What is a Smartphone?

What is a smartphone? A question we hear a few times too often. A smartphone combines mobile phone and PDA functions in one pocket-sized widget. You can send and receive emails or texts, surf the internet, synchronize data with your computer and manage your agenda. They even let you create and edit standard office documents.

You probably will ask next, what's so good about smartphones? The beauty of smartphones is that they effortlessly combine communications with work tasks. So when an email arrives, you can navigate straight to the contact and dial their number, or cut and paste a text message into a MS Word document. Because you have your mobile with you all the time, they're perfect for organizing your work and social lives.

What operating system do I selected? There are two main systems for smartphones, and one is coming to the market soon: Windows Mobile and Symbian, the latest is called Android. Windows Mobile 6.X is strong on the market, enaling VoIP internet phone calls and HTML email viewing. The latest Symbian operating system ads support for mobile digital TV services, if they ever take off in Thailand. Android is a smartphone operating system developed by Google. Other systems include Linux, Palm OS and RIM's proprietary system for its BlackBerry phones. All the operating systems provide basic email and web browsing, and usually are happy to use and swap work and media files with each other.

Smartphone are not directly Multimedia phones, often they are not all that great in multimedia. Some smarties are aimed purely at business users and lack even a camera. Others do have features such as MP3/Video playback and games, though. And insured that the lack of good multimedia support is getting better by the day.