Smartphones, which most people hold in their hands on the way to work, are more than just a phone, they play an essential role in many aspects of our daily lives. From the first generation, which combined the functions of a phone and PDA, to the second generation, which allowed users to manage real-time information and personal information without a PC, to the third generation, which expanded through a diverse ecosystem of apps, we have reached the modern smartphone. The introduction of the third generation of smartphones, especially the iPhone, led to the popularization of smartphones, and since then, smartphones have become more powerful and capable, changing every aspect of our lives.
On a crowded morning commute to work, or on a subway or bus in Korea, most people are holding something in their hands. You can easily find it in the hands of people walking down the street, and it is a smartphone. People are inseparable from their smartphones, using them to communicate with friends through chat apps like KakaoTalk, play game apps like Anipang, and listen to music downloaded from their computers. It is now commonplace to see people using their smartphones to get the latest news and information, record their daily lives and emotions on social media, and communicate with others. This phenomenon is often referred to as smartphone addiction.
But when did smartphones start to dominate our lives? As the English name ‘Smartphone’ suggests, it means ‘smart phone’. It has voice messaging, text messaging, and calling capabilities like a regular cell phone, but it also has a platform and interface for application developers and access to the internet. Smartphones are now more than just a tool for calling and messaging; they are key devices that redefine people’s daily routines and lifestyle habits. This “small computer with a phone” that can check email and read e-books is what a smartphone is. Nowadays, smartphones are constantly being refreshed with more powerful processors, more memory, and larger screens to make them more competitive. But it took a long time for smartphones to become what they are today.
The current generation of smartphones are called third-generation smartphones, while the second-generation smartphones are called PDAs, and the first-generation smartphones are PDAs with phone functions. Examples of first-generation smartphones include Sescom’s Luxiang in 2001 and Cyberbank’s PC-EPhone. A PDA was a PC in the palm of your hand by simplifying and reducing the size of the operating system used on a PC, and a cell phone was simply a phone that you could carry around. Combining these two devices into one was the significance of the first generation of smartphones, and despite the enormous promise of these first smartphones at the time, they didn’t take off.
The second generation of smartphones had a more cell phone-like design than the first. You could buy ringtones and wallpapers, but you weren’t able to use MP3 files or apps. Examples of second-generation smartphones include Cyberbank’s CB X30, LG’s KU2000, and HTC’s Touch Diamond. While the first generation of smartphones could only manage data such as schedules and contacts by connecting to a PC, the second generation of smartphones provided services that synchronized personal information without connecting to a PC, and allowed users to receive the information they wanted in real time. The ability to manage a large amount of personal information and receive information quickly made the second generation of smartphones very popular among office workers.
The third generation of smartphones is the one that has been around since the release of Apple’s iPhone. We no longer approach smartphones from a PC perspective. We have an operating system for smartphones, and we can create apps for them and share them with other users. This has led to the creation of a new digital ecosystem beyond just a communication device. The development of the app ecosystem, coupled with the expansion of various industries, has led to the expansion of smartphones into many fields, including education, finance, healthcare, and entertainment. This has turned smartphones into “everyday essentials” that provide personalized services and information. The iPhone was the first device to make this change possible, and smartphone operating systems such as Android continue to be developed along the lines of the iPhone’s operating system, iOS. In addition, all the devices of the third generation of smartphones are equipped with Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi, MP3, and camera functions.
So far, we have learned about the history of smartphones that dominate the lives of people in Korea. Smartphones, which were once dismissed as simply a combination of a PDA and a cell phone, have become familiar to our lives since the third generation of smartphones appeared. Smartphones are changing the way we live with better performance than PCs, and we are looking forward to seeing what the fourth and fifth generations of smartphones will bring to the table and how they will change our lives. Smartphones from the fourth generation onward are expected to provide more functions beyond just delivering digital information, such as real-time personalized services through artificial intelligence and interworking with Internet of Things (IoT) devices. As a result, people will be able to lead more convenient and efficient lives through their smartphones.
