Tracing the Roots of Smartphones
The popularity and usage of smartphones have seen a significant spike for the past few years. With its ability to supply more connectivity and a colossal amount of features, there is no question that most individuals today seek the efficiency of these phones. There are plenty of advantages that go with these portable devices. Unlike past mobile phones where its sole purposes are to receive calls and messages, these technological advancements are made to perform much better than its predecessors. In fact, the leap from typical mobile phones to smartphones is so immense that it shook the entire globe. Add to this the ever-growing attributes of these phones, today’s community are welcome to indulge in a world of efficiency and connectivity like no other.
Every now and then, the capabilities of smartphones grow more and more. Features like GPS, high-resolution cameras and LCD’s, better reception, Internet accessibility, and a more. However, the place we live in today will not be the same if it weren’t for the roots of telephones.
Devices that fused telephony and computing were first conceptualized by Nikolas Tesla during the early years of the 19th century. This was then followed by Theodore Paraskevakos in 1971. More than 30 years have passed before this was first introduced to the concepts of data processing and visual display screens.
Fast forward to the latter years of the 90’s, the first mobile phone emerged. With characteristics of a telephone incorporated with a PDA, IBM developed one of the first examples of the smartphone. The prototype had properties that highlight the use of visual applications such as maps, current event updates, and stock exchange movements alongside the messaging and calling functions of a mobile phone. Following this was a refined version of the first smartphone developed by BellSouth sporting the name Simon Personal Communicator. This is the first device that actually possessed the name smartphone.
Entering the millennia was the age of PDA’s. Plenty of mobile phone users carry two devices, which typically involves a cellphone and a PDA. Unlike mobile phones, PDA’s didn’t have the longevity of its mobile counterpart. Despite its packed features, not everyone needed a virtual organizer.
It was the mid-1990’s when Nokia and Hewlett-Packard released machines that inherited the capabilities of a mobile phone into a PDA. The personal organizer carried instruments like a calendar, address book, notepad, e-mail, web browsing, and the ability to receive faxes. Of course, it also had the basic features of a mobile phone.
In 1999, a Japanese firm named NTT DoCoMo released the first smartphones to reach nationwide recognition. These phones reached an estimated 40-million user base by the end of 2001. Moreover, it was ranked second in market capitalization globally while hitting the top spot in its native country. This power would eventually fade away as the rise of 3G phones with advanced network capabilities enters the picture.
In early 2007, Apple Inc. introduced the iPhone, one of the forerunners when it comes to the multi-touch technology. The iPhone was notable for its employment of a touchscreen that has direct finger input as its means of interaction as opposed to the stylus, keyboard, or keypad utilized by smartphones at the time.
In 2008, the first Android-powered phone came into life. This operating system is an open-source platform that was acknowledged due to its unique aspects that exhibited wide degrees of customization ant the like.
Today, a survey shows that 92 percent of its population owns a smartphone. These data suggest how the rise of smartphones has been a major contributor to universal connectivity. These changes take place in an arena where technology can transform and improve our daily lives, which all major impacts including social, political, and cultural.