Just a few years ago, the market share for Smartphones was pretty even. RIM, Nokia, Microsoft (Windows Mobile OS), and Palm were pretty even in sales. And before the iPhone was the iPAQ. The Smartphones back in the day were bulky and slow. According to an article published by ZDNET, “They were e-mail-centric, calendar-heavy PDAs that also just happened to make phone calls.” Apple changed all that with the first iPhone in June 2007. The design was sleek and easy to use. Apps were free or mostly free and plentiful. It’s no wonder it was so popular. Now the Google Android platform is giving Apple a run for their money, coming out seemingly almost daily with new models across all the major manufacturers and carriers.
Let’s take a look at the old Smartphones and how much they have changed over the past few years. Kyocera was one of the first cell phone manufacturers to make a Smartphone, running on the Palm platform. The Kyocera 7135 was revolutionary in design. Not only was it the "first color-screened hybrid with a flip-phone design," wrote CNET editor Roger Hibbert, it also "has a phone-first design, incorporating a keypad--rather than a thumb keyboard like that of the Treo--in its base." The convenience keys for launching the calendar, contacts, messages, and the WAP browser, in addition to space for using Palm's handwriting recognition software, (called Grafitti) were big changes. The phone was released December 2002.
In 2002, the Nokia 9290 Communicator was an upgraded version of the 9000i Communicator which debuted in 1996. The 9290 was still heavy and bulky (weighing in at 8.6 ounces), “running on the Symbian OS 6.0 Series 80 operating system, this Communicator resembled an overgrown portable phone, then flipped open to reveal a 4.5-inch screen with a 4,096-color TFT display (640x200 resolution) and a QWERTY keyboard. It cost $600 unlocked.”
Do you remember when we called Smartphones PDA’s (personal digital assistant)? The Palm Treo 600 featured a 2.5-inch LCD screen that supported 3,375 colors and IMAP and POP3 e-mail support. It sold for $500 with a service agreement. It had the five-way directional navigation toggle, a compact keyboard, and a candy bar design, and according to ZDNET, it won an Editor’s Choice award in 2003. Next came Palm’s upgraded Palm Treo 650 that had more power to multitask and do video, but still had no Wi-Fi capabilities. It debuted in October 2005. It was a big improvement over the iPAQ.
The BlackBerry 7230 was another CNET Editor's Choice Award winner. It had the scroll button on the side and a QWERTY keyboard, bulky by today’s standards, but well thought back in 2003. And to this day,
BlackBerry is known for supplying secure e-mail retrieval and support for read-only e-mail attachments. In 2006 BlackBerry introduced the taller, sleeker Pearl. According to ZDNET, it was the first to feature the “central trackball for navigation in favor of the scroll wheel. It was also the first BlackBerry to come with an integrated camera (1.3 megapixels), video and music playback, and expandable media.”
Motorola Q boasted that it was the thinnest Smartphone in the world in 2006 at only 0.47 inches thick. It ran on the Windows Mobile platform, with Microsoft Office capabilities, multi-media, and excellent video playback. It still lacked Wi-Fi though. As the Windows Mobile platform continued to be upgraded, other Windows based Smartphones appeared, such as the Samsung Focus. According to ZDNET, “The Samsung Focus best epitomizes the result, a brand new operating system with a bold, urban look. The Windows Phone 7 handset is glossy black and sleek, with a 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen and a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash.” The Focus was released in 2010 but the Windows platform still has bugs. Perhaps with the newest Windows Mobile OS coming out this fall, some of those bugs will be addressed.
HP took over Palm’s OS and produced the HP Palm Pre in 2009. The Palm Pre featured a vertical slide down keyboard, but had a fairly small screen. Even though HP is now the parent company, with their app market lacking, the Palm is struggling to this day.
In 2010, BlackBerry came out the Curve. It still had the good keyboard which many liked to emailing and texting, but again, the apps were lacking. RIM BlackBerry tried for a touch screen with the Storm and Storm II, but it was poorly received. BlackBerry users liked the QWERTY keyboard and the Storm’s touch screen only interface wasn’t popular. Since then, BlackBerry has been losing ground in the market share.
The Google Android platform was debuted with its first Smartphone in November 2007. AS each upgrade is made to the platform, a cute code name has been assigned. The code names include Éclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, and the soon to be released Ice Cream Sandwich, which is a combination of Gingerbread and Honeycomb into a “cohesive whole.” It was announced in May 2011 that it will be released in Q4 2011. According to Androinica.com, 500,000 Android devices are activated every day, giving Apple’s iPhones a real run for the money.
Do you own a Smartphone? Are you an iPhone user or a Droid user, and why? I have the Droid X (about a year old now), and love it. I did buy a
Droid X extended battery though to make me less dependent an available charging station. Today’s Smartphones have come a long way, but the battery life still eaves a lot to be desired. Do you have any tips for our readers on extending the charge of your battery? Let us know and we’ll post your suggestions.
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