Cell phone, smartphone -- what's the difference?

Even industry watchers say there's still confusion over the terms

By Matt Hamblen
What is a smartphone? The answer is not so simple, judging by the number of definitions available. In fact, it can be a bit of a mystery.

All the popular definitions rely on the fundamental understanding that a smartphone brings together a computer with a wireless voice device. Everyone agrees on that.

But there are many nuances that separate a smartphone from a standard wireless phone, which also can incorporate some kind of a computer with wireless voice capability.

Mobile industry analysts use these subtle distinctions to determine how to count smartphones separately from other wireless phones. For example, they are able to say that a wireless phone, such as the LG Rumor2, which goes on sale by Sprint Nextel Corp. on Sunday, is technically not a smartphone, although it provides access to e-mail, Internet browsing and a Qwerty keyboard.

The iPhone, just about any BlackBerry, and Nokia N or E series devices are considered smartphones, at least according to Gartner Inc. and IDC, the biggest market research firms monitoring wireless phone and smartphone shipments.

The CTIA, an industry association representing hundreds of wireless device makers and wireless carriers, uses a simple approach (possibly the simplest) in its glossary. It defines smartphones as "wireless phones with advanced data features and often keyboards." It adds, "What makes the phone 'smart' is its ability to manage and transmit data in addition to voice calls."

However, a CTIA spokeswoman said there is apparently no industrywide standard definition for a smartphone and that the CTIA's glossary definition is "general."

Four industry analysts interviewed for this story said the word smartphone is indeed a term of art, subject to the many changes that have been made in wireless handhelds since 2000, when Palm Inc. started adding voice capabilities to its personal digital assistants.

"Smartphone is one of those terms of art that gets bantered about so often," said Ramon Llamas, an IDC analyst.

IDC conducted a survey of consumers last summer and discovered many different interpretations. For some people, a smartphone has to be able to access the Internet wirelessly, while others think it has to handle text messaging or allow typing on a touch screen or actual keyboard, Llamas said.

"When you talk to the folks on Mainstreet U.S.A., it's a real can of worms," he said. "There is still a lot of confusion as to what counts as a smartphone."

IDC first coined the term converged mobile device in 2002 to avoid using the term smartphone, which Microsoft Corp. was using to describe enterprise-focused wireless handhelds, Llamas said. The definition IDC developed has gone through several updates since then, with a key change in 2006 that added the requirement that a converged mobile device include a "high-level operating system."