If your phone isn't smart, is it dumb?

How many standalone devices does a person really need? Most likely the answer is too many, but rank these devices in order of importance: mobile phone, digital music player, digital camera, portable video game system, GPS, computer.
Mobile phone and computer would probably rank one and two with the other three devices behind in an order based on the individual's preference. With this ranking one could discern that the most important devices a person would need on a day-to-day basis would be a mobile phone and a computer.
A person would need these two particular devices to stay in contact with friends and family and also to stay current with all other information. The music player, digital camera, and video game system already mesh perfectly with the computer but it can't be brought everywhere and even a laptop can be cumbersome in situations such as riding on a bus or even for use during the short time between classes. The mobile flexibility of a phone separates itself from the computer and if the phone is built to handle other needed devices, the phone starts to become the smarter choice for getting information and staying entertained.
Smart phones are so smart they defy definition. Really, even experts disagree on the exact definition of a smart phone. What most can agree on is that smart phones are mobile telephones (I will avoid calling them cellular or cell phones till the end of time) built with the ability to do more than make phone calls and text messages.
Students have been content with using the regular phones for too long mainly because they are cheap and available. If anyone signs a new two-year contract with any company in town, they can get a free phone. What is odd is that most students are completely content with using these mobile phones for making calls and texting when there are other phones available which could be much more useful and not that much more expensive. Instead of texting on the phone while riding the bus to and from class, wouldn't it be nice to use a phone to check email and Facebook, so time at school could be dedicated to other things, like studying and learning?
Web sites are going mobile, media outlets are making their information available to mobile devices, and eventually any Web site viewable at home on a huge monitor will also be viewable on a 3"-5" screen. However, if a person intends to view Web sites on their mobile device they have to have the correct mobile device to do it. Smart phones such as the iPhone and T-Mobile's new G1 are built for email and Web-browsing. Basically, the right equipment is needed for the important tasks.
Apple's iPhone is arguably at the top of the smart phone food chain and has combined many features into one, easy to use device. While the iPhone has some drawbacks ª- only a 2.0 megapixel camera and currently only being offered on AT&T in the United States ª- it may be the most useful device right now. The iPhone also cannot be used as a fully functioning computer because of its lack of a non-touch screen keyboard. The iPhone allows for third-party applications which are essential for continued interest from the tech community because of the limitless potential of new and better applications for a device many people already have.
T-mobile's G1, which uses Google's Android technology, is the most recent successor to the smart phone throne. Android is an open source operating system and software platform for mobile phones, and the G1 is the first phone to have use the complete Android package. The most glaring difference between the G1 and the iPhone is how the G1 lacks the flash memory of the iPhone, instead opting for a removable microSD card. This is not particularly bad, just different.
The G1 will boast a physical keyboard, which will help type out those long text messages and also help for quick responses to emails. The G1 has a 3.0 megapixel camera and talks of an unlocked G1 have already come up and the phone isn't widely released yet. Other cell phone makers will have access to Android so be on the lookout for more "iPhone Killers" in the near future.
One of the major drawbacks for these phones for people in our area is the lack of a high-speed network like they have in Chicago. For some of the applications to run better and for better web browsing users need that high speed network. Thankfully these two phones, along with others, have Wi-Fi capability, so if you have access to a faster wireless online service, like the one offered on campus, you can use that instead of your wireless data network.
Smart phones will one day be the norm and the "smart" part will be dropped. Until that glorious day of convergence the savviest of mobile phone user must settle for the best available devices. While not perfect, Apple's iPhone and T-Mobile's G1 are great consolation phones for the near future. Both devices are similar, yet different enough and are being offered by two companies that don't often fail when they decide to make a product. Even though there is uncertainty about which device is going to come out on top, the competition between these two media devices will undoubtedly bring on cheaper phones that do even more, and all for the sake of the user.