smartphones have come a long way since 1992 when ibm’s ‘simon’ model – generally accepted to be the first of the smartphone genre – hit the shelves, and Judging by the look of the thing (see over), it must have made a hell of a thump when it did so. poor simon’s looks alone tell a story – he’s not aged well – but other than make calls, he didn’t offer much more than rudimentary email, a calendar/clock and the ability to send faxes. retailing at $900 at the time – $1,440 (Qr5,240) at today’s prices – simon was once right on the cutting edge of mobile cellular technology.
but we shouldn’t be too harsh on this relic, as 18 years is a long time. indeed, in technological terms, 18 years is, literally, an age. this month, QATAR TODAY looks at the progress smartphones have made since their 90s debut and what the future holds for these increasingly complex devices in terms of functionality, influence, market penetration, cost and what the future holds. b Y
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ibm’s ‘simon’ model in 1992 was the first in the smartphone genre. it didn’t do a great deal, looked like and weighed the same as a brick and cost the eQuivalent of nearly Qr5,300. simon mkii was thus unsurprisingly absent from the marketplace
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anufacturers, network providers and a local expert have all helped us address the question: ‘how smart are smartphones?’ In the early 90s, mobile phones made calls. Then SMS followed, colour screens, built-in cameras and rudimentary internet access through ‘wireless access protocol’ meant that by the start of the millennium, phones were doing more and more. At what point mobile cellular devices devolved into ‘feature phones’ (basic) and ‘smartphones’ (advanced) is something of a grey area – luckily an unseemly ‘we were first’ squabble between manufacturers had long since been settled by IBM – but the most significant differences between the two genres is connectivity – the ‘always on’ nature of the latter in accessing the internet and mail servers – and the ability to download and run applications. Add hugely enhanced processing power, often a QWERTY keyboard (and/or touchscreen) and you have a device in your pocket more akin to a multimedia computer than something on which you merely make calls and send texts. The smartphone genre has seen some landmark products in its short lifespan: the iPhone, the Nokia 9000 series, the BlackBerry. Which marques will we remember in ten years’ time?
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iS it Looking BLeak
for BLackBerry? BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) has been in the news a good deal lately. The BlackBerry device is massively popular worldwide, primarily as a business tool for sending and receiving email when out of the office but also for its real-time instant messaging (IM) service which is fast and free, and which has also made the BlackBerry popular with teenagers who want to chat in private. Private, in terms of the fact that data sent to and received from BlackBerry devices is encrypted through RIMs own servers and thus safe from prying eyes. This set-up is unique and a real selling point for businesspeople who want their data secure and youths who seek private social interaction for various reasons. However, telecoms regulatory authorities (TRAs) in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and India have cited their dissatisfaction with data pinging around their countries on which they cannot eavesdrop if necessary. Citing security concerns (only a cynic would suggest that there was any other reason why governments would want access to people’s email and IM conversations), the TRAs in the aforementioned countries have given BlackBerry an ultimatum: site your servers in our countries and/
or allow us potential access to your customers’ data or cease email and IM services here. The Lebanese and Indonesian TRAs are also now making similar noises. While RIM had initially looked as if it was going to play ‘hardball’ on the issue, as Qatar Today went to press RIM had agreed to ‘make concessions’ with regards to its data servers such as they concern the Saudi and Indian TRAs, and its services are expected to remain uninterrupted in those markets. No decision has yet been made in the UAE but the clock is ticking there with an October date already posted for the shutdown of RIMs IM/email services by the relevant TRA. What was once a unique selling point for BlackBerry – the encryption and security of data sent through its servers – has now been compromised in some countries and RIM shares have dropped 23% in the last year as a partial result. But RIM needs access to these telco markets, especially the world’s fastest growing, India, as it attempts to retain its place among the big-hitters. The BlackBerry (new ‘Torch’ model pictured) is still a ‘blue chip’ product – but there are countries other than those mentioned here where it is rumoured your BlackBerry data is also not 100%
safe. BlackBerry’s competitors will doubtless be overjoyed, as in those markets where data will have to become unencrypted, the quality of the handset and the cost of data services will assume even more importance. As Samsung GM Sandeep Saihgal puts it, the situation in Saudi and elsewhere “will give users the opportunity to explore a range of smartphones across different platforms.” No kidding. The Qatari TRA, ictQatar, told the domestic network providers (Qtel, VQ) last month that it had no plans to intervene in RIM’s encrypted data services in this country.
“in Qatar we have the benefit of a new network designed with the knowledge of what is happening in data, so we are well prepared” – grahame maher, C e o, v o D a f o n e Q ata r
MoDel
xperia x10
PriCe Qr2,499 rating ★★★★★ available noW
The Sony Ericsson X10 is a highly competent handset. The manufacturer seems to have a knack for producing handsets that do everything to a good standard. It’s a touchscreen device running Google’s Android operating system and layered with Sony Ericsson’s unique user interface specially designed for the phone. It’s supremely powerful, but very easy to use, too. Tech specs include an absolutely enormous 4-inch screen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, an 8.1-megapixel camera, GPS, HSPA, 1gb memory plus an 8gb memory card, and a long-lasting battery.
MoDel
iphone 4
PriCe Qr5,499 rating ★★★★★ available noW
The iPhone 4 is somethig of a flawed beauty. The main improvements to the iPhone 3G are the extra high resolution display, the improved 5-megapixel camera, HD video recording, a second camera for video calls and longer battery life. Available with 16 or 32gb memory, there have however been the well-documented problems getting a strong network signal and it’s phenomenally expensive too. You can go with another make of handset that does the same thing for less than half the price but if it’s the Apple logo you want, then you have to pay...
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MoDel
galaxy s
PriCe Qr2,675 rating ★★★★★ available noW
The Samsung Galaxy S is one of the best and most attractive phones on the market today and the Korean giant’s response to the HTC Desire (opposite). It runs the latest version of the Android operating system and has a host of world-beating features including a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, HD video recording and playback, a superfast 1GHz processor, surround sound, GPS with Google Maps, 8GB or 16GB of memory and good battery life. The screen is a strong selling point, impossibly bright and colourful. Notably, the Galaxy S is also very thin and similarly light.
MoDel
desire
PriCe c.Qr2,500 rating ★★★★★ available autuMn
MoDel
n8
PriCe c.Qr2,600 rating ★★★★★ available autuMn
the cream
of the crop… The HTC Desire is one of the most impressive phones of all time. When it debuts in Qatar this autumn, it will retail at about half the price of the iPhone 4, yet it can match or beat everything that the Apple does. An Android smartphone with a fabulously responsive touchscreen, the Desire packs in a huge choice of apps, brilliant web browsing, one of the biggest and best screens ever, a good camera, a music player and GPS too. You want more? Add in a superfast processor, monster battery, WiFi and a 3.5mm headphone jack and you’ve got the perfect phone.
The new N8 is arguably Nokia’s most important handset in years. Without doubt, the phone’s best feature is its 12-megapixel camera which is of outrageous quality. The 135g N8 has a mini-HDMI port which means you can watch your pictures and movies directly on a TV. The phone comes with 16GB of flash memory, which can be expanded to 48GB. On the hardware side, the N8 has a 680MHz processor, 3.5-inch capacitivetouch screen and GPS. It comes with QuickOffice and the ability to subscribe to podcasts. This phone is going to be a huge hit.
the potential smartphone owner is, as you would expect, spoilt for choice. we cast our eye over a selection of the best handsets currently on the market, and a pair of autumn debutants
independent reviews courtesy of Landmark Internet Ltd.
“even though smartphones can go anywhere, perhaps they should not follow you everywhere” – magnus nystedt, e D i t o r , e M i r at e S M a C .C o M
SoniC boom...
appLication Situation Computers run programmes, smartphones run applications or ‘apps’. There is an absolutely bewildering choice (‘there’s an app for that’) of apps that you can download to your handset to enable gaming, shopping, restaurant table reservation, and so on. Apple’s iStore boasts literally hundreds of thousands of apps at varying prices (or free in some cases). Different manufacturers run differing operating systems (OS) on their respective handsets and there is currently no compatibility between them. There are about half-a-dozen common OS on which the majority of smartphones function and each is well served (some more than others) by app availability. Smartphone users do not need to be concerned about a VHS/Betamax-style ‘format war’ though. While it seems likely that the number of OS might slim down a little, software is much more malleable than hardware. Your smartphone is not going to cease working or not have any apps to download if its OS is discontinued.
Demand for these devices is rocketing. In Q2 2010, approximately 326 million handsets were sold worldwide. Of this number, 65 million – 20% – were of the smartphone category, a doubling of the Q1 2010 10% market share in the space of three months. By the end of 2011, smartphone sales are expected to be in the majority. What is making them so attractive? “Smartphone market share has grown exponentially to become the fastest-growing segment in the mobile phone market. This growth can be attributed to the myriad features that smartphones offer for businesses and individual users – email access, document editing, hi-definition imaging and gaming,” says Sandeep Saihgal, General Manager of Mobile Devices for Samsung Gulf. Magnus Nystedt, editor of Apple User website emiratesmac.com commented, “There is no doubt that smartphones play an increasingly important role in our lives. As the handsets become faster and more powerful we use them for more things. We’re not quite at the point of them replacing computers yet, but I think that for many users, a smartphone with the right functionality can take over some tasks from computers, especially netbooks and smaller notebook PCs.” Indeed, by end 2011, according to marketers RBC, sales of smartphones will outstrip those of PCs. HTC, Marketing Manager, Geetika Anand Gupta said, “Smartphones can be enormously beneficial for both businesses and individuals. You can check email, manage documents, visit websites, check the news, etc. The most attractive feature of smartphone ownership is the
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fact that there is greater functionality built into smartphones which allows users to do things much more quickly than their standard mobile phone and PDA precursors. In other words, smartphones allow flexible working, provide information at your fingertips, offer better information sharing, ensure faster communication, offer greater functionality and ensure that users are never out of touch.”
future shock? Smartphones are pretty smart now, it would seem. How will these devices develop in the future? “It’s impossible to predict the future, but there are exciting innovations happening all the time. HTC is the first manufacturer to take advantage of the new ultra-fast 4G networks for enhanced download speeds. We expect to see greater levels of personalisation and customisation and this will drive the market forward.” So Gupta posits more speed. “I suspect that future smartphones will be even more connected to the internet and other networks,” says Nystedt. “That is very predictable though, but what is not predictable is how we interact with these devices. Voice recognition is one method of interface that has been developing slowly for a long time but still not taken off. I’d guess that we are yet to see and experience the next generation of interfaces which we’ll use to interact with our smartphones.” “Technology is something one cannot fully predict,” says a Nokia spokesman. “Today’s technology is an imagination of someone in the past. Same goes for the coming period. One thing is clear, the smartphone market will be shaped
by consumer needs and desires and it will continue to be access to the mobile internet.” I’m not entirely sure what this means, but it sounds exciting. Samsung’s Saihgal told us, “2010 will prove to be the year that we see new multimedia technologies and mobile TV applications.” Let’s hope the latter part is correct as the imminent arrival of mobile TV was the focus of the ‘3G Mobile World Congress’ exhibition in Barcelona... in 2007. “We see huge potential for improvement and development, particularly in the field of content and application provision,” offered a Qtel spokesman. “We are working closely with manufacturers to understand their development models, so that we can create the network infrastructure necessary to support the next generation services, supported by the best possible customer experience. The alignment between manufacturers and operating systems will result in more benefits for consumers. Qtel is already working on a number of projects that will enable your mobile phone to become your personal TV, wallet, ID, and security pass.” Some food for thought there. Vodafone Qatar’s Grahame Maher gets a bit sci-fi on us when he suggests the smartphone future heralds “...more video capability and 3D that will come from faster networks.” Now that we would like to see, but it’s fair to say that the future for smartphones is largely an unwritten page at present.
Signal strength The Coda Research Company estimates that between 2010 and 2015, global
smartphone sales will total 2.5 billion handsets. While this news is likely to cheer manufacturers of the devices, we must acknowledge that this exponential rise in device ownership will as a matter of course lead to an exponential rise in data demanded by the handsets’ owners. Coda also estimates that in this same time frame, internet use by smartphones is going to increase 50-fold. When a large number of people in a small area (a crowd at a football match, for example) are simultaneously attempting to access their networks for voice/sms/internet purposes, then the ‘cell’ can reach its capacity very quickly and leave many people with no service at all. How, then, will the Qatari networks hold up under the strain of the anticipated increase in activity? “Networks do need to be designed to handle different traffic as data is very different to voice,” says Grahame Maher, CEO of Vodafone Qatar (VQ), “In Qatar we have the benefit of a new network designed with the knowledge of what is happening in data so we are well prepared. The rise of use in data will also mean a change to some of the packaging and pricing of data on mobile to ensure we can deliver a good quality of service and make sure that heavy users pay for their use and not affect other users.” Qtel’s spokesman commented, “The coming era will witness the reign of data and content. For Qtel, we have one of the most impressive data networks due to the continuous investments and efforts in upgrading and improving our infrastructure. The ability to host nextgeneration services and technologies
Google’s ‘Android’ operating system (OS) has bulldozed its way into the smartphone market. From a standing start in 2008, Android is now the OS on 17% of smartphones – a percentage that is rising fast and may soon see them threaten the market leadership of the ‘Symbian’ OS
“smartphones allow flexible working, provide information at your fingertips, offer better information sharing, ensure faster communication, offer greater functionality and ensure that users are never out of touch” – Geetika Anand Gupta Marketing Manager, HTC
ip-eaSy doeS it Each smartphone – in fact all devices that can connect to the internet, from hi-tech fridges to your desktop PC – have an individual IP address for connection and identification purposes. It has been locally – and erroneously – reported that there are only 340 million IP addresses ‘left’ and that these will run out within a year as more smartphones are manufactured and sold. There is no cause for concern, however. It’s true that the current IP standard – ‘IP v4’ – has only a few hundred million ‘free’ IP addresses left, but the incoming standard that will become the default – ‘IP v6’ – has the capacity to generate 3.4 x 1038 unique addresses. That’s a big number, and these addresses, in all likelihood, will never run out.
are what is going to dictate the future of all service providers now.” So it seems that both network providers have their eye on the ball in this regard. A local telecommunications insider who did not wish to be named told us, “Qtel and Vodafone Qatar have both spent – are spending – big on their network capability. The infrastructure in Qatar is obviously not the biggest, but it is one of the best, and getting better all the time.”
HoW much? Cost is an obvious issue and, needless to say, having an ‘always on’ smartphone connected to the network is going to cost more than a modest pre-pay account. Prices are far from prohibitive, however. VQ offers a data package for QR100 a
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month with an allowance of 2gb; Qtel also offers post-paid data packages from QR100 for 2gb and two other tariffs up to a QR400 monthly subscription for unlimited data download. Can we expect to see these prices fall in the future? It’s hard to say, but we should take note of the fact that as the data market matures and becomes more popular, economies of scale will increasingly come into play. Furthermore, with the lack of a monopoly in the Qatari telecoms market perhaps not precipitating a price war, the competition should prove beneficial to the customer and it’s also worth noting that the price of voice calls has continuously come down worldwide since mobiles evolved from an expensive toy into a must-have item.
Danger, danger... As anyone with a personal computer knows, there are seemingly limitless ways in which people will attempt to destroy, damage or steal data from your device. Then there is spam, the bane of a billion inboxes. Smartphones, as we have learned, have enormous processing power now and are always connected to the internet. What are the threats to smartphones out there? “As smartphones are really just small computers, they are just as susceptible, if not more so, to malware and intrusion,” says Nystedt. Saihgal concurs, saying, “Smartphones can hold plenty of data – personal and business emails, history of web browsing, contact details, etc. The more advanced the phone, the more data they are capable of containing about their owners’ lives. The major threat to smartphones is the chance of them being in the hands of an unauthorised user. Smartphones are also capable of getting viruses, Trojans and/or worms.” The solution? Pretty much do as you would do on a home or laptop device: “The demand for smartphone anti-virus software is on the rise given the increase of online activity on smartphones,” says Saihgal. And what not to do? “Don’t share your password, this is evident. Don’t visit unsecured websites, there is a chance of getting viruses and sharing personal data. Don’t save your passwords on websites, doing so on the likes of Facebook and banking sites is a bigger risk to your personal information. Input these passwords every time,” says Saihgal. Nystedt has some practical tips worth noting. “Physically you should get a good, protective case for your smartphone and a
screen protector would be recommended as well, especially for touch screen devices such as iPhone,” he says. “Also remember that even though smartphones can go anywhere, perhaps they should not follow you everywhere. I have a very simple and cheap phone that I take with me when going to the beach or out into the desert. It still does phone calls and texts but I don’t have to worry about damaging or losing it. Before leaving I just swap SIM card but if you don’t want to do that you can forward calls from your smartphone and take off that forward when you get back. In terms of data and applications, users need to back up their smartphones just as they should back up their computers.” Spam, it seems, will always be with us though. “Server-side solutions (such as those built into Gmail and Hotmail) and client-side applications such as Apple’s SpamSieve do a great job of filtering out spam. Of course some spam will make it through but we should all just accept the fact that we’ll never get rid of spam 100%,” says Nystedt. Overall, it’s a pity that we have to protect virtually every electronic device we own from people who want to steal it, damage it or phish for valuable information, but such is the world in which we live. It goes without saying, of course, that expensive electronic items should not be let out of your sight in a public place. What the sales figures and our respondents tell us is that smartphones are undoubtedly a coming force, a total communications nexus. You may already have such a device, but if not, it seems that you soon will. Such are the commercial and social forces at work here, you actually might not have much choice in the matter n
Samsung suggests three tips
for keeping your smartphone safe and protected: Keep your phone password protected Whether your smartphone is for personal or business use (or both), the most important way to keep data within your smartphone protected is to enable password protection to keep your data safe from unauthorised users Download with care The ability to utilise unlimited access to the web helps consumers with their everyday lives, but with smartphones connected to the internet 24/7, it is important to be careful with files being downloaded onto the smartphone Clear the handset memory Old documents, web history and past emails should be regularly cleared from the smartphone if they are no longer in use. Get rid of old information to protect your new data
“2010 will prove to be the year that we see new multimedia technologies and mobile TV applications” – Sandeep Saihgal, General Manager of Mobile D e v i c e s f o r S a ms u n g G u l f