Ever wonder
what exactly makes your smartphone smart? In the last couple of years,
smartphones have been the trend, we all love our devices, and some of us really
can’t go a day without them. And that is quite understandable if you think
about it. Our lives revolves around them and they are the ultimate digital
companion. They are portable and mobile, so you can carry them everywhere without
even paying attention to their weight, they give smooth and direct access to
the internet, help us organize our time and activities and aid us in carrying
them out. I can’t fully communicate the joy when I say google assistant to play
a song and then my phone buzzes off in tunes and I could just as easily say google stop playing music, then
silence. Awesome! But the question is what exactly makes a smartphone different
from any other types of phone, in short, what makes them smart?

While the
distinction between smartphone’s and similar mobile devices are not specific
but blurred across the years, I have nonetheless put together a couple of
features that distinguish smartphones from other types of mobile phone and
similar devices like PDAs. Let’s get into it:
1. Basic cellphone features plus extra
1. Basic cellphone features plus extra
Basic phone
features include ability to make and receive calls, send and receive messages
usually SMS. While smartphone’s have all this basic cellular features they
offer more. Thanks to the internet and smartphone’s ability to access it
easily, you can do more than call and text as a means of fast communications
with your loved ones, you can send and receive mails, share media files like
pictures and videos with your friends, family and colleagues. You can make
video calls and chat across several multiple platforms. All this is possible
thanks to better developed network services, applications and software as well
as the phone’s hardware itself all working together in sync and harmony on an
operating system which is discussed below.
2. An Operating System (OS)
2. An Operating System (OS)
In the
modern era, a typical smartphone is defined by its operating system, that’s why
you can tell an iPhone from an android. Some operating systems are open ended
and can support a variety of phones from various manufacturers a good example
is Google’s android OS. Other operating systems are only compatible with
specific hardware devices which is usually developed by the same company like
the iOS of IPhone and BBOS of Blackberry. The OS acts as an interface between
the phone’s hardware and application software. In other words, the operating
system allows your apps and phone to communicate and interact, this also means
that the operating system defines the way you experience your device and how
effective your interaction is. Most operating systems usually have an app store
developed along with them from where you can get a wide variety of applications
to run on your device. The stores are usually OS-specific i.e. apple store for
iOS and Google Play Store for android.
3. Virtual Assistant
3. Virtual Assistant
Most
smartphones these days come with an in-built virtual assistant, again this is
OS-specific. Siri for IPhones and Google Assistant for android devices. These
Virtual assistants help out in a variety of ways, thanks to their ability to
run on voice commands, you can ask it to perform basic phone actions like to
make a call to more involved actions to the google stop playing music command I mentioned earlier. Virtual
assistants can now perform a wide range of functions and carry out commands
based on voice commands alone, allowing a hands-free interaction with your smartphone.
You could get them to translate, read out texts, play and stop songs, organize
items, set reminders and alarms and so much more. Personally, I sometimes feel
the Virtual assistant is a smartphone’s voice.
4. Multimedia
4. Multimedia
Yes! Media,
your smartphone is a mini home theatre. You can access all forms of media on
your smartphone. Photos, Videos, Music… your phone runs them all. You can
create new pictures with your phone’s camera, receive and share others. Buy,
download and even stream songs via the internet. Smartphone’s typically come
with better developed cameras, speakers and wide screens which you can usually
run virtual ‘qwerty’ keyboards for typing and viewing large resolution files.
They are also built with large storage spaces and support external storage
drives. All these hardware upgrades enable smartphones to view and play high
quality media, all for your consumption. Beautiful, isn’t it?
5. File Sharing
5. File Sharing
In addition
to better means of communication among loved ones and better and portable
access to entertainment media, smartphones allow you to share them. You can
upload and download files and documents, stream songs and videos, send and
receive digital files, Social media platforms now support a wide range of file
sharing features.
Conclusion
Smartphones
are amazing devices and we have grown so comfortable and attached to them as
they make our daily activities easier, ease and encourage communication across
several spheres of life including business and commerce.
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