Smartphones: What are they?
SMARTPHONES
Smartphones are a class of mobile phones and of multi-purpose mobile computing devices. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, which facilitate wider software, internet (including web browsing over mobile broadband), and multimedia functionality Click here
The development of the smartphone was enabled by several key technological advances. The exponential scaling and miniaturization of MOS transistors down to sub-micron levels during the 1990s–2000s (as predicted by Moore's law) made it possible to build portable smart devices such as smartphones, as well as enabling the transition from analog to faster digital wireless mobile networks
Mobile operating systems
A mobile operating system (or mobile OS) is an operating system for phones, tablets, smartwatches, or other mobile devices
Mobile devices with mobile communications abilities (e.g., smartphones) contain two mobile operating systems – the main user-facing software platform is supplemented by a second low-level proprietary real-time operating system which operates the radio and other hardware. Research has shown that these low-level systems may contain a range of security vulnerabilities permitting malicious base stations to gain high levels of control over the mobile device.
Popular uses
Many consumers use their smartphones to engage with friends, family and brands on social media.
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn all have mobile apps that a user can download from their phone's app store. These apps make it possible for smartphone users to post personal updates and photos while on the go.
Another common use for smartphones is health and wellness tracking. The Health app for iOS, for instance, can keep track of sleep behavior, nutrition, body measurements, vital signs, mental health exercises and more.
Third-party wearable devices, such as smartwatches, can connect with a smartphone to monitor an individual's health statistics, such as heart rate, and send information to be aggregated on the phone.
Mobile payment is another widespread use for smartphones. Wallet features allow users to save credit card information on their phones to use when purchasing items at retail stores. Apps such as Apple Pay also enable users to pay other iOS users directly from their phones.
Smartphone use in the enterprise
BlackBerry devices were the first popular smartphone many organizations offered to their employees for business use due to BlackBerry's history with strong security. As smartphones added more advanced productivity features, security techniques and integrations with IT management tools, they began gaining popularity in the enterprise.
IT professionals in many organizations today support employees that want to use their smartphones for work. Businesses can adopt enterprise mobility management (EMM) tools to control this use, and can develop a bring your own device policy to govern what users can do with their devices. Apple and Google have both worked to improve the enterprise capabilities of their mobile operating systems , enabling IT to better support iPhone and Android devices in businesses.
Because the smartphone form factor is typically smaller than a desktop computer, business users typically use it for quick tasks, such as sending an email. Tablets and 2-in-1 devices have also joined the mobile device market as alternatives to both smartphones and PCs for enterprise use.

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