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Falling under the category of
mobile devices, today's consumer electronics serve multiple purposes. Years ago, cellular phones, also called cellphone or mobile phone,
served one purpose only: They let you send and receive voice communications.
Today, mobile phones and similar devices are equipped with customized software,
Internet access,
digital cameras, portable music players,
GPS functions and many
more options.
Once again technological advancements make common
terminology such as
mobile phone,
smartphone, PDA and
PDA phone difficult to decipher as each type of device changes constantly and features
traditionally belonging to one type of device are now found on others. Here we
will explore the popular category of mobile communication devices, the
similarities and differences between some of the popular products.
What Is a Mobile Phone?
A mobile phone
is more frequently called a cellular phone or cellphone. These communication
devices connect to a wireless communications network through radio waves or
satellite transmissions. Most mobile phones provide voice communications, Short
Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Message Service (MMS), and newer phones may
also provide Internet services such as Web browsing, instant messaging
capabilities and e-mail.
What Is a PDA?
Short for personal digital assistant, this is the
name given to small handheld devices that combine computing, telephone/fax,
Internet and networking features. A typical PDA can function as a cellular
phone, fax sender, Web browser and personal organizer. These devices are usually
pen-based, which requires the use of a stylus rather than a keyboard for input.
PDAs today are available in either a stylus or keyboard version. Traditionally,
PDAs have not had phone or fax services. What Is a Smartphone?
A
smartphone is considered to be the combination of the traditional PDA and
cellular phone, with a bigger focus on the cellular phone part. These handheld devices integrates mobile phone
capabilities with the more common features of a handheld computer or
PDA. Smartphones allow users to store information, e-mail, install
programs, along with using a mobile phone in one device. A smartphone's
features is usually more oriented towards mobile phone
options than the PDA-like features. There is no industry standard for
what defines a smartphone, so any mobile device that has more than
basic cellphone capabilities can actually be filed under the smartphone category
of devices.
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Key Terms To
Understanding mobile devices
Related "What's
The Diff?" Articles
on Webopedia:
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What Is a PDA Phone?
It's definitely a lack of standardization that makes the category of
mobile devices so confusing to the consumer. As technology changes, so
do the functions that these different devices perform. Years ago, many
people differentiated PDA and smartphone simply by looking for
touch-screen capabilities. If it had a touch screen it was a PDA, if it
didn't, it was a smartphone. The Sony Ericsson Smartphone, for
example, offers users both a touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard.
Despite the fact that the manufacturer calls this product a smartphone,
the generic term for a PDA oriented device with cellular phone
capabilities is called a PDA phone.
Fuzzy Lines Between Smart
Devices
Even if you can now decide for yourself if a mobile device is simply a
cellular phone, a smartphone, a PDA or PDA phone, the fine lines
between these types of mobile devices are about to get blurred again as
we add in new terms to the mix like Pocket PC, and
Smartphone (with a capital letter).
So starting with the
difference between smartphone, as we've discussed above: When
capitalized, it refers to Microsoft's Smartphone platform, which is
used for a variety of mobile devices. The latest
version, Windows Mobile 6 actually removes the word Smartphone from its
title, and over time this should help lessen the confusion between
smartphone and Smartphone. Interestingly, , one of the three
versions of Windows Mobile 6 is called Windows Mobile 6 Standard for
Smartphones. Here the "For Smartphones" means "phones without touch
screens".
The Pocket PC itself is not
a specific category of mobile devices, but rather the name given to PDAs
that use the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system. Much like the
category of PDA devices, Pocket PCs features are focused on computing
and data tasks with other features, like cellular phone capabilities
being secondary to the PDA functions. The Pocket PC is one device
that is standardized. In order to carry the Pocket PC label the device
must meet specific criteria such as use Microsoft's Windows Mobile for
Pocket PCs, include a touch screen, include a touchpad, and other
specifications.
Some Popular Examples
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The popular Apple iPhone
is a combination smartphone and iPod
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The HP iPAQ Mobile
Messenger is a Pocket PC
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The LG Prada is a
cellular phone with a touch screen — but its not a smartphone
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The RIM BlackBerry 8800
is considered a smartphone — but its borderline on being a handheld
PC device due to its size and features
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The Palm Treo 700p is a
PDA phone
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The Motorola Q is also
considered to be a PDA phone
What's The Differences,
Again?
In summing up the
differences between these common mobile communications devices you could say that a
PDA phone is more PDA than phone and a smartphone is more phone than
PDA. And, of course, a cellular phone is more phone than anything else.
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DID YOU KNOW...
The first cellular call was placed on April 3, 1973 by Martin
Cooper who was the general manager of Motorola's Communications
Systems Division. He made the call to his rival, Joel Engel,
Bell Labs head of research. (Source:
Selling The Cell Phone) |
By Vangie Beal
Writer, www.Webopedia.com
Last updated: May 02, 2008
Text
Messaging Abbreviations 
This Quick Reference Guide provides an overview
and examples of text messaging abbreviations and smilies.
PDA Street
The Internet's largest PDA information center for Windows CE Shareware,
Freeware, Reviews, Hardware, Message Boards, and more.
The Basics: Pocket PC Phone v. Windows Mobile Smartphone
When purchasing a Windows Mobile device, it's important to understand the
difference between a Windows Mobile Smartphone and a Pocket PC Phone.
Webopedia's
Mobile Phones Category
Explore hundrewds of terms and related links in Webopedia's Mobile Phones
category.
Selling The
Cell Phone: History of Cellular Phones
The basic concept of cellular phones began in 1947, when researchers looked at
crude mobile (car) phones and realized that by using small cells (range of
service area) with frequency reuse they could increase the traffic capacity of
mobile phones substantially. However at that time, the technology to do so was
nonexistent. |
