What with the launch of the Nexus One, and with Google saying it goes beyond being a smartphone, and becomes a ‘superphone’, it raised an interesting question in my head: what exactly is a ‘superphone’? Is the Nexus One the only one out there, or are there others? Can we actually come to a working definition of what superphone means, and if so, should it enter our vocabulary, as an objective description of a particular class of phones?
Well, first, let’s get the obvious point out the way: the word ‘superphone’ is an obvious, shameless bit of self-promotion, and good on ‘em for using it. I would, too, if it was my phone I was promoting.
With that said, however, I’ve used the word superphone many times over the last year, and I’ve used it to describe any phone that’s basically blown my mind, usually in terms of power. I reckon the first time I used it was when the Toshiba TG01 got unveiled, and we all know what two things made that phone so exciting: the Snapdragon processor and the 4.1 inch screen.
So, is a Snapdragon chip the thing that makes a phone a superphone?
Well, as it happens, that’s not a bad place to start when looking for a definition of what a superphone is. The TG01 had one, the HTC HD2 has got one (and I reckon the HD2 is the archetypal superphone currently on the market), and of course, the new Nexus One, a phone that Google are officially calling a superphone, has one. I say we shouldn’t limit it to just the Snapdragon, though, as other processors are starting to appear (like the Armada 610 and the Tegra series), which are just as powerful. So, let’s say that one facet of a ‘superphone’ is a processor that can be described as rhyming with it-hot…
I also reckon the OS is important. One of the definitions of a smartphone that gets bandied about, is a phone with an OS that allows for native application development. So, that rules out feature phones, where the apps you use are Java apps, but it does include phones using Windows Mobile, Android, Symbian, the iPhone OS, Maemo, Bada, and WebOS. Also, yes, I got tired typing that list out. So, to be a superphone, I reckon a phone needs a fast processor, and a proper smartphone OS.
But I reckon it needs something else beyond those two things. Y’see, there are many phones out there with a fast processor and a proper smartphone OS, but that doesn’t make them all superphones. No, I reckon a phone has to have that something extra, and this is probably an entirely subjective thing, but I class a superphone that makes me instantly stop and say “dear god almighty, I must have that”. That’s why I call the Nokia N900 a superphone (because of Maemo), as well as the HTC HD2 (because, well, just look at the specs of the damn thing).
So, yes, I’m all for having a new class of phone, and calling them ‘superphones’. Just don’t forget that as the mobile world continually evolves, a phone could come out that instantly strips them of the superphone name. Unless, of course, we start using the term fandabbydozyphone…
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