Nokia 6610 includes java, color display, polyphonic ringtones, and a cover that folds open into a split keyboard. It even has an FM radio for good measure. But it's only available in Europe and Africa.
So what is a Smartphone, anyway? With almost every new phone offering text Internet access (that almost nobody uses), what's all the noise about? The latest batch of wireless phones sport new features, but not all of them really qualify as smart.
For the sake of argument, we'll define a smartphone as a mobile device that includes next generation capabilities, like: java applications, color displays and polyphonic ringtones. Some include built-in cameras and multimedia messaging (MMS), or they have PDA operating systems like Palm and PocketPC. As you wade through the new handsets now available, you'll notice a few changes. Color Screens
One of the first changes you'll see is a high resolution color
display. Until recently, phones only had one choice of display.
As Henry
Ford said, you can have any color you want- as long as it's black.
Times are changing. Almost every carrier is now offering phones
with color screens, letting you download color graphics and
photos. The quality of these color screens vary widely, so
check out
the options
before buying one. If your phone has a color screen, you can
customize your phone by downloading
color screensavers.Polyphonic
Ring Tones
This is pretty cool. Instead of having the same monophonic keypad
tones on your phone, many new phones let you download
polyphonic ringtones so you play actual music using
MIDI files. Although it's
limited
to
short
music
clips,
this
is still a fun way to personalize your phone. You can even assign
specific ring tones and graphics to certain people in your address
book. When your Aunt Melba calls, for example, you can have the
phone display a picture of Darth Vader and play Def Leppard in
the
background. Well, you get the idea.Java and
Brew
We're not talking Starbucks here. J2ME (Java for mobile devices)
and BREW (a similar competing standard) let you download games and
applications directly into your phone. By running the Java applet
on your phone instead of over the air, it's faster and has better
graphics. It's also a lot cheaper, since you don't need to send
as much data over the network. With over 3 million Java Developers
worldwide, there are a lot of people out there building applications,
games and content that can work on mobile devices.Faster Data
Rates
After years of hearing about it, phones are finally getting faster.
Sprint Vision now offers a wireless connection that's three times
as fast as a dial-up connection. AT&T Wireless, Verizon, T-Mobile
and Cingular are also offering new higher speed access (watch for
the upcoming article "How the Carriers Stack Up"). Although
U.S. data speeds still aren't as fast as Europe and Asia, we're
starting to catch up. PDAs and
Phones Collide
Another new twist on an old idea is combining PDAs and wireless
phones. That's actually good news. After several less that stellar
attempts over the last decade, the lastest handsets do a surprisingly
good job of merging the two. There are three operating systems available
for phones with built-in PDAs: Symbian, Palm OS and Microsoft's
Smartphone. The Handspring TREO,
T-Mobile Sidekick,
and Audiovox PocketPC
Phone Edition all do a good job of merging the best of both
worlds. On the flip side, RIM's now offers it's popular Blackberry
handheld with a phone built-in through T-Mobile and Nextel. Photos on
Your Phone
In Japan, J-Phone has 11 handsets available with built-in cameras,
and over 8 million people are using its picture messaging service
Sha-mail. Another 4 million are using rival Docomo's i-shot photo
service. Nokia just launched its new 7650 Imaging Phone in Europe,
letting
you use the color display as a viewfinder, snap a picture, and
save
the photo in an album or send it to a friend. Sprint PCS, T-Mobile
and AT&T's all offer optional plug in cameras that connect
to your cell phone. Although it's standard fare in Japan, there
are
only a few phones with built-in cameras available in the U.S.
That will change soon, though, as new models are rolled out.MMS
Multimedia Messaging (MMS) is the latest innovation sweeping through
Europe and Asia, and due in the U.S early next year. Instead of
send a text SMS message, MMS allows you to include animations, photos
and music in your messages. The big problem now is interoperability
between carriers and the lack of compatible handsets. Although it
will catch on slowly at first, MMS will be huge in the years ahead.
How Smart
is Your Phone?
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