Smartphones
General Information
The smartphone is a mix between a PDA (personal digital assistant) and a cell phone that allows the user to access different applications such as e-mail, calendar, to-do list, open documents, and so on. It typically has an open operating system that allows for the addition of applications and functions similarly to a PC. Often a user is also able to sync the phone to his or her computer to update schedules, contacts, and other information in a variety of application, keeping him or her up to date. In the first half of 2006, 38.5 million smartphones were shipped worldwide, up 75 % from the same period in 2005. The most popular operating systems used in smartphones currently are Symbian OS by Symbian Ltd (not big in the United States), iPhone OS by Apple, RIM Blackberry, Windows Mobile by Microsoft, Palm OS by Palm, and the most recent addition of Android by Google.
History
The first smartphone was created by IBM and was named Simon. It was launched in 1993 and had features that included a mobile phone, fax, pager, and PDA. Next, Nokia and HP teamed up together to create the Nokia 9000. The model actually had HP's PDA and Nokia's phone attached with a hinge. They then created the first real color screen smartphone with an open operating system. The company Research in Motion's (RIM) mission was to create the ultimate device for email exchange. As development progressed, the Blackberry was created by adding the phone feature and the smartphone era was born in 2001.