access). Now that that is out of the way, a good way to describe ALP is to say that it is a mobile phone linux that is backward compatible with PalmOS applications (and there are MANY of them out there). Currently ALP is in development, with version 1.0 shown off at 3GSM this year. Here are screenshots of ALP 1.0 . This OS is not on sale yet. Hopefully it will have a better fate than Cobalt.
Palm Linux - Palm announced this year that they have been developing their own linux for a while now, and just like ALP, it will be compatible with the old PalmOS. Much is unknown about this OS, and it has yet to make a debut on any device. Chances are that within the year you will see a Palm Treo running this OS.
LinuOS - LinuOS is currently in version 2.0. It appears to only be available in Chinese made devices. It is a PDA-based smartphone operating system. The only device I could find with this operating system was the Yulong Collpad 858.
Mobile Linux - The only phone available is the Gupp Phreedom. Also click here for more info on this phone. This most likely means that the amount of third party applications available for it are quite few in number.
Xanadu - Xanadu is not a commercial operating system for smartphones. It is a hobbyist operating system that you can install on some HTC phones. If you buy an older HTC Windows Mobile phone on eBay or other discount equipment seller, you can install Xanadu on it and breathe new life into your older phone. This OS appears to be based on the Familiar project that bring linux to PDAs. Familiar has been around for quite some time (I remember installing it on my iPaq in the early '00s) this means that the many applications available on Familiar can (or probably are already) ported over to the HTC architecture. Xanadu runs both the OPIE and GPE interfaces. At the end of the day, you probably need to be an über-geek to take the time to get a phone, format it, install another OS, and search out apps for it. If you already have an HTC phone that can run Xanadu, and feel like being adventurous, why not give it a try?
OpenEZX - Since motorola has locked down their EZX platform, this makes a lot of linux people have a sour taste in their mouth about the platform, despite the fact that EZX is a great linux platform. The result? OpenEZX. It's still in development, and it is something that you probably won't see phone manufacturers have pre-installed on their smartphones. Just like Xanadu, you will have to install your own.
E-TEN Linux - Hobbyist linux that works on the E-Ten G500. As a hobbyist OS, this has no official support, and you will need to flash it on your device yourself. Applications will be hard to find, but it might be fun - depending on the reason you are getting a smartphone.
Unknown Linux - This linux is not a real linux per se. It is a catch all category for all linux based smartphones that just say 'linux' as their OS, instead of specifying what sort of linux they are running. Examples of such phones are: Grundig B700, Cellon C8000, E28 E2800+, other E28 phones, ImComSys, Oswin phones, NTT DoCoMo phones, the TCL e787 and ROAD's product offerings just to name a few... Feel free to explore.
Other Smartphone OS
Now that we've covered the families of operating systems, here are other operating systems used in the smartphone arena. Some are quite popular, and others are completely unknown, some verging onto vaporware territory. They should be mentioned though, just in case they come out before the next version of the primer.
MacOS X - MacOS X is what powers Apple's iPhone, at least that is what Apple wants you to believe. It has quite a few advantages, and a few disadvantages. The advantages are that it interfaces with iTunes, so you can sync your movies, shows and music from your computer just like you would with your iPod. It's web browser is built on the same technology as safari - so you get real web browsing on your phone. It comes with visual voicemail which lets you pick which voicemails to listen to, and it comes with push email (through Yahoo!). The OS also comes pre-loaded with Google-goodness in the form of google maps. Finally, for those of you who use a Mac, full sync compatibility! iPhoto, iTunes, Calendar, Addressbook, Mail, Safari - They all sync! (pardon my excitement, as a macuser I have always had some trouble or another with smartphones and syncing). There are some disadvantages to this OS (and the iPhone) as well however since the phone has not been released yet, it is difficult to fully gauge if these disadvantages are things that would prevent you from buying the phone, or are just annoyances.
Garnet OS - Garnet OS is really PalmOS 5.x under a different name. The Palm OS has been a true friend over the years and it has powered many PDA and a few smartphones. There are a great number of applications available for PalmOS 5.x, applications from games to serious productivity. PalmOS enjoys compatibility with both MacOS and Windows. At this point, Garnet OS is on it's dying breath as a platform, and ALP (see above) is going to replace it. Additionally, over the years many Palm device makers have either been acquired, or stopped producing, thus leaving Palm, Inc. the only company to make Garnet OS smartphones. Current Garnet OS phones include the Treo 700, Treo 750p and Treo 680 phones (Older phones include the Tungsten W and the Treo 600). While the Garnet OS does have a number of applications, the stability of the OS is not excellent, and it's multimedia abilities are not comparable to what you'd find on a Symbian, Windows or MacOS X phone. It can do multimedia, it's just not great at it. All things considered, the Garnet OS is decent.
BlackBerry OS - The BlackBerry OS powers RIM's BlackBerries. It's been around a while now, and it has gotten progressively better! On the plus side, many blackberries support many network types (GSM, CDMA, UMTS, iDEN), there is Mac compatibility so you can sync your Mac and your Blackberry, and of course there always was Windows compatibility. It hooks right into your corporate email (exchange) and it support POP and IMAP. You can browse the internet, and even chat! There are some issues with the device though. I discovered, after six months of use, that: (1) internet browsing was not a walk in the part. Despite being on Sprint's EVDO network, which is super fast, I still waited a long time for things to load - 56k type of waiting. On the web browser front - no frames support. (2) The device is still heavily relying on it's message-centric past (remember, RIM devices were just email devices with some PIM before - no phone). This makes using the device cumbersome since most of the navigation is done through a scroll-wheel and a button - which makes frequent use of the device painful - quite literally! Finally, I could not find a way to install a Greek keyboard so I could type in Greek (internationalization is still an issue), and there is no model, that I could find, that had support for external storage media, such as SD cards.
HipTop OS - The HipTop OS (also known as Danger OS) is the operating system that powers the Danger Hiptop (also known as a Sidekick). The OS is currently in version 3.4, and has grown a lot since the last time I wrote about it - it is still a non-touchscreen OS. The software library has expanded, however well known titles such as WorldMate are not available for it yet. The hiptop is a great device, and for about $20/month ($30 on prepaid) you generally get unlimited email, web surfing, IM (ICQ, AIM, Yahoo!, MSN) and SMS (on the T-Mobile USA network). There are a few things that have not beer resolved yet such as: There STILL is no mac synchronization solution! Mark/Space was selling a solution for a while but they discontinued it. Internationalization is still an issue in that some scripts are not fully supported (if at all) and there is no way you can add a language to change the input method. Some device draw backs are that there is no built-in WiFi, and it does not offer corporate email integration (exchange) - although you can configure POP and IMAP email on it. In order to use a sidekick, your provider needs to support it, otherwise its data functions are useless. You can install applications, however only pre-approved applications from the catalog can be installed.
Connect-OS - Remember the AT&T ogo? Yes! the device that Cingular axed when it took over AT&T Wireless! The Ogo runs the IXI Connect OS, and it is still being produced! The ogo is alive and well, and working on several networks. Just like the Sidekick above, it offers IM, SMS, mobile web and email - and it is still a non-touchscreen OS. If you have a bluetooth headset you can also use it as a phone (a functionality the original ogo did not have). The ogo comes with a few accessories called ogoClips, that are used to add functionality to your ogo, and it comes with optional WiFi! Just like the sidekick it supports MSN, ICQ, AIM and Yahoo! The Achilles' heel of the ogo is that there are no third party applications available for it, no support for corporate email, but you can use POP and IMAP. Finally, just like the sidekick, if your provider does not support the ogo, I believe, although I could be wrong, that you can't you use on your network.
Savaje - Savaje is a Java based OS that has been in development since the last time I wrote a primer. Still, there is no phone that runs this OS, however I am mentioning it just in case it is a late bloomer and they do come out with a device, or two, after this article is published. Since the OS is based on Java, and can run java applications, this means that the phone could launch with a lot of ported applications that have been written over the past years. There is a Phone, the Jasper S20, that was unveiled at the 2006 Java Developer Conference, but it has not been released yet.
MXI OS - MXI stands for Motion eXperience Interface OS. It was announced back in 2003, and it is billed as as the OS that allows you to run full Windows, Java, PalmOS, and Linux apps on a mobile device. That is a pretty tall order! I have not seen ANY devices that run this OS, and it's been a few years now. I am merely mentioning it just in case it's a late bloomer and devices running MXI get released after this article is published. If this OS does what it says it can do, it could be revolutionary.
Smartphone-ish Operating Systems
There are some phones and operating systems that may not be considered smartphones, but since there is no hard and fast definition of what a smartphone is, I think these Operating Systems and these device can be seriously looked to as an option for a smartphone, depending of course on your needs.
Helio OS - The Helio OS (I do not know it's real name) powers Helio's phones. I am a bit hesitant to call this a smartphone OS, however with the release of their new handset, the Helio Ocean, it has many features that one would consider quintessential in a smartphone. It has many built-in instant messaging platforms, such as Yahoo!, GoogleTalk, MSN, AIM and ICQ. It can check and send email from many free email providers, and it can interface with your corporate email (so it claims at least). You can surf the 'real' internet with it's web browser, it's got GPS, it is a multimedia powerhouse (as they call it), and it can sync with your calendar and addressbook. You can install applications, however only pre-approved applications from the applications program can be installed.
LG/Verizon 'OS' - Verizon and LG have released the VX9800 and its successor the VX9900 (nicknamed the enV) and the rumored VX10K (nicknamed the Flying V, unreleased). These phones have email access, instant messaging (Yahoo, MSN, AIM, ICQ), web browsing capability, PIM and multimedia capabilities. These phones don't have an operating system as one generally thinks of an OS, so the only applications you can install on these devices are BREW applications provided by the carrier.
Prada OS/UI - The LG Prada phone uses a Flash based user interface (I don't know what OS, if any, it uses). The Prada phone does not bill itself as a smartphone, however the technology built into it is something to take notice, and if you have low smartphone needs and don't mind spending some extra money for a limited edition phone, then maybe the prada phone is for you! The phone offers all the features of a basic phone such as dialing (obviously), SMS, MMS, WAP internet, and basic email. Additionally it offers a media player which makes the phone a music phone.
Just like computers have many operating systems that can run on their hardware, so do smartphones. There are at least four mainstream smartphone operating systems, and just like their desktop counterparts, there are a number of pros and cons associated with each and every one of them. When looking at your smartphone's operating system you need to take several factors into consideration:
OS Stability - OS stability is something that is very important in a desktop operating system. Many of us geeks boast of our long uptimes (times between reboots - the longer they are, the better your OS - or so the reasoning goes). In a smartphone OS stability is imperative. You don't want your operating system crashing - ever! Sometimes things will go bad and the system will crash, but you don't want to crashing while you are making that important phone call!
Built-in Applications - Just like desktop operating systems, smartphone operating systems come built-in with certain applications. These application vary by operating system and by carrier. Some might offer more than others. Generally speaking, when you buy a smartphone you will get a mix of productivity apps, connectivity apps, and games (for those few moments of downtime you've got)
Available Applications - What good is a smartphone if you can't get programs that are useful for you? Depending on your needs, you might need productivity apps, messaging apps, development apps, remote access apps, etc. A good way to gauge if your target platform has many applications is to visit a mobile software reseller, such as handago, and browse through their selections
Syncing with a computer - No smartphone is an island! They were just not designed to be that way. In order to install applications, synchronize your data, move contacts to and from your device and provide you with a more complete smartphone experience. Microsoft Windows users generally do not have to worry about this aspect much, almost all smartphones come with synchronization and connectivity software for the windows platform.
Mac users have two options: Missing/Sync and PocketMac. I've used both for Microsoft Windows Mobile based devices, with different results. They both have pros and cons, and they continue to improve constantly. Some devices, such as GarnetOS, OS X and BlackBerry OS devices provide out-of-the-box compatibility with the MacOS.
I use linux as a desktop OS, however not that often to know what the sync options are for linux users. Linux and other OS users will need to do some research to see if their PDA will sync with their computer and how much usability they can get out of it.
Desktop Value-Added - Some smartphones come with value added software. Examples of such software are Nokia's PC Suite and Nokia's Lifeblog. Both are great applications that I use very frequently. The problem, for me, is that I can only use them on my work PC since they are Windows-only applications and at home I use a Mac. Nokia also offers applications that tie into iTunes to enable tranfer of music into your music enabled phone. Looking at desktop value-added software offered by the phone manufacturer is a good idea as it can increase productivity (and entertainment).
Localization - Most people reading this are fluent in English, so it might not be important to you, however software localization is very important. A proper operating system these days need to be fully localized. When I visit a Greek or Chinese website, or receive and email, or text message, I need to be able to read that content in the language it was sent. I don't want to see funny squigglies on my screen because the OS can't interpret what was sent! Additionally, if I want to have the OS in Greek, Russian, Chinese, Japanese (etc), I should be able to select another language from a control panel, and the interface of the OS is translated into that language. I should not have to reflash (reinstall the OS in other terms) in order to get this functionality.
Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile has been around for quite some time now. Quite honestly, it used to stink - big time! I've used several versions of 'Windows Mobile' since 1998. In these past nine years it's gotten incrementally better. It still has quite some way to go, in my opinion, but others would argue that it's fine. I'll let you be the judge. The one thing to remember is that applications built for one kind of Windows Mobile do not run on other versions of windows mobile, so what is built for standard won't run on professional.
Standard - Windows Mobile Standard was also known as smartphone edition in a previous life. An example of a device that runs this OS is the HTC excalibur. This OS is based on the non-touch screen way of interacting with your smartphone, something that seasoned Windows Mobile users might find annoying. Users of Nokia's Series60 (further down this article) might feel at home should they decide to switch to Standard. Applications built for Professional won't work on Standard, but the good news is that we are currently in the second (going onto third) generation of Standard and many productivity (and game!) applications have been ported over. I have not personally used a device that runs Standard but I have worked with people that have used it, and I have heard many good things about the current version. Here are some screenshots of what Standard looks like.
Professional - This was formerly known as PocketPC, and it has been around for a while. The good news is that you have a number of devices that use this operating system, many devices from HTC and other makers have ensured that many software titles are available for this platform. Over the years this platform has become better with each iteration. Windows Mobile Professional is a touch-screen interface, and all devices that run this OS come packed with a stylus. Some devices include built-in keyboards, so you've got the option of screen-based input or keyboard based input. Choice is good!
The bad news is this: I've used a number of versions of professional, from 2.0 to 5.0. The current version is 6.0, which I have not used (yet). I always get excited about using a new version of Windows Mobile, however I always invariably get disappointed as to how unstable it is. If you have many applications that you run, you have to reset your phone quite often. I reset mine twice a day! In the end, it got tiring and I changed my phone. As I said, it's gotten better over time, but from my experience, it's not completely there yet.
Windows CE - Windows CE is really the 'daddy' of both Windows Mobile Professional and Windows Mobile Standard. Some companies, instead of using Standard and Professional decided to use the core operating systems and mold it to their own specifications. There are several examples of this. First example is the H42. This user interface is the standard Windows CE interface. Its basic interface is a desktop interface, like the one on your PC, and it still retains almost the same look and feel as all other Windows CE devices from the 1.0 days.
Secondly we have the Neonode devices running Windows CE, however they have their own custom made User Interface called Neno. There are three neonode devices, the N1, the N1m and the N2. I have not seen the Neonode in any stores, so I think that you will have to special order this device.
Finally, we have the Meizu M8 (also known as the miniOne). This device runs Windows CE 6.0, and it has it's own custom user interface, which reminds people of the user interface on Apple's iPhone (comparison with the iPhone).
The problem with WinCE applications is that applications built for Standard or Professional will not work on your Windows CE phone. Additionally, applications built for one WinCE based OS like the Neonode will not run on another WinCE based OS such as the Meizu M8. Therefore, if your WinCE OS 'distribution' is not that common, you won't be able to fully take advantage of your smartphone, that is if you want to install many applications on it.
Symbian
The Symbian platform has been around for quite a while now with roots in the EPOC operating system that ran on Psion's PDAs. It started from the ground up to be an operating system for mobile devices.
There are several flavors of this operating system. The two most prominent are S60 and UIQ. More information on the Symbian platform can be found here: >>click<< Also here is an exhaustive list of Symbian OS Phones: >>click<<
S60 - Nokia's S60 Symbian platform is by far the most popular platform. There are a number of manufacturers and a boatload of phone models that run on this platform, including Nokia's new Communicator. The S60 platform is a non-touchscreen type of smartphone that is based on a one-handed interface model. This platform has the advantage of having a lot of software available for it, both free and commercial. Additionally due to the plethora of devices that are powered by this platform, chances are that you will find something to satisfy your needs. The major disappointment is that in order to be able to add language support to your phone, you need to reflash your phone to another firmware version, which can be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. Since most people reading this though will be using English as their main language, this isn't of major concern to you. Click to see the S60 wiki. Also if you are interested, click here to see my Nokia N80 review.
UIQ - UIQ (the acronym doesn't stand for anything anymore) is a Symbian based user interface that is owned by SonyEricsson. It is a both an interface that works both as pen-based and as a non-touch screen, one handed operation, smartphone, similar to Nokia's S60. There are a number of applications available for the UIQ platform, which make the platform desirable by people that wish to expand the capabilities on their smartphone. Sadly, the number of UIQ based smartphones is really dwarfed by the number of S60 phones that exist in the market. Click here for a list of UIQ phones. My first smartphone was a SonyEricsson P800. It was a great phone, but every now and again the thing would crash, requiring me to reset the unit. The software was always intact after a reset. The current version of UIQ is version 3.1, I believe that the stability issues I experienced are now solved to a large extent. The feature that I absolutely loved about my P800, and the UIQ, was the ability to install language packs that translated your user interface to another language without the need to reflash your OS! Recently, with UIQ 3.1, the platform also has the ability to use the phone as a non-touchscreen interface. A phone that features this interesting MOTO RIRZ Z8.
Series 80 - As of February 2007, Nokia abandoned Series80 when it introduced the S60 communicator at 3GSM this year. Series80 up until this point powered Nokia's Communicator line of smartphones which includes the following models: 9210, 9210i, 9290, 9500, 9300, and 9300i. You can see videos of the Nokia 9500 communicator, probably the best Series80 communicator, here, here and here. Since Series80 was recently killed off, there is still a number of good software out there for the platform. You will not find as much software for it as compared to S60 and Windows Mobile, but you will find a fair amount of it. The one gripe that many users of Series80 had, was that the communicator lines always seemed underpowered and under-featured when compared to their contemporaries in the S60 line. A serious poweruser might not find the 9500 adequate, but others might. Prices might come crashing down on ebay now that the platform is no more. Series80 phones do not have touchscreens. Click here for the Wiki.
Series 90 - Series90 no longer exists. It was an interesting effort by nokia to create a pen-based input for cellphones. There was one phone made with this operating environment, the Nokia 7710, a triband GSM phone. You can see a small video of the phone here and you can see a demonstration of the interface here (it's in Turkish, but you get the idea). You can most likely get this device on ebay for rather cheap money. Since the platform is no longer supported by Nokia, you will not be able to find many applications. There were a few applications made for this platform, including the TomTom GPS navigation software. Taken everything into consideration, this is probably a device for hobbyists medium/low end smartphone users.
MOAP - The Japanese just love acronyms, and MOAP stands for Mobile Oriented Applications Platform. MOAP is a Symbian OS platform for NTT DoCoMo phones such as the F900i, SH903i, F903, SO903 and more. Generally these phones are all clamshells and are not sold outside of the NTT DoCoMo network. However, since FOMA is essentially UMTS, and some of these do support GSM many hobbyists and geeks (like me) like to import unlocked versions of the phone for use on their networks. Applications and customizability of these phones are a bit of an unknown since they are meant to be used only on the DoCoMo network and as such probably won't have a big following for people reading this article. MOAP phones are generally clamshells by design.
Linux
Linux is undoubtedly an OS with many fans and many people trying to cram it into every possible device that can run it. In this spirit, both hobbyists and corporations have created various versions of linux that can run on different phones. There are good reasons to buy a linux phone, and there are equally good reasons to avoid one. Among the reasons to buy a linux phone is that a lot of thought and development went into making an OS that would run with a great degree of stability.
Now there are two bad things about the state of mobile linux: First, applications built for one linux will not work with another linux! Additionally, motorola appears to have disabled the ability to mess with the linux installed in their phones, so you cannot customize the OS as one would typically be able to do with a desktop flavor of linux. Personally, I do not see a lot of applications available for mobile linux to begin with, certainly not as many Symbian and Windows Mobile. Also, if you want to use a language other than chinese and english, you seem to be out of luck. Motorola, a major player in the linux phone market, appears to be pushing this product in China and in English speaking countries. If you need to input text in Greek, Cyrillic, Hebrew or Arabic alphabet - you are probably out of luck.
There have been a few governing bodies and committees bend on creating mobile linux interoperability, and creating a standard for mobile linux, but since it has not exactly happened yet on the desktop, it will take even longer to trickle down to the mobile end of things. By that time another smartphone primer will be out.
Here is a list of the most known linux mobile flavors
EZX - Montavista linux is the linux that powers a number of motorola phones under the EZX platform banner. Among those phones are the: A1200 and the A780. Motorola has solidified it's position to use linux in future phones, so we should be seeing more motorola phones running linux. The major problem with this platform is that there appear to not be that many software titles available for it.
Mizi Linux - Mizi Linux is a Korean linux and it is sort of old, version 2.0 released in Oct 2001. This operating system Pen based, and it closely resembles Windows Mobile Professional. This distribution appears to be discontinued since it is nowhere to be found on the company's website, but I am listing it as a possibility anyway just in case you run across it in your smartphone buying exploration. It is not a wide spread distribution, so you might have trouble finding software for it, but you will definitely get the basics (PIM, Phone, Internet, Media Playaback) bundled in the phone package.
Mizi Prizm - Mizi Prism appears to be the linux OS that Mizi, the same Mizi as above, is focusing on these days. This operating system is a non-pen based OS, similar to Nokia's S60. Due to the predominantly Asian market for this OS finding applications will definitely be a problem. Version 2.5 is most current version of this OS. The Samsung SCH-i819 runs Prizm.
Maemo - Maemo is not a phone linux per-se. Nokia's 770 and N800 internet tables run on linux and on the Maemo platform. These devices sport WiFi capability and thus can be used with GoogleTalk to place calls over the internet. These devices use a pen-based interface and appear to have several active efforts to bring more applications to the platform.
OpenMoko - OpenMoko is the linux platform that will power the Neo1973 smarphone which has been apply dubbed the iPhone clone (see next section about the iPhone). This platform, like the Meizu M8 and the iPhone is completely driven by tactile input - i.e using your fingers. Developer released of the phone are out now and full commercial release is certainly expected by the end of 2007. Since it runs on linux, and it is reported to be 'open', as in you can customize it to your heart's content and many applications will be available for it, it is expected to be one of those coveted mobile linux unification platforms. The device, and the OS look really nice, friendly, functional and worth while looking into.
Qtopia - Qtopia is by far the most popular traditional linux PDA and smartphone distribution. It, like Windows Mobile, has a couple of varieties in the user interface department, and I believe that the software built for one UI is incompatible with another. There is a PDA like interface akin to Windows Mobile Professional, a non-touchscreen smartphone version akin to Windows Mobile Standard which powers the GW1 phone, and finally they havea new Greenphone initiative, also akin to WM Standard (see engadget post about Greenphone and also see review of Greenphone). Qtopia also powers the Sony Mylo (not quite a smartphone, but you can make VoIP calls). Despite its prominence in the mobile linux world, you still don't see a ton of Qtopia powered phones, and as such you might find it hard getting such a phone locally. With their greenphone initiative though, hopefully things will turn around.
ALP - Access Linux Platform is the continuation of the legendary PalmOS. A quick history less: Palm owns PalmOS --> Palm splits into two (hardward and software companies) --> Software company buys a Chinese linux company to evolve the PalmOS, and then is bought by Japanese company (Access). Now that that is out of the way, a good way to describe ALP is to say that it is a mobile phone linux that is backward compatible with PalmOS applications (and there are MANY of them out there). Currently ALP is in development, with version 1.0 shown off at 3GSM this year. Here are screenshots of ALP 1.0 . This OS is not on sale yet. Hopefully it will have a better fate than Cobalt.
Palm Linux - Palm announced this year that they have been developing their own linux for a while now, and just like ALP, it will be compatible with the old PalmOS. Much is unknown about this OS, and it has yet to make a debut on any device. Chances are that within the year you will see a Palm Treo running this OS.
LinuOS - LinuOS is currently in version 2.0. It appears to only be available in Chinese made devices. It is a PDA-based smartphone operating system. The only device I could find with this operating system was the Yulong Collpad 858.
Mobile Linux - The only phone available is the Gupp Phreedom. Also click here for more info on this phone. This most likely means that the amount of third party applications available for it are quite few in number.
Xanadu - Xanadu is not a commercial operating system for smartphones. It is a hobbyist operating system that you can install on some HTC phones. If you buy an older HTC Windows Mobile phone on eBay or other discount equipment seller, you can install Xanadu on it and breathe new life into your older phone. This OS appears to be based on the Familiar project that bring linux to PDAs. Familiar has been around for quite some time (I remember installing it on my iPaq in the early '00s) this means that the many applications available on Familiar can (or probably are already) ported over to the HTC architecture. Xanadu runs both the OPIE and GPE interfaces. At the end of the day, you probably need to be an über-geek to take the time to get a phone, format it, install another OS, and search out apps for it. If you already have an HTC phone that can run Xanadu, and feel like being adventurous, why not give it a try?
OpenEZX - Since motorola has locked down their EZX platform, this makes a lot of linux people have a sour taste in their mouth about the platform, despite the fact that EZX is a great linux platform. The result? OpenEZX. It's still in development, and it is something that you probably won't see phone manufacturers have pre-installed on their smartphones. Just like Xanadu, you will have to install your own.
E-TEN Linux - Hobbyist linux that works on the E-Ten G500. As a hobbyist OS, this has no official support, and you will need to flash it on your device yourself. Applications will be hard to find, but it might be fun - depending on the reason you are getting a smartphone.
Unknown Linux - This linux is not a real linux per se. It is a catch all category for all linux based smartphones that just say 'linux' as their OS, instead of specifying what sort of linux they are running. Examples of such phones are: Grundig B700, Cellon C8000, E28 E2800+, other E28 phones, ImComSys, Oswin phones, NTT DoCoMo phones, the TCL e787 and ROAD's product offerings just to name a few... Feel free to explore.
Other Smartphone OS
Now that we've covered the families of operating systems, here are other operating systems used in the smartphone arena. Some are quite popular, and others are completely unknown, some verging onto vaporware territory. They should be mentioned though, just in case they come out before the next version of the primer.
MacOS X - MacOS X is what powers Apple's iPhone, at least that is what Apple wants you to believe. It has quite a few advantages, and a few disadvantages. The advantages are that it interfaces with iTunes, so you can sync your movies, shows and music from your computer just like you would with your iPod. It's web browser is built on the same technology as safari - so you get real web browsing on your phone. It comes with visual voicemail which lets you pick which voicemails to listen to, and it comes with push email (through Yahoo!). The OS also comes pre-loaded with Google-goodness in the form of google maps. Finally, for those of you who use a Mac, full sync compatibility! iPhoto, iTunes, Calendar, Addressbook, Mail, Safari - They all sync! (pardon my excitement, as a macuser I have always had some trouble or another with smartphones and syncing). There are some disadvantages to this OS (and the iPhone) as well however since the phone has not been released yet, it is difficult to fully gauge if these disadvantages are things that would prevent you from buying the phone, or are just annoyances.
Garnet OS - Garnet OS is really PalmOS 5.x under a different name. The Palm OS has been a true friend over the years and it has powered many PDA and a few smartphones. There are a great number of applications available for PalmOS 5.x, applications from games to serious productivity. PalmOS enjoys compatibility with both MacOS and Windows. At this point, Garnet OS is on it's dying breath as a platform, and ALP (see above) is going to replace it. Additionally, over the years many Palm device makers have either been acquired, or stopped producing, thus leaving Palm, Inc. the only company to make Garnet OS smartphones. Current Garnet OS phones include the Treo 700, Treo 750p and Treo 680 phones (Older phones include the Tungsten W and the Treo 600). While the Garnet OS does have a number of applications, the stability of the OS is not excellent, and it's multimedia abilities are not comparable to what you'd find on a Symbian, Windows or MacOS X phone. It can do multimedia, it's just not great at it. All things considered, the Garnet OS is decent.
BlackBerry OS - The BlackBerry OS powers RIM's BlackBerries. It's been around a while now, and it has gotten progressively better! On the plus side, many blackberries support many network types (GSM, CDMA, UMTS, iDEN), there is Mac compatibility so you can sync your Mac and your Blackberry, and of course there always was Windows compatibility. It hooks right into your corporate email (exchange) and it support POP and IMAP. You can browse the internet, and even chat! There are some issues with the device though. I discovered, after six months of use, that: (1) internet browsing was not a walk in the part. Despite being on Sprint's EVDO network, which is super fast, I still waited a long time for things to load - 56k type of waiting. On the web browser front - no frames support. (2) The device is still heavily relying on it's message-centric past (remember, RIM devices were just email devices with some PIM before - no phone). This makes using the device cumbersome since most of the navigation is done through a scroll-wheel and a button - which makes frequent use of the device painful - quite literally! Finally, I could not find a way to install a Greek keyboard so I could type in Greek (internationalization is still an issue), and there is no model, that I could find, that had support for external storage media, such as SD cards.
HipTop OS - The HipTop OS (also known as Danger OS) is the operating system that powers the Danger Hiptop (also known as a Sidekick). The OS is currently in version 3.4, and has grown a lot since the last time I wrote about it - it is still a non-touchscreen OS. The software library has expanded, however well known titles such as WorldMate are not available for it yet. The hiptop is a great device, and for about $20/month ($30 on prepaid) you generally get unlimited email, web surfing, IM (ICQ, AIM, Yahoo!, MSN) and SMS (on the T-Mobile USA network). There are a few things that have not beer resolved yet such as: There STILL is no mac synchronization solution! Mark/Space was selling a solution for a while but they discontinued it. Internationalization is still an issue in that some scripts are not fully supported (if at all) and there is no way you can add a language to change the input method. Some device draw backs are that there is no built-in WiFi, and it does not offer corporate email integration (exchange) - although you can configure POP and IMAP email on it. In order to use a sidekick, your provider needs to support it, otherwise its data functions are useless. You can install applications, however only pre-approved applications from the catalog can be installed.
Connect-OS - Remember the AT&T ogo? Yes! the device that Cingular axed when it took over AT&T Wireless! The Ogo runs the IXI Connect OS, and it is still being produced! The ogo is alive and well, and working on several networks. Just like the Sidekick above, it offers IM, SMS, mobile web and email - and it is still a non-touchscreen OS. If you have a bluetooth headset you can also use it as a phone (a functionality the original ogo did not have). The ogo comes with a few accessories called ogoClips, that are used to add functionality to your ogo, and it comes with optional WiFi! Just like the sidekick it supports MSN, ICQ, AIM and Yahoo! The Achilles' heel of the ogo is that there are no third party applications available for it, no support for corporate email, but you can use POP and IMAP. Finally, just like the sidekick, if your provider does not support the ogo, I believe, although I could be wrong, that you can't you use on your network.
Savaje - Savaje is a Java based OS that has been in development since the last time I wrote a primer. Still, there is no phone that runs this OS, however I am mentioning it just in case it is a late bloomer and they do come out with a device, or two, after this article is published. Since the OS is based on Java, and can run java applications, this means that the phone could launch with a lot of ported applications that have been written over the past years. There is a Phone, the Jasper S20, that was unveiled at the 2006 Java Developer Conference, but it has not been released yet.
MXI OS - MXI stands for Motion eXperience Interface OS. It was announced back in 2003, and it is billed as as the OS that allows you to run full Windows, Java, PalmOS, and Linux apps on a mobile device. That is a pretty tall order! I have not seen ANY devices that run this OS, and it's been a few years now. I am merely mentioning it just in case it's a late bloomer and devices running MXI get released after this article is published. If this OS does what it says it can do, it could be revolutionary.
Smartphone-ish Operating Systems
There are some phones and operating systems that may not be considered smartphones, but since there is no hard and fast definition of what a smartphone is, I think these Operating Systems and these device can be seriously looked to as an option for a smartphone, depending of course on your needs.
Helio OS - The Helio OS (I do not know it's real name) powers Helio's phones. I am a bit hesitant to call this a smartphone OS, however with the release of their new handset, the Helio Ocean, it has many features that one would consider quintessential in a smartphone. It has many built-in instant messaging platforms, such as Yahoo!, GoogleTalk, MSN, AIM and ICQ. It can check and send email from many free email providers, and it can interface with your corporate email (so it claims at least). You can surf the 'real' internet with it's web browser, it's got GPS, it is a multimedia powerhouse (as they call it), and it can sync with your calendar and addressbook. You can install applications, however only pre-approved applications from the applications program can be installed.
LG/Verizon 'OS' - Verizon and LG have released the VX9800 and its successor the VX9900 (nicknamed the enV) and the rumored VX10K (nicknamed the Flying V, unreleased). These phones have email access, instant messaging (Yahoo, MSN, AIM, ICQ), web browsing capability, PIM and multimedia capabilities. These phones don't have an operating system as one generally thinks of an OS, so the only applications you can install on these devices are BREW applications provided by the carrier.
Prada OS/UI - The LG Prada phone uses a Flash based user interface (I don't know what OS, if any, it uses). The Prada phone does not bill itself as a smartphone, however the technology built into it is something to take notice, and if you have low smartphone needs and don't mind spending some extra money for a limited edition phone, then maybe the prada phone is for you! The phone offers all the features of a basic phone such as dialing (obviously), SMS, MMS, WAP internet, and basic email. Additionally it offers a media player which makes the phone a music phone.
HARDWARE OPTIONS
These days hardware options are quite a lot. Phones that just made calls and sent text messages are now considered 'basic' phones. Smartphones these days can allow you to take photos, listen to the radio, view television, go online, make skype calls. When picking your features you need to make sure to do a needs analysis and pick a phone that has the features you need, and some you might want. The more flashy the phone, the more expensive it is. For some price might not be an issue, for others it might be.
Essential Components:
There are some components that are essential to a smartphone, to any device really. These essential components are the things that actually make the device work and allow it to communicate with you and the outside world. Not all devices are the same. Just as you have options with your desktop or laptop computer, so you have options with your smartphone.
Processor - The brain of the smartphone! It's relatively easy to compare smartphones that run Windows Mobile because you can compare the megahertz rating of each phone. Most Windows Mobile devices use the same family of processors so comparing megahertz is a relatively OK method to compare processor capabilities. Megahertz ratings however should really not be employed to compare how good processors are. Remember the megahertz myth way back when with computers? Same principle here. Just because something says it can do 500Mhz, and another says 300Mhz, it doesn't mean that the 300Mhz is way slower than the 500Mhz processor. The main thing to remember with processors: take the information with a grain of salt, and only compare processors within a manufacturer or line of devices.
Program Memory - Program memory, to use an office metaphor, is the amount of desk space you've got available. The more desk space you have, the more documents you can spread out on it and work on simultaneously. With program memory, the more you have, the more programs you can run simultaneously. Now this you might think is not that important, but trust me, it is! One of the many things that makes a smartphone smart is the ability to run many programs concurrently, without the need to close one in order to start using another. A good example of people having problems with low program memory is the Nokia N80. Many users complain that the phone has many features, however you can't effectively use them because you need to close some in order to use others, and sometimes when using one application you get out of memory errors. This apparently is common with web browsing. I have not come across this error, your milage may vary.
Onboard Storage - So you've got your processor and program memory figured out. Now it's time to consider onboard storage: the amount of memory available on your smartphone to install applications and to store documents. If you get a phone that does not have an adequate amount of onboard storage you will be finding yourself at your local technology supplier buying removable media to supplement your onboard storage. Most phones come with a good amount of storage so you generally don't have to worry much. My suggestion is to look at applications that you might want to install, see how much space those will take up, and assess your storage need requirements. Purchasing removable media is almost unavoidable, but at least you can guarantee that most applications you need can be installed on the phone itself.
Removable Media - If you've ever gone to an electronics store, you probably know that there are many kinds of removable media cards! SD, MMC, RS-MMC, xD, microSD, CF, memory stick... and the list goes on and on and on. Some cards are easier to find than others, some cost less when you compare them megabyte-to-megabyte. You might even have a few laying around that you are not using. While this is not the most important fact when looking into smartphones, it is something you want to pay attention to - it might save you a buck or two down the road. The great news is that there are removable media cards that can store up to 16 gigabytes!
Screen - Unless you are visually impaired, the screen is another component that is very important on a smartphone. Just like a computer you've got two basic things to consider: Resolution and Physical Size. Higher resolution is always better, especially if you are going to be using your smartphone as a video viewer or for gaming entertainment during your commute or coffee-break. Of course, higher resolution is good for those mundane things such as scheduling meetings, viewing contact information, and other daily work tasks. Bigger physical size means that the phone will be bigger as well (well, d'uh!) so the physical size of the screen is purely persona preference. One last, but very important thing you should consider on your smartphone's screen is how well it does in situations where there is a log of ambient light, like going out on a beautiful sunny day. The last thing you want is to be trying to shade the screen with one hand, while trying to work with the other! Phone sales clerks will probably do anything for a sale. Ask them if they can fire up an actual phone (not one of those fake displays) and chaperone you to the parking lot where you can see if the screen performs well in very well lit environments.
Keyboard - Keyboards are a sticky point for me. I have used a number of devices including the palm Treo, the HTC Blue Angel, and various Blackberry models - note of them have keyboards that I completely like. My Nokia N80 can have a separate bluetooth keyboard, a full bonified travel keyboard, but that is just cumbersome for everyday usage. I would suggest you think of how much data entry you will be doing on the road. If you are not doing much data entry, then a keyboard might be overkill. The keyboard is really one of those features that it comes down to personal preference and comfort. Some keyboards I have used are downright painful over a period of extended use. I have seen quite a few mobile professions with smartphones that have built-in keyboards, but they also carry around a bluetooth or serial external full keyboard that they connect to their device when they want to do extended data entry. From personal experience, built-in keyboards are best for short notes and SMS messages. They are much faster than stylus based data entry. Extended use is generally not advised.
Bluetooth - Bluetooth has finally become widespread in the US! I remember a few (4) years ago going into an electronics store asking for USB/BT adapters and being told that the standard is going no where and it's only available in europe. How times have changed! Beyond my little rant, bluetooth is quite important if you wish to have wireless hands-free, and the ability to connect wireless with other devices. It allows you to transfer data wirelessly between your smartphone and other devices that have bluetooth, such as computers, PDAs, and other phones. I personally use my bluetooth enabled phone to control my computer from a distance (it's a great replacement to a wireless presenter when you are on the road!) It also gives you the ability to have wireless hands-free headsets, and if your phone supports A2DP - you can listen to music from your phone, wirelessly, in stereo! How's that for technological advancement?
802.11 (WiFi) - Not all phones have WiFi these days, but it is becoming more prominent as something that is thrown in. There are six WiFi specifications that come to mind immediately: a, b, g, n, e and i - yeah I know - here's the wiki for the standard in case you want to know more. The two most common are b (11 Mbps) and g (54 Mbps). Generally in phones I have seen mostly b, but b/g phones are making their way into the marketplace. One thing that you should remember about WiFi is this: it requires a lot of energy to operate! This is a feature that you should have a second (or third!) battery as backup if you intend to use it very often. Alternatively, you should be close to a power source to plug your phone in to recharge when you are not using it. I can guarantee you that you will hate is when your phone dies on you because you used WiFi a little too much.
Cellular Communications - As I mentioned in the beginning of the article, the two mainstream options for cellular communication as CDMA and GSM. In most cases you need to pick one or the other. In some parts of the world, you can have your cake and eat it too: there are chips that do both GSM and CDMA, so no matter what you pick as your smartphone, it will work with you carrier. This however is not the norm yet (we can only hope it become the norm soon!), so by this point in the article you should have already picked a technology based on the carrier that provides the best coverage for your needs.
Battery - I know that this is probably not the first thing you think of when you think of smartphones, or other gadgets for that matter, but trust me - this is something you want to pay very close attention to! The more features a device has, the more power it drains. Do you want your phone to die in the middle of the day because it did not have a battery with adequate life for the features that it sports? I guess not! So there are two things to look for: (1) is the battery removable? If it is, that is a plus! If your battery does die, all you have to do is pop the lid and install a new one! This was a mistake in the original Handspring (now palm) Treo, and it is a mistake in the Apple iPhone. (2) What is the mAh (milliamp/hour) rating? The higher this rating, the longer the battery life.
Semi-Essential Components:
Semi-essential components are components that are not standard on all smartphones, and that some people need, and others might not. I've listed a number of semi-essential smartphone components, from the commonly found, to the somewhat obscure.
Camera - As I've said before, a camera on a phone will never be as good as a dedicated digital camera. You can take decent photos with a camera phone, but manage your expectations. If you are trying the best possible camera you can on a mobile phone, there are several dimensions you must examine:
Megapixels: This is probably the most advertised feature of a digital camera, be it stand alone, or as part of a phone. When you get a camera, more megapixels is definitely better. More megapixels means that when you print those photos out (with appropriate ink and paper of course) the quality will be close to the quality of photos taken with old-school film based cameras. Additionally, more megapixels means that you're better able to see things in the background of your photos - you know, like that funny road sign you snapped a photo of when you were on the way to that conference.
Lens: In a nutshell - good lens = good photos, bad lens = bad photos. The best lenses are glass, most camera phones have plastic lenses, as far as I know. If you are looking for a phone that has a good camera on it, look for a phone with a Carl Zeiss lens.
Zoom: Optical zoom is real zoom. Digital zoom is not. Optical zoom will always beat digital zoom in terms of quality. If you are comparing zoom functionality pay attention to see if the phone has optical zoom. Phones with optical zoom tend to be larger (look at some of the Nokia N93 for example), however the photographs taken with the phone with optical zoom of 3x are better than the photos taken with another phone that has a digital 3x zoom.
Flash: There isn't much to say about this feature, other than to say that a flash is really useful! It might not be the end of the world if you don't have flash, how in low light situations, or in dark rooms, a flash will come in handy.
Responsiveness: One mississippi...two...mississippi...three mississippi...how long can you wait? Some cameraphones, in order to take decent quality photos need for you to hold the camera still for a number of seconds - they are not really point-and-shoot. If the camera function is important to you, you might want to look around on the internet to see how responsive your camera is. This is a highly personal preference. I have a Nokia N80 for example. I was reading, before I bought it, that some people were disappointed that the phone was not really point-and-shoot, you had to wait a few seconds to take a good photo. I bought the phone anyway, and the "waiting time" doesn't really bother me. Lesson? Different people have different tolerance levels for waiting.
Video Call Camera - This is something that is really useless in North America (at least of the time being). A front camera for video calls is something that is useful in Europe and Asia where UMTS and CDMA networks have supported video calls for the last 2-3 years. Sadly, front cameras have not been used (yet) for IM video conferencing. Yahoo, AOL and MSN have supported video chat for at least the past 2 years, and IM clients for these protocol exist for smartphones, but no video chat capability (yet) - fingers are crossed!
There is one reason you might want a front camera if you live in North America. I have a phone that has a front camera. I use it to take snapshots and video of myself and send it to friends as video mail to add a personal touch. With high-speed data networks available, and the widespread availability of WiFi (most phones with front cameras have built-in WiFi), it's easy to send short clips of yourself to others.
Infrared - Infrared is the old-school way of transferring files, among them vCards, from device to device. Infrared requires line of sight in order to work - i.e. you imagine a direct line between sending and receiving device. If you put something between them to interrupt that line, communication won't work. Infrared is ubiquitous, but from my personal experiences, it's pretty much useless. Back in early 2001 was the last time I used infrared to transfer one file to another device, so if a smartphone does not have infrared, it might not be a great loss. One of the benefits of Infrared is that there are programs that allow your phone IR port to be used to remote control your television, stereo, cable tuner, or other device that uses IR remotes.
GPS - Global Positioning System (GPS) chips are now one some higher end smartphones. If you don't find a phone that has GPS, no worries, there are Bluetooth GPS Units available that interface with your smartphone. I, for example, own an HP bluetooth unit by Navtek (eBay purchase for about $99) that works with both my Windows Mobile and my Symbian phones. If you are directionally challenged (like me) GPS is a nice perk to have installed in your phone. You can use programs like TomTom, and Route 66. GPS is also useful if you are into Geocaching as a hobby, if you want to track your outdoor exercise data, if you are into Geotagging your photos, and much more. You should look for phones that have the SiRF III chip in them. Additionally you should look for phones that have full GPS on them versus AGPS (Assisted GPS) which used your network position to figure out where you are. If might be faster to determine your locations, but it is something that the mobile network supports.
Radio Tuner - Radio is still alive and well! (if you feel like listening to many, many, many commercials that is...but that is another story) There are a number of phones, especially Nokia and SonyEricsson phones that are coming out these days that support FM radio. This means that if there is a show (or two) that you like to listen to on the radio, you can do it on your phone! My experiences are positive with FM tuners on mobile phones, the reception is quite good where I live with the radio stations that I normally listen to, and it is quite a good distraction. There are no phones (that I have seen) that have AM reception. Considering that I get marginal reception of major AM channels in my car, I don't think that AM is a possibility on mobile phones.
Satellite Radio - Recently, in the US, the two satellite radio providers XM and Sirius merged. There are no phones (yet) available with 'real' satellite radio options. Some carriers provide 'satellite' radio on their service, however this is not real satellite radio, it is just streamed XM content over the internet. It is conceivable that in the next few years (between articles) the Satellite option will be available for mobile phones. In Europe, Africa and Asia, there is Satellite radio provided by WorldSpace. The major things to remember is battery life. Satellite radio will require a lot of power - so pay attention to the battery on your phone!
Analog TV Tuner - There are a number of handsets out-there, mostly Chinese from what I know, that allow you to view live over-the-air television. This technology is nothing new, you can go into a radio shack, or other electronics store and buy one of those portable televisions. Well now you can have one in your phone. There are three main standards: NTSC, PAL and SECAM. Here is a world map and what is broadcast where in case you are unsure of what is playing near you. Analog television will be going away in the near future (March 2009 to be precise), so any analog TV enabled smartphones you purchase will not work for TV reception after that date in the USA. Other countries have their own time tables for elimination of analog television. Analog TV is much more widely available compared to digital television, but still I would avoid purchasing a handset that has analog TV capability, unless you don't foresee having the handset for more than two years.
Digital TV Tuner - Just like analog television, we have four possibilities:
i. DMB: DMB is one of the two standards contending for viewers. DMB has made serious inroads in Korea, and trials of the technology are underway in several european nations. On a side-note, DAB is the audio counterpart to DMB that is used for digital radio broadcasting in a number of nations.
ii. DVB-H: DVB is the other standard contending for viewers. A number of countries already have DVB deployments for a lot of their television stations, and have picked DVB as the standard for their country. In the US, Modeo and HiWire have expressed interest in providing DVB-H television in the USA. T-Mobile USA has expressed interest in this technology.
iii. ISDB/1Seg: ISDB (and it's mobile equivalent 1seg) are something you will only see in Japan, so if you have KDDI/AU, DoCoMo, Softbank or Wilcomm and are interested in mobile TV this is what you should be looking for.
iv. MediaFLO: MediaFLO is a Qualcomm standard that has large momentum developing in North America. No large scale commercial deployments have been made as of yet, however in the US Verizon, at&t and T-mobile have expressed interest in the technology. Verizon has already deployed MediaFLO in some test markets and they are marketed a VCAST TV.
FeLiCa (RFID) - If you live in Japan, this is a feature you might want included in your smartphone (although you probably knew that). Many transactions (financial and otherwise) can be completed with FeLiCa - I just wish that we had this here in the states.
Barcode Reader - There are two types of barcode readers, well there are many, but we will simplify. Ones that use that little red rays to read a barcode (a 'real' reader), and ones that use software to snap photos using the phone's built-in camera and then interpret what they snapped (a 'soft' reader). Ruggedized phones sometimes have a 'real', while normal consumer phones tend to have the 'soft' variety of barcode reader. For my personal use, barcode reading is more of a novelty than something I absolutely must have. If you phone is intended for business use, you might need a barcode reader. Phones with real barcode readers are rare (I have not see any recently), but software is available for camera phones to read barcodes , especially for Nokia's S60.
PTT - Push to talk (or PTT) is essentially the walkie-talkie feature available in some phones. In a nutshell, there are many standards, all of them are mutually incompatible with one another, and the network needs to support PTT functionality in order for you to use it. These are the standards that exist: PoC, Qchat, Kodiak RTX, MOTO Talk, ReadyLink. Now I have a Nokia N80 which support PoC, but I use Cingular, which supports Kodiak. Therefore I cannot use my phone for PTT on Cingular. Additionally, let's say PoC worked on my network, I would not be able to PTT someone on Nextel (because they use MOTO Talk), or someone one Sprint (who use ReadyLink). If you buy a phone from a carrier that says it supports PTT, rest assured it will work on their network. Cross network PTT won't work though, so if PTT is important to you, you should go back to step 1 and look at what carriers offer PTT, and what networks your contacts are using.
UMA - UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access), or GAN (Generic Access Network) as it has been renamed, is the ability to switch seamlessly from the cellular network to another network, such as a WiFi network, when you are within range of that network. The idea is that when you are somewhere that doesn't get stellar wireless coverage, but there is great coverage (generally WiFi), you can switch networks and still hold on to your conversation, people can still call you, and you can make outbound calls, using Voice-over-IP. This feature is both a software component of the phone, and something that your carrier supports. In the USA. T-Mobile is experimenting with this service and they are calling it T-Mobile @Home. The benefit to UMA is that for a small monthly fee you can make unlimited phone calls (that are not subtracted from your bucket of minutes) and have great coverage when you are covered by a WiFi network. Then when you move over to the cellular network, you get your minutes deducted. Of course the downside of UMA is that it does use WiFi so your battery life will drain faster than making cellular network calls. In other words, there is no free lunch.
WiMAX - WiMAX and it's sibbling WiBro are quite hot buzzwords these days. You can think of WiMAX as one huge hotspot. WiFi has a small range, so to cover a city, you will need many WiFi hotspots. One WiMAX hotspot can cover a whole city. This is a bit of an over-simplification, but WiMAX is billed as the next big thing. Just like having WiFi in your phone is useful, so too is WiMAX when it finally gets deployed in North America. Some other parts of the world already have WiMAX deployed.
Ruggedization - There aren't that many ruggedized smartphones that I have come across. Ruggedization really ads bulk to the device, take a look at the H42 for example. Unless you really require something that you can dunk in the sink, and you can drop it from the third floor and expect to pick it up and make a phone call, then you really don't need something that is ruggedized.
SOFTWARE
OK, you're almost at the end. Once you've looked at your OS options, your hardware options, your network options, and you've looked at what software you might be able to run - you've got this list for your consideration. Surfing the internet and looking at what most smartphone users find important, I've compiled a list of applications, and types of applications, that you will most likely want to use on your brand-spanking-new smartphone. Most smartphones have the ability to run most of these applications, but not all of them are available on all smartphones. Some smartphones come bundled with some of these applications, and with some you either need to buy, or just get the free download.
Yahoo! Go - Yahoo! Go is a mobile application that allows you access to almost all of Yahoo!'s services such as mail, flickr, finance, news, sports, and more. Best of all, this application is available for many smartphone operating systems.
RSS Reader - RSS is a great way to get new items posted on your favorite websites without needing to go to them! But of course, you knew that! If RSS is important to you, you should check out handago to see if RSS reader software is available of our smartphone of choice.
IM Applications - One of the perks of having a smartphone is that you can go onto your favorite IM client and chat. Depending on the smartphone platform you choose Yahoo!, ICQ, GoogleTalk, MSN, AIM are available. Some platforms (like windows mobile and symbian) have software that support most, if not all, of the popular IM protocols. Others (like Blackberry) only support some of these protocols.
Mobile Video - If your smartphone has a lot of on-board memory, or the ability to use removable media cards, then mobile video becomes a posibility, which means that on that commute to work on the trains, in planes and in automobiles you can watch movies! Some examples of such software are: Lonely Cat's SmartMovie, VLC, iTunes, and Windows Media Player.
Streaming Media Players - Streaming media players allow you to stream your files over the internet, so you can see that show you missed last night on your smartphone without the need to transfer files to a memory card. These use up wireless internet, so you better have an unlimited data plan on your account or you will get a big wireless bill! Examples are: Orb, Sling Media Player, and Location Free Player.
Social Media - Flickr, YouTube, Digg, MySpace, Facebook - just a few Social Media and Social Networking websites that exist in our Web 2.0 world. Application that allow you to interact with these services might be important to you. For example: snap a photo and have the option to auto-upload to Flickr, Yahoo! Photos or blogger. Capture a video on your smartphone and upload it to Youtube from your phone.
Voice over IP - If you have WiFi (or 3G) in your smartphone, having a VoIP application such as skype, or gizmo. It comes in handy when you are near a free access point and you need to make phone calls that would cost you a lot of money (international phone calls come to mind).
Podcasting - Podcasting can be something you do for fun, or for work! Do you need to listen to podcasts? if so, your phone needs to support MP3 and/or MP4 audio (depending on your podcast). There is also podcasting software that allows you to download podcasts directly onto your phone, no need to sync your phone with your computer in order to get your podcasts on your phone. An example of such an application is Nokia's Podcasting. Obviously, depending on the OS you choose, there will be different podcasting applications.
Office Apps - Like it or not, Microsoft office documents are the de facto standard. If you are getting a smartphone for business use, you need to look into applications that are able to read word, excel and powerpoint documents.
PDFs - Just like office documents, PDFs are everywhere these days, chances are you will get a PDF attachment in your mailbox and you will need to be able to view them. If you are getting a smartphone for business, you need to be able to open PDFs.
Salling Clicker - Salling Clicker is a great application that works with bluetooth enabled phones to remote control your computer. You can use it for many things, but from personal experience, it's been an invaluable piece of software when I do presentations on (in powerpoint or keynote). I can unchain myself from my computer and I am more free to engage the crowd.
Worldmate - WorldMate is a great program, sort of like a swiss army knife, of anyone who travels, or deals with many different time zones. It gives you the time in a number of time zones, weather forecasts for those cities, conversion utilities, a handy packing list, and airplane itinerary. Best of all, it works on many platforms!
Aesthetics
There are a number of form factors available for smartphones. What you pick will largely depend on personal preference, and functionality desired. The three basic forms of mobile phone are the candy-bar, the clamshell, and the PDA form factor. Each one of these has sub-categories. I have provided some phone model examples for you to google and get an idea of what each looks like.
i. Candy-bar: Regular (Nokia E60), Slider (Nokia N80, Nokia N95)
ii. Clamshell: Regular (HTC Star Trek), PDA (Nokia E90, HTC Universal, VX9900) , flip-n-twist -- for lack of a better name (Nokia N93)
iii. PDA: QWERTY (Nokia E61, HTC S620), Slider (HTC TyTN), Dual Slider (Helio Ocean), Flip (Sidekick), "brick" (HTC Advantage), without buttons (Apple iPhone, Prada Phone)
HELP!!!
So this tutorial isn't enough for you, eh? That's quite alright! You should look into more sources for information, and in the age of Web 2.0, this is really quite easy. Here are some recommended sources:
HowardChui.com - Cellphone reviews and news.
HowardForums.com - THE source for community based help and information.
Handago.com - Mobile software store.
Mobile-Burn - Cellphone reviews, news & Information.
Engadget Mobile - Cellphone reviews, news & Information.
Boy Genius Report - Cellphone reviews, news & Information.
InfoSync World - Cellphone reviews, news & Information.
Linux Devices - Information & news on Linux based devices.
Phonenews.com - Cellphone reviews, news & Information.
HipTop.com - Danger Sidekick.Hiptop news and information.
Hiptop3.com - Danger Sidekick.Hiptop news and information.
All About Symbian - Just as the title says - all about symbian!
MoDaCo - Windows Mobile News & Information.
Palminfocenter - News & Information on GarnetOS, and ALP.
Cellphone Junkie - A podcast about cellphones and North American carriers.
Treo Central - News and Information about Palm's device offerings.
PDA Buzz - PDA and smartphone news and information
Mobile Review - Mobile phone reviews
These days hardware options are quite a lot. Phones that just made calls and sent text messages are now considered 'basic' phones. Smartphones these days can allow you to take photos, listen to the radio, view television, go online, make skype calls. When picking your features you need to make sure to do a needs analysis and pick a phone that has the features you need, and some you might want. The more flashy the phone, the more expensive it is. For some price might not be an issue, for others it might be.
Essential Components:
There are some components that are essential to a smartphone, to any device really. These essential components are the things that actually make the device work and allow it to communicate with you and the outside world. Not all devices are the same. Just as you have options with your desktop or laptop computer, so you have options with your smartphone.
Processor - The brain of the smartphone! It's relatively easy to compare smartphones that run Windows Mobile because you can compare the megahertz rating of each phone. Most Windows Mobile devices use the same family of processors so comparing megahertz is a relatively OK method to compare processor capabilities. Megahertz ratings however should really not be employed to compare how good processors are. Remember the megahertz myth way back when with computers? Same principle here. Just because something says it can do 500Mhz, and another says 300Mhz, it doesn't mean that the 300Mhz is way slower than the 500Mhz processor. The main thing to remember with processors: take the information with a grain of salt, and only compare processors within a manufacturer or line of devices.
Program Memory - Program memory, to use an office metaphor, is the amount of desk space you've got available. The more desk space you have, the more documents you can spread out on it and work on simultaneously. With program memory, the more you have, the more programs you can run simultaneously. Now this you might think is not that important, but trust me, it is! One of the many things that makes a smartphone smart is the ability to run many programs concurrently, without the need to close one in order to start using another. A good example of people having problems with low program memory is the Nokia N80. Many users complain that the phone has many features, however you can't effectively use them because you need to close some in order to use others, and sometimes when using one application you get out of memory errors. This apparently is common with web browsing. I have not come across this error, your milage may vary.
Onboard Storage - So you've got your processor and program memory figured out. Now it's time to consider onboard storage: the amount of memory available on your smartphone to install applications and to store documents. If you get a phone that does not have an adequate amount of onboard storage you will be finding yourself at your local technology supplier buying removable media to supplement your onboard storage. Most phones come with a good amount of storage so you generally don't have to worry much. My suggestion is to look at applications that you might want to install, see how much space those will take up, and assess your storage need requirements. Purchasing removable media is almost unavoidable, but at least you can guarantee that most applications you need can be installed on the phone itself.
Removable Media - If you've ever gone to an electronics store, you probably know that there are many kinds of removable media cards! SD, MMC, RS-MMC, xD, microSD, CF, memory stick... and the list goes on and on and on. Some cards are easier to find than others, some cost less when you compare them megabyte-to-megabyte. You might even have a few laying around that you are not using. While this is not the most important fact when looking into smartphones, it is something you want to pay attention to - it might save you a buck or two down the road. The great news is that there are removable media cards that can store up to 16 gigabytes!
Screen - Unless you are visually impaired, the screen is another component that is very important on a smartphone. Just like a computer you've got two basic things to consider: Resolution and Physical Size. Higher resolution is always better, especially if you are going to be using your smartphone as a video viewer or for gaming entertainment during your commute or coffee-break. Of course, higher resolution is good for those mundane things such as scheduling meetings, viewing contact information, and other daily work tasks. Bigger physical size means that the phone will be bigger as well (well, d'uh!) so the physical size of the screen is purely persona preference. One last, but very important thing you should consider on your smartphone's screen is how well it does in situations where there is a log of ambient light, like going out on a beautiful sunny day. The last thing you want is to be trying to shade the screen with one hand, while trying to work with the other! Phone sales clerks will probably do anything for a sale. Ask them if they can fire up an actual phone (not one of those fake displays) and chaperone you to the parking lot where you can see if the screen performs well in very well lit environments.
Keyboard - Keyboards are a sticky point for me. I have used a number of devices including the palm Treo, the HTC Blue Angel, and various Blackberry models - note of them have keyboards that I completely like. My Nokia N80 can have a separate bluetooth keyboard, a full bonified travel keyboard, but that is just cumbersome for everyday usage. I would suggest you think of how much data entry you will be doing on the road. If you are not doing much data entry, then a keyboard might be overkill. The keyboard is really one of those features that it comes down to personal preference and comfort. Some keyboards I have used are downright painful over a period of extended use. I have seen quite a few mobile professions with smartphones that have built-in keyboards, but they also carry around a bluetooth or serial external full keyboard that they connect to their device when they want to do extended data entry. From personal experience, built-in keyboards are best for short notes and SMS messages. They are much faster than stylus based data entry. Extended use is generally not advised.
Bluetooth - Bluetooth has finally become widespread in the US! I remember a few (4) years ago going into an electronics store asking for USB/BT adapters and being told that the standard is going no where and it's only available in europe. How times have changed! Beyond my little rant, bluetooth is quite important if you wish to have wireless hands-free, and the ability to connect wireless with other devices. It allows you to transfer data wirelessly between your smartphone and other devices that have bluetooth, such as computers, PDAs, and other phones. I personally use my bluetooth enabled phone to control my computer from a distance (it's a great replacement to a wireless presenter when you are on the road!) It also gives you the ability to have wireless hands-free headsets, and if your phone supports A2DP - you can listen to music from your phone, wirelessly, in stereo! How's that for technological advancement?
802.11 (WiFi) - Not all phones have WiFi these days, but it is becoming more prominent as something that is thrown in. There are six WiFi specifications that come to mind immediately: a, b, g, n, e and i - yeah I know - here's the wiki for the standard in case you want to know more. The two most common are b (11 Mbps) and g (54 Mbps). Generally in phones I have seen mostly b, but b/g phones are making their way into the marketplace. One thing that you should remember about WiFi is this: it requires a lot of energy to operate! This is a feature that you should have a second (or third!) battery as backup if you intend to use it very often. Alternatively, you should be close to a power source to plug your phone in to recharge when you are not using it. I can guarantee you that you will hate is when your phone dies on you because you used WiFi a little too much.
Cellular Communications - As I mentioned in the beginning of the article, the two mainstream options for cellular communication as CDMA and GSM. In most cases you need to pick one or the other. In some parts of the world, you can have your cake and eat it too: there are chips that do both GSM and CDMA, so no matter what you pick as your smartphone, it will work with you carrier. This however is not the norm yet (we can only hope it become the norm soon!), so by this point in the article you should have already picked a technology based on the carrier that provides the best coverage for your needs.
Battery - I know that this is probably not the first thing you think of when you think of smartphones, or other gadgets for that matter, but trust me - this is something you want to pay very close attention to! The more features a device has, the more power it drains. Do you want your phone to die in the middle of the day because it did not have a battery with adequate life for the features that it sports? I guess not! So there are two things to look for: (1) is the battery removable? If it is, that is a plus! If your battery does die, all you have to do is pop the lid and install a new one! This was a mistake in the original Handspring (now palm) Treo, and it is a mistake in the Apple iPhone. (2) What is the mAh (milliamp/hour) rating? The higher this rating, the longer the battery life.
Semi-Essential Components:
Semi-essential components are components that are not standard on all smartphones, and that some people need, and others might not. I've listed a number of semi-essential smartphone components, from the commonly found, to the somewhat obscure.
Camera - As I've said before, a camera on a phone will never be as good as a dedicated digital camera. You can take decent photos with a camera phone, but manage your expectations. If you are trying the best possible camera you can on a mobile phone, there are several dimensions you must examine:
Megapixels: This is probably the most advertised feature of a digital camera, be it stand alone, or as part of a phone. When you get a camera, more megapixels is definitely better. More megapixels means that when you print those photos out (with appropriate ink and paper of course) the quality will be close to the quality of photos taken with old-school film based cameras. Additionally, more megapixels means that you're better able to see things in the background of your photos - you know, like that funny road sign you snapped a photo of when you were on the way to that conference.
Lens: In a nutshell - good lens = good photos, bad lens = bad photos. The best lenses are glass, most camera phones have plastic lenses, as far as I know. If you are looking for a phone that has a good camera on it, look for a phone with a Carl Zeiss lens.
Zoom: Optical zoom is real zoom. Digital zoom is not. Optical zoom will always beat digital zoom in terms of quality. If you are comparing zoom functionality pay attention to see if the phone has optical zoom. Phones with optical zoom tend to be larger (look at some of the Nokia N93 for example), however the photographs taken with the phone with optical zoom of 3x are better than the photos taken with another phone that has a digital 3x zoom.
Flash: There isn't much to say about this feature, other than to say that a flash is really useful! It might not be the end of the world if you don't have flash, how in low light situations, or in dark rooms, a flash will come in handy.
Responsiveness: One mississippi...two...mississippi...three mississippi...how long can you wait? Some cameraphones, in order to take decent quality photos need for you to hold the camera still for a number of seconds - they are not really point-and-shoot. If the camera function is important to you, you might want to look around on the internet to see how responsive your camera is. This is a highly personal preference. I have a Nokia N80 for example. I was reading, before I bought it, that some people were disappointed that the phone was not really point-and-shoot, you had to wait a few seconds to take a good photo. I bought the phone anyway, and the "waiting time" doesn't really bother me. Lesson? Different people have different tolerance levels for waiting.
Video Call Camera - This is something that is really useless in North America (at least of the time being). A front camera for video calls is something that is useful in Europe and Asia where UMTS and CDMA networks have supported video calls for the last 2-3 years. Sadly, front cameras have not been used (yet) for IM video conferencing. Yahoo, AOL and MSN have supported video chat for at least the past 2 years, and IM clients for these protocol exist for smartphones, but no video chat capability (yet) - fingers are crossed!
There is one reason you might want a front camera if you live in North America. I have a phone that has a front camera. I use it to take snapshots and video of myself and send it to friends as video mail to add a personal touch. With high-speed data networks available, and the widespread availability of WiFi (most phones with front cameras have built-in WiFi), it's easy to send short clips of yourself to others.
Infrared - Infrared is the old-school way of transferring files, among them vCards, from device to device. Infrared requires line of sight in order to work - i.e. you imagine a direct line between sending and receiving device. If you put something between them to interrupt that line, communication won't work. Infrared is ubiquitous, but from my personal experiences, it's pretty much useless. Back in early 2001 was the last time I used infrared to transfer one file to another device, so if a smartphone does not have infrared, it might not be a great loss. One of the benefits of Infrared is that there are programs that allow your phone IR port to be used to remote control your television, stereo, cable tuner, or other device that uses IR remotes.
GPS - Global Positioning System (GPS) chips are now one some higher end smartphones. If you don't find a phone that has GPS, no worries, there are Bluetooth GPS Units available that interface with your smartphone. I, for example, own an HP bluetooth unit by Navtek (eBay purchase for about $99) that works with both my Windows Mobile and my Symbian phones. If you are directionally challenged (like me) GPS is a nice perk to have installed in your phone. You can use programs like TomTom, and Route 66. GPS is also useful if you are into Geocaching as a hobby, if you want to track your outdoor exercise data, if you are into Geotagging your photos, and much more. You should look for phones that have the SiRF III chip in them. Additionally you should look for phones that have full GPS on them versus AGPS (Assisted GPS) which used your network position to figure out where you are. If might be faster to determine your locations, but it is something that the mobile network supports.
Radio Tuner - Radio is still alive and well! (if you feel like listening to many, many, many commercials that is...but that is another story) There are a number of phones, especially Nokia and SonyEricsson phones that are coming out these days that support FM radio. This means that if there is a show (or two) that you like to listen to on the radio, you can do it on your phone! My experiences are positive with FM tuners on mobile phones, the reception is quite good where I live with the radio stations that I normally listen to, and it is quite a good distraction. There are no phones (that I have seen) that have AM reception. Considering that I get marginal reception of major AM channels in my car, I don't think that AM is a possibility on mobile phones.
Satellite Radio - Recently, in the US, the two satellite radio providers XM and Sirius merged. There are no phones (yet) available with 'real' satellite radio options. Some carriers provide 'satellite' radio on their service, however this is not real satellite radio, it is just streamed XM content over the internet. It is conceivable that in the next few years (between articles) the Satellite option will be available for mobile phones. In Europe, Africa and Asia, there is Satellite radio provided by WorldSpace. The major things to remember is battery life. Satellite radio will require a lot of power - so pay attention to the battery on your phone!
Analog TV Tuner - There are a number of handsets out-there, mostly Chinese from what I know, that allow you to view live over-the-air television. This technology is nothing new, you can go into a radio shack, or other electronics store and buy one of those portable televisions. Well now you can have one in your phone. There are three main standards: NTSC, PAL and SECAM. Here is a world map and what is broadcast where in case you are unsure of what is playing near you. Analog television will be going away in the near future (March 2009 to be precise), so any analog TV enabled smartphones you purchase will not work for TV reception after that date in the USA. Other countries have their own time tables for elimination of analog television. Analog TV is much more widely available compared to digital television, but still I would avoid purchasing a handset that has analog TV capability, unless you don't foresee having the handset for more than two years.
Digital TV Tuner - Just like analog television, we have four possibilities:
i. DMB: DMB is one of the two standards contending for viewers. DMB has made serious inroads in Korea, and trials of the technology are underway in several european nations. On a side-note, DAB is the audio counterpart to DMB that is used for digital radio broadcasting in a number of nations.
ii. DVB-H: DVB is the other standard contending for viewers. A number of countries already have DVB deployments for a lot of their television stations, and have picked DVB as the standard for their country. In the US, Modeo and HiWire have expressed interest in providing DVB-H television in the USA. T-Mobile USA has expressed interest in this technology.
iii. ISDB/1Seg: ISDB (and it's mobile equivalent 1seg) are something you will only see in Japan, so if you have KDDI/AU, DoCoMo, Softbank or Wilcomm and are interested in mobile TV this is what you should be looking for.
iv. MediaFLO: MediaFLO is a Qualcomm standard that has large momentum developing in North America. No large scale commercial deployments have been made as of yet, however in the US Verizon, at&t and T-mobile have expressed interest in the technology. Verizon has already deployed MediaFLO in some test markets and they are marketed a VCAST TV.
FeLiCa (RFID) - If you live in Japan, this is a feature you might want included in your smartphone (although you probably knew that). Many transactions (financial and otherwise) can be completed with FeLiCa - I just wish that we had this here in the states.
Barcode Reader - There are two types of barcode readers, well there are many, but we will simplify. Ones that use that little red rays to read a barcode (a 'real' reader), and ones that use software to snap photos using the phone's built-in camera and then interpret what they snapped (a 'soft' reader). Ruggedized phones sometimes have a 'real', while normal consumer phones tend to have the 'soft' variety of barcode reader. For my personal use, barcode reading is more of a novelty than something I absolutely must have. If you phone is intended for business use, you might need a barcode reader. Phones with real barcode readers are rare (I have not see any recently), but software is available for camera phones to read barcodes , especially for Nokia's S60.
PTT - Push to talk (or PTT) is essentially the walkie-talkie feature available in some phones. In a nutshell, there are many standards, all of them are mutually incompatible with one another, and the network needs to support PTT functionality in order for you to use it. These are the standards that exist: PoC, Qchat, Kodiak RTX, MOTO Talk, ReadyLink. Now I have a Nokia N80 which support PoC, but I use Cingular, which supports Kodiak. Therefore I cannot use my phone for PTT on Cingular. Additionally, let's say PoC worked on my network, I would not be able to PTT someone on Nextel (because they use MOTO Talk), or someone one Sprint (who use ReadyLink). If you buy a phone from a carrier that says it supports PTT, rest assured it will work on their network. Cross network PTT won't work though, so if PTT is important to you, you should go back to step 1 and look at what carriers offer PTT, and what networks your contacts are using.
UMA - UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access), or GAN (Generic Access Network) as it has been renamed, is the ability to switch seamlessly from the cellular network to another network, such as a WiFi network, when you are within range of that network. The idea is that when you are somewhere that doesn't get stellar wireless coverage, but there is great coverage (generally WiFi), you can switch networks and still hold on to your conversation, people can still call you, and you can make outbound calls, using Voice-over-IP. This feature is both a software component of the phone, and something that your carrier supports. In the USA. T-Mobile is experimenting with this service and they are calling it T-Mobile @Home. The benefit to UMA is that for a small monthly fee you can make unlimited phone calls (that are not subtracted from your bucket of minutes) and have great coverage when you are covered by a WiFi network. Then when you move over to the cellular network, you get your minutes deducted. Of course the downside of UMA is that it does use WiFi so your battery life will drain faster than making cellular network calls. In other words, there is no free lunch.
WiMAX - WiMAX and it's sibbling WiBro are quite hot buzzwords these days. You can think of WiMAX as one huge hotspot. WiFi has a small range, so to cover a city, you will need many WiFi hotspots. One WiMAX hotspot can cover a whole city. This is a bit of an over-simplification, but WiMAX is billed as the next big thing. Just like having WiFi in your phone is useful, so too is WiMAX when it finally gets deployed in North America. Some other parts of the world already have WiMAX deployed.
Ruggedization - There aren't that many ruggedized smartphones that I have come across. Ruggedization really ads bulk to the device, take a look at the H42 for example. Unless you really require something that you can dunk in the sink, and you can drop it from the third floor and expect to pick it up and make a phone call, then you really don't need something that is ruggedized.
SOFTWARE
OK, you're almost at the end. Once you've looked at your OS options, your hardware options, your network options, and you've looked at what software you might be able to run - you've got this list for your consideration. Surfing the internet and looking at what most smartphone users find important, I've compiled a list of applications, and types of applications, that you will most likely want to use on your brand-spanking-new smartphone. Most smartphones have the ability to run most of these applications, but not all of them are available on all smartphones. Some smartphones come bundled with some of these applications, and with some you either need to buy, or just get the free download.
Yahoo! Go - Yahoo! Go is a mobile application that allows you access to almost all of Yahoo!'s services such as mail, flickr, finance, news, sports, and more. Best of all, this application is available for many smartphone operating systems.
RSS Reader - RSS is a great way to get new items posted on your favorite websites without needing to go to them! But of course, you knew that! If RSS is important to you, you should check out handago to see if RSS reader software is available of our smartphone of choice.
IM Applications - One of the perks of having a smartphone is that you can go onto your favorite IM client and chat. Depending on the smartphone platform you choose Yahoo!, ICQ, GoogleTalk, MSN, AIM are available. Some platforms (like windows mobile and symbian) have software that support most, if not all, of the popular IM protocols. Others (like Blackberry) only support some of these protocols.
Mobile Video - If your smartphone has a lot of on-board memory, or the ability to use removable media cards, then mobile video becomes a posibility, which means that on that commute to work on the trains, in planes and in automobiles you can watch movies! Some examples of such software are: Lonely Cat's SmartMovie, VLC, iTunes, and Windows Media Player.
Streaming Media Players - Streaming media players allow you to stream your files over the internet, so you can see that show you missed last night on your smartphone without the need to transfer files to a memory card. These use up wireless internet, so you better have an unlimited data plan on your account or you will get a big wireless bill! Examples are: Orb, Sling Media Player, and Location Free Player.
Social Media - Flickr, YouTube, Digg, MySpace, Facebook - just a few Social Media and Social Networking websites that exist in our Web 2.0 world. Application that allow you to interact with these services might be important to you. For example: snap a photo and have the option to auto-upload to Flickr, Yahoo! Photos or blogger. Capture a video on your smartphone and upload it to Youtube from your phone.
Voice over IP - If you have WiFi (or 3G) in your smartphone, having a VoIP application such as skype, or gizmo. It comes in handy when you are near a free access point and you need to make phone calls that would cost you a lot of money (international phone calls come to mind).
Podcasting - Podcasting can be something you do for fun, or for work! Do you need to listen to podcasts? if so, your phone needs to support MP3 and/or MP4 audio (depending on your podcast). There is also podcasting software that allows you to download podcasts directly onto your phone, no need to sync your phone with your computer in order to get your podcasts on your phone. An example of such an application is Nokia's Podcasting. Obviously, depending on the OS you choose, there will be different podcasting applications.
Office Apps - Like it or not, Microsoft office documents are the de facto standard. If you are getting a smartphone for business use, you need to look into applications that are able to read word, excel and powerpoint documents.
PDFs - Just like office documents, PDFs are everywhere these days, chances are you will get a PDF attachment in your mailbox and you will need to be able to view them. If you are getting a smartphone for business, you need to be able to open PDFs.
Salling Clicker - Salling Clicker is a great application that works with bluetooth enabled phones to remote control your computer. You can use it for many things, but from personal experience, it's been an invaluable piece of software when I do presentations on (in powerpoint or keynote). I can unchain myself from my computer and I am more free to engage the crowd.
Worldmate - WorldMate is a great program, sort of like a swiss army knife, of anyone who travels, or deals with many different time zones. It gives you the time in a number of time zones, weather forecasts for those cities, conversion utilities, a handy packing list, and airplane itinerary. Best of all, it works on many platforms!
Aesthetics
There are a number of form factors available for smartphones. What you pick will largely depend on personal preference, and functionality desired. The three basic forms of mobile phone are the candy-bar, the clamshell, and the PDA form factor. Each one of these has sub-categories. I have provided some phone model examples for you to google and get an idea of what each looks like.
i. Candy-bar: Regular (Nokia E60), Slider (Nokia N80, Nokia N95)
ii. Clamshell: Regular (HTC Star Trek), PDA (Nokia E90, HTC Universal, VX9900) , flip-n-twist -- for lack of a better name (Nokia N93)
iii. PDA: QWERTY (Nokia E61, HTC S620), Slider (HTC TyTN), Dual Slider (Helio Ocean), Flip (Sidekick), "brick" (HTC Advantage), without buttons (Apple iPhone, Prada Phone)
HELP!!!
So this tutorial isn't enough for you, eh? That's quite alright! You should look into more sources for information, and in the age of Web 2.0, this is really quite easy. Here are some recommended sources:
HowardChui.com - Cellphone reviews and news.
HowardForums.com - THE source for community based help and information.
Handago.com - Mobile software store.
Mobile-Burn - Cellphone reviews, news & Information.
Engadget Mobile - Cellphone reviews, news & Information.
Boy Genius Report - Cellphone reviews, news & Information.
InfoSync World - Cellphone reviews, news & Information.
Linux Devices - Information & news on Linux based devices.
Phonenews.com - Cellphone reviews, news & Information.
HipTop.com - Danger Sidekick.Hiptop news and information.
Hiptop3.com - Danger Sidekick.Hiptop news and information.
All About Symbian - Just as the title says - all about symbian!
MoDaCo - Windows Mobile News & Information.
Palminfocenter - News & Information on GarnetOS, and ALP.
Cellphone Junkie - A podcast about cellphones and North American carriers.
Treo Central - News and Information about Palm's device offerings.
PDA Buzz - PDA and smartphone news and information
Mobile Review - Mobile phone reviews
Now that I've made your head spin, what have we learned?
Step 0: It's the network, stupid! Determine which network has the best coverage in your area. If you already have a cellular provider, and you know they work just as you want them to work, look for a phone that will work on their network. If you are looking at jumping ship and going to another provider, most providers, at least in the USA, have a 30 day try out period. If you don't like it you can cancel without penalty. Another possible way of trying coverage is through prepaid.
Step 1: Assess your needs! If you do not assess your needs you might end up spending a lot more money than you intended for features that you might not ever use! Also if you do not adequately assess your needs you might end up a device which is too complicated, that does not work as you intended it to, and it might end up causing stress and frustrations that had been unforeseen. Just remember, if you toss your smartphone at the wall, your insurance will not cover it.
Step 2: Upon Assessing your needs, choose two or three devices that work for you, in addition to checking out the technical specifications and the OS of the devices also see what sort of bundled software it comes with. Then go to forums and check out what current users of the phone say about it. There are always a few pioneers out there that get the latest and greatest before everyone else, and they are not afraid to review the product!
Step 3: After you pick the devices look at merchant websites, like Handago, that sell software for smartphones and PDAs to determine if the extra software you need you can get on the device.
Step 4: Window shop! You might find a cheaper price elsewhere for the device that you intend on buying! Beware of scams though! You might try comparison shopping systems like PriceGrabber or Dealtime.
Step 5: Finally, you are almost ready to make a purchase, are you absolutely sure that this is what you want? Wait for a couple of weeks, re-assess the situation, think about it again and if you decide that this is what you want, go for it! (don't forget to mail in the warranty card!!!!)
See, that's it! Getting a smartphone in 5 simple steps! Considering the fact that smartphones, without a contract, cost close to what a cheap laptop costs I would weigh the options carefully, and buy with caution. Some people think that the more a given object costs the better the craftsmanship, operation and overall value of that given object is. While I do not disagree very much with this premise, if you buy something you do not absolutely need, you end up getting a paper-weight, so why pay a lot of money for a paper-weight? It doesn't make sense, does it?
JUST FOR KICKS:
In 2005 I bought a smartphone, the HTC Blue Angel (also known as the O2 XDA IIs, among other names), and I bought a 2 gigabyte SD card for it as well. This smartphone was more powerful compared to my first desktop computer, an Apple Performa 635CD when you compare the specs of each device. Even though I liked my Blue Angel, I loved my Performa (back in the day). Technology grows by leaps and bounds. Something that looks like it's technologically superior might be better, or might not. Just because something looks like it's ten times faster than something else, it is not wise to just compare two things on the hardware specifications front only. The Stability and the User Interface of the device play a major role in how happy you are with your device.
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