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What makes a smartphone so smart?
Take a look inside the smartphone with our virtual tour - it might surprise you! Click to view more about each of the
features, or take a closer look inside the phone and find out what really makes it tick.
The way your phone looks and feels is determined partly by its interface, eg HTC Sense, and partly by its operating system.
Read more A skin that sits over the top of your phone's operating system and adds themes or styles to the menus and homescreens. A good example would be HTC Sense, which creates a completely unique look and feel for Android smartphones. FYI: If someone says your phone is 'vanilla', it means that the manufacturer hasn't applied a user interface over the top of the operating system, so it's got a standard Android, Windows® Phone or Symbian^ interface.
The operating system manages your smartphones's performance and allows it to run programmes, like Windows® on a PC.
Read more (OS or platform) - operating systems manage your smartphone's hardware and software, in the same way that Windows manages your PC. They also enhance performance and battery life by managing power consumption. There are several systems currently favoured by mobile manufacturers, including Symbian^, Android and Windows® Phone. Some companies like Apple and BlackBerry® prefer to use their own proprietary systems.
Apps can be downloaded from online stores, and some may be pre-installed on your phone. They range from games to weather forecasts.
Read more Apps (short for applications) are mini software programs, which are often internet-enabled. Some apps may come pre-installed to your phone, and others will be available to download from the online app store that's supported by your smartphone. Android users have access to Android Market™, where over 250,000 apps are available to download, from live local weather forecasts to brain training exercises! The apps your phone supports will be determined by its operating system and hardware, and you can use our new My Hub service to check for supported apps and then easily download them.
Most smartphones have a built-in GPS connection and support satellite navigation services, like Google Maps.
Read more Most smartphones now support GPS, (short for Global Positioning Service) and provide you with location-based services, such as driving or walking directions, geotagging photos with geographical information, and updating your Facebook™ profile with your current location. Different operating systems provide different GPS services, for example the FREE Ovi Maps service available on most of Nokia's Symbian smartphones, and the excellent Google Maps™ which now supports 3D landmarks, Streetview and voice guided navigation.
Games can be downloaded or come pre-installed, and differ between operating systems. Some phones even support 3D games!
Read more Depending on the design and operating system of your phone you'll be able to access and enjoy a variety of games on the go. Touchscreen smartphones often come with touch-enabled games pre-installed, and you can now play a wide variety of 3D games, from first person shooters to classic titles. Android fans can pick from a great range of free and paid titles at Android Market™, while iPhone users have the Apple store.
Some smartphones now have front-facing video cameras that allow you to make live video conference calls to contacts.
Read more Front-facing video cameras allow you to take self portraits that you can post up as your profile picture on social networks. Certain phones also support video conferencing via the front-facing camera, and you can even make conference calls with live video feeds, depending on your phone's features and support from your mobile network. Video calls can be made either via 3G or Wi-Fi, depending on your operator and smartphone.
Smartphones allow you to access the web on the move. Some support flash videos and tabbed browsing, as well as bookmarks and favourites.
Read more Most modern smartphones connect to the web via 3G and/or Wi-Fi, giving you a faster, more stable connection. GPRS often provides a backup, incase you move out of an area where wireless signal is available. New internet technology is being added to smartphones all the time, such as 3.5G, or HSPA, which enhances download and streaming speeds. The most advanced smartphones will have a powerful web browser that works like the browser on your PC and supports switching between tabs, bookmarking favourites and loading flash videos from websites like BBC iPlayer.
Facebook™, Twitter™, MySpace™ and other great SNS services come built-in to lots of smartphones, so you're up-to-date with your updates 24/7. Read more With social networking on your smartphone you can stay connected to your contacts on the move. Most of the biggest SNS are supported by most models of smartphone, including Facebook™, Twitter™, MySpace™ and Bebo. More services are being added to the app stores all the time, such as LinkedIn and Google+.
Smartphones have built-in media players and most also support movie playback as well as online music and video streaming.
Read more Smartphones are great at multimedia playback. Most of them have large, high resolution displays that are specially designed to display movies, videos and photos to their best advantage. The built-in media player will manage your tunes and media files, as well as suggesting new titles from your favourite or similar artists for you to sample. There are also online streaming players available for a wide range of smartphones, including Lastfm and Spotify. State-of-the-art phones may also offer Web TV services from world famous providers like the BBC and Paramount.
You can sync several Hotmail, Yahoo!, Gmail and Microsoft® Outlook email accounts at once with most smartphones, and receive messages on the move.
Read more Most modern smartphones allow you to check your email on the move, which makes it easier to stay connected to contacts. Most also support push email technology, which sends new emails straight to your phone as soon as they arrive in your inbox, so you never miss out on a new message. BlackBerry® smartphones and Windows® Phone devices are particularly good at supporting work email accounts, and you can usually sync up to 10 personal email accounts from different providers with your smartphone
The camera sensor on a smartphone records both photos and videos, often in high resolution or even in HD.
Read more Most smartphones have powerful built-in cameras that are capable of capturing high quality pictures and videos. Some phones can even record HD videos and take12 Megapixel photos or higher, so you truly can carry your photo collection and digital camera with you everywhere – all you need is your phone. Most models allow you to upload your creations straight to social networks as well as content sharing sites like YouTube™ and Flickr.
Smartphones use up a lot of power because they run a lot of applications, so they need long lasting batteries built-in.
Read more Smartphones have a high-performance, rechargeable battery that helps them to do more for longer. You can get more power and performance out of your phone by investing in a portable charger or a replacement battery to take with you on the move. Certain phones are also compatible with innovative power solutions like powermat, which will charge your phone without requiring wires.
Some smartphones have large built-in memories and others support the addition of memory cards, giving you extra storage.
Read more Smartphones need a lot of memory to run applications and manage performance. RAM, the memory used to complete tasks, is kept separate to the memory you use to store photos, movies, music and apps on your phone. You can usually add a memory card to your phone and increase its storage capacity by anything up to 32GB, so it's well worth purchasing a memory card to enhance your phone with.
Media playback is usually great on a smartphone, partly due to the high quality speakers that are built in to most models.
Read more Smartphones have built-in speakers that allow you to listen to your tunes out loud and share your favourite music with friends. Some also have integrated sound enhancement technology, e.g. Dolby(r) Mobile, to make your tunes sound even better.
Some smartphones have a HDMI port, which allows you to hook your phone up to a HD TV for big screen media playback.
Read more If your phone has a HDMI slot then you can connect it to a HD TV and view your photos, movies and videos on the big screen. You'll need a HDMI cable to act as the connector between your phone and your TV.
The ambient light sensor will sense the amount of light available and adjust the brightness of the screen to suit.
Read more The ambient light sensor picks up on light levels in your local area and dims or brightens your phone's screen depending on your current visibility levels. When you're out in the midday sun the display is brighter so you can read it clearly, and when you're on your way back from work the screen will be darker, using up less of your phone's precious battery life.
The processor gives your phone enough power to run applications and helps to manage its battery life.
Read more The processing chip allows your smartphone to run programmes and complete actions. The faster the processor, the smoother and faster your phone will be. Processing speed is measured in megahertz and gigahertz. The smartest smartphones currently on the market have dual core processors running at 1.5GHz, for effortless multitasking. The processor works in conjunction with your phone's Operating system and RAM, keeping everything ticking over nicely.
Most smartphones have a touch-optimised display that responds to your fingertips or to a stylus.
Read more Lots of smartphones have large, high quality displays with touch technology built-in. Heat and pressure sensitive sensors sit underneath the screen and allow you to interact with it. There are two types of touch screen, capacitive and resistive. Capacitive screens react to the heat and pressure of your fingertips, while resistive screens require a stylus for input. Different types of screens give you a different user experience, for example tempered glass displays like the Nokia N8's screen are smoother and make swiping easier.
You can connect your own headphones to most smartphone models and listen to your music while on the move.
Read more If your phone has a headphone port, aka a 3.5mm jack, you can connect audio accessories to it, such as portable speakers, headsets and certain speaker docks. A speaker dock will instantly amplify the sound levels your smartphone can achieve, so it's great for parties and get togethers.
Smartphone Jargon buster
Smartphones have their own secret language, made up of techy words that you wouldn't use in a normal sentence about everyday things. That's why we've put together this little Smartphone Jargon buster, to help you get to grips with the latest mobile technology.
Smartphone - the term smartphone refers to a clever phone that's more like a handheld computer than a traditional mobile. It has a dedicated operating system, a user interface, a processor and RAM (internal memory) for running applications.
Processor - a processing chip that allows your smartphone to run programmes and complete actions. The faster the processor, the smoother and faster your phone will be. Works in conjunction with the Operating system and RAM.
Operating system (OS or platform) - the software that sits on your phone and provides a platform for all of your favourite apps, features and programmes, like Windows® does on a computer.
RAM (random access memory) - the internal memory that your phone reserves for running processes, programmes and completing tasks. The more RAM available to you, the more apps you can run.
User interface - a skin that sits over the top of your phone's operating system and adds themes or styles to the menus and homescreens. A good example would be HTC Sense, which creates a completely unique look and feel for Android smartphones.
Full-touch screen - 'full-touch' means that your phone has full touchscreen functionality, and can be controlled either by tapping and swiping the screen with your finger, or by using a stylus. There are two types of touchscreen: capacitive - sensitive to fingers, and resistive - sensitive to a stylus.
3G internet - 3G is the fast form of mobile internet, allowing fast speeds and often full internet access and services. You can use it wirelessly anywhere you go, and many providers are offering inexpensive deals to ensure 3G is affordable.
QWERTY keyboard - your phone has a full keyboard with keys laid out in the standard QWERTY format used by PCs, laptops and netbooks.
Apps - apps are mini applications that live on your smartphone's homescreen or in your apps menu and give you quick access to features and services. Some apps will come pre-installed on your smartphone, and others can be downloaded from dedicated online app stores.
Widgets - shortcuts to features that are often internet-enabled, eg weather forecasts and cinema listings. They live on your homescreen and give you quick access to content.
Push email - your email accounts are synced with your smartphone and new messages are 'pushed' through as soon as they arrive in your email inbox.
Live feeds - your SNS (social network services) and RSS feeds are always up-to-date, thanks to an 'always-on' connection between your phone and the online service you subscribe to.
RSS feeds - live feeds from websites and blogs that you subscribe to. RSS feeds 'push' new posts and updates to your smartphone, letting you know when new content is available to view.
Wi-Fi connectivity - A Wi-Fi enabled smartphone can connect wirelessly to the internet via a wireless network modem. Most internet providers will provide a wireless modem for your home connection, meaning you can connect your phone to your home connection. There are also many Wi-Fi 'hotspots' in public places and in coffee shops and pubs which you will be able to connect to.
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