The Difference Between a Smartphone & a PDA Phone
There is no clear definition of smartphone or personal digital assistant, or PDA, phone, and companies may refer to their devices as either. As a general rule of thumb, a smartphone is more phone-focused as a whole, while a PDA phone is focused more on professional services, with the phone capabilities being only a component of the overall system.
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Smartphone
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Although the lines can blur, a smartphone generally has a cell phone "base" to which many other useful capabilities are added, such as the ability to browse the Internet, create documents and spreadsheets, listen to music, manage social networks through various applications, and take pictures.
Most smartphones have either mini-keyboard keypads installed so users can type out full documents, or a touch screen they can tap with a finger or stylus, or both. These components are all usually based around the central phone capabilities, and the interface is often proprietary or phone-oriented.
PDA Devices
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A PDA device is designed to perform many of the same functions as a smartphone, but without the phone capabilities. Users cannot place calls or exchange text messages on a PDA, although they can often access chat applications and both send and receive email. PDAs are more function-oriented devices that tend toward professional document creation and note taking rather than media like a camera or music player.
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PDA Phones
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PDA phones are like smartphones, but the "base" is oriented more toward a normal PDA device. The focus of the device is on professional services, while phone capabilities are added as an extra feature. As with smartphones, 3G capabilities are often supported but are intended to be a supplement to the usually present Wi-Fi technology. There are few noticeable differences between PDA phones and smartphones.
Cell Phones
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Cell phones rarely have as many professional services as PDA phones or smartphones. While they can include web browsing capabilities, cell phones do not have document creation applications, focusing instead on more media-oriented applications such as music players and chat programs. They are simpler and cheaper than PDA phones or smartphones.
PMP Devices and Pocket PCs
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There are a large number of peripheral devices that can cross lines made by these definitions. There are portable media players that can have both cell phone and PDA capabilities, just as there are GPS units that have features from all three devices and pocket computers that bridge the gap between phones and laptops.
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