An Entire Computer in the Palm of Your Hand

Touchscreen cellular phones with that operate on an expansive mobile operating system have revolutionized the mobile phone market unlike any device to ever come before it. Whereas before cell phones were only capable of calling and texting, users are now able to send text messages instantaneously over a lightning fast 4G LTE network, stream movies and television shows anywhere with services such as Netflix, take pictures with up to 41 megapixel cameras, record video in HD, access websites from a mobile web browser, and even have the latest edition of a magazine delivered automatically. The features on these phones, commonly referred to as smartphones, are essentially limitless. 

There are various mobile operating systems depending on the manufacturer of the phone, but they all essentially rely on the same layout, which is a home screen with rows of icons that each represents a specific application. The phone’s application store provides access to programs capable of editing JPEG photos to add shutter effects, a mobile music store with all of the latest MP3’s available the day the album is released, and even GPS service that uses satellite navigation to provide accurate turn-by-turn directions. 

Ultimately, a smartphone is a computer with all of its hardware condensed into the size of a credit card. It allows users to sync all of their information from home onto a mobile device and take it anywhere, provide immense convenience in a digital age where everyone is hoping to shave a few minutes from his or her commute. The smartphone craze has only begun, as more advanced phones are released each year featuring improved hardware, as companies like Apple and Samsung try one-up its competitors and obtain a high percentage of the market share. As the cell phones of old that only had the capability of taking grainy 0.3 megapixel photos and sending text messages with a 250 word-limit rapidly approach extinction, smartphones have become nearly omnipresent, and will most certainly remain that way for a long time to come.