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Mobile devices have, in recent years, gone far beyond the basic capabilities of allowing us to make and receive telephone calls. For example, SMS (Short Message Service) technology was developed, which enables users to send each other short text-based messages, instead of making a, possibly costly, telephone call. SMSing has since opened many doors, such as allowing contact between two mobile phone users in situations where contact would otherwise be impossible (for example: a student is in a lecture and is notified by someone else via SMS about an important event in his calendar which he would otherwise be unaware of).

 

The development of mobile technology has since grown in leaps and bounds, and had opened up new possibilities, like integration with other technologies on the mobile platform. This brought about the concept of a “smartphone”.

 

A smartphone is a mobile device that is capable of performing tasks way beyond phone calls and SMSes. Document management, mobile web browsing and the running of third-party applications are just a few of the capabilities. According to David Wood, Executive Vice President at Symbian (an open-source mobile operating system), “Smart phones differ from ordinary mobile phones in two fundamental ways: how they are built and what they can do.”

 

One of the most sought after smartphones of the year is Apple’s iPhone. With a full touch-screen interface (look mom, no keys!) and a wide selection of applications, the capabilities of the iPhone are vast, and expanding at a steady rate. As with most things, new technology breeds competition. This is where things become interesting…

Various mobile handset manufacturers have released devices that are able to stand tall alongside Apple’s iPhone. Samsung’s Omnia boasts several features avilable on the iPhone (a touch-screen interface and a screen rotation from portable to landscape). HTC’s G1 (the debut of Google’s “Android” operating system) has a similar physical structure and holds several features, such as application downloads, and easy web searching and browsing. The main focus of this post is, however, Nokia’s new N97 smartphone.

The Nokia N97, the latest in the line of popular N-series devices, has a 5 megapixel camera (the iPhone sits at 2 megapixels), auto screen rotation from portrait to landscape, a touch-screen interface, customisable desktop widgets, social network integration and a full QWERTY keyboard. What more does one need?

 

I have touched on the potential of the mobile market, particularly in Africa, in previous posts. A device like the Nokia N97, which is essentially a palm-sized computer, opens the doors wider for mobile content providers to offer richer, more informative content to a wider audience, as well as to expose non-desktop or laptop users to services not previously used on a mobile device (for example, using Facebook Mobile day-to-day via a mobile device, which is commonly used for a quick check of one’s account).

Nokia have really pulled out all the stops on the N97, and it certainly rivals Apple’s revolutionary iPhone… ushering in a new range of mobile devices, and content.

Images:

Nokia N97: http://www.gsmarena.com/touchscreen_nokia_n97_is_the_next_step_ahead_with_full_qwerty-news-694.php

Apple iPhone: http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/phone.html

Samsung Omnia: http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/phone.html

Samsung Omnia: http://asia.cnet.com/crave/2008/09/23/t-mobile-g1-images-leaked-ahead-of-time/

Video: Nokia Official video via Youtube