Smartphone

A so-called smartphone combines the features of a mobile telephone and a personal digital assistant (PDA) within a single device (telephony, data management, internet access, etc.).

Smartphones generally run on operating systems with an open application programming interface (API) – such as Apple's iOS, Google's Android, and Microsoft's Windows Phone – that allows the user to install software from third-party developers.

Classical mobile phones – often called feature phones - in contrast generally have proprietary operating systems (in which changes are not permitted) with a predefined program interface. Thanks to

• the incorporation of powerful processors,
• the use of modern radio services with high data transfer rates (GSM, GPRS, EDGE, HSCSD, UMTS, HSPA, WLAN, Bluetooth, LTE, 5G),
• high-resolution screens,
• digital cameras and
• the ability to install additional software (apps),

the classical mobile phone has evolved into a telecommunications terminal equipment with multimedia capabilities (in addition to mobile telephony and SMS/MMS, these capabilities include, for example, mobile data communication and synchronisation, Internet, email, photography, video recording, VoIP, video telephony, satellite navigation, audio and video streaming, DVB-H, DVB-T, tethering, NFC, mobile payment, participation in social networks, a games console, and more).