Smartphones

Smartphones combine the functionality of a mobile calling device and a computing platform in a portable device. The one thing that differentiates feature phones from smartphones is the fact that they offer stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems. While the first iPhone formed the blueprint that is the modern smartphone, it wasn’t the first smartphone in existence. In the mid-2000s, BlackBerry were highly popular and considered as among the first major successes in the smartphone industry at the time. Following its success, LG announced the first of its kind phone in December 2006 with a large capacitive touchscreen titled the LG Prada. However, the LG Prada was overshadowed by the launch of the first Apple iPhone in January 2007. The iPhone also featured its own built-in App Store, allowing users to directly download third-party software. It has since become the main paradigm for all smartphone platforms and paved the way for the popular Android operating system we see on most modern smartphones today. Following the success of the first iPhone, several manufacturers adopted the large capacitive touchscreen design. The horizontal-sliding HTC Dream was released in September 2008 and was the first Android device. Since their inception smartphones have come along way, with OEMs adopting new variations of the original concept with dual screens, moving modules, replaceable parts, folding form factors, and more. More