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Relatively rare just a few years ago, smartphones – or superphones as some are now calling them – have become as ubiquitous as Usher on the radio. But just how well do you know your sophisticated handset gadgetry? RCR Unplugged recently spoke with ARM wireless segment manager James Bruce to identify the five most important components of today’s smartphones (in no particular order).
1. The Screen
It’s what the user spends all his time gazing at, so it better look nice. The past few years have seen major increases in resolution (to the point that Steve Jobs claimed additional increases were pointless). Screen size has increased from 2.8 inches to as much as 4.25 and colors have become more vibrant.
With the move to capacitive touch, screen material has transitioned from plastic to glass. Those without glass screens are sticking with LCD technology or variants thereof.
With regard to glass, why stop at the screen?
2. The Applications Processor
The processor is what delivers the high-intesity media and graphics to which smartphone users have become accustomed. The last two to three years have brought fourfold increases in performance, and expect to see additional gains of up to 50% as phones move to dual core technology.
An ARM processor
3. The Baseband
The baseband is a chipset which enables the connection between phone and celltower. They have classically been a separate entity from the phone’s core processor (see above), but they are gradually becoming integrated, as seen in ST Ericsson’s chips.
Block diagram of a Nokia N95. Source: http://www.phonewreck.com
4. Ancillary Wireless
A single chip containing the Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Fi. Their functionality is critical in helping connect your smartphone to other networks and devices like your headset, your car stereo, and the GPS. GPS is critical to all location-based services, and Wi-Fi helps boost bandwith when in poor reception areas, keeping data costs down.
5. The Case
This includes the hold and feel of the outside of a smartphone, including its buttons. As phones have progressed, phone developers have shifted from rugged industrialism to a pleasant user experience. Bruce said Google’s HTC manufactured Nexus One was an excellent example. “HTC spent a lot of effort on the texture, the feel, that solid feeling in your hand,” he said.
They’ve changed a bit.
