Smart Phone Generation

At there advent, smart phones were mere status symbols, if you like what separates the boys from the men. Things have changed though.
Smartphone’s has become a working tool for the average professional, sales persons, field service men and men on the move.
Students are also becoming increasingly in need of smart Phones.

So just why are Smart Phones increasing in popularity and a must have?

The first point to look at is that we have become a Mobile Generation

Perhaps, at no time in human history has men and women, young and old, politicians and so on, become so mobile as at today.
Now these motilities are a global phenomenon. It is not localized neither is it triggered by war or famine but for the fact that we have simply become a globalised village.
And men must keep in touch with there base, clients and workplace while on the move.

The second point is the internet revolutions

You cannot be effectively productive today without a clear understanding and the use of the internet.
As a matter of fact today’s workplace demands that you are able to send and retrieve your mails from the mailbox. Not on the post office anymore but on the internet post office.
So the post office itself has become globalised and it is every where at just the click of a mouse.
And perhaps too, we have simple become an e-society, where every thing depends on our ability to adapt to these e-changes. Check out the list: e-commerce, e-voting, e-pool, e-banking, m-banking, e-education e-government. You know the list is unending.

The third I think is the Smartphone itself- Blackberry for example


Blackberry® Bold 9000
Power the passions you pursue witha smartphone that expresses yourstyle and simplifies your life. The BlackBerry® Bold™smartphone embodies elegantdesign — without sacrificing thefeatures or functionality you expectfrom a premium smartphone.

N110, 000 + 1 month free

Well typical of what you get from advertisers, but let us take a look at what this smart phone is capable of doing:
General
2G Network
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network
HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100
Announced
2008, May
Status
Available

Size
Dimensions
114 x 66 x 14 mm
Weight
133 g

Display
Type
65K colors
Size
480 x 320 pixels, 2.6 inches

- Full QWERTY keyboard- Trackball navigation- Wallpapers

Sound
Alert types
Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic, MP3 ringtones
Speakerphone
Yes

- 3.5 mm stereo headset jack

Memory
Phonebook
Yes, Photocall
Call records
Yes
Internal
1 GB storage, 128 MB RAM
Card slot
microSD (TransFlash), microSDHC, up to 8 GB, buy memory

Data
GPRS
Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD
No
EDGE
Class 10, 236.8 kbps
3G
HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps
WLAN
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g
Bluetooth
Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port
No
USB
Yes, v2.0

Camera
Primary
2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, LED flash
Video
Yes
Secondary
No

Features
OS
BlackBerry OS
CPU
624 MHz processor
Messaging
SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser
HTML
Radio
No
Games
Yes + downloadable
Colors
Black
GPS
Yes, with A-GPS support, BlackBerry Maps
Java
Yes

- BlackBerry maps - Document editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF)- Media player MP3/WMA/AAC+- Video player DivX/WMV/XviD/3gp- Organizer- Voice dial- Voice memo

Battery

Standard battery, Li-Ion 1500 mAh
Stand-by
Up to 310 h
Talk time
Up to 5 h
So here, you have a small notebook as your phone as well. What a combination! Two most important tool of work in one piece.

Check out some of these recent developments

Smartphones Driving the Rise in Mobile Advertising

­A new report has warned that advertising and marketing dollars flowing to mobile have lagged behind consumer usage of mobile phones.
eMarketer estimates that US mobile ad spending, including messaging-based formats, will reach US$416 million in 2009.
However, eMarketer predicts that spending on mobile advertising will gain momentum over the next five years, reaching US$1.56 billion by 2013.
Messaging-based advertising will continue to be an effective way to reach mobile users. However, the proliferation of smartphones will fuel the growth of additional mobile advertising opportunities, including search and display as well as emerging formats such as applications and video.
"While many marketers have been reluctant to embrace a channel that lacks proven use cases, an increasing number have begun to realize the 'additive effect' of mobile on their other advertising and marketing efforts," said Noah Elkin, senior analyst and author of the report "Mobile Advertising and Marketing: Change Is in the Air." "As smartphones proliferate and marketers move beyond experimentation, budgets will steadily increase…. From : http://www.cellular-news.com
Android Key to Defining Mobile Experience from Operators
­Due to the rise of mobile internet and its associated revenue opportunities, cell phone carriers are trying to wrestle control of the user experience away from device manufacturers.
Operators are focusing on open operating systems, such as Google's Android, which allow them greater design input, and create additional revenue opportunities from application downloads. The next big advance in mobile user experience will come from digital home convergence.
These findings were based on interviews conducted with cell phone operators in the US and Western Europe.
"Cell phone carriers still face many barriers to delivery of an optimal user experience," commented Chris Schreiner, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics. "Organizational structures that do not foster communication between different product and service groups are a major obstacle to developing a holistic experience."
Kevin Nolan, Vice President in the Strategy Analytics User Experience Practice, added, " Operators that offer so-called 'Triple Play' packages combining broadband, TV and cell phones, have an immediate head start on the ability to make the next leap in mobile user experience into the digital home.".... From: http://www.cellular-news.com