A look at smart phones and iphones

If you are interested in keeping up with technology then you have probably heard of the term smart phones and iphones. And if you pay any attention to the news or any other kind of media, including television commercials you are already ware of the fact that there are numerous smart phones available for you to purchase, but there is only one iphone. Something else that you are probably already aware of is that the smart phones are able to be purchased and used with almost any wireless phone provider, even though the company that makes the smart phones is usually the same for each wireless provider. But with the iphone there is only one company that creates it, Apple, and there is only one wireless company that can use the iphone, which is AT&T.

Here is a look at a smart phone:

• For those of you who do not know what smart phones are is a brief description of a smart phone. A smart phone is basically a full featured cellular phone that can also function as a personal computer. What this means is that they offer full email programs, but the most important feature that they have to offer is that the applications for enhanced data processing and connectivity can be installed on the device rather than only being able to support sand-boxed applications. In order to be considered a smart phone the phone must also offer a touch screen, an operating system, and a tethered modem in addition to the cellular phone features like text messaging and voicemail.


• Major manufacturers
  
  • Gigabyte Technology
  
  
  • Group Sense PDA
  
  
  • Hewlett-Packard
  
  
  • High Tech Computer
  
  
  • I-mate
  
  
  • Kyocera
  
  
  • Mio Technology
  
  
  • Motorola
  
  
  • Nokia
  
  
  • Palm Inc
  
  
  • Research in Motion Limited
  
  
  • Samsung Electronics
  
  
  • Sony Ericsson

Here is a look at the iphone:

• For those of you who are not that familiar with the iphone, the iphone is a multimedia and internet based cellular telephone. The phone has only been available since June 29, 2007. It is available at Apple retail stores, Apple online stores and from AT&T mobility. The phone is available in a 4 GB model for around $500 and in a 8 GB model for around $600.


• Outputs and inputs
  
  • Touch screen, virtual keyboard


• Functions
  
  • Web connectivity and email - the iphone has a built in WiFi, which means it can access the internet through a wireless network. It also comes with a modified version of the Safari web browser, but it can also use the EDGE network that is provided through AT&T. The web browser displays full web pages rather than simplified versions of the web pages. But the phone does not support Flash or Java technology. The iphone supports HTML email which allows the user to put photos in their messages. PDF, Word, and Excel files can also be viewed on the phone if they are sent as attachments.
  
  
  • Multimedia - the iphone basically acts as an ipod and allows the users to download music and listen to it, but those are not the only options. The user can also play video and offers to views, wide screen and full screen, which the user controls.
  
  
  • Camera - does not offer video recording but comes with a 2.0 megapixel camera that is located on the back. You can also upload, view and email photos with software that is provided
  
  
  • Phone - allows for conferencing, call holding, call merging, caller ID. The iphone also allows integration with other network cellular network features and iphone functions, for example if listening to songs, music fades out for incoming call and once call is ended music fades back in. The phone also has visual voicemail, which allows users to see their current voicemail messages on screen without having to call in, you can also listen to messages in any order


• Missing features
  
  • Voice dialing, voice recording, instant messaging, memory card slot, common Bluetooth file transfer, GPS capability, native games, support for MP3 files like ringtones, copy and paste, MMS, tethering, and A2DP. Which all of these other features are available with other devices, such as smart phones