Pop quiz: How much do you really know about the smartphone world?
Early smartphones were marketed primarily towards the enterprise market, attempting to bridge the functionality of standalone personal digital assistant (PDA) devices with support for cellular telephony, but were limited by their battery life, bulky form factors, and the immaturity of wireless data services. In the 2000s, BlackBerry, Nokia’s Symbian platform, and Windows Phone began to gain market traction, with models often featuring QWERTY keyboards or resistive touchscreen input, and emphasizing access to push email and wireless internet. Since the unveiling of the iPhone in 2007, the majority of smartphones have featured thin, slate-like form factors, with large, capacitive screens with support for multi-touch gestures rather than physical keyboards, and offer the ability for users to download or purchase additional applications from a centralized store, and use cloud storage and synchronization, virtual assistants, as well as mobile payment services.
Improved hardware and faster wireless communication (due to standards such as LTE) have bolstered the growth of the smartphone industry. In the third quarter of 2012, one billion smartphones were in use worldwide Global smartphone sales surpassed the sales figures for feature phones in early 2013.
In the first of a regular weekly series, we invite you to test your knowledge to see exactly how much you know — or don’t know — about the smartphone world. The quiz below contains 10 multiple-choice questions that range from easy to hard.
Are you up for the challenge? Get started by pressing the “Try me” button, and don’t forget to share your result on social media once you’re done.