As mentioned in part one of my Defining the Smartphone feature from earlier in the week, the very word now encompasses a surprising range of hardware, with some claiming that the older phone-like devices are outdated when compared to the modern capacitive touch slabs and that the former shouldn't even be called smartphones. In this, part two, I attempt to quantify the various attributes of two of the extremes from the smartphone world, I take the latest evolution of Nokia's classic S60 slider form factor, the N86, and pitch it head to head with the current highest rated Android smartphone in the UK, the HTC Desire. Will my own smartphone definition hold water?
In leaps and bounds, the term 'smartphone' is being bandied about by manufacturers, analysts, journalists, developers and end users across the world. Which would normally be a good thing, except that there are many definitions, all totally different. What exactly defines a smartphone in 2010? What did it used to mean in 2007? Or 2003? With reports regularly quoting the word, it would be good to all agree what the word means, surely? Steve Litchfield addresses the issue, in part one of a two part feature.
The popular misconception about camera phones is that the higher the spec level, the better the photos you'll take. While I'll accept that there is some correlation there, another big factor is the skill (or, more accurately, imagination and common sense) of the user. In truth, you don't have to be David Bailey or own the current top-rated camera smartphone costing megabucks in order to turn out pleasing photos. Let me demonstrate...
Playing devil's advocate, but only to a degree, Steve Litchfield turns the entire smartphone world on its head by rejecting its latest darling - large touchscreens. Ask any pundit in the mobile world about smartphones and you'll get the answer that it's all about touch. About large displays that can be caressed and programmed and manipulated with your fingers. Except that traditional, non-touch form factors have these 2010 'flagships' well and truly beat - here are the Top 10 Reasons Why Touchscreens Suck.
We tend to ignore Nokia's cheap and cheerful Series 40 platform phones here on All About Symbian, but the launch of the new C3 brought, in theory, a handset slap bang into contention with a Symbian-powered smartphone, in this case the E63, itself over a year old now. Which means that a blow by blow comparison should be very interesting - can the £80 C3 (currently a Vodafone exclusive in the UK) threaten the lowly (for the smartphone world) E63?
Using a mixture of diagrams and literary quotes, Steve Litchfield re-examines the thorny issue of RAM, explains why it has been an issue for years and identifies the models that have been up to scratch and those that haven't. Where do the devices you've owned sit in the grand RAM pantheon? Finally, he asks whether the upcoming crop of devices have sufficient of this precious resource? Comments welcome!
Starting with a throwaway line from a US podcast, Steve Litchfield works up a head of steam over the ever-slipping battery life standard in our smartphones. How long is long enough when it comes to keeping a modern smartphone going on a single charge? Are we destined to need to carry around mobile chargers in our pocket in 2011 or is there a better way to go? Surely making it through the day is a fundamental that should never be compromised?
Spanning all platforms and all usage types, at the start of 2010 I compiled recommendations for seven types of smartphone user (i.e. for seven use cases) for The Phones Show, in video form. Six months later, I revisit the same stereotypes in textual form, with updated choices, recommendations and predictions. Do you agree with my assessments? Whether yes or no, your comments are welcome.
Here's the latest in my series about taking older, classic (2008 or before) hardware and finding out how far it can be taken to work to best effect in the modern day. You'll have seen the features on the Nokia E61i and E90 - now here's Pimping the Nokia N82 - a quirkily styled candybar that sat at the top of Nokia's hardware tree for ages - and in some ways still does.
With summer upon us in the UK and the sun burning down (well, some of the time, at least), I've been somewhat shocked at how bad all of the touch-screen-equipped Symbian-powered smartphones are when it comes to actually being able to see what's on screen clearly. Whether a map, a photo or an important email, surely you need to be able to read your device's screen in all light conditions? With this in mind, I went back to my store of older devices and could then feel another of my famous infamous comparisons coming on.
