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Get Smart, Stay Connected |
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Carrying a smartphone is like having a PC in your pocket. More than just e-mail devices, smartphones are capable of almost anything you set your mind to: playing games, storing MP3s, crunching business data, or just whiling away time on the Web. With prices dropping and data network speeds rising, 2007 may be the year that smartphones finally develop broader appeal. We tested all the smartphones on the market and found the precious few that are truly brilliant.
Smartphone sales are rapidly growing: Palm, maker of the popular Treo line, said its sales jumped 85 percent from 2005 to 2006, and Microsoft said the number of Windows Mobile licensees jumped by 90 percent during the same period. About 1.7 million smartphones were sold in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2006, according to analyst Ramon Llamas from research firm IDC.
Nonetheless, this is still a niche market when you look at overall sales. The NPD Group estimates that 34.8 million mobile phones were sold here in the first quarter. The two major smartphone-only manufacturers, Palm and RIM, are relatively tiny players in the larger American cell-phone market, with a market share of less than 1 percent each.
That could soon change, according to Miro Kazakoff, senior associate at Compete Inc., which tracks the "mind share" of products. He said the RAZR-like Motorola Q has broken out of the traditional smartphone mold and is attracting the attention of almost 20 percent of Verizon shoppers. If other smartphones follow the Q's lead with a hip design and a low price ($199 with contract), smartphones may finally reach the mainstream.
"All phones are getting smarter, so the difference between mid-level phones and so-called smartphones is not as big a gap as it used to be, . . . making that jump to the next level not as big a step as it used to be," Kazakoff says.
Of course, it helps to know just what a smartphone is. As Kazakoff says, the lines between smartphones and "feature phones"-the next step down in the phone hierarchy-have started to blur. These days, you can keep your contacts and calendar, play videos, listen to music, and even surf the Web and get e-mail on many feature phones.
To us, smartphones are about freedom and the power that comes with that freedom. Smartphones are devices that connect to cellular voice and data networks but are also open to third-party software development. Anyone, even one programmer with a dream, can take full advantage of the power of smartphones. Generally, that means smartphones run one of five operating systems: BlackBerry OS, Linux, Palm OS, Symbian, or Windows Mobile.
Software development for feature phones, on the other hand, is choked off by wireless carriers who demand that applications be "signed" or approved by them, or who lock away parts of a phone from third-party programmers. Hence you'll find much less software, and much less-capable software, on feature phones than on a true smartphone.
This difference even extends to pseudo smartphones such as the T-Mobile Sidekick III. Only software that has been preapproved by Danger, the Sidekick's manufacturer, and by T-Mobile can be added to a Sidekick. That's why only a handful of programs are available for the Sidekick, compared with the thousands of add-on apps for the Palm, Symbian, and Windows Mobile.
The best smartphones give you much of the power and options of a full PC. Basically, they're computers, but, you know, smaller.-next: Hitting the Right Key >
Hitting the Right Key
At PC Magazine, we divide smartphones into two categories: keyboarded and keyboardless. Keyboarded smartphones, such as the Palm Treo 700 and the Nokia E62, are typically bigger and wider than voice-only cell phones but have full keyboards, which makes e-mailing and Web browsing a lot more convenient. Keyboardless handsets, like the T-Mobile SDA and Nokia N80, have ordinary phone keypads, so they can be thinner and smaller, but you give up some ease of entering e-mail. Blurring the lines are products such as the BlackBerry's hybrid SureType keyboard, used on the Pearl, which has more keys than a phone keypad but not a full QWERTY layout.
Keyboard or no, the top smartphones have bright, high-resolution screens of at least 320 by 240 pixels, the better to view Web pages with. Business users might want a smartphone without a camera, like the BlackBerry 8700 or the Nokia E62, so they can take it into sensitive locations. Consumers may be looking for a phone with stereo Bluetooth and excellent options for syncing music with desktop PCs.
Processor speed is less important on phones than on computer systems, but if you intend to run processor-intensive applications, such as SlingPlayer Mobile or Skype, you'll want the most powerful chips possible, up to the 416 MHz seen on the Sprint PPC-6700. More memory is better too, and make sure it's user-available memory not taken up by preinstalled programs. (Windows Mobile devices with only 32MB of user-available memory feel cramped, but that's plenty of room for Palm or Symbian programs.) Most smartphones now also have expandable memory card slots that use Secure Digital (SD), miniSD, or microSD cards.
To connect to the Internet, many new smartphones tap into the new third-generation (3G) networks run by Sprint and Verizon, which offer DSL-like speeds in hundreds of cities around the country. Cingular is building a 3G network but doesn't have a smartphone for it yet; T-Mobile will launch 3G in 2007.
T-Mobile has plenty of Wi-Fi hotspots, though, and some smartphones, like the T-Mobile SDA, have Wi-Fi connectivity for even faster Internet access. Many smartphones also use Bluetooth short-range networking for file transfer, printing, and even playing music on wireless stereo headsets.-next: Operating Instructions >
Operating Instructions
Each of the five major smartphone operating systems has a key strength. Palm OS offers ease of use. Windows Mobile delivers good multimedia. Symbian is phone-centric. The BlackBerry OS does e-mail terrifically well, and as for Linux, well, there are no Linux smartphones in the U.S. yet, but they're becoming quite popular in Asia.
Realistically, BlackBerry OS, Palm OS, and Windows Mobile dominate the landscape in this country. According to IDC, a million BlackBerry devices were sold in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2006, along with 400,000 Palm OS Treos, 200,000 Windows Mobile devices, and a mere 90,000 Symbian phones.
The Palm OS is what most non-smartphone owners will find the easiest and most familiar to use. The Palm interface, with a few minor tweaks, has worked pretty much the same since the first Pilots came out in 1996. Palm OS is still the easiest to use for PIM (contacts and calendar) functions, will work with several music and video players, and has an unmatched depth of free or cheap software for obscure interests ranging from aviation to knitting. But good old Palm OS can't do two things at once, which is frustrating if you want to, say, surf the Web while you talk on the phone, or download e-mail in the background while playing Bejeweled.
With Palm OS weakening, Windows Mobile is moving up. Microsoft's smartphone operating system comes in two flavors, Pocket PC (for devices with touch screens) and Smartphone (for devices without them). The latest version, Windows Mobile 5.0, syncs music and video easily with Windows Media Player 10 on PCs and grabs e-mail from Microsoft Exchange servers with a built-in push e-mail client. Traditionally, Windows Mobile has been known as a processor and memory hog, but has become less so as 400-MHz processors and 128MB memory chips appear in the latest smartphones.
Research in Motion's BlackBerry devices used to stand alone as corporate e-mail tools. With the introduction of the BlackBerry Pearl, though, just about anyone can enjoy a BlackBerry experience. The Pearl has a camera, a music player, and even video capabilities. E-mail is easier on a BlackBerry than on any other smartphone because of BlackBerry Internet Service, a Web page run by your wireless carrier that helps you merge personal and business e-mail accounts. The BlackBerry's major weakness is a shortage of third-party software.
Symbian is essentially the professional soccer of the smartphone world: tremendously popular overseas but considered an oddball curiosity in the U.S. That's partly because nobody here has ever made (or, as far as we know, will ever make) a Symbian phone for CDMA networks such as Alltel, Sprint, and Verizon. T-Mobile and Cingular users, though, can enjoy this smartphone operating system that puts ordinary phone features front and center, compared with other operating systems that look more like a PDA to start with. The latest Symbian models, such as the Nokia E62, also have the best Web browsers of any smartphones.-next: Phones of the Future >
Phones of the Future
With e-mail and Web browsing under their tiny belts, smartphones are morphing into truly connected entertainment centers. Expect to see true broadcast mobile TV on smartphones next year. GPS will also be a popular feature in next year's smartphones, with built-in navigation systems that make them invaluable car companions.
Connected streaming entertainment will require faster networks. Look for future smartphones to take better advantage of Wi-Fi, 3G, and even 4G networks like WiMAX (which Sprint is rolling out in 2008) in their quest to give you the most desktop-like Web experience.
You'll also see more Linux coming up in the near future. The next version of the Palm OS will be called ALP (Access Linux Platform) and will be based on Linux when it arrives in 2007. Motorola has also said it is moving many of its feature phones to Linux, which will further blur the line between feature phones and smartphones.
At this rate, soon every phone will be smart.-next: 11 Great Smartphone Apps >
11 Great Smartphone Apps
Here's a list of super software to make your smartphone even more intelligent. Also, be sure to visit our new Smart Devices site at go.pcmag.com/smartdevices for powerful tips and tricks.
Agile Messenger
A flexible, multiplatform instant-messaging client, Agile Messenger lets you log into AOL, ICQ IM, MSN, and Yahoo!, all at the same time and with a very cuddly interface. Agile has polished versions for most Symbian phones; it also has alphas and betas for Palm OS, Pocket PC, and Windows Mobile Smartphone. Agile Mobile, www.agilemobile.com. Free
Avvenu
Avvenu makes your smartphone an extension of your Windows XP PC, letting you browse your PC's hard drive and download files over a secure connection. On Windows Mobile 5 devices, you can even stream songs from your PC's music library. The basic service is free, but you have to leave your computer on to access files. For access to files when your PC is off, you can subscribe to Avvenu Plus. Avvenu Inc., www.avvenu.com. Basic service, free; Avvenu Plus, $3.99 per month.
Documents to Go Total Office
The ultimate solution for using a Palm handheld in a Microsoft world, this application merges the best Microsoft Office document readers and editors with a very Outlook-like e-mail, calendar, tasks, and notes interface. It can also synchronize and use Access databases. DataViz Inc., www.dataviz.com. $89.99
eOffice Standard
BlackBerry handhelds come with stripped-down attachment readers but offer no way to edit Microsoft Office documents. eOffice comes to the rescue, with the ability to read and edit Microsoft Word and Excel e-mail attachments. It doesn't handle extensive formatting, but it gets the job done. DynoPlex Inc., www.dynoplex.com. $149.95
Good Mobile Messaging (GMM)
Oh, it's very good indeed. GMM amps up business messaging by giving you full, live access to contacts, calendars, tasks, and notes from Exchange or Lotus Notes servers over the air, with an attractive, usable interface. It's like having true Microsoft Outlook functionality on the road. Available for Windows Mobile, Palm OS, and Symbian. Good Technology Inc., www.good.com. Prices vary.
Handmark Pocket Express
Our Editors' Choice for mobile information apps brings you news, sports, and weather through a cute icon-based interface. It's free, and it's faster than a Web browser. And for $6.99 per month or $69.90 per year, you also get stock information, mapping, driving directions, movie showtimes, and more. It's available for BlackBerry, Palm OS, and Windows Mobile phones. Handmark Inc., express.handmark.com. $6.99 per month.
MobiTV
No Slingbox? That's okay. Use MobiTV to stream live TV stations through your smartphone's EV-DO or Wi-Fi connection. The 22-channel lineup includes three news channels, two kids' channels, and four channels devoted to music videos, along with C-Span and C-Span 2, for, well, whoever watches C-Span. MobiTV works on Palm OS and some Windows Mobile devices. MobiTV Inc., www.mobitv.com. $9.99 per month.
Opera Mobile
If you're frustrated with Pocket IE, switch over to Opera, which is compatible with more Web sites and has more Web features than the built-in Pocket PC browser-including tabs, multiple windows, and a better one-column mode. It's available for Pocket PC and Symbian, but not for Palm or the latest Windows Mobile Smartphone devices. Opera Software ASA, www.opera.com. $24, with 14-day free trial.
Resco Pocket Radio
Yes, you can stream Internet radio stations through Windows Media Player on your Pocket PC, but Resco Pocket Radio makes the process much easier with various preset options, friendly menus, and a built-in list of 150 top stations. Works on Windows Mobile Pocket PCs; there's a free beta for Windows Mobile Smartphones. Resco sro, www.resco.net. $15.96
SlingPlayer Mobile
The perfect companion to an EV-DO-powered smartphone, SlingPlayer lets you watch whatever's on your home TV, sent down through a Slingbox set-top box. You can manipulate your TV remote as if you were at home, and frame rates are very watchable at up to 24 frames per second on many Windows Mobile devices. SlingPlayer is available for the Windows Mobile Pocket PC and Smartphone, and Palm OS and Symbian versions are in the pipeline. Sling Media Inc., www.slingmedia.com. $29.99 (Slingbox, $199.99).
StyleTap Platform
StyleTap lets Windows Mobile users run the thousands of applications available only for the Palm OS, giving them truly the best of both worlds. Palm OS apps show up in your Windows Mobile program launcher, and you can cut and paste data between them. It's compatible with many Palm OS apps, but not with apps that use conduits to sync data with your desktop. StyleTap runs on Windows Mobile Pocket PCs. StyleTap Inc., www.styletap.com. $29.95
next: Hot Phones You Can't Buy Here >
Hot Phones You Can't Buy Here
The U.S. may not be the wireless backwater it once was, but we still don't get a lot of the global smartphone goods. You can blame our carriers, which choke off choice by approving only short lists of phones, or consumers who snub expensive, powerful smartphones for whatever's being given away at the moment. But you'll find a wider variety of smartphones overseas-especially candy bar-style and Linux phones-than you will in the States. These three phones are pretty slick and neatly capture the global zeitgeist.
EUROPE
Sony Ericsson M600i
Call it the LingonBerry-a Swedish counterpart to our homegrown BlackBerry, complete with BlackBerry Connect software. A handsome little slab, the M600i has an unusual combination keypad: Press a key to enter a number, but rock the key left or right and it will enter a letter. There's also a jog wheel on the side, a touch screen, a memory card slot, and many multimedia capabilities, thanks to the Symbian smartphone OS. Pick one up through Dynamism.com for $449 and use it with T-Mobile.
CHINA
Think texting is tough with only nine keys and 26 letters? Try a written language of 50,000 characters and you'll understand why China's top smartphone maker did away with a keypad in favor of accurate character recognition. Of course, the device also has all the de rigeur smartphone features, such as PIM, an MP3 player, a 2-megapixel camera, and an FM radio. The OS? Linux. The MING isn't coming to the U.S., but Motorola says it will debut other, similar Linux phones for this country in 2007.
HONG KONG
Gigabyte G-Smart
We're well behind the rest of the world in TV-enabled phones. Europe has the digital-TV Nokia N92, Japan has had TV phones for years, and Hong Kong has the Gigabyte G-Smart, which receives ordinary, over-the-air broadcasts all around the world, thanks to a dual-mode PAL/NTSC tuner. And for a phone-form-factor device, it's packed with features, including a touch screen, a 2.1-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, and a gutsy 416-MHz processor. A second wave of TV phones is scheduled to debut in Europe over the next few months, but here in the U.S. we're still waiting for the first. If you want to try the G-Smart, specialty importer ExpansysUSA.com carries it for around $650; it works with T-Mobile.
Submitted Date: Oct 16, 2006
Source: ABC News
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