Perhaps no one will argue that mobile phones are now gradually becoming a converged device. Even in the most cost effective solution cost 3-4 thousand rubles is almost always possible to find a MP3-player, built-in camera, to connect the Internet and other functions. What to say about today’s multimedia monsters, where producers are not too lazy to cram in every conceivable technology. This multimegapikselnye camera module (already on sale 8-megapixel “cameras with built-in phone number), and built-in satellite navigation, and everything else, including the not yet popular in our country, a digital television receiver.

And, if before such a conglomeration of features could cause users only smile at the depressingly low quality of sales, but today are increasingly found the device, virtually nothing inferior to specialized solutions. Suffice it to recall the 8-megapixel camera phones with glass optics, optical zoom, autofocus and other lotions, built-in satellite navigation of, the “sensitivity” is not inferior to GPS-navigator and working on similar software, music phones with excellent sound quality, etc. .

Converged devices all-in-one

Sometimes, instead of parity between the specialized solutions and multifunctional mobile devices is observed superiority of the latter. This is largely the case for various services to facilitate the work with a camera, GPS or music player: a direct function of blogging there is the possibility of geographical tags photos (GPS-coordinates of location shots), and so on.

All this finds a ready response from users who are now in the majority perceive a mobile phone is no longer as a means of communication, as well as some multi-functional device with which you can listen to music, take photos, read books, surf the Internet, at worst, to learn time and take it to the built-in calculator.

True, there are negative aspects of impeding the increase in the share of truly converged product in the market of mobile phones. First of all, this is the continuing high cost of such decisions, because most often they serve as a flagship product lines of manufacturing companies, most tech devices.

Well-known formula, “I do not need eight, give three hundred and five hundred works successfully and here. Customers are much more likely to become less functional, fancy phones, for example, in a couple of good camera.

Further, will not go away the problem of energy consumption, because, as we know, most functional devices at the same time and have the lowest battery life.

Be that as it may, the impact of converged mobile devices on the market is becoming more noticeable. Especially interesting to trace their development from the first such solutions to the current ultimate prod-ucts.

Start

Perhaps the beginning of the interpenetration of mobile phones and of other digital devices had been laid with the release in 2002, the first Finnish-sky smartphone, the Nokia 7650.

Nokia 7650

This apparatus was remarkable in several aspects at once. It was one of the first mobile phone made in the slider form factor, which had a sufficiently high quality for the time color screen, as well as the implementation of advanced technology – MMS-messages, infrared, Bluetooth. Do not forget that worked smartphone running Symbian OS Series 60, rather than proprietary software platform (although at the time it does not bore absolutely no advantage, because third-party software for this OS did not already exist). Perhaps one of the main advantages of the Nokia 7650 is the built-in digital camera, which, in fact, allows staff to consider a number of convergence, as well as the very ideology of multi-functional device designed for a wide range of tasks.

It is worth to note that not all converged devices are smartphones or communicators, is to substitute the concept is not worth it.

However, over the next few years the mobile phone market does not appear other phones, which could be called a truly converged, to make a qualitative leap in the ideology of multi-functional solutions.

This does not mean that does not go vehicles, equipped with built-in camera, music player or any other features that are characteristic of a specialized digital devices.

In 2003-2004 appeared fairly large number of mobile phones with integrated cameras, the function has quickly become popular among users (and manufacturers to pair with mobile operators, while waiting for significant benefits from the development of service MMS-messages). In 2004, mass market mobile phones overcame “megapixel” abroad. Send these devices, such as, Siemens S65, Nokia 7610 (it is interesting that none of these decisions are not positioned as a photographic – “Messer” is a business phone, the Finnish smartphone promoted as an image of the tube).

Efforts were and are quite interesting marketing moves, as is the case with the Sony Ericsson K700i – interested in his rear surface “for the camera and interpolation of images taken with VGA-camera, pending resolution of 1280×960 pixels – the actual 1.3-megapixel camera here and did not smell.

However, the developed and the direction of music phones. Incidentally, the first mobile phone capable of playing MP3-songs (and a very good quality), the German Siemens SL45, appeared before the formation of the market proper MP3-players.

Same donkey Siemens SL45

In 2004 appeared a very good young apparatus Motorola E398, whose musical “abilities” for a long time became a model for the market.

However, the main disadvantage of all these multi-function phones, had not enabled them to consider a number of truly converged devices, was at the lower convenience of comparison with specialized solutions. Poor ergonomics, lack of dedicated controls, a loss of technical specifications – all this makes the data sets of interest, and no more. On the role of a full replacement digital camera, music player or anything else they were not good. Shopping digital devices for the time being developed in parallel.

Breakthrough

Radical changes have taken place in 2005. At that time happened just a few key market events that have had a marked influence on the further development, such as mobile phones and related devices.

Thus, in the field of photographic solutions breakthrough was the entrance of camera phone Sony Ericsson K750i. Almost the first time (for the mass of the European market, we do not take into account the Asian markets, in particular, Korean or Japanese) could signal the arrival of “the camera, which is a phone that camera.” The model was the next step in the development of converged mobile devices.

The main advantage of the apparatus, of course, was an excellent 2-megapixel autofocus camera (model of the Japanese Sharp considered hardly appropriate, since the domestic market, it actually was not represented – in general, here and below we omit the points related to the Korean and Japanese decisions we are interested primarily in Europe, as the closest to the domestic market for mobile phones). For a long time, the company sets the standard among the built-in mobile phone cameras. Double-positioning device (rear surface of the frame, emulate the camera – the further development of the ideas embodied in the predecessor, Sony Ericsson K700i), improved ergonomics – dedicated two-position shutter release button, the horizontal orientation of the device, similar to digital cameras, mechanical shutter, finally focusing system – all as in this soap dish. This is complemented by high quality images, it is sufficient to print photos size 10×15 cm

Sony Ericsson K750i

We should also note other benefits of convergence – phone could boast a maximum for the time functionality (except for the absence uncritical EDGE): high-quality music player, integrated FM-radio with RDS, as well as other attributes of the flagship – quality screen, memory card slot for Memory Stick Pro Duo, an excellent software platform with the implementation of the improved menu interface, equipped with tabbed quick access.

Interestingly, the response was the emergence of Finnish Nokia smartphone, camera phone Nokia N90, which gave rise in the mobile industry truly photographic brands (in this case – optics from Carl Zeiss).

Whatever it was, it was the emergence of Sony Ericsson K750i unleashed “arms race” among camera phones manufacturing companies. The number of converged devices, then sharply increased.

The second significant event for the market in 2005, this time in music, the launch (or even restart the original – do not remember Sony cassette era of our parents?) Brand Walkman, which, from this time was closely associated with music – backgrounds of Sony Ericsson. Only in the last couple of years the parent company Sony has actively promoted under the brand itself MP3-players, wanting to make up for opportunities missed during passive early and mid-decade.

Sony Ericsson Walkman W800

Support for the cult, though badly faded, the brand, some changes for the better compared with the twin brother of Sony Ericsson K750i (improvement in the bass, ability to work with the phone disconnected radiopart, the so-called regime of “In Flight”), as well as several advanced supplied – all contributed to the success of the Walkman phone and the line as a whole.

Interest in music phones Sony Ericsson by users and has prompted other manufacturers to produce such solutions. Over the next year’s line music-backgrounds appeared in practically all the leading companies – XpressMusic from Nokia, Q-fi has gone from BenQ-Siemens, ROKR from Motorola, Ultra Music from Samsung (today musical direction of the Korean company formed through a series of Beatz).

Interestingly, in the same in 2005 laid bare the main problems of music phones, which made them – for the time being – ineffective compared with the specialized musical decisions, ie, MP3-players. A peculiar litmus test performed musical model Motorola ROKR E1. This music phone, despite the cooperation with other cult American company Apple and the deserved fame of its predecessor and almost complete analog Motorola E398, has been unanimously recognized the failure of the year. Members, especially the native American market did not see absolutely no point in buying the device for all musical parameters inferior MP3 player: it’s uncomfortable ergonomics (dedicated keys run your player did not go to any comparison with the ClickWheel from Apple), a smaller memory at a higher cost (complete microSD card with 512 MB did not look good alternative to gigabyte iPod), finally, the inability to use standard music accessories (due to lack of 3,5 mm audio jack). Ability to make phone calls and other functions of the phone for many users did not seem critical.

Even more alienated parity music phones and MP3 players phenomenal success released in the same 2005 player iPod Nano from Apple. Say nothing cost players and sets new standards in ergonomics, the volume of internal memory, versus the then generation of music-backgrounds, he showed his superiority (repeat that we are talking only about the musical ability of the phone). By the way, Nano and brought rustle in the segment of MP3 players in general, ranging from shortages of flash memory on the market (Apple bought almost half “of the dice” in those days), total cloning design to the rapid development of so-called MP4 players, whose ancestor was this player (interestingly, with the Nano first generation did not have the capability to play video compression in the “mobile” 3GP and MP4).

Nevertheless, music phones contributed to further development of mobile convergence. Many contributed to this significant event and third in 2005 in the world of mobile phones – launching a series of devices Nokia Nseries, the first products are smartphones Nokia N70 and N90. The first time appeared on the market portfolio of, originally intended as a converged, combining the maximum number of functions. Since that time, the Finnish manufacturer for the particular line used the rather awkward term “multimedia computers”, which, however, as fully as possible to reflect the concept of new converged devices. Indeed, the emphasis on multimedia features, such as obtaining high-quality photos, play music and video playback, Internet browsing, etc. Later added to this set of satellite navigation, digital television, in short, everything that today is typical of top-end converged solutions. Thus, since 2005 one can observe the development of multifunctional devices, each year the rate has increased, and today we can see, if not the dominance of such decisions, then a significant impact on the mobile industry – exactly.

Nokia_N70

Now it is worth examining more specific aspects and areas of converged handsets.
Segment photographic solutions – camera phones

Indeed, the number ultimate, so-called all-in-one solutions “all-in-one” not so great. The most striking example of the last time can be called Nokia N95 (and its counterpart in the classical case Nokia N82), even the infamous iPhone from Apple can not be attributed to their number.

Much more on the market models, in which the emphasis placed on one or another function. Built-in camera is almost the most in demand of them, actually, so photographic solutions should be considered first.

As mentioned above, the development of camera phones has begun to release the Nokia 7650 and the impetus for the current rapid growth served as the model output Sony Ericsson K750i.

In this long segment of camera phones grew extremely extensive way – increasing the number of megapixels in the sensor, but no more. There was a qualitative leap, which is comparable to a cumulative effect with the release of Sony Ericsson K750i (camera with autofocus, ergonomics, as close as possible to the management of digital cameras – for example, two-position shutter release button) – is enough to recall the first 3-megapixel camera on the market of Russia, a clamshell Voxtel, which than the matrix, could not provide the user with virtually nothing.

Released in 2006, a camera phone Sony Ericsson K790i (as well as its 3G-version of the K800i) was interesting (there was a new software platform A100 with advanced features), and became even more like a compact camera Sony Cyber-Shot T-series, but no breakthrough yet was.

Yes, new photographic functions gradually implemented in devices coming out, but their number was not too great, and the model is clearly not seriously threatened to press the position of digital cameras. Thus, the first – on the European market – the phone with optical zoom, model Nokia N93, obviously was not a massive decision, and besides, the form factor miniketa (the photography) is clearly inferior to the horizontal orientation of conventional cameras. While the multimedia computer from Nokia was interesting and productive new processor, provides to filming in high-resolution 640×480 pixels at high speed.

However, most mobile phones, until recently, could not offer something that users do not have a powerful processor responsible for processing images, but also other critical functions for the target audience, such as tolerable Macro, manual, glass optics, the ability to record in RAW format, and so d. At the same time, mobile phones do not require adaptation matrix cameras, require the creation of custom solutions that can fit in a fairly compact package.