History
Many rumors circulate when the very first smartphone was created, due to the term “smartphone” not being used when the phones were created. The first ever official “smartphone” came out in 1992. It was called the Simon Personal Communicator. Although this was released in 1992, the term “smartphone” didn’t start being used until 1995. IBM was the original creator of the first phone, and still to this day IBM is a very important company for today’s technology. The first smartphone came out for $899 with a service contract, which is valued to be $1,435 in today’s dollars.
Manufacturers
In today’s society there are many manufactures for smartphones. With each company having different styles of phones being released, every company brings a certain type of value to its users. Here is a list of some smartphone manufacturers:
Samsung.
Apple.
Nokia.
Sony.
LG.
HTC.
Motorola.
Huawei.
Google.
Costs of smartphones
With the original smartphone, Simon Personal Communicator coming out with a steep price of $899 with a service contract, which is valued to be $1,435 in today’s dollars, it set the bar stool high with pricing world of smartphones. As time passed on, smartphone prices actually started to decrease due to such high supply and options. This led all competitors to decrease price and have somewhat of a closer price range for the people. The Nokia 7110 was price at $475 and was the first phone with web browsing. Followed by the Nokia 7650 which cost up to $400 and had a built-in camera option. Years later the android HTC Dream phone came out and cost $179 and had features like WI-FI, Bluetooth and even GPS. In today’s society you can pay up to $1,200 depending on storage size for an iPhone X, which includes features like face recognition, 12 MP camera, 21-hour battery life, enhanced GPS, and several other options.
Hardware
With the enhancement of present day technology, smartphones hardware and software features change frequently. Back then it was quite simple to build a smartphone and send out a product, but now it goes a little deeper, and more thinking is involved. As far as hardware goes, you have to use consumer input and feedback and take into consideration as far as size goes. Then you have to see what can be used as far as camera size, battery size, screen size, and all of those put together, and what they lead up to. On top of making everything fit and look put together, your final task is to set up the display of the screen needed. For example, do you use a LCD screen, or maybe an OLED screen. Does it have true tone display, or maybe you can add face recognition. What is the refresh rate on it, and can it be increased? All of these are prime examples of all hardware features that must be looked at.
Operating systems & Software
Another huge decision when it comes to buying smartphones are the operating systems/software that you like or are familiar with. The two most common operating systems in present today are Android and iOS. Android was founded by Andy Rubin and Apple was founded by Steve Jobs. Both companies have a severe impact on the smartphone industry, and both also have their own drawbacks. With Android, you have more opportunity to customize your layouts and apps, which comes down to preferences. It’s very easy to customize the theme on your phone and you can set up the layout you want for you home screen, along with adding widgets and shortcuts. Some feel as if that can become sloppy and annoying, while others may like the option to be creative. With iOS, you are stuck with the same basic layout, and can rearrange that apps at most. Some people say that they like the somewhat of a clean and basic look, while other argue its plain and doesn’t allow any changing or option of being creative. Now each operating system has its own software that keeps it running and both have their advantages and disadvantages. For example, Android is more of google based, and runs all android/google apps for more of friendlier option. Android allows for third-party apps, but iOS does not allow that all. This also comes to show how frequent the users update their phones and try to stay on the highest firmware for the optimal usage. Here is a breakdown of users who keep their phones updated based off of operating systems.
Apps
Apps are the reason why so many people use and need their phones. They allow us to do so much from such a small portable device and a touch of a button. Despite both operating systems being different, they both have some what of the most popular apps needed by the consumers. People from all over the world tend to use the same apps due to common interest or concerns. Despite the normal features of a phone, like texting and calling, smartphones have incorporated several additional uses of the phone. This list includes social media, banking, news, GPS, games, and overall entertainment. Social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are being used daily and consistently, which tend to have users glued to their phones. Apps like Netflix, YouTube, and many game apps tend to keep an average person very busy through the day. People tend to use their phones daily on the Internet to either gain information on what they need or for daily living things like, GPS, banking, and/or other services.
Competition
The competition for smartphones is very high in present day. This is due to the number of manufacturers that are producing these phones, and the enhancement of technology is allowing companies to keep coming out with bigger and better phones. Apple holds first place when it comes to sales in smartphones with 77.3 million sales. Following apple in sales is Samsung with 74.1 million sales. The third on the list being Huawei with 41.0 million in sales.
Pros & Cons
Smartphones have both pros and cons, and it’s up to the user to see that. I say it has both pros and cons, because it depends on which perspective you look at it from. Despite the fact that today’s smartphones are basically laptops in your pocket and some might love that feature, others may despise it. When looking at it from an education stand point, smartphones are great and terrible. Teachers have realized that students will continue to use their phones in class regardless of rules, so whether allowing phones in class is their choice, it will continue to happen. This is why teachers now allow students to do what they want in class, but ultimately know that being on their phones will result in bad or worsen their grades.
Final Conclusion
In today’s society some might say that Smartphones are the greatest invention to ever be made, and I would have to agree. Smartphones have allowed users to change their lifestyles and allowed for significant growth. This would explain the high demand for cell phones in present time, and that will not be changing soon. With the variety of phones that users can choice from, this really allows users to pick whatever fits them best and allows the overall best experience. The battle in the technology world will never end and this is best for all parties considering companies will continue to pass sales goals, and users will always have options for different and better phones.
References
Tweedie, S. (2015, June 14). The world’s first smartphone, Simon, was created 15 years before the iPhone. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-first-smartphone-simon-launched-before-iphone-2015-6
20 years of the smartphone: An evolution in pictures. (2014, August 16). Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/11037225/20-years-of-the-smartphone-an-evolution-in-pictures.html
“All Mobile Phone Brands.” List of All Mobile Phone Brands – GSMArena.com, www.gsmarena.com/makers.php3.
Hill, Simon. “Android vs. IOS: Which Smartphone Platform Is the Best?” Digital Trends, 23 Oct. 2017, www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/android-vs-ios/.
“Apple Passes Samsung to Capture the Top Position in the Worldwide Smartphone Market While Overall Shipments Decline 6.3% in the Fourth Quarter, According to IDC.” IDC: The Premier Global Market Intelligence Company, www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS43548018.