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New SmartPhones: Some hits, a few crucial misses

It was around two decades ago, in 1992 that IBM came up with the first Smartphone IBM Simon, which was more of a personal communicator having the features of a mobile phone, a pager, a PDA, and a fax machine.  Since then almost all the leading players have developed their Smart phones with their respective operating Systems and added features.

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Today’s models typically also serve as portable media players and camera phones with high-resolution touch screens, web browsers that can access and properly display standard web pages rather than only mobile-optimized sites, GPS navigation, Wi-Fi and mobile broadband access, apart from the general features of mobile phones and PDAs. With the growing competition in this sector, the consumer has plenty to choose from.

Some Hits: Advantages of Smartphone’s

Because of greater built-in functionality, smart phones can do things much more quickly than their standard mobile phone and PDA precursors.

Keeping you organized – Smartphone handsets can function as personal organizer with electronic diaries, contact lists, and automatic reminders.

Flexible working – like PDA, smart phone can be used to take notes, review and edit appointments, contacts and documents, all while you’re on the move.

Information at your fingertips – services like maps, television transmissions, traffic information, scheduling alerts and many more are readily available on Smartphone

Never out of touch – Smartphone provide internet access and can be easily connected to the Computer Networks making it easier for remote workers or mobile workforce to stay in touch with the business

Better information sharing – considerably large data can be received and transmitted via a Smartphone, such as heavy e-mail attachments or data files from websites.

Greater functionality – many models offer built-in digital cameras with immediate snap and send functionality. Smartphone could offer you a new way of marketing to customers, Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) lets you include animation, graphics and music in a message.

Some Misses: Advantages of Smartphone

Small Screen Size- Smartphone screens generally measure just a few inches wide and in length. Accessing websites and email from small screens involves extensive scrolling to view all the information, and may be difficult for those with poor eyesight.

Awkward Keyboard Size- Alphanumeric keys are smaller and closer together on a Smartphone than they are on a full-size keyboard, which can be problematic for those with larger hands.

High Cost- Most cell phone providers require users to sign long-term contracts. Internet access is provided at an additional cost, raising the cost of owning a Smartphone to $70 to $100 or more per month, depending on the terms of the contract.

Website Access- Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) uses software to optimize websites for the smaller screen of a Smartphone. Not all websites are WAP-enabled so some cannot be accessed, or if they can, they may not show all the content.

Work-Life Balance- The small size, light-weight factor and portability of smart phones allow them to be carried at all times, which makes it difficult for some people to designate a clear delineation between work life and home life. Frequent checking of email and internet applications takes time and attention away from interpersonal relationships

Despite of the critical Misses discussed above, the craze for Smartphone continues to rise which can be easily observed from Surveys and Marketing reports. Almost 22% of UK consumers have a Smartphone, with this percentage rising to 31% amongst 24–35 year olds. With the rate of Smartphone adoption accelerating all across the Globe, it seems that the factors in favor convincingly eclipse those against. Hence, the future looks bright for this mobile-PDA hybrid

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About the author: Amanda Kidd is a blogger who takes utmost care while choosing beauty products. She prefers following natural skin care tips and has a huge collection of make up kits, blushers, eye shadows and lipsticks. Being a versatile writer she is growing her interest towards tech related topics. These days she is busy in writing on robots and new gadgets upcoming in the market.

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