What are smartphones and communicators. What is the difference between a smartphone and a communicator? Types of operating systems

Today, some users are looking for information on the Internet about what a communicator is. Some people think that it might be better to buy a communicator rather than a smartphone. Although today the difference between these devices is almost imperceptible.

Moreover, most companies simply gave up on the production of such devices. The reason for this is very simple: there are smartphones and they have all the functions the user needs. But even in 2016, many still decide to purchase a communicator, so it would be useful to consider the difference between this device and all the others and the nuances of its use.

Definition

The communicator is a pocket personal computer with built-in modules for making calls. That is, it is a PDA and an ordinary mobile phone. But today, many have already forgotten what a CCP is, so it makes sense to explain this concept as well.

So, a PDA is a small device that allows you to work with by email, office applications, listening to music and playing some games. All computer tasks are performed on it, only this device is very small.

In 2008, PDAs were very popular, because then no one could have thought that editing documents and presentations, listening to music and watching films could be done on a regular mobile phone. True, today it is no longer just a mobile phone, but a smartphone, that is, a “smart phone” that combines all these devices.

Previously, many people used the PDA as an e-book. They used the Windows Mobile operating system.

Thus, a communicator is a pocket personal computer supplemented with modules of a conventional mobile phone, and a smartphone is an ordinary mobile phone supplemented with modules of a pocket personal computer.

This is the main difference between a communicator and a smartphone. All the others follow from it. Accordingly, all office applications, movie and music players, and everything else that is connected with computer work work much better on communicators.

On smartphones, all this works much less productive and user-friendly. Although, again, all this was very relevant for 2008, when smartphones were something from the realm of fantasy and only a few of them made it possible to edit documents and watch films.

Today, any $ 50 smartphone comes with a pre-installed set of office applications, players, even GPS modules, and more. Actually, that's why almost everyone has forgotten about communicators.

From all of the above, the following features of the communicator can be distinguished:

1. This is a pocket personal computer, supplemented with telephone functions (with a smartphone, the opposite is true).
2. Office applications and other programs that are on a regular computer work better and faster on communicators.
3. Communicators work on the Windows Mobile operating system, like a PDA.

How to buy a communicator

It is interesting that today it is almost impossible to find communicators in a store. Where it says that it is a communicator, the description says that it is a smartphone. That is, for employees of sites selling technology, these concepts are synonymous, but this is not at all the case.

And in some stores there is such a category of goods as "smartphone / communicator". For example, the iPhone 4 is called a communicator, although this is fundamentally wrong. The brainchild of Apple was not originally created as a PDA, it was immediately a smartphone, by the way, one of the first full-fledged smartphones in the world.

In some stores in the category of "communicators" there are generally some alarm control panels, walkie-talkies and other devices that are not at all related to this topic. Yes, there are communicators that are used in GSM, Ethernet and other technologies, but these are not at all the devices we are talking about.

This shows that today very few people know what a communicator is and how it differs from a smartphone. But, as mentioned above, the communicator should be, first of all, a personal computer with telephone functions, and not vice versa. That is, it was originally a PDA. Therefore, it would be useful to consider what full-fledged communicators exist today.

Model overview

Unitech PA820

A very rugged industrial communicator that combines the functions of a classic PDA, a terminal (it has many sensors and sensors) and a smartphone. Basically, Unitech PA820 is used in industrial plants, construction sites, in harsh weather conditions, for example, in Antarctica and other similar places. It is extremely shockproof.

Features of Unitech PA820:

1. It can be used at temperatures from -20 to +50 degrees.
2. Has an IP66 protection level. This means that it can be thrown from a height of 180 meters, and it will still perform as if nothing happened (tested in tests).
3. RAM - 0.5 GB (built-in the same).
4. TI AM3715 1 GHz processor.
5. Preinstalled OS Windows 6.5.
6. There is Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3.5 mm jack.
7. Three batteries for 2200 mAh, 440 mAh and 4000 mAh.

HTC HD2

Here is a more familiar and familiar design to all of us, which resembles an ordinary smartphone. Although there are very special 5 buttons at the bottom, which indicate that this is not an entirely ordinary device. There are buttons to make a call, "home", "Windows", "back" and end the call. In 2010, this device made a splash when it hit the market. Although today his specifications look very dull:

• Windows Mobile 6.5 OS;
• rAM - 448 MB;
• built-in memory - 512 MB;
• 1230 mAh battery;
• 1 GHz Qualcomm QSD8250 single-core processor;
• there is GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB and 3G.

Interestingly, despite using Windows, this device still has a proprietary HTC Sense interface shell. By the way, HTC today is one of the few manufacturers that continue to release full-fledged communicators. HTC Sensation, HTC Legend, HTC Wildfire S, HTC Incredible S, good old HTC Love, HTC HD Mini and much more can still be seen on store shelves today.

Garmin-ASUS Nuvifone M20

By the way, ASUS is also one of those daredevils who produce full-fledged communicators. One of the latest models (though it was released more than five years ago) is the Garmin-ASUS Nuvifone M20.

Features: this device the following:

1. There is a unique navigation system Garmin Nuvi, which, by the way, works very well. In general, in most cases Nuvifone M20 is used as a navigator, and not as a phone or communicator. Within the this instrument There are many additional location tools on your device.
2. Simple single-core Qualcomm MSM7200 528 MHz processor.
3. Built-in memory is 4 GB, which is very unusual for communicators.
4. 920 mAh battery, which only lasts for 3 hours autonomous work... True, it is removable and can be easily changed.

Thus, a communicator today can be bought only if the high-quality work of office and other similar applications, which were originally intended for a computer, and then were adapted for smaller devices, is important for you. Or you really like HTC products and want something special. Today almost no one produces communicators, because all the same is on smartphones.

At one time, Samsung tried to make such a technique. You can see what they did below.

Communicator

Communicator Qtek S100

Smartphone, less often smartphone (eng. smartphone - smart phone) - a mobile phone with extended functionality, comparable to a pocket personal computer (PDA). Also, the term "communicator" is often used to refer to some devices that combine the functionality of a mobile phone and a PDA.

At the end of 2008, Nokia launched the Nokia 5800 touchscreen device based on Symbian OS 9.4. The smartphone supports stylus-free operation and is targeted at the mass market. Simultaneously with this device was announced flagship smartphone Nokia N97 with touch screen and slide-out QWERTY / QWERTY keyboard.

The most common smartphone manufacturers

Smartphone market statistics by manufacturer:

OS

The most common operating systems and platforms for smartphones:

Smartphone product statistics by share operating systems :

Smartphones and malware

The openness of the operating system of smartphones and communicators gives rise to another problem that is well known to users of personal computers - computer viruses and other malicious programs. To protect against this threat, most of the leading anti-virus software developers have created special versions of anti-virus programs for mobile operating systems (for example, Kaspersky Mobile Security from Kaspersky Lab).

Most modern mobile malware (mostly Trojans) spreads over the Internet under the guise of useful programs (games, codecs for video players and others), or locally in crowded places via bluetooth from strangers, do not install suspicious programs from unreliable sources, etc. However, in the future, with the growing use of smartphones and communicators to access the Internet (due to the introduction of new wireless technologies WiMAX and others) malware for mobile devices can become a serious threat.

It should also be noted that ordinary mobile phones can also be infected by malicious programs (there are malicious J2ME programs, it is possible to use vulnerabilities in the phone's OS, etc.).

Notes

Links

• Communicator - the history of the emergence of Mobile-Review devices
• Smartphones and communicators: from birth to the present day Mobi magazine
• PDA, Smartphone and Communicator Database (eng.)

The modern market offers many models of communicators and smartphones. They differ in technical capabilities, design and, of course, price. Often, when choosing a new communication gadget, we are faced with the question of what to buy: a smartphone or a communicator? Naturally, in order to answer it, you need to clearly understand how these two devices differ.

Communicator

Let's start by defining what a communicator is and what capabilities it offers to the user.

A communicator is a PDA that is additionally equipped with an integrated GPRS module. By and large, this device is a portable computer that allows you to make calls. Although, calls for the communicator are a secondary function. Modern communicators, as a rule, have a larger screen than a smartphone. Entering characters and controlling the device is often done using a stylus. If we talk about operating systems, communicators use the same software as a PDA.

Smartphone

With regard to a smartphone, this type of device can be positioned like a telephone with a computer function. Outwardly, these gadgets are similar to mobile phones. However, due to the presence of the operating system in them, it is possible to use various programs and perform several operations at the same time. Regular phone it cannot boast of such due to its small functional resource.

Most often, smartphones use operating systems specially designed for these purposes: Android, Windows Phone, Symbian and some others. Modern smartphones are often equipped with a GPS module, a camera, and wi-fi. In addition, they provide users with enhanced multimedia capabilities.

Compare

Continuing the topic of how a smartphone differs from a communicator, I must say about the processor power of the latter. So, smartphones, as a rule, are equipped with a weaker processor and have less random access memoryrather than communicators. This is reflected in the speed of work. It is logical to assume that the latter is higher.

Nevertheless, the development of technologies in recent years has led to the fact that smartphones have appeared on the market, practically not inferior, from a technical point of view, to communicators. An example is Samsung Galaxy SII equipped with a dual-core processor.

Summing up the question of what a smartphone and a communicator are, we can say the following. A smartphone is a phone that has the capabilities of a PDA, while a communicator can be called a PDA with a phone function.

According to analysts, sales of smartphones in Russia are growing and will continue to grow. Six brands account for 98% of all smartphones sold in Russia: Nokia, Samsung, HTC, SonyEricsson, Apple and LG. First commercial portable cell phone released motorola March 6, 1983. The device made calls regardless of the wired telephone network... Modern mobile phones are already multifunctional devices. They do a great job with many functions that go beyond cellular communication: working with e-mail, viewing text documents, organizer capabilities, reading mp3 format, accessing the Internet. But modern man cannot imagine himself without a computer. Connection opened a completely new stage in the development of the mobile world functionality mobile phone and PC. Devices such as smartphones and communicators appear.

History

The idea of \u200b\u200bcombining the functions of a telephone and a PC appeared after the appearance of the first pocket personal computers (PDA) in the early 90s of the twentieth century. The first such model was presented in 1992 cell phone IBM Simion. In addition to calls, the phone could receive and send faxes, it allowed working with e-mail, it supported organizer functions and contained some games. The device weighed more than 1 kg and was not widely used. This was followed by a whole series of attempts to create multifunctional phones. In August 1996, the first truly successful device appeared that combines the functions of a cell phone and a personal digital assistant (PDA) in one body - the NOKIA 9000 Communicator. The device ran under the GEOS operating system, had a full-size QWERTY keyboard, and a monochrome screen. In terms of functionality the device was not inferior to the PDA. The disadvantage was the closed operating system.
The term "smartphone" was introduced in 2000 by Ericson to refer to the new Ericson R380s phone. With this name, the company wanted to emphasize the intelligence of the device, although the operating system was still closed. The device featured a touchscreen display and a closed flip cover.
The most active development of smartphones and communicators began in 2001. NOKIA has released the first communicator model with an open operating system.

Mobile phone - a portable device, a communication device created for voice communication. Thus, the main function of the telephone is voice calls. The mobile phone operates on the basis of a closed operating system created by the manufacturer. This program called "firmware". It cannot be expanded; it has a processor, RAM and permanent memory.

Mobile phone functions:

Standard: telephony, display (monochrome, LED, color), phonebook, caller ID, voice control, "Speakerphone", conference calls, connecting a headset, receiving and sending SMS and MMS, wireless transmission data, Internet access.
Business and entertainment functions: clock, alarm clock, calendar, organizer, calculator, currency convector, stopwatch, games, radio, mp3 player, voice recorder, digital camera, GPS, GPRS, qwerty keyboard, touch display, large screen, memory card slot ...
The mobile phone allows downloading Java applications, significantly increasing the functionality of devices.
Thus, the modern cell phone is a multifunctional device. Its functions go beyond telephone communication. But a distinctive feature of a cell phone is a closed type of operating system. If the operating system is open, then the device is a smartphone or communicator.

Smartphone - English. Smartphone - "smart phone" - a mobile phone with a full-fledged open-type operating system: Symbian OS, Windows Mobile, Palm OS, GNU / Linux, Android, etc. Smartphones allow the installation of new programs, which significantly increases the functionality of the device. Smartphone manufacturers focus on advanced multimedia features ( quality camera, extended file playback capabilities), wi-fi, GPS.
Popular smartphones: Nokia E50, Nokia N95, Nokia N82, Sony ericsson P1, Samsung i710

Communicator - pocket personal computers with telephone functions. Operate under operating systems open to third-party users. A distinctive feature is the input of characters through the stylus, the presence of a touch screen. The communicator allows you to make phone calls and access the Internet. The device combines compact size and versatility. It is a full-fledged pocket personal computer with the ability to make phone calls.

reference... Stylus - (English stylus - drop) colloquial name for a computer pen. Outwardly, it resembles a plastic handle, only of a reduced size. The stylus controls the communicator or PDA. This will not damage the touchscreen. Functions like a computer mouse.

Currently, there is no clear distinction between a smartphone and a communicator, since the functionality of these devices is approximately the same. Often these devices are classified in the same class. Some experts use a "historical approach": if the device "originated" from a PDA, then it is a communicator, if from a mobile phone, then it is a smartphone. This division is arbitrary. In the early 2000s, the boundary between devices was more pronounced. The first communicators differed from the PDA only by the presence of the GSM-module. Smartphones differed little from phones, their functionality was not great.
Other experts believe that the distinctive feature of the smartphone is not a touchscreen display, the Windows Mbile operating system, but information input is carried out through QWERTY and / or a numeric keypad. Features of the communicator - belonging to corporate users.

Smartphone and mobile phone

The size of a smartphone is usually larger than a mobile phone, but these boundaries are now blurring. The screen size is usually larger than that of a regular phone. But modern models of mobile phones are often not inferior in this characteristic.
A smartphone is much more functional than a mobile phone. The operating system is open to third-party developers, which means it allows you to make changes.
Typing in a smartphone is more often done using a standard keyboard.
The smartphone has various interfaces for exchanging data with other smartphones, phones, laptops, desktop PCs (Bluetooth, uSB port, Wi-Fi).
The smartphone is more adapted for maintaining personal data: programs for organizing personal time, organizers, address books, calendars.
Mobile phones access the Internet via WAP or GPRS.
A distinctive feature of the smartphone is multitasking. The user has the ability to open and navigate from application to application running in background... An ordinary telephone does not have this function.

Smartphone and communicator

The communicator has a larger and touchscreen display, characters are entered using a stylus. The operating system is the same as in the PDA.
A smartphone prioritizes high-quality voice transmission, while a communicator is concerned with working with data. The smartphone is inferior to the communicator in that complex and multifunctional applications in a smartphone cannot work simultaneously due to the smaller amount of RAM and a weaker processor. The communicator, in turn, has a more advanced operating system and a large amount of RAM. The speed of the communicator is several times higher.
As a rule, smartphones and communicators run on software windows software Mobile, Linux and Symbian.
The communicator has a large touchscreen display, which significantly improves the ergonomics of the device. In addition, due to this characteristic, the level of damage to vision is reduced. Large screen makes it easier to work with text documentswatching video.
Internet access in the communicator is carried out using full-fledged browsers, allowing you to open any sites. Smatfon involves the installation of special mobile versions browsers.

Types of operating systems

The most popular operating system for smartphones is Symbian (all models smartphones NOKIA, some Siemens and Samsung models). Another equally popular part of smartphones is controlled by the operating room. windows system Mobile. Its advantage is the similarity of the user interface to the Windows operating system for the PC. The Symbian operating system is close to the telephone one.

According to many experts, the boundaries between smartphone and communicator will be blurred in the future. They will be replaced by more advanced devices that combine the functions of a PDA and a mobile phone.

Often, taking part in a conversation on the topic of mobile communications, you can become a participant or witness to a fierce dispute about how an ordinary mobile phone differs from a smartphone and how a smartphone differs from a communicator.

Indeed, this question is relevant. Landline telephones and radiotelephones are not discussed on this topic since are very different from their mobile counterparts. The PDA (Pocket Personal Computer) does not fall into the subject, it is impossible to call from it without additional devices and software.

Generally speaking, we can say that a communicator is a PDA with a built-in phone. A smartphone is a phone in which they tried to build a computer. And an ordinary mobile phone is a ringing device, the software capabilities of which are limited by the sequential launch of applications and some cumbersome management. The key difference between these three types of devices is the presence and properties of the operating system.

Take one from each family.

Regular mobile phones will be represented by Samsung SGH-D980

Samsung SGH-E250, being ordinary mobile phonedoes not have any operating system. It is equipped with one single program that provides the device with all its capabilities. The downside of this program is that it can only perform one action at a time. For example, it is impossible to run two applications at the same time. Those. listening to music and playing a game can only be taken one by one, and not together. In the case of a smartphone or communicator, both of these programs can work simultaneously. In addition, the only way to expand its capabilities without interfering with the software structure of the phone (firmware) is writing Java applications. But they do not make the rigid telephone program system more flexible.

Java applications are flexible and, being written for one phone, can easily run and work on another. But it often happens that the application does not want to work correctly when installed on a “non-native” device. Otherwise, an ordinary mobile phone is not much inferior to its older brothers - smartphones.

The set of physical functions is not very different and can be present in any configuration and in any phone. It works the same way. A camera, calculator, diary, Bluetooth can be in the phone not only not worse, but also better.

The phone chosen as an example can support two Sim cards at the same time. Take pictures with a resolution of 2592x1944 pix, which is approximately equal to 5 megapixels and can be compared with the resolution of a digital camera. The model chosen for the example can support MS Office files, which is not often found in the list of skills of a regular mobile phone.

Synchronization with a computer phone, smartphone and communicator, it is almost the same. The only difference is that the communicator, being a greatly reduced PC, “understands” more file permissions than a phone or smartphone. In the process of writing a file, he can change its structure into a format that is closest to his own understanding. When copied back to the computer, the extension changes to computer friendly... The rest of the synchronization works in the same way.

Let Sony Ericsson G900 be a smartphone representative

Smartphone, much more pleasant to use and more loyal to the user's requirements. Even with Java applications, everything is somehow better.

A smartphone differs from an ordinary mobile phone by the presence of an operating system. In most cases this is Symbian OS from the company of the same name for Sony Ericsson and some Nokia, and Series 60 (Nokia). Then there is OS X, which is an Apple product. OS X based apple smartphones I-Phone.

The presence of an operating system takes the phone one step closer to computers and allows you to distribute memory and processor resources among several application programs responsible for different functions... Calls, in this case, are made using one program, and the work and connection to the Internet using another, calculator - the third. As a result, multiple applications can work together without interfering with each other. The main thing is that there are enough phone resources. However, a smartphone is still a phone, albeit with ample opportunities, but a phone.

The representative from Communicators (PDA with GSM-module) will be ASUS P535

Communicators, for the most part, are equipped with Microsoft Windows Mobile and Palm OS.

In the case of communicators, we are dealing with a PDA, in which we have added a telephone unit (GSM-module) and a corresponding program. By the way, you can not include it. The communicator feels great even without a SIM-card, it only refuses to call, turning from a communicator into a PDA.

Windows for communicators, in fact, does not differ much from the usual computer operating system, and even has a "Start" button on the desktop.

A serious plus of communicators with Windows Mobile is that the set includes installed programs includes Excel and Word fully compatible with computer version these office applications.

In fact, when talking about communicators and phones, it is easier to describe similar sides than differences. There are not many similar sides, and the differences are by no means small.

Java applications are a similar side, but Widows Mobile is very reluctant to work with them. In order to launch a Java application on the communicator, you must first launch the corresponding program and, with its help, enable the java application.

Do not let this upset you, the possibility of installing the software does not limit it at all. There are as many games and other programs released for Windows Mobile as Java applications for phones. In addition, the capabilities of communicators are much wider and allow more than any phone that works with Symbian or Series 60.

When working with GPRS, the Communicator wins a lot. Unlike phones and smartphones, communicators are equipped not with WAP, but with a Web browser and allow packet data transmission. Which is much cheaper and faster. Using the web protocol to access the Internet, you get access to the same resources that you use from a regular, personal computer.

Communicators, for the most part, are equipped with a touch screen with a qwerty-keyboard and are almost devoid of buttons. Neither one nor the other is theirs hallmark... More and more smartphones and phones come with a touch screen. Namely, the presence touch screen reduces the need for a wide keypad.

Access to files and folders of the communicator, as well as when working with a computer, is almost unlimited. You can edit content and directories Program Files and Windows.

Many models of Palm communicators working with the Palm OS operating system do not have a touch screen, but instead are equipped with a smart qwerty keyboard for a mobile device. In addition, Palm OS, like Windows Mobile, can work with documents. Microsoft Office without any additional conversion. Word files or Excel is just being copied to the device.