Key Difference: Smartphones are any mobile phones that are similar to a mini computer. Smartphones offer a variety of features that allows advanced computing capability and connectivity. Feature phone is a category of mobile phones that have minimal features and are moderately priced. These phones are aimed at customers that want a medium range phone that is not overly priced and also offers some of the features of a smartphone.

Smartphone and feature phones are two categories of cellphones that are available on the market. Since the launch of smartphones, it has been on a constant rise, with many people opting to update and change their phones constantly to include new technologies. However, for many people smartphones are quite a waste of money as they do not tend to use many of the features that are provided with the smartphones. This is where feature phones come in. Feature phones are mobile phones that are moderately priced and offer minimal features.

Smartphone is a mobile phone that operates on an operating system, similar to a mini computer. Smartphones are basically that – a mini computer. They offer a variety of features such as calling capabilities, computing capabilities, video conferencing, online surfing, cameras, media players, GPS navigation units, etc. Any mobile phone that lets you do the work of a computer is considered as a smartphone. Smartphone are powered by operating systems such as Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, etc.  The term ‘smartphone’ was introduced into the market by Ericsson in 1997, when it used the word to describe its GS 88 ‘Penelope’ concept as a smartphone. There is no clear distinction that decides which phones are smartphone and which phones are not. However, with the increasing technology and offerings in a phone, the category has expanded to include all the new features that are currently available in the market.

Feature phone is a category of mobile phones that have minimal features and are moderately priced. These phones are aimed at customers that want a medium range phone that is not overly priced and also offers some of the features of a smartphone. A feature phone has more functions than a basic phone but less features than a smartphone. It can be considered that feature phones offer functions that are required and can be important in daily life. However, with the constant rise in technology a feature phone will have more advance capabilities than the feature phones that were available a couple of years back. The constant evolution of technology ensures that feature phone category is open and expanding, with new devices that are being added to the category. Feature phones can also be marketed under various other terms such as: smartphone lite, smartphone (by certain people such as Bell Mobility) and mid-range smartphone.

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