Jasmine Directory

Even though smartphones have been around since 1993, people nowadays often take the technology cramped into them for granted. The history of the smartphone is a very interesting one, as it shows just how much human-developed technologies can completely reshape the way we interact with the world around us and, most importantly, with each other.

The Simon Personal Communicator is the first commercially available device which was made available to the general public. It featured a touch screen and, besides the basic phone functionality, it could send and receive emails and fax messages.

But in terms of the very first "smartphone", the Ericsson R380 was the one to hold the title when it was coined back in 2000. It had PDA features and you could even browse the internet, although it was a pretty limited experience.

In terms of mass production and worldwide success, the first device was the iPhone developed and created by Apple Inc. It featured a multi-touch interface, a much larger touchscreen than those before it, a virtual keyboard and was running on a proprietary mobile OS. Android-based systems soon followed suit with the HTC Dream. Today, the vast majority of smartphones employ either Android or iOS as operating systems.

Given that innovation in the smartphone industry has moved rather quickly, who knows what we can expect from future devices? Better connection speeds, remote battery recharging and even devices which can use the sun's power to recharge themselves are already expected on the smartphone market. Last, but not least, screens on these rather small devices keep getting better and better, employing the latest technology trends used in high-end computer screens and TVs.

Check out the Smartphone section of Jasmine Directory in order to be kept in the loop with new innovation in the field and exclusive offers on the devices themselves and services related or pertaining to them.