One of my favorite niche blogs is AAS, or All About Symbian. Saturday (my birthday!) they posted this commentary on what exactly is the difference between a featurephone and a smartphone, anyway.

The commentary is more enlightening than the original post, so read all of those as well. I tend to agree with the bulk of the statements; its about customization, customization and also customization.

The bulk of the people I know have classic smartphones — some Blackerries, and lots of Window Mobile devices, as we’re in the U.S. Most of these are of the new, cheap variety — like the Centro or Moto Q. And they are used like the featurephones they replaced. They make calls, add up to 15 people to the address book, take photos, and download a game or two from the operator store. They are terribly excited to show off that they can now browse the web.

When I show off how much more they can do by whipping out my phone, and showing off some of the 27 (yes, I counted) apps I have downloaded and use all the time, I mostly get blank stares, but sometimes hand waving that its all too complicated.

So, I have to add another facet to what defines a smartphone, the user. Designing around user-intent is not impossible, but I have yet to figure out how to to get a device data repository to encode that.

And I could seriously use a header for “savvy user.” Among the biggest design worries I have is getting people to understand that their device — whatever it is called — is almost certainly capable of doing things other than making calls, taking photos and maybe playing games, so that the app I am designing get downloaded, and used.

Original Source: Little Springs Design