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53-547: The CDMA phone has a candybar -style design. It operates like a standard color Palm OS device, but several hard (external) and software buttons launch the 'phone' application, which manages calls. The phone shipped with a charging cradle with a DE-9 serial port , extra battery, and a case. Installed applications included ones carried over from existing Palm handheld non-phone devices: Graffiti, Memo Pad, Date Book, Scheduler, Calculator, To Do List, Alarm/Clock, Address Book, Expense Manager, and Palm Desktop Software. ZIO PalmGolf

106-460: A mobile phone is its size, shape, and style, as well as the layout and position of its major components. A bar (also known as a slab, block, candybar) phone takes the shape of a cuboid , usually with rounded corners and/or edges. The name is derived from the rough resemblance to a chocolate bar in size and shape. This form factor is widely used by a variety of manufacturers, such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson . Bar-type smartphones commonly have

159-410: A writable control store (a small specialized high-speed memory) into which microcode firmware would be loaded. Many software functions would be moved to microcode, and instruction sets could be customized, with different firmware loaded for different instruction sets. As computers began to increase in complexity, it became clear that various programs needed to first be initiated and run to provide

212-409: A book. The presence of the front camera for taking selfies has been an essential feature in smartphones, however, it is a difficulty to achieve a bezelless screen as is the trend in the later 2010s. The Nubia X , Nubia Z20 and Vivo NEX Dual Display have solved this combining the use of the main camera and a smaller second rear screen, eliminating the front camera. Xiaomi revealed Mi Mix Alpha ,

265-514: A candybar with a keyboard "side-flip"; the Nokia Communicator series which utilise both a candybar and a clamshell with a QWERTY keyboard; or the Siemens SK65 which is a swivel candybar with a QWERTY keyboard. Some implementations, that do not use the sagittal axis, are presenting in phones like Nokia 3250 and Oppo N1 , with twistable components: a keyboard, and main camera (doubling as

318-417: A consistent environment necessary for running more complex programs at the user's discretion. This required programming the computer to run those programs automatically. Furthermore, as companies, universities, and marketers wanted to sell computers to laypeople with little technical knowledge, greater automation became necessary to allow a lay-user to easily run programs for practical purposes. This gave rise to

371-668: A flexible, plastic substrate , meaning that glass is no longer needed; allowing the displays to be rolled, bent and folded; which makes new form factors possible. In January 2017, rumors emerged of a Samsung foldable phone, and in November 2018, the Samsung Galaxy Fold was revealed, with a combined display size of 7.4 inches. Other manufacturers, such as Huawei and Xiaomi , have also announced phones with foldable displays. In November 2019, Motorola officially unveiled its horizontal-folding Motorola Razr. The Oppo N1 made use of

424-445: A kind of software that a user would not consciously run, and it led to software that a lay user wouldn't even know about. As originally used, firmware contrasted with hardware (the CPU itself) and software (normal instructions executing on a CPU). It was not composed of CPU machine instructions, but of lower-level microcode involved in the implementation of machine instructions. It existed on

477-552: A manual flip camera. Asus , in the Zenfone 6 , Zenfone 7 and Zenfone 8 Flip smartphones, includes an all-screen front, eliminating the dedicated front-facing camera notch; instead, the main cameras are housed in a motorized flip-up module that rotates 180 degrees to focus forward. The Samsung Galaxy A80 also has a similar flip-slide camera mechanism. Some companies are experimenting with rollable displays in order to make devices that can convert from smartphone to tablet. A slider

530-556: A motorized module, using a combination of slider and swivel they achieve the rotation to the front to be used for selfies. Firmware In computing , firmware is software that provides low-level control of computing device hardware . For a relatively simple device, firmware may perform all control, monitoring and data manipulation functionality. For a more complex device, firmware may provide relatively low-level control as well as hardware abstraction services to higher-level software such as an operating system . Firmware

583-399: A pop-up front-facing camera mechanism. One major drawback with pop-up cameras is their inherent complexity due to the mechanism used, as the components such as the motor take up valuable space within the phone's internals which may also fail over time. A swivel phone is composed of multiple—usually two—segments, which swivel past each other about a sagittal axis (most of the time). Use of

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636-441: A program from the provider, and will often allow the old firmware to be saved before upgrading so it can be reverted to if the process fails, or if the newer version performs worse. Free software replacements for vendor flashing tools have been developed, such as Flashrom . Sometimes, third parties develop an unofficial new or modified ("aftermarket") version of firmware to provide new features or to unlock hidden functionality; this

689-514: A selfie one), respectively. Some mobile phones use more than one form, such as the Nokia N90 , Nokia 6260, Philips 968, Sharp SX862, Samsung SGH-P910, Samsung FlipShot SCH-U900, Amoi 2560, Samsung Alias series or Panasonic FOMA P900iV, which use both a swivel and a flip axis. Some phones use a combination of form factors, so, Nokia N93 , P906i, W61SH use a combination of swivel and flip. Bezelless Samsung A80 only has rear cameras that are housed in

742-463: A smartphone with a display that surrounds almost entirely its body, only interrupted in the back part by a column that contains the cameras. Back part of display can be used as viewfinder for selfies and videocalls. The taco form factor was popularized by the Nokia N-Gage , released in 2003. It was widely known as the plastic taco for its taco-shape and the placement of microphones on the side of

795-658: Is a major threat to system security: "Your biggest mistake is to assume that the NSA is the only institution abusing this position of trust – in fact, it's reasonable to assume that all firmware is a cesspool of insecurity, courtesy of incompetence of the highest degree from manufacturers, and competence of the highest degree from a very wide range of such agencies". As a potential solution to this problem, he has called for declarative firmware, which would describe "hardware linkage and dependencies" and "should not include executable code ". Firmware should be open-source so that

848-455: Is basically the slate form factor, but with two touchscreens. Some have a small separate screen above the main screens, the LG V10 and LG V20. Other multi-screen devices have screens on both sides of the phone. In the case of Yotaphone and Siam 7X , they have normal touchscreens on the front, but on the backside is an e-ink screen , which enables using the cases in a fashion similar to reading

901-422: Is composed of usually two, but sometimes more, sections that slide past each other on rails. Most slider phones have a display segment which houses the device's screen, while another segment contains the keypad or keyboard and slides out for use. The goal of a sliding form factor is to allow the operator to take advantage of full physical keyboards or keypads, without sacrificing portability, by retracting them into

954-485: Is considered by some to be largely responsible for the influence and achievement of this design as it is currently conceived. Some unusual "slate" designs include that of LG New Chocolate (BL40) , or the Samsung Galaxy Round , which is curved. The phablet is a subset of the slate/touchscreen. A portmanteau of the words phone and tablet , phablets are a class of mobile device designed to combine or straddle

1007-474: Is found in a wide range of computing devices including personal computers , phones , home appliances , vehicles , computer peripherals and in many of the digital chips inside each of these larger systems. Firmware is stored in non-volatile memory – either read-only memory (ROM) or programmable memory such as EPROM , EEPROM , or flash . Changing a device's firmware stored in ROM requires physically replacing

1060-434: Is less frequently updated, even when flash memory (rather than ROM, EEPROM) storage is used for the firmware. Most computer peripherals are themselves special-purpose computers. Devices such as printers, scanners, webcams, and USB flash drives have internally-stored firmware; some devices may also permit field upgrading of their firmware. For modern simpler devices, such as USB keyboards , USB mouses and USB sound cards ,

1113-440: Is on a long edge of the phone instead of a short edge, and when flipped out the screen is above the keyboard. Another unusual flip form was seen on the luxury Serene , a partnership between Samsung and Bang & Olufsen . Clamshell came to be used as generic for this form factor. Flip phone referred to phones that opened on the vertical axis. As clamshells disappeared from the market, the terms again became disambiguated. By

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1166-471: Is referred to as custom firmware . An example is Rockbox as a firmware replacement for portable media players . There are many homebrew projects for various devices, which often unlock general-purpose computing functionality in previously limited devices (e.g., running Doom on iPods ). Firmware hacks usually take advantage of the firmware update facility on many devices to install or run themselves. Some, however, must resort to exploits to run, because

1219-484: Is the kick-slider , a slider with an extra hinge to conform to face like on Motorola Rizr Z8 . Phones like the OnePlus 7 Pro , Oppo Find X and Vivo Nex hide front cameras within the body of the devices in motorized pop-up modules to create a bezelless front face fully occupied by screens without any cutout while keeping a front-facing camera that can move up when required. Vivo V15 Pro and Centric S1 also come with

1272-482: The Motorola DynaTAC , have been displaced by newer smaller models which offer greater portability thanks to smaller antennas and slimmer battery packs. However, "brick" has more recently been applied to older phone models in general, including non-bar form factors (flip, slider, swivel, etc.), and even early touchscreen phones as well, due to their size and relative lack of functionality compared to current models on

1325-535: The Nokia 7280 modeled like lipstick, Samsung SGH-F520 from 2007 which slides three ways with a QWERTY keyboard, and the Samsung Anycall SCH-B550 ; which is a gaming phone. Sliders supplanted the flip form, since they allowed manufacturers to pack more keypad buttons and features (especially the side slider or QWERTY slider) into the same form factor, while touchscreen interfaces were still in their infancy. By

1378-569: The 2-way slider where sliding up or down provides distinct functions: the Nokia N85 or Nokia N95 are examples of this. A version of the slider form factor, the side slider or QWERTY slider, uses vertical access of the keyboard on the bottom segment. The side slider form factor is primarily used to facilitate faster access to the keyboard with both thumbs. The Motorola Photon Q , Danger Hiptop , Sony Mylo , and HTC Touch Pro are four primary examples. Some unusual sliders have also been made, such as

1431-448: The Axon M. The screens could fold to either have two forward facing screens, or one forward and one rear facing screen. The combined display size is 6.75-inch when unfolded. The second screen allows the Axon M's single camera to be both rear and forward facing, as well as acting as a kickstand or tripod . Following advances in display technology, OLED screens can now be manufactured on

1484-556: The Equation Group in at least 42 countries. Mark Shuttleworth , the founder of the company Canonical , which created the Ubuntu Linux distribution, has described proprietary firmware as a security risk, saying that "firmware on your device is the NSA 's best friend" and calling firmware "a trojan horse of monumental proportions". He has asserted that low-quality, closed source firmware

1537-713: The GUI or even the battery life. Smartphones have a firmware over the air upgrade capability for adding new features and patching security issues. Since 1996, most automobiles have employed an on-board computer and various sensors to detect mechanical problems. As of 2010 , modern vehicles also employ computer-controlled anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and computer-operated transmission control units (TCUs). The driver can also get in-dash information while driving in this manner, such as real-time fuel economy and tire pressure readings. Local dealers can update most vehicle firmware. Other firmware applications include: Flashing involves

1590-400: The boundary between hardware and software; thus the name firmware . Over time, popular usage extended the word firmware to denote any computer program that is tightly linked to hardware, including BIOS on PCs, boot firmware on smartphones, computer peripherals , or the control systems on simple consumer electronic devices such as microwave ovens , remote controls . In some respects,

1643-592: The code can be checked and verified. Custom firmware hacks have also focused on injecting malware into devices such as smartphones or USB devices . One such smartphone injection was demonstrated on the Symbian OS at MalCon , a hacker convention . A USB device firmware hack called BadUSB was presented at the Black Hat USA 2014 conference, demonstrating how a USB flash drive microcontroller can be reprogrammed to spoof various other device types to take control of

Samsung SPH-i300 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1696-501: The damage is so serious as to have rendered the device permanently unusable. A slate is a smartphone form with few to no physical buttons, instead relying upon a touchscreen and an onscreen virtual keyboard for input. The first commercially available touchscreen phone was a brick phone, the IBM Simon Personal Communicator, released in 1994. The success of the iPhone , which was released by Apple in 2007,

1749-433: The device, which, when one talks into the microphone, gives the appearance of eating a taco. Other models include Nokia 3300 and Nokia 5510 . A smartphone in the form of a wristwatch is typically referred to as a smartwatch. A flip or clamshell phone consists of two or more sections that are connected by hinges , allowing the phone to flip open then fold closed in order to become more compact. When flipped open,

1802-606: The drive is formatted or wiped. Although the Kaspersky Lab report did not explicitly claim that this group is part of the United States National Security Agency (NSA), evidence obtained from the code of various Equation Group software suggests that they are part of the NSA. Researchers from the Kaspersky Lab categorized the undertakings by Equation Group as the most advanced hacking operation ever uncovered, also documenting around 500 infections caused by

1855-519: The keyboard from the side and tilt the display so they reminisce a laptop. Today, manufacturers are trying to develop bezel-less smartphones; the greatest difficulty being the presence of front-facing cameras and face recognition sensors. While most brands expand display real-estate, some depart from that approach, returning to the slider form factor; like the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 , Huawei Honor Magic 2 and Lenovo Z5 Pro . A variation of this design

1908-624: The late-2000s, "slider" designs reached the peak of their popularity and declined afterward, being completely replaced by slate form factors with well-developed touch interfaces. In 2015, BlackBerry Limited (previously RIM) released the BlackBerry Priv , the first mainstream slider phone in several years (based on Android , not the Blackberry operating system they sold so far). Nokia E7 , released in 2011 and F(x)tec Pro 1, released in 2019 are notable examples of smartphone sliders as they bring out

1961-446: The manufacturer has attempted to lock the hardware to stop it from running unlicensed code . Most firmware hacks are free software . The Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab discovered that a group of developers it refers to as the " Equation Group " has developed hard disk drive firmware modifications for various drive models, containing a trojan horse that allows data to be stored on the drive in locations that will not be erased even if

2014-462: The market. The term "brick" has also expanded beyond smartphones to include most non-working consumer electronics , including a game console , router , or other device, that, due to a serious misconfiguration, corrupted firmware , or a hardware problem, can no longer function, hence, is as technologically useful as a brick . The term derives from the vaguely cuboid shape of many electronic devices (and their detachable power supplies ) and

2067-472: The memory chip – although some chips are not designed to be removed after manufacture. Programmable firmware memory can be reprogrammed via a procedure sometimes called flashing . Common reasons for changing firmware include fixing bugs and adding features . Ascher Opler used the term firmware in a 1967 Datamation article, as an intermediary term between "hardware" and "software". Opler projected that fourth-generation computer systems would have

2120-458: The mid-2000s, "flip" designs reached the peak of their availability and declined afterward, being replaced by sliders which in turn were completely replaced by slate smartphones. In April 2011, Kyocera International released the Kyocera Echo smartphone with two 3.5" screens. The phone's primary display could lie on top of the second display, reducing its size. In November 2017, ZTE announced

2173-463: The overwriting of existing firmware or data, contained in EEPROM or flash memory module present in an electronic device, with new data. This can be done to upgrade a device or to change the provider of a service associated with the function of the device, such as changing from one mobile phone service provider to another or installing a new operating system. If firmware is upgradable, it is often done via

Samsung SPH-i300 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2226-504: The phone when they are not in use. Many different companies have developed smartphones that slide: Samsung has the Corby and BlackBerry has the Torch. The Siemens SL10 was one of the first slider smartphones in 1999. Some phones have an automatic slider built in that deploys the keypad. Many phones pop out their keypad segments as soon as the user begins to slide the phone apart. Unique models are

2279-514: The phone's screen and keyboard are available. When flipped shut, the phone becomes much smaller and more portable than when it is opened for use. On most modern flip phones, there is usually a small display on the back of the screen to indicate the time and any incoming calls/text messages whilst the phone is closed. Motorola was once owner of a trademark for the term flip phone , but the term flip phone has become genericized and used more frequently than clamshell in colloquial speech. Motorola

2332-478: The same as a regular bar phone, the keyboard and all the buttons make them look significantly different. Devices like these were popular in the mid to late 2000s, but lost popularity afterward. The BlackBerry line from Research In Motion (RIM) was particularly popular and influential in this category. " Brick " is a slang term used to refer to large, outdated rectangular phones, typically early devices with large batteries and electronics. These early phones, such as

2385-460: The screen and keypad on a single face. Sony had a well-known ' Mars Bar ' phone model CM-H333 in 1993 that was longer and thinner than the typical bar phone. Bar phones without a full keyboard tend to have a 3×4 numerical keypad; text is often generated on such systems using the Text on 9 keys algorithm. These are variants of bars that have a full QWERTY keyboard on the front. While they are technically

2438-612: The size of a slate smartphone together with a tablet. Phablets typically have screens that measure (diagonally) greater than 5.3 inches, and are considerably larger than most high-end slate smartphones of the time (i.e. the Samsung Galaxy Note II smartlet versus the Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone), which have to be 5.2 inches or less to be known as a smartphone, though significantly smaller than tablets (which must be 7 inches or above to be considered as such). The multi-screen

2491-401: The suggestion that the device can function only as a lifeless, square object, paperweight or doorstop. This term is commonly used as a verb. For example, "I bricked my MP3 player when I tried to modify its firmware ." It can also be used as a noun, for example, "If it's corrupted and you apply using fastboot , your device is a brick." In the common usage of the term, "bricking" suggests that

2544-498: The swiveling form factor has similar goals to that of the slider, but this form factor is less widely used. Samples are, LG U900 + 960 + V9000, Motorola Flipout + V70 + V80, Nokia 7370 , Siemens SK65 , Samsung Juke + Samsung SGH-X830 , and Sony Ericsson S700i + W550 . The LG Wing implemented this feature into a slate design smartphone, with two touchscreens. Other examples include the Sierra Wireless Voq which combines

2597-444: The trend is to store the firmware in on-chip memory in the device's microcontroller , as opposed to storing it in a separate EEPROM chip. Examples of computer firmware include: Consumer appliances like gaming consoles , digital cameras and portable music players support firmware upgrades. Some companies use firmware updates to add new playable file formats ( codecs ). Other features that may change with firmware updates include

2650-502: The various firmware components are as important as the operating system in a working computer. However, unlike most modern operating systems, firmware rarely has a well-evolved automatic mechanism of updating itself to fix any functionality issues detected after shipping the unit. A computer's firmware may be manually updated by a user via a small utility program. In contrast, firmware in mass storage devices (hard-disk drives, optical disc drives, flash memory storage e.g. solid state drive)

2703-617: Was an advance on the WAP browsers on other mobile phones. It competed with another Palm OS phone, the Kyocera 6035 . Samsung followed up the SPH-i300 with the SPH-i330 in 2003, also on Sprint. The SPH-i330 has a more rounded body and PC connectivity over USB rather than a serial port, but has the same screen, Palm OS version, and general feature set as the SPH-i300. Bar (form) The form factor of

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2756-429: Was another application. In addition, applications to support voice and data communications were included: Blazer , Mail, Messages, Phone, Speed Dial, Voice Dial, and Voice Memo. The SPH-i300 was the first Palm-OS-based smartphone from Samsung, and cost $ 499. The phone was not compatible with Sprint's 3G network and its maximum connection speed of 14.4 kbit/s made browsing slow, but browsing "the real web" in 2001

2809-510: Was the manufacturer of the famed StarTAC flip phone in the 1990s, as well as the RAZR in the mid-2000s. There were also flip "down" phones, like the Motorola MicroTAC series and was also widely used by Ericsson . In 2010, Motorola introduced a different kind of flip phone with its Backflip smartphone. When closed, one side is the screen and the other is a physical QWERTY keyboard. The hinge

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