[avt123]

Sure, Masahiro could Jailbreak and iPhone and it could give a BB a close run for it's money but I think the point of a smartphone is not having to "Jailbreak" the phone in order to get the most out of it. For instance, on a BlackBerry, updating to a new or leaked OS isn't similar to Jailbreaking an iPhone.

People already do get the most out of their iPhone. Jailbreaking just gives those who want more than the most their iPhone can give them.

Upgrading to a leaked OS isn't like jailbreaking, you are right. You are upgrading an OS, not hacking it.

Jailbreaking is just like Rooting an Android device. It already offers so much, but hacking allows for YOU to personally allow things onto your device that the OS doesn't approve of. It's just another form of customization.

Widgets can be added to the iPhone with jailbreaking, and the OS doesn't even have native widgets.

Android is more customizable than a BB (homescreens and a lot of other things) and you can still hack it for even more.

If you couldn't hack smartphones, then a lot of features you see today might not exist. Developers who make rooted or jailbroken apps put a lot of pressure on the OS makers to produce equivalent features. It shows what a lot of people really want.

[Username00089]

It's just a phone with all the capabilities that AG mentioned.

The term "dumbphone" is just a user term that has become popular on the
internet. You either own a smartphone or you own a regular phone. Plain and simple.

[avt123]

It's just a phone with all the capabilities that AG mentioned.

The term "dumbphone" is just a user term that has become popular on the
internet. You either own a smartphone or you own a regular phone. Plain and simple.

Don't forget about those stuck in the middle "feature phones".

[SolarPlexus]

I was just asking myself this same question. Here is what I came up with.
The lines have blurred considerably.
It used to be that a smartphone was basically a PDA with an antenna (Handspring Treo/VisorPhone) or a mini computer with an antenna (Pocket PC Phones, Symbian, etc). They were defined by their ability to install and run applications, edit documents, send emails, etc.
The problem is that traditional cell phones have become pretty advanced. An LG "Dumb" Phone can do many of the things that "smart" phones oculd do just a few years ago.
Then came the original iPhone - which really screwed everything up.
The iphone couldn't edit documents. One couldn't add applications. No Cut/Copy/Paste. It could just barely email. But....somehow, Apple Marketing successfully re-defined what a SmartPhone is and does. (for the record, I really like the iphone but don't find them to fit my needs as of yet).
But look at what happened: Apple has added features to the iphone which almost brings it completely up to Par with other Smart Phones (noticably missing would be true multi-tasking and side loading applications. And not the iPhone has become the phone by which every other phone is measured by the unsuspecting media.

Do I feel like the iPhone is a smart phone or a SmartPhone? I am not sure.
I can tell you this, if it ever evolves enough for me to find it usable, and I buy one, I will have to eat my words said to my wife and my best friend "The iphone is not a smartPhone" meh.

[amazinglygraceless]

or a mini computer with an antenna (Pocket PC Phones, Symbian, etc). .

No phone, not a single one, can be classified as a mini-computer.
That to me is almost as absurd as the "smart" "dumb" phone reference.

[Laura Knotek]

A smartphone is any device that runs Apple OS, RIM OS, Symbian OS, WebOS, Android OS, or WinMobile OS.

Anything else is a dumbphone or regular cellphone.

[amazinglygraceless]

The thing that is funny about this thread is the people who throw around the
"smart phone" or "dumb phoe" terms have not participated. That to me is very telling.
You would think they would be able to knock this one out of the park.

[Username00089]

Or at least tie it up with a buzzer beater to put it in overtime...

[amazinglygraceless]

A smartphone is any device that runs Apple OS, RIM OS, Symbian OS, WebOS, Android OS, or WinMobile OS.

Anything else is a dumbphone or regular cellphone.

So you are saying that even the most feature crippled phone is a "smart phone"
as long as it has one of your listed OS's .

seems a stretch to me.. I mean really, is the 7100t a true smart phone?
I think not, despite the fact that it has the BB OS.

[Laura Knotek]

So you are saying that even the most feature crippled phone is a "smart phone"
as long as it has one of your listed OS's .

seems a stretch to me.. I mean really, is the 7100t a true smart phone?
I think not, despite the fact that it has the BB OS.

I would clarify by stating devices that are running those OSs and currently available new from carriers on the market today (not discontinued devices only available used) are smartphones.

I don't even know what a 7100t is.

[SolarPlexus]

So, we have to ask ourselves this:
What is the definition of a computer?

Is a computer a big clunky thing with a monitor and a keyboard and mouse?
Is a computer a 10 pound all in one that folds in half and has a screen and a keyboard and a trackpad?
Is a computer a small 2 lb device that still has a keyboard and a mouse and a screen? What if I have a touch screen computer and get rid of the mouse? Is it still a computer?
So if I have a device that can run a word processor, an spreadsheet, presentation software, email app, IM, it has a touch screen and keyboard, and a processor faster than that of a computer from 1991- and it just happens to have a 4" screen and a radio antenna- why is it not a computer? or mini-computer.
(ok ok technically a digital calculator watch is a computer - but lets not go down that road)

[kilofox#CB]

I think the two terms are irrelevant now. What it comes down to is: What features a particular phone has and more importantly (especially in the wake of VZW forth coming rate changes), how much will my provider charge me to use it.

It really doesn't matter what you call the phone, what matters is what the phone does and what are its associated costs.

[SolarPlexus]

I think the two terms are irrelevant now. What it comes down to is: What features a particular phone has and more importantly (especially in the wake of VZW forth coming rate changes), how much will my provider charge me to use it.

It really doesn't matter what you call the phone, what matters is what the phone does and what are its associated costs.

You know....you are right......

The desired feature set is really what matters. I actually thought about moving from blackberry to a Sanyo flip phone and getting a PDA and unvonverging.

[Since9600]

To me if I can perform tasks that would normally tie me to a computer (email/web/simple word docs/schedule/etc), it's a smart phone. Unless I'm at my desk, almost all my computing is done on my BB, which to me makes it a smart phone.

[amazinglygraceless]

To me if I can perform tasks that would normally tie me to a computer (email/web/simple word docs/schedule/etc), it's a smart phone. Unless I'm at my desk, almost all my computing is done on my BB, which to me makes it a smart phone.

This is probably one of the better answers I have seen

[kilofox#CB]

This I do know... just like people, some phones are smarter than others.