A smartphone is basically a portable electronic device which combines personal computer and mobile phone functions in one compact unit. It also includes the capacity to access the Internet and some other functions. Nowadays, most of the people prefer to have these gadgets rather than the conventional cell phones or the hand held phones.

There are several distinct types of SMARTPHONE available in the market. Some of them include: microSD, qWERTY, touch screen, slide in keyboard and QWERTY style keyboards. The touch screen feature of a smartphone gives it the ability to provide small symbols as text messages. With the help of the touch screen, you can type text messages such as “hey, I am at a crowded place”, “I am feeling lonely” and others. Moreover, you can use the built-in camera to take photos and videos of yourself, your friends or others. On the other hand, the microSD card inserted in the SMARTPHONE helps to store the data such as music, pictures, videos, etc without any formatting issues.

When compared with a cell phone, SMARTPHONE comes in a bigger size. However, the keypad on a SMARTPHONE is larger than that of a cell phone. On the other hand, there is a big difference between a smart phone and a PDA. Smartphones come packed with countless applications, while PDA comes pre-loaded with only a few useful applications. A smart phone is ideal for those who enjoy reading emails and text messages, while a PDA is better suited for those who like to send and receive emails and text messages.

Apart from the features mentioned above, there are several other factors that influence the choice of a smartphone over a traditional mobile phone. The operating system of a smartphone is another significant factor that influences its popularity. Smartphones come with different operating systems such as: BlackBerry OS, Android OS, iPhone OS, Blackberry Messenger OS, Windows Phone OS etc. Each of these operating systems has their own advantages. For example, BlackBerry OS is an ideal mobile phone suitable for business professionals while Android OS is best suited for students and youngsters.

Another major difference between a smartphone and a traditional mobile phone is the storage capacity of the latter. Smartphones have large memory storage such as : 1GB, 2GB, 3GB, 4GB, etc., while a mobile phone may have only the capacity to accommodate only a few songs, few text messages, some photos etc. Thus, the choice between a smartphone and a traditional cell phone greatly depends on the storage requirements of individuals.

Apart from the factors mentioned above, another important reason for the increasing popularity of SMARTPHONE is that it offers a rich variety of features such as text messages, high-end web browsing facility, entertainment value, game play, Internet connectivity, personal organizer, camera, video cam, social networking facility etc. Thus, a smart phone is the ultimate gadget that fulfills your communication, networking and entertainment needs. Therefore, if you are planning to buy a smartphone device, then there are several factors to be considered before purchasing one such as – what are you going to use the device for? Is it just for communication, gaming or multimedia?