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A '''smartphone''' is a [[mobile phone]] built on a [[mobile operating system|mobile computing]] platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a [[feature phone]].<ref name="phonescoop-smartphone">{{cite web |url=http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=131 |title=Smartphone |date= |publisher=''Phone Scoop'' |accessdate=2011-12-15}}</ref><ref name="phonescoop-featurephone">{{cite web |url=http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=310 |title=Feature Phone |date= |publisher=''Phone Scoop'' |accessdate=2011-12-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zdnet.com/blog/gadgetreviews/smartphone-vs-feature-phone-arms-race-heats-up-which-did-you-buy/6836 |title=Smartphone vs. feature phone arms race heats up; which did you buy? |author=Andrew Nusca |date=20 August 2009 |publisher=[[ZDNet]] |accessdate=2011-12-15}}</ref> The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a [[personal digital assistant]] (PDA) and a mobile phone or [[camera phone]]. Today's models also serve to combine the functions of [[portable media player]]s, low-end [[compact camera|compact]] [[digital cameras]], [[pocket video camera]]s, and [[GPS]] navigation units. Modern smartphones typically also include high-resolution [[touchscreen]]s, [[web browser]]s that can access and properly display standard web pages rather than just mobile-optimized sites, [[Adobe Flash Player|Flash]] compatibility, and high-speed data access via [[Wi-Fi]] and [[mobile broadband]].
The most common [[mobile operating system]]s (OS) used by modern smartphones include [[Apple Inc.|Apple's]] [[iOS]], [[Google]]'s [[Android (operating system)|Android]], [[Microsoft]]'s [[Windows Phone]], [[Nokia]]'s [[Symbian]], [[Research In Motion|RIM's]] [[BlackBerry OS]], and [[embedded Linux]] distributions such as [[Maemo]] and [[MeeGo]]. Such operating systems can be installed on many different phone models, and typically each device can receive multiple OS software updates over its lifetime.
The distinction between smartphones and feature phones can be vague and there is no official definition for what constitutes the difference between them. One of the most significant differences is that the advanced [[application programming interface]]s (APIs) on smartphones for running third-party applications<ref name="PCmag">{{cite news |url=http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=Smartphone&i=51537,00.asp |title=Smartphone definition from PC Magazine Encyclopedia |work=[[PC Magazine]] |accessdate=2011-12-15}}</ref> can allow those applications to have better integration with the phone's OS and hardware than is typical with feature phones. In comparison, feature phones more commonly run on proprietary [[firmware]], with third-party software support through platforms such as [[Java ME]] or [[Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless|BREW]].<ref name="phonescoop-smartphone"/> An additional complication in distinguishing between smartphones and feature phones is that over time the capabilities of new models of feature phones can increase to exceed those of phones that had been promoted as smartphones in the past.
==History==
===Early years===
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