This blog post examines when smartphones began dominating our daily lives, exploring their development process and the impact they’ve had on our habits.
On crowded morning commutes, most people on Korea’s subways or buses hold something in their hands. This item, easily spotted in the hands of pedestrians, is the ‘smartphone’. People live inseparable lives from their smartphones: exchanging messages with acquaintances via chat apps like ‘KakaoTalk’, enjoying game apps like ‘Anipang’, or listening to music downloaded from computers and stored on their phones. Checking unread news or the latest information on their smartphones, recording their daily lives and emotions on social media, and communicating with others has become a routine part of life. This phenomenon, where smartphones dominate our daily lives, is sometimes called ‘smartphone addiction’.
So, when did smartphones begin to dominate our lives? As the English name ‘Smartphone’ suggests, it means ‘a smart phone’. Beyond the voice messages, text messages, and calling functions found in regular mobile phones, it also provides a platform and interface for application developers and enables internet access. Now, the smartphone has moved beyond being a simple tool for calls and messages to become a core device that redefines people’s daily routines and habits. This ‘small computer with phone capabilities’ that can check email and read e-books is precisely what we call a smartphone. Nowadays, smartphones are constantly being released with more powerful processors, larger memory capacities, and bigger screens to enhance their competitiveness. However, it took quite a long time for smartphones to reach their current form.
Smartphones in their current form are called third-generation smartphones. While not in the same form as today, smartphones that resembled phones are called second-generation smartphones, and those that were PDAs with only phone functionality added are called first-generation smartphones. Examples of first-generation smartphones include the 2001 Sescom Luxiang and the Cyberbank PC-EPhone. PDAs were essentially handheld PCs created by simplifying and downsizing operating systems used on PCs, while mobile phones were simply portable telephones. The significance of the first-generation smartphone lies in combining these two devices into one. Although the immense potential of these earliest smartphones was recognized at the time, they did not gain widespread popularity.
Second-generation smartphones featured designs more akin to traditional mobile phones compared to their predecessors. While users could purchase ringtones and wallpapers, there were limitations on using MP3 files or apps. Examples include Cyberbank’s CB X30, LG’s KU2000, and HTC’s Touch Diamond. While first-generation smartphones required connecting to a PC to manage data like calendars and contacts, second-generation smartphones offered services that synchronized personal information without a PC connection and delivered desired information in real time. The ability to manage vast amounts of personal data and receive information quickly made second-generation smartphones hugely popular among office workers.
Third-generation smartphones, emerging after Apple’s iPhone launch, represent the modern smartphone form. They no longer approach smartphones from a PC perspective. Dedicated smartphone operating systems emerged, enabling the creation and sharing of apps for smartphones. This transcended their role as mere communication devices, creating a new digital ecosystem. The development of the app ecosystem, coupled with the expansion of various industries, resulted in smartphones extending into numerous fields such as education, finance, healthcare, and entertainment. Through this, smartphones established themselves as ‘essential everyday devices’ providing personalized services and information. The first device enabling this change was the iPhone, and following its operating system ‘iOS’, smartphone operating systems like ‘Android’ continue to be developed. Furthermore, all third-generation smartphones came equipped with Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Fi capabilities, along with MP3 and camera functions.
We have explored the history of smartphones, which now dominate the lives of people in our country. What was once dismissed as merely a combination of a PDA and a mobile phone became familiar in our lives as we know it today with the advent of third-generation smartphones. Smartphones, which possess better performance than PCs and are changing our way of life, are anticipated to evolve into fourth- and fifth-generation smartphones in the future. It is exciting to consider what features they will possess and how they will transform our lives. Smartphones beyond the fourth generation are expected to go beyond simply transmitting digital information. They will provide more functions through real-time personalized services enabled by artificial intelligence and integration with Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Consequently, people will be able to lead more convenient and efficient lives in their daily routines through smartphones.
