Operating Systems: At the core of all smartphones is a software operating system that powers its performance and the software applications it can run.

Current smartphone operating systems include: 

• Android, a new open-source operating system for smartphones and mobile handsets developed by Google; 
• iPhone OS X, a version of Apple’s OS X developed specifically for its iPhone; 
• RIM Blackberry found in Blackberry devices; Palm OS, running on some Palm PDAs and handsets; 
• Symbian, used in Nokia phones and some models from Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG;
• Windows Mobile, a special version of Windows for mobile handsets.

Networks: There are several terms used to describe the high speed digital networks that empower smartphones’ data transmission and remote Web access capabilities. These include: 

• 3G the Third Generation wireless digital standard for high-speed voice and data networks with maximum  transmission rates rated at millions of bits per second (Mbps);
• EDGE: A 2.5G wireless data transmission standard  with a top speed rated at 200Kbps(thousands of bits per second); 
• EV-DO: For Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution-Data only, a standard for transmitting data by radio signals at a maximum of 2.4 Mbps; 
• GPRS, a 2.5G standard with maximum data transmission at 50Kbps; 
• HSDPA, the latest protocol for the wireless high speed transmission of voice and data, with a maximum transmission speed rated at 14.4Mbps; 
• UMTS for Universal Mobile Telephone Service, a 3G service with its maximum speed rated at 2Mbps.

Candy bar: A phone similar in shape and size to a typical candy or chocolate bar.

Slider or slide-away: A phone with features that can be moved out of the way to reveal another feature. In smartphones, for instance, the screen may slide away to reveal a hidden keypad.

Locked and unlocked phones: A locked phone can only be used on the network of the carrier that bundled the phone with a service contract. An unlocked phone will recognize a SIM card from any carrier, and is usually available directly from the manufacturer or some other merchant at or near the suggested retail price without a service contract.

microSD/miniSD: Smaller, more compact versions of SecureDigital (SD) flash memory cards, compatible with the expansion slot featured on many smartphones. Of these, microSD is smallest.

Push: Real time forwarding of e-mail or incoming messages from a server to a handset in the field.

SIM card: The subscriber identity module (SIM) is a removable memory chip used in some phones that makes it easy for you to upgrade from one phone to another while retaining personal settings stored on the card.

Touch screen: A touch-sensitive screen that serves as the interface on some smartphones for controlling applications or entering data with a software keypad.

Wireless broadband: High-speed wireless network access to the Internet through a cellular provider.

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