What is the difference between a smartphone and a communicator? Mobile phone - Smartphone - Communicator

A smartphone (English smartphone - smart phone) is a mobile phone with advanced functionality comparable to a pocket personal computer (PDA). Also, the term “communicator” is often used to refer to some devices that combine the functionality of a mobile phone and a PDA.

Communicator (PDA Phone) is a pocket personal computer supplemented with the functionality of a mobile phone.

PDAs and communicators are full-fledged mini computers. Yes, unlike mobile phones and some smartphones, it has such components as RAM (in other words, memory for temporary storage of data during processing) processor, in fact this is one of the main advantages of PDAs and communicators, permanent memory (called a hard drive it's difficult, but it's there), some models are even equipped with video cards. Ordinary phones do not have all these devices, or rather, they do, but they are all too weak. In addition, PDAs and communicators have an operating system (OS), most often it is Windows Mobile, a system specially designed for PDAs and communicators, and is a mini copy of the original.
As a final fact, we can imagine this type of program as “ported games”. “Portated games” are ordinary computer games that have been adapted for a PDA or communicator; they are adapted, and not written from scratch. Using the example of the Warcraft game, you can see that all functionality, graphics, features, etc. are preserved one to one. Also, PDAs and communicators support most computer formats and have programs specially written for reading computer formats. The phone will not be able to recognize some computer formats even if there is some kind of program, because its “hardware” will not allow this to be achieved.

The touch screen of PDAs and communicators is vulnerable to all kinds of scratches and other defects. Yes, that's right, the touch screen is a very sensitive and fragile thing, and even contact with the keys can be fatal. But all problems have a solution, and the touch screen is no exception. A special protective film is applied over the touch screen, protecting it from scratches and damage. In addition, it makes the screen more rigid, which makes it easier to work with. The protective film is made of a special material and on one side has a structure similar to a magnet, so it sticks to the screen without any auxiliary means such as glue. In addition, the film is designed for repeated washing in case of unsuccessful application. When in contact with water, the adhesive part loses its ability to facilitate the washing process, but after 30-60 seconds after drying it, the properties of the film are restored. Usually one film is enough for the entire life of a PDA or communicator. If you use the screen of a PDA or communicator without a protective film, then most likely scratches will appear on it, which will make it difficult to recognize clicks or make the area around you completely insensitive to any kind of clicks. Therefore, it is recommended to apply a protective film immediately after purchasing a touch screen device.

When pressing, you should only use the stylus and never touch the screen with your fingers. Different devices are designed for different types of pressure, but when working with most of them, it is recommended to use a stylus. The stylus has a thin tip, thanks to which you can hit even the thinnest points on the screen without worrying about pressure recognition. The interface of devices intended to be pressed with a stylus most often contains small elements and a more compressed appearance. Those intended to be pressed with a finger, on the contrary, have larger controls and a more “bloated” appearance. This difference is caused only by difficulties when pressing with a finger, since it is thicker than the stylus tip and more space on the screen is required for 100% recognition.

The communicator differs from a PDA only in the presence of telephone functions. Yes, that's right, a communicator is a PDA with telephone functions. But besides this, there is one more “but” of PDAs - they are an earlier type of device and they are, as a rule, weaker than modern communicators; moreover, they most often have older versions of Windows Mobile installed. Nowadays there is practically no production of PDAs. But even a PDA can have phone functions; by purchasing a special card that is inserted into a flash card slot, integration of phone functions is possible.

Using PDAs and communicators, you can remotely control devices. That's right, some computer programs support this option; for example, you can control music played on a PC using Bluetooth. Or control any device that is controlled via an IR signal (used in remote controls), TV is no exception. But all these functions require the installation of additional software on your PDA or communicator. In rare cases - to a computer. In addition to control using Bluetooth and the IR port, there is a third method - direct connection with a cable, this method imposes some difficulties due to the fact that the cable limits the operating range of the PDA or communicator, but this method transmits information at a higher speed, which is sometimes important.

PDAs and communicators can be upgraded to a newer version of Windows Mobile. It is possible, but not all; the manufacturer most often supports updating, but in older models, unfortunately, there is no such function. Information about the possibility of updating can be found in the instructions for using the device. The update is carried out at the service center. But at his own peril and risk, the device user has the right to install a new system without the participation of a service center. But most often this will lead to loss of warranty on the device. At the moment, the latest is Windows Mobile 6.5. But there is already information about the seventh version of the OS. The versions differ in interface and functionality; if 6.0 and 6.5 are improvements, then WM 2003 and WM6.0 are fundamentally different systems. There is a large time interval between them and no less a list of fundamental changes. Therefore, it is recommended to purchase devices with the ability to update the OS in the future, this will ensure that you will not have to change your PDA or communicator just because a new OS is released.

In addition to a wide range of possibilities, we get an even wider and more varied panorama of glitches. On average, WM devices operate quite stably and do not cause any complaints. But unlike simple phones where only two things can break: the phone and the battery, we actually get a rather difficult task in identifying faults. But if you follow the recommendations for handling PDAs and communicators, the likelihood that something will break is negligible. However, the battery can make itself felt, just from old age it can remind you of its age by rebooting the device or turning it off completely for a while; rapid discharge and charging is also a sign of its malfunction. But the new batteries also have some pleasant features, nickel is a thing of the past and now there is no need to create a training ground for new batteries; after purchasing it, you just need to charge it once and use it as normal.

Some programs can instantly drain the battery from 100% to 0. Now this is loudly said, but some programs that work from the moment the device is turned on until it is turned off, for example those that change the interface, can shorten the operating time after a full charge. There may even be cases where some programs shorten the operating time from three days to 12 hours, so you should not install as much as possible just for it to be installed. It must be remembered that all these programs are also battery powered. The greatest amount of energy is consumed by programs that change the interface, since they work all the time and often add the functions of an animated screensaver (background) and other gadgets, which greatly drains the battery. In second place are plugins (add-ons that expand functions) for the Today screen; they also work from switching on to switching off, but unlike programs that change the interface, they have more modest functionality and fewer unnecessary things. Therefore, if your device’s lifespan after recharging has decreased, do not rush to throw away the battery, review the list of installed programs and eliminate unnecessary ones.

Using a PDA or communicator, you can use icq or visit websites. Yes, that's right, WM has advanced capabilities regarding the Internet, it is possible to install popular modern browsers adapted for them. Some devices can establish secure connections and use some of the protocols of a personal computer. Also, clients like icq have their own version adapted for WM and also have functionality similar to the original. Simply put, PDAs and communicators are not inferior to PCs in terms of the Internet and even surpass it, since they are portable and compact, and can use wireless communication with the Internet.

A fall is 100% death for the PDA and the communicator. Indeed, this is almost certain death, but there is a chance of falling on the edge, and the maximum that threatens is a jolt, and a cracked case as consequences, but if the parts are not secured inside, it is unlikely that the device will ever work again. But if you fall face down, the chance of death is really close to 100%. Therefore, it is advisable to buy a durable strap and wrap it around your hand, or simply carry the device in a case, this will significantly soften the blow and reduce the chance of breakage, because restoring such a device is not a cheap thing, sometimes it is more profitable to just buy a new one.

Smartphones are smart, but have limitations compared to WM devices. Partially - yes. The platform of a regular phone is s40, and a smartphone is s60, which means that a smartphone is just an improved phone, but nevertheless it has a kind of OS - Symbian OS that recognizes the *.sis format specific to it. Symbian OS allows smartphones to rise a step above simple phones, but this does not make them as functional and capable as WM devices. This is still a telephone system in which there are clear restrictions.

Smartphones most often do not have a memory processor or video card. As mentioned above, smartphones are just improved phones, so most often such concepts do not apply to them, although in new models these devices include a line indicating the processor frequency. But even a powerful processor will not allow Symbian OS to achieve the same results that WM achieved.

Smartphones are less fragile and more reliable than PCs or communicators. Since a smartphone is one step lower than WM devices, it most often does not have a touch screen, which reduces its fragility. Just as mentioned above with phones, and a smartphone is only an improvement, either the phone or the battery breaks. In other words, due to the lack of a more powerful “base,” the smartphone is less fragile and more reliable, but the price for reliability is limited functionality.

Communicators will replace all other communication devices. At the moment, such a prospect is unlikely, since the cost of the communicator is at a fairly high level for the average consumer. Not everyone has the desire to understand the OS and not everyone wants to overpay for functions that they do not need. Therefore, most likely, there will be something improved, more durable, but for now this option is a smartphone, although the phone is not inferior to the requirements of the average consumer. Therefore, at the moment it is difficult to say who will disappear and who will remain, but no one doubts that the communicator is the undisputed leader in technology. But it is also undeniable that phones with minimal functionality “for communication” will always be in demand. The way out of this situation will either be to develop a person’s general level of knowledge, and as a result, even a grandmother will be able to turn on the music with one hand and sit in a comfortable rocking chair, enjoying her favorite performer. Or the categories “for communication” and “for games” will remain.

PERSONALITY OF THE COMMUNICATOR AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS

The personality of a communicator can be represented in the form of three groups of characteristics, which are: biographical characteristics, abilities and personality traits.

BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS

These include:

1. Age of the communicator. Issues of optimal age for workers in certain types of professional activities have existed for quite a long time. Thus, after analyzing the materials collected by T. Kono, the average age of presidents of large Japanese companies is 63.5 years, their American colleagues are slightly younger - 59 years. However, when recruiting new employees, preference is given to candidates aged 30 to 40 years, preferably with a family. It is believed that it is at this age that employees cope best with their responsibilities, even exceeding them, striving to make a career. In addition, they already have sufficient experience, including for business communication. Such people are reliable and stable, since the time of running from company to company has passed.

Here is what Lee Iacocca, a famous American manager, thinks about this problem: “I have always considered the practice in which a person who has reached 65 years of age, regardless of his physical condition, to immediately retire, is ridiculous. We must rely on our senior managers. They have experience. They have wisdom." In other words, age is largely an experience, not only a natural, but also a social characteristic of a person.

However, one should not think that only mature age (and therefore experience) gives its owner the right to count on high achievements in his professional activity. History shows that the creation of the largest companies was started by very young people. A. Morita, the founder and long-time leader of the world-famous Sony Corporation, was only 25 years old on the day the company was founded. And there are many such examples.

Thus, the age of the communicator can be neither an advantage nor a hindrance in order to effectively cope with the tasks assigned by the employer or to manage himself. The relationship between age and communication effectiveness remains unclear.

2. Gender of the communicator. This characteristic has recently attracted increasing attention from researchers who are trying to explain the difference between male and female behavior in business communication. Particular interest and many publications in various publications are devoted to models of female behavior. This is explained by the fact that in the life of modern society it is difficult to find an area in which a woman would not play an important, if not the main role. Women occupy the positions of president, prime minister, head of a major political party, diplomat, and businessman.

But researchers note that in certain types of activities that require significant verbal activity from the people participating in them, women behave timidly in the presence of men. Therefore, women are less likely to become effective communicators and are not as willing as men to achieve this role. This is explained by the fact that men have greater competence in solving group problems, as well as their desire to have an advantage in the group. Of particular importance is the presence of a certain standard of behavior accepted in society. The performer of the male role is also expected to behave accordingly. And women, in order to be treated as worthy “diplomats” and interlocutors, have to prove their abilities and inherent business qualities.

The researchers also identified another significant difference between male and female communicators, namely, women's great interest in relationships between people. Women are superior to men in democratic communication, and, consequently, in the degree of orientation towards human relationships. But, it is still impossible to say with certainty who is more effective in business communication: a man or a woman. The percentage of women in this type of communication is too low compared to the representation of the stronger half of humanity.

3. Socioeconomic status and education. These characteristics are very important for a communicator. An effective communicator must have a variety of knowledge in the field of management and business, special sciences related to the company’s activities, and foreign languages. Currently, people in relevant professions strive to acquire not only specialized knowledge, but also economic and legal knowledge. They need knowledge of foreign languages. This is facilitated by the constant development of relations of many organizations and enterprises with foreign partners. And the communicator, regardless of what position he holds, but as a person representing the organization, must be fluent in at least one generally accepted English language.

A person's socioeconomic status can have a significant impact on their career development. As F. Fiedler noted, “one of the most reliable ways to become the president of a company is to be born into a family that owns this company.” But many (for example, Ford, Iacocca) started their journey from the very beginning, “from scratch,” but conquered the highest peaks of business.

COMMUNICATOR ABILITIES

The next component of a communicator’s personality is abilities. All abilities can be divided into general (these include intelligence) and specific (knowledge, skills, etc.). The greatest influence on the effectiveness of communication is exerted by general abilities, that is, intelligence. Back in the 60s, the American industrial psychologist E. Gizeli, examining groups of managers, came to the conclusion that the relationship between intelligence and communication effectiveness is curvilinear. This means that the most effective managers are not those with very high or low intelligence scores, but those with an average level. But all this data is not some kind of standard for intellectual potential. A particular effective communicator may score quite low on an intelligence test.

More recent studies by F. Fiedler and A. Leister have shown that other factors also influence the relationship between intelligence and communication effectiveness. These include: the motivation and experience of the communicator, as well as his relationships with senior management and subordinates. Insufficient motivation and experience of the communicator, weak support from his subordinates and tense relations with senior management result in a decrease in the influence of the communicator’s intelligence on the effectiveness of his activities.

Specific abilities of an individual include special skills, knowledge, competence, and awareness. There is no need to particularly prove and give examples on specific individuals how important these abilities are for the successful performance of communication activities.

COMMUNICATOR PERSONALITY TRAITS

The next characteristic of a communicator is personality traits. The most frequently mentioned in various studies include: dominance, self-confidence, emotional balance, stress resistance, creativity, desire to achieve, enterprise, responsibility, reliability in completing tasks, independence, sociability.

Let's look at each of these characteristics separately.

1. Dominance or the ability to influence people.

A communicator must have this characteristic, since it is difficult to imagine how one can effectively communicate with people without influencing them. The ability to do this unnoticed by the interlocutor can be considered one of the determining factors in the process of business communication. This skill dominates not only in business negotiations. If a person knows how to encourage other people to act, then he will succeed in any communication or leadership activity.

D. Carnegie offers six rules, following which allows you to effectively influence people.

Rule one: Be genuinely interested in other people.

The man who is not interested in his fellow men experiences the greatest difficulties in life and causes the greatest harm to those around him. It is among such people that losers are born.

Therefore, before starting to discuss problems that interest the communicator, it can be useful to talk about subjects that concern the interlocutor. He will be friendly towards the upcoming business communication and will resolve issues more quickly. This idea was successfully expressed by the Roman poet Publius Sirus: “We are interested in other people when they are interested in us.”

Rule two: smile!

The ability to smile can be considered a characteristic feature of US residents in general and American entrepreneurs in particular. Thus, according to the head of the hiring department of a large department store, it is better to hire a girl consultant with a primary education, but with a charming smile, than a doctor of philosophy with a lean face.

Rarely do people experience joy in business communication, so “you must experience joy in communicating with people if you want people to experience joy in communicating with you.” The ancient Chinese possessed this wisdom. They said: "A man without a smile on his face should not open a store."

Rule three: remember that in any language a person’s name is the sweetest and most important sound for him!

People attach a surprising amount of importance to their own name. By remembering this name and using it casually, the communicator gives the person a subtle and very effective compliment. If, during the communication process, the communicator forgets a person’s name, pronounces or writes it incorrectly, he will put himself in a very disadvantageous position. In business contacts, the ability to remember names is of great importance.

Rule four: be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.

Many communicators fail to make a good impression simply because they fail to listen carefully. They are too concerned with what they are going to say. Most people prefer good listeners to good speakers. Only a friendly, sympathetic listener arouses the sympathy of any interlocutor. In addition, by showing sincere interest in the statements and problems of a business partner, you can awaken his sympathy. Few people can resist the hidden flattery of enthusiastic attention. Equally important for a communicator is the ability to ask questions that a business partner will be interested in answering. By encouraging your interlocutor to talk about yourself and your achievements, you can win his favor.

Rule five: talk about what interests your interlocutor.

The communicator thoroughly prepares for each business meeting. By reading the business press and asking mutual friends, he identifies the issues that most interest his future interlocutor. To communicate effectively, he expands his own knowledge on these topics.

Rule six: instill in your interlocutor an awareness of his importance and do it sincerely!

D. Carnegie elevates the sixth rule to the most important law of human communication. By following it, a person protects himself from many troubles, acquires many friends and a sense of moral satisfaction. As soon as this law is violated, a person encounters difficulties. A person does not need cheap, insincere flattery, but he passionately desires a real assessment of his merits. It is important to follow this golden rule and give to others what we would like to receive from them.

2. Self-confidence.

“... Shyness and timidity are just as reprehensible as rashness and shamelessness. Calm confidence combined with outward modesty is the golden mean that must be adhered to.”

(Lord Chesterfield. From letters to his son).

The influence of this characteristic is directly reflected on the interlocutors, who, if the communicator is confident, feel calm, support, protection, reliability, and confidence in the future. Thus, a certain psychological comfort provides and increases motivation to achieve a mutually beneficial result. In addition, self-confident people often evaluate other people as friendly and disposed towards them; insecure people tend to view others as cold and unfriendly, which in any case interferes with effective communication.

One of the most practical ways to become confident was proposed by the founder of American psychology, William James. He says: “Action appears to follow feeling, but in fact action and feeling are combined: by controlling action, which is under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly control feeling, which is not under that control.

So, an excellent conscious way to gain cheerfulness, if your true cheerfulness has been lost, is to sit cheerfully, act and speak as if you were imbued with cheerfulness. If this behavior does not make you feel cheerful, then nothing else will help you in this case.

Therefore, to feel courageous, act as if you were really courageous, exert your will for this purpose, and the attack of fear will, in all likelihood, be replaced by a surge of courage.”

3. Emotional balance and stress resistance.

Emotional balance should be manifested in the communicator’s control over his emotional manifestations. Relations between interlocutors should be smooth, businesslike and not depend on personal sympathy and one’s own mood. Emotional balance affects the emotional state of the people participating in communication. A negative outburst of emotions in the communicator can reduce the feeling of confidence in the interlocutors, and the consequence of this will be a decrease in their perception of what is said. Participants in the conversation will be forced to struggle with their own feelings, and not with specific problems.

Emotional imbalance can undermine the image of a communicator in the eyes of business partners. But constant suppression of negative emotional reactions, restraining them can result in unpleasant consequences for the individual - neuroses and psychosomatic diseases developing on their basis, such as hypertension or gastric ulcer. Therefore, the communicator must pay special attention to the means of emotional release. Relieving tension can occur during physical exercise, communicating with friends and loved ones, and engaging in all kinds of hobbies. Thus, in Japan, for emotional release, mannequins depicting senior managers are broken.

4. Creativity or the ability to creatively solve problems.

The key to effective communication is whether the communicator is able to perceive elements of novelty and creativity directly during communication with interlocutors, as well as support their ideas. Such a specialist has amazing ingenuity and resourcefulness to achieve a goal, and knows how to find a way out of a hopeless situation.

5. The desire to achieve goals and entrepreneurship.

These are perhaps the most important traits of an effective communicator. Closely related to them is the individual’s propensity to take risks. A communicator should not stop halfway, he should be able to take risks and calculate his risk. It was by changing the point of view on some problematic issues that the most outstanding innovations were made.

6. Responsibility and reliability in performing tasks.

We constantly feel the deficiency of these human qualities in everyday life. The communicator must be a responsible and reliable person. About three-quarters of our high achievers consider themselves “very proactive” when it comes to completing their tasks. They all agree that diligence helped them become such. One successful businessman, who built one of the largest accounting firms in the northwestern United States, said: “The formula for success in my line of work is not only pride in what I do, but also the courage, endurance, to put in all the hours necessary to achieve goals."

7. Independence.

This characteristic is undoubtedly an important personal trait of the communicator, ensuring his success in various areas of communication. Whatever advice the communicator takes from the people around him, he must always make the final decision himself. The more independent he behaves, the more his independence manifests itself. But this does not exclude the need to listen to the opinions of your interlocutors. The main thing is that the communicator has his own point of view on emerging problems, his professional and human face, and also maintains this quality in his interlocutors.

8. Sensitivity, attentiveness.

An effective communicator, in order to maintain and strengthen his position, must be extremely attentive to his interlocutors, strict and objective. Along with persuasion, he must provide some support to people who communicate with him.

9. Ability to inspire.

The ability of a communicator to stimulate enthusiasm among interlocutors, instill in them confidence in their own abilities, and inspire them to complete any task is, to a large extent, the key to the success of the entire business.

10. Ability to set goals.

The communicator pays attention to the importance of each of the tasks being performed, explains the overall task, evaluates the speed of completion of each task, and provides reliable feedback.

11. Ability to solve problems.

The communicator takes the initiative to solve problems that arise during communication. He must follow through with this initiative.

12. Planning ability.

The communicator draws up a clear program of action to implement the set goals (certain calls, preparing everything necessary for a business conversation - disks, notepads, stationery, preparing and sending out invitations, etc.).

13. Punctuality. Only the behavior of a person who does everything on time is normative. Being late interferes with work and is a sign that the person cannot be relied upon. The principle of doing everything on time applies to all work assignments. Experts who study the organization and distribution of working time recommend adding an extra 25 percent to the time that, in your opinion, is required to complete the assigned work.

14. Confidentiality. Secrets of an institution, a corporation, or a particular conversation must be kept as carefully as secrets of a personal nature. There is also no need to retell to anyone what you heard from a colleague, manager or subordinate about their work activities or personal life.

15. Literacy. Internal documents or letters sent outside the institution must be written in good language, and all proper names must be conveyed without errors. You cannot use swear words. Even if the communicator only quotes the words of another person, those around him will perceive them as part of his own vocabulary.

16. Appearance. The main approach of any communicator is to fit into the environment. You need to look your best, that is, dress with taste, choosing colors that suit your face.

For business negotiations, plain suits are more suitable - gray, dark gray, dark blue, black. The colors of the ties should also be close in tone: pearl-gray, blue-red, dark burgundy, respectively; at the same time, the color of the suit should dominate on the tie; a pattern is desirable. This combination of colors will not distract or irritate your interlocutors, and the appearance will emphasize respect for them. A bright tie with an ornate pattern, on the contrary, will exert some emotional pressure. The optimal length of a tie is to the waist of your trousers, it should be neatly tied.

In a formal setting, the jacket should be buttoned. This applies to both negotiations and meetings: wearing a buttoned jacket, they enter the office for a meeting, sit on the presidium, and make a report. In the same form they enter the theater auditorium and restaurant. In this case, the bottom button of the jacket is never fastened. While sitting in a chair, as well as at the table while eating, the jacket can be unbuttoned. You cannot put a pen, pencil, comb or other objects in the upper outer pockets of jackets and jackets so that they stick out.

Business etiquette of all types requires the wearing of white shirts. In other cases, the color of the shirt should be in harmony with the color of the suit. During the day and in the summer, light suits and dresses are preferable; in the evening and in winter, darker colors are preferred. Light-colored shoes should be worn with a light-colored suit.

The same principle in clothing is true for women: the colors of the toilet, dress and other details should complement each other, the style of clothing should correspond to the specifics of the figure, although, undoubtedly, women's fashion is more subject to change than men's.

The suit of a businesswoman negotiating with representatives of other companies must be functional, i.e. meet the objectives of such an event to promote success. Dresses with deep necklines and very short skirts are undesirable - clothing should not distract the partner from a serious conversation. It should not contain bright colors or many sparkling threads. The basis of a woman’s business attire is a suit or dress-suit. Pantsuits and knitted items are not always suitable. An important element is decoration. Firstly, there should not be many of them, and secondly, they should be of high quality, from prestigious companies.

Thus, we reviewed and evaluated a fairly large list of various personal characteristics of the communicator that contribute to the effectiveness of his communication. But to be successful at work, a communicator should not have all these characteristics at the same time. For better communication, a certain minimum is required. But what this minimum is, what specific personal characteristics it should consist of, is difficult or impossible to say.

Very often we hear the question: is this device a smartphone or a communicator or something in between? There is a complete misunderstanding on the market of what a communicator is, and in general, how this class of devices appeared, where it takes its roots.

Prerequisites for the emergence of a communicator

As often happens with various devices, each manufacturer went to create pocket devices, looking at those around them and taking into account their vision of the market and customer needs. Some companies tried to create the most functional device, others - the smallest, and others - the most unusual. We can recall a lot of similar examples, but now we will talk about the mobile device market and remember its history.

The appearance of a communicator from Nokia could not but happen in isolation from the market, as something unique. This product is a direct continuation of those trends that existed in the past, decisions of other companies in the field of interface and product design. Without describing the origins of the pocket computer market, we would not be able to explain why Nokia chose this particular path and not any other.

The first handheld devices for calculations were calculators; with the development of microelectronics, their complexity increased. The first pocket-sized scientific calculator was the HP-35, which the company introduced in January 1972. Over the decade since then, many companies have begun to produce pocket calculators, and such devices have become widespread.

At the same time, the development of computers was underway, the creation of a pocket computer was in the air, and various companies approached this task. One example of such a computer was the Radio Shack Pocket Computer TRS-80, priced at $250. The company had a whole line of desktop computers under the name TRS-80, this model became an expansion of the range in 1980. We were unable to find any earlier references to handheld computers, so we will assume that this device was the first.

Take a look at the appearance of the pocket computer; it is as similar as possible to programmable calculators. These devices dominated the market, and the design of the pocket computer was as similar as possible. In advertising, the manufacturer specifically emphasized the differences.

“This new TRS-80 Computer is another “first” from the company which brought you the best-selling, world renowned TRS-80. A truly pocket-sized Computer (not a programmable calculator). Of course it is an ultra-powerful calculator too... And it "speaks" BASIC - the most common computer language, and the easiest to learn. You"ll soon be impressed by the phenomenal computing power of this hand-held TRS-80 - ideal for mathematics, engineering and business applications."

It is interesting that the manufacturer built a bridge between calculators and the first pocket computers. Compared to evolution, the TRS-80 Pocket Computer is a transitional link.

The model was equipped with built-in batteries, had 1.5 KB of RAM, and also a BASIC language interpreter built into the ROM, which made it possible to create your own programs. The display displayed up to 24 characters on one line. A printer connected to a computer, as well as a cassette storage device, were available as accessories.

One of the important points in the history of the TRS-80 is the cost; this pocket computer not only had the appearance of a programmable calculator, but was also priced among them. The company created an advanced programmable calculator, which it called a computer, to differentiate the device in the market and relate it to existing products under the same brand.

Over the next two years, devices such as the Sharp PC-1500 Hand Held Personal Computer, Sanyo PHC-8000, Toshiba Pasopia Mini, and the next model from Radio Shack appeared on the market. The main element of such devices was the use of ordinary AA batteries for power, which was logical, as well as single-line screens. The cost of the devices ranged from 100 to 300 dollars, the market was not massive, it was supported by enthusiasts.

Companies were cautious in this market, did not see much potential, but continued to experiment, increase the amount of memory, enlarge the screens, very exotic devices appeared, for example, Seiko in 1984 released a computer in a wristwatch with a screen of 4 lines of 10 characters.

Until 1989, the market froze, no fundamentally new devices appeared, until Atari Computers presented the Portfolio Portable at the COMDEX exhibition on April 11. Unlike the same TRS-80, it was a full-fledged computer running DIP DOS (analogous to MS DOS 2.11). With a size of 200x105x25 mm, it was also the smallest computer that could be held in the hand.

Here we are faced for the first time with the fact that for a small device the manufacturer has chosen the form factor of a modern laptop, when the screen is hidden when closed. This was not due to Atari Computers; similar solutions were known before; in the same HP-110 we see a similar design, but the dimensions of the devices were strikingly different.

The merit of Atari Computers is that the company proved the viability of the design for small-sized devices, its convenience and applicability. At the same time, the cost of the solution was $399, which also promised significant sales. The market for future PDA devices has begun to take shape.

One of the pioneers of this market, who made a significant contribution to its development, was HP. She also embraced the clamshell idea and stuck with it for many years. The first such computer was the HP-95LX. The abbreviation LX does not refer to sizes, but simply means Lotus Expandable. The computer was designed to work with Lotus 1-2-3, could send mail, and also download files remotely. For a device first shown on April 23, 1991, this was, if not a revolution, then a very noticeable result.

The technical features of the device were not so familiar at that time: MS DOS 3.22, the presence of 512 KB of RAM, an LCD screen displaying up to 40 characters (25x80 or 248x128 pixels). The model took 15 months to develop and was codenamed Jaguar. Interestingly, the development was the responsibility of the HP division, which previously created such calculators as the HP 28C, HP 28S, and HP 48SX. At the time of release, the device cost $699.

In terms of the appearance of the first communicators, it is important to us that the HP-95LX used keys for quick access to certain functions, for example, the calendar or phone book. The keys were blue, which is common in other HP products.

For HP, this device was the first in a series, followed by the OmniGo models in 1995 and 1996, and in 1997, the HP 300LX and HP320LX models entered the market. Such decisions determined the development of the market and set price limits for an entire class of devices.

The story would be incomplete without mentioning the emergence of the term PDA (personal digital assistance), which became synonymous with a pocket computer for many years. In January 1992, this term was coined by Apple Chairman John Sculley. In his interpretation, a PDA is a pocket computer controlled by a stylus through the screen. It was only in May of that year that the company announced the Apple Newton, the first PDA on the market with touchscreen controls. The product was significantly ahead of its time and, despite the victorious reports of the first years, never became popular. To illustrate this point, we can take the example of the subsequent model Apple Newton MessagePad 100. In the first 10 weeks on the market, 50,000 devices were sold, the result was stunning. However, over the entire life cycle of the device, the company was able to sell only 80,000 devices. The overall result was not very positive. The Apple Newton model is the ancestor of a whole class of devices, but in our material this story is unimportant.

Internet in your pocket – the birth of a market

The emergence of devices that fit in your pocket and the rapid development of www should have created a market for network access, both for mobile operators and for manufacturers of such devices. But in the first half of the 90s this did not happen; the main advantage of pocket computers was downloading mail, accessing corporate networks and receiving files from them. There were many reasons for this, the main one being the prohibitive cost of airtime for data transmission. Outside the mass market, it was not possible to create tariff plans without per-minute charges, nor was it possible to charge for the information actually transferred (that is, charging by volume, for example, in KB). This resulted in a complete lack of demand for such services.

The market was painfully looking for an alternative to expensive data transmission in cellular operator networks. In Canada, for example, a service has appeared for network access for downloading mail with a fixed cost of $49.95. It was necessary to purchase a modem in PC Card format, the service was provided by GDT Softworks and was called InfoWave. A clear disadvantage was the small coverage area of ​​digital radio, even in comparison with the cellular networks of that time. And there were few prospects for the development of such services.

In 1999, with the release of the Palm VII, a similar scheme was used in the United States, although the company initially tried to charge money for each KB of data transferred, but this scheme turned out to be a failure. The monthly subscription cost was $49.95. At the same time, the user did not receive a full-fledged Internet, but only access to data on the weather, stock quotes, and the like.

On the other hand, the first wave of handheld devices showed the promise of this market, and various companies began to create platforms and develop operating systems. In 1995, Palm OS appeared, which quickly became a market favorite, but it initially lacked the ability to view www; it appeared much later. In 1996, Microsoft entered the market with Windows CE; this operating system initially included Internet Explorer. A year later, EPOC32 appeared, which became the prototype of Symbian. The first Series 5 devices, in particular the PSION Series 5, did not have the www browser; in 1999 it appeared on the 5mx model (Opera 3.62).

At the same time, the Internet was becoming a reality for regular mobile phones as well. The American operator AT&T launched the AT&T PocketNet model in 1997, in which the HDML (Handheld Device Markup Language) browser was installed; it was simplified HTML. For this browser it was necessary to redesign the site; standard HTML was not accepted. Along with the launch of the service, about 25 specially prepared sites were available. With a monthly subscription of $29.9, the user received unlimited access to mail; additional data transfer services were paid for. The obvious disadvantages of this solution were the small number of sites, the inability to access any resource, and the HDML standard never became widespread. It should also be remembered that the developer of the browser for this phone was UnWired Planet, now known as OpenWave.

The ideas behind AT&T PocketNet were later implemented in WAP. The first phone to support this technology was the Ericsson R320s. But as part of the study of the emergence of communicators, we are not interested in this information.

From the facts presented, it becomes clear that the mobile Internet in 1994-1996 was not clear as a concept for manufacturers, everyone was looking for solutions, and the high cost of access made the search even more difficult. It was at this point that Nokia decided to start developing a communicator, as they saw potential for their company in the emerging market. This is one of several projects, and the company does not yet understand which device or type of device will dominate the market. Communicators are predicted to have a long life, as well as commercial success; all companies are working in this direction. Nokia is also entering the race.

Nokia - searching for an idea

The first communicator on the market was the Nokia 9000 Communicator. It appeared in March 1996. The main task when creating the first communicator in the company was to combine two products in one device - a mobile phone and a PDA (not in the sense that it appeared later, like the term itself). The word communicator became a derivative of the main goal of the project, the device was supposed to interact with the environment (communicate with environment). This word was later registered as a trademark. The use of this term by other companies is just a tribute to Nokia and the influence it has had on the market, and at the same time a violation of its rights.

The development of the World Wide Web dictated the need to add a built-in browser to the device. On the other hand, existing phones had low-resolution screens. The creation of a PDA-like device initially reduced the potential audience. At first glance, the problem did not have an elegant solution, but the company decided to create a new class of devices. When closed, the communicator looked like a telephone; when open, it looked like a small computer. This ensured continuity of consumer experience. On the one hand, they saw an ordinary, familiar telephone, on the other, when opening the device, they were faced with the concept of pocket computers that had already become widespread. An ideal combination of factors, the device should not scare off with its unusualness.

The development of the first communicator was carried out in the strictest secrecy; no one should have seen this product before the official announcement. Despite a lot of innovations in the software, for example, the emergence of a new web browser, which raised many questions, the company did not widely test this feature or others with the public. For the browser, the first such tests took place only in 1996; they were friendly in nature and were not systematic. The second round of testing took place in 1997, the company investigated the issue in depth.

At that time, the company was also exploring the possibility of developing products in separate groups, each responsible for its own direction. Since mid-1995, the main development team, so to speak, the headquarters for the creation of Nokia 9000, was located in the Finnish city of Tampere. Two software development teams were based in the United States, in Seattle and San Francisco. Also in the USA was the team responsible for the processor, it was based in Phoenix. Finally, the people responsible for producing the finished product were located in Salo, Finland.

Later, Nokia 9000 developers recalled that software testing within the company practically never stopped. Due to the time difference, in Finland they checked what was done during the day, and developers in the USA saw comments and suggestions when they came to work. The product was created at a frantic pace.

The questions facing Nokia were not simple. By the time the development of the browser for the first communicator began, this type of program had existed on PCs for about six years, users had established habits and ideas, and they had experience working with similar applications. In the absence of a touch screen and a pointing device (such as a mouse), it was necessary to make it possible for a person to select hyperlinks on the screen. We came up with a very simple way: when scrolling the page, the first link encountered was highlighted and could be clicked. The browser either scrolled the page or clicked on visible links. Today there is nothing unusual in this behavior; all browsers on regular phones work this way, but the first was a communicator from Nokia.

Another decision was the choice of what to show the user when the browser loads. For a mobile device, loading the default page in 1996-1997 meant spending a significant amount of money and also taking the user one to two minutes, depending on the size of the page. The developers made a different decision; they created Hotlist as the main view of the browser. Links were displayed on the page, the user could select any, and only then did the download begin. You could also post your own links. The idea was simple and clear, and today it has also become the norm. In November 1996, in PocketInternetExplorer on Windows CE, we saw exactly the same approach, the same default menu.

The ability to save documents was provided initially in the Nokia 9000 browser. And again, due to the cost of a minute of airtime when transmitting data, reading the document online was quite expensive.

The technical characteristics of the Nokia 9000 Communicator were at the level of products of that time and slightly superior to them. The processor was an Intel 386 upgraded for mobile use, and the operating system was GEOS 3.0. In the OmniGo 100, HP later also used this version of the OS. The communicator screen had a resolution of 640x200 pixels and displayed up to 8 shades of gray. The area available for applications was 540x200 pixels, and the keys were always displayed on the right. When closed, the communicator was completely similar to the Nokia 2110i, a phone that was familiar to many.

One of the technical innovations is the fact that Nokia decided to use an embedded BIOS for the Nokia 9000; for this purpose they licensed a solution from General Software called Embedded BIOS (version 3.1).

To appreciate the technical characteristics of this product, let's remember the first Windows CE device on the market. It appeared six months later, only at the end of November 1996. It was a Casio Cassiopeia A-10. The screen had 4 shades of gray, resolution 480x240 pixels. ROM capacity is 4 MB, while RAM is 2 MB (expandable to 4 MB). The pluses include the fact that the display was touch-sensitive; it was not used for handwritten recognition (although initially there was a function), but only for selecting one or another item, actually replacing the mouse. The price was lower than the Nokia 9000 Communicator, but for the target group this was not critical.

At first glance, the idea of ​​a communicator is obvious; the solutions are simple and elegant. But before Nokia, no one thought of combining two types of devices into one, and there were no prerequisites for this. The company tried to take a dominant position in the emerging market for access to Internet resources, primarily on the World Wide Web - www. The first communicator was ahead of all competitors and for a considerable time. The difference from Windows CE was about six months, the first sales of the Nokia 9000 began in August 1996, and the Cassiopeia A-10 appeared only in a number of markets at the end of 1996. The cost of the communicator until the end of the year was about $1,000, then a gradual price reduction followed. In 1998, it was already about $550. At this price, the device competed on equal terms with various pocket solutions and did not look too expensive, although it was not modern. It was during this period that Palm flourished, greatly displacing all Windows CE devices and creating a separate market, but without the mobile Internet. For Palm devices, the heyday of Internet capabilities occurred in 2000, but then it was already too late, the market had moved ahead.

Initially, the Nokia 9000 Communicator was sold only in markets with well-developed GSM networks; Nokia understood that only here the capabilities of this device would be in demand. Thus, the US market had to wait until March 1998 for the appearance of this device. The very first sales revealed that the communicator not only acts as a technically advanced device for accessing the network, but many people purchase it as a pioneering, revolutionary product, essentially paying the high cost for the image effect.

For Nokia, this device was the first experience in creating a pocket computer. The market potential for the company was clear even then, but it was not fully realized until 2006. Ordinary phones began to interact quite successfully with the environment, which partially devalued the original meaning of the word “communicator.” But over the past years, it has become so firmly established in the lexicon and is so associated with Nokia products that it continues to be used successfully. Many companies, seeing the success of the Nokia 9000 Communicator, tried to unofficially call their models with this very word. Manufacturers of Windows CE devices distinguished themselves most in this field, although such models fell well under the term PDA, first introduced by Apple. The confusion that arose then continues to this day, including among professionals who have been working in this market for years. In my opinion, devices from Nokia can have the name communicator, as well as models that are made in a similar form factor and have a full keyboard. All other devices, especially those without a keyboard, are in no way related to communicators. But I’ll emphasize once again that the word “communicator” is just a tribute to the first product of this class from Nokia; the meaning that the creators of the communicator put into this term has depreciated and fits perfectly with any modern phone.

P.S. If you liked this material and you think that the history of the Nokia line of communicators deserves further telling, then write about it in our forum, we will try to create such material. Thank you in advance.

The modern market offers many models of communicators and smartphones. They differ in technical capabilities, design and, of course, price. Often, when choosing a new communication gadget, we are faced with the question of what to buy: a smartphone or a communicator? Naturally, to answer it, you need to clearly understand how these two devices differ.

Communicator

Let's start by defining what a communicator is and what capabilities it offers the user.

A communicator is a PDA that is additionally equipped with an integrated GPRS module. By and large, this device is a portable computer that allows you to make calls. Although, calls for the communicator are a secondary function. Modern communicators usually have a larger screen than a smartphone. Entering characters and controlling the device often occurs using a stylus. If we talk about operating systems, communicators use the same software as PDAs.

Smartphone

As for a smartphone, a device of this type can be positioned as a phone with computer functions. Externally, these gadgets are similar to mobile phones. However, due to the presence of an operating system in them, it is possible to use various programs and perform several operations simultaneously. An ordinary phone cannot boast of this due to its small functional resource.

Most often, smartphones use operating systems specially designed for these purposes: Android, Windows Phone, Symbian and some others. Modern smartphones are often equipped with a GPS module, camera, and wi-fi. In addition, they provide users with enhanced multimedia capabilities.

Let's compare

Continuing the topic of how a smartphone differs from a communicator, we must say about the processor power of the latter. Thus, smartphones, as a rule, are equipped with a weaker processor and have less RAM than communicators. This is reflected in the speed of work. It is logical to assume that the latter has a higher value.

However, the development of technology in recent years has led to the emergence of smartphone models on the market that, from a technical point of view, are almost as good as communicators. An example is the Samsung Galaxy SII, equipped with a dual-core processor.

To sum up the question of what a smartphone and a communicator are, we can say the following. A smartphone is a phone that has the capabilities of a PDA, while a communicator is a PDA with phone functionality.

Now that smartphones and communicators have flooded the market of modern communications, many are interested in the question of what kind of devices they are. Let's figure it out.

What is a communicator

This device is a combination of a pocket computer, a camera, a GPS navigator, and a mobile phone. At the moment, it is this type of gadget that is most widespread. Most often, communicators are perceived as a type of mobile phone. That is why its use is limited to its use as a telephone, navigator and a convenient device for browsing the Internet. However, with all this, the communicator is a high-tech mobile device. Like a regular computer, it works under systems, having its own “stuffing”. At the moment, there are models on the market that, in terms of technical characteristics and power level, are comparable to medium-configured personal computers.

Answering the question of what a communicator is, it is worth talking about its appearance and controls. It has touch controls and several soft buttons, and some models have a full-fledged slide-out keyboard. Touch control is carried out with a finger or stylus directly on the gadget screen. The display can be of different sizes and resolutions, and the image quality depends on this. The use of widescreen screens is very convenient for comfortable viewing of photos and videos, as well as for playing games. The small screen indicates that the model belongs to budget options, although their functionality is slightly limited. There are two types of touch screens: resistive and capacitive.

Speaking about what a communicator is, it is worth mentioning that all modern models use memory cards. The first used the SD format, while the modern ones used microSD, which significantly saves space. The communicators have a mini/micro-USB interface for connecting a cable. This cable is designed to connect the device to a computer and for charging. If you connect the communicator to a computer, it can easily be used as a flash card or card reader.

Selecting a communicator

Like a regular computer, the performance of this gadget is characterized by the power of the processor. The presence of devices with a 2 gigahertz processor is no longer uncommon. The appearance of dual-core ones was another novelty. Modern communicators are becoming more and more powerful thanks to the use of a powerful processor, audio chip and graphics accelerator. For a long time now, such gadgets have been using graphics accelerators that support the 3D format, while being on par with inexpensive video cards used in computers. An equally important point is the presence of a GPS module that allows you to use the navigator. Using all the functions of the communicator requires a powerful battery. At full load, the device can only work for a few hours.

Answering the question of what a communicator is, it is worth saying that for all its purposes, communication is the main one. In this case, it means a telephone message and access to the Internet.

The range of communicators is currently very diverse. At first they ran Windows Mobile, but now you can find devices running other operating systems. The set of programs available for it depends on which one is used. In general, the communicator is a very convenient device that occupies a leading position in the market among communication devices.