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The Difference between a Cell Phone, Smartphone and PDA
In this age of rapid technological advancements and inventions, new words are coined everyday to meet the needs of and to name the newly invented gizmos. For some of us these newly coined words are a string of unintelligent gibberish or they reduce us to a bewildering mass of nerves. This article aims to help understand some of the terms used in this day and age regarding phones.
What is a Mobile Phone? A mobile phone is more frequently called a cellular phone or cellphone. These communication devices connect to a wireless communications network through radio waves or satellite transmissions. Most mobile phones provide voice communications, Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Message Service (MMS), and newer phones may also provide Internet services such as Web browsing, instant messaging capabilities and e-mail.
What is a PDA? Short for personal digital assistant, this is the name given to small handheld devices that combine computing, telephone/fax, Internet and networking features. A typical PDA can function as a cellular phone, fax sender, Web browser and personal organizer. These devices are usually pen-based, which requires the use of a stylus rather than a keyboard for input. Traditionally, PDAs have not had phone or fax services.
What is a Smartphone? A Smartphone is considered to be the combination of the traditional PDA and cellular phone, with a bigger focus on the cellular phone part. These handheld devices integrate mobile phone capabilities with the more common features of a handheld computer or PDA. Smartphone’s allow users to store information, e-mail, and install programs, along with using a mobile phone in one device. A Smartphone’s features are usually more oriented towards mobile phone options than the PDA-like features. There is no industry standard for what defines a Smartphone, so any mobile device that has more than basic cellphone capabilities can actually be filed under the Smartphone.
What is a PDA phone? It's definitely a lack of standardization that makes the category of mobile devices so confusing to the consumer. As technology changes, so do the functions that these different devices perform. Years ago, many people differentiated PDA and Smartphone simply by looking for touch-screen capabilities. If it had a touch screen it was a PDA, if it didn't, it was a Smartphone. Despite the fact that a product is a Smartphone, the generic term for a PDA oriented device with cellular phone capabilities is called a PDA phone. What are the differences, again?In summing up the differences between these common mobile communications devices you could say that a PDA phone is more PDA than phone and a smartphone is more phone than PDA. And, of course, a cellular phone is more phone than anything else.
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