feature phone

Prior to the popularity of smartphones, the term 'feature phone' was often used on high-end mobile telephones with assorted functions for retail customers, developed at the advent of 3G networks, which allowed sufficient bandwidth for these capabilities.{{Cite web|last=Miller|first=Hugo|date=11 January 2013|url=http://www.TheSpec.com/news/business/article/868294--rim-says-150-carriers-keep-it-from-palm-s-fate-toronto|title=RIM says 150 carriers keep it from Palm's fate (Toronto)|website=TheSpec.com|publisher=TheSpec.com – Metroland Media Group Ltd.|access-date=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117045934/http://www.thespec.com/news/business/article/868294--rim-says-150-carriers-keep-it-from-palm-s-fate-toronto|archive-date=17 January 2013|url-status=dead}}

Depending on extent of functionality, feature phones may have many of the capabilities of a smartphone, within certain cases.{{Cite web|last=Hardy|first=Ed|date=25 March 2003|url=http://www.Brighthand.com/article/Study_Says_Smartphones_Will_Outsell_Handhelds/|title=Study says: smartphones will outsell handhelds this year|website=Brighthand.com|publisher=Brighthand – TechTarget|access-date=13 February 2021|quote=The European analyst firm Canalys has released a study that predicts shipments of smartphones will exceed those of handhelds in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region for the first time in 2003. It says about 3.3 million smartphones will be sold in the region this year, as opposed to 2.8 million handhelds.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910033321/http://www.Brighthand.com/news/study-says-smartphones-will-outsell-handhelds-this-year/|archive-date=10 September 2015|url-status=live}}

The first GSM phones and many feature phones had NOR flash memory, from which processor instructions could be executed directly in an execute in place architecture and allowed for short boot times. With smartphones, NAND flash memory was adopted as it has larger storage capacities and lower costs, but causes longer boot times because instructions cannot be executed from it directly, and must be copied to RAM first before execution.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vaq11vKwo_kC&dq=nand+flash+copy+sram&pg=PA12 | title=Inside NAND Flash Memories | isbn=978-90-481-9431-5 | last1=Micheloni | first1=Rino | last2=Crippa | first2=Luca | last3=Marelli | first3=Alessia | date=27 July 2010 | publisher=Springer }}

File:Walton Olvio E100.jpg Olvio E100 feature phone]]

In developed economies, feature phones are primarily specific to niche markets, or have become merely a preference; owing to certain feature combinations not available in other devices, such as their affordability, durability, and simplicity.{{Cite news |last=Fowler |first=Geoffrey A. |date=27 April 2016 |url= https://www.WSJ.com/articles/its-ok-not-to-use-a-smartphone-1461780160 |title=It's OK not to use a smartphone |work=The Wall Street Journal |location=New York|access-date=}}

A well-specified feature phone can be used in industrial environments, and the outdoors, at workplaces that proscribe dedicated cameras, and as an emergency telephone. Several models are equipped with hardware functions; such as FM radio and flashlight, that prevent the device from becoming useless in the event of a major disaster, or entirely obsolete, if and when 2G network infrastructure is shut down. Other feature phones are specifically designed for the elderly, and yet others for religious purposes.{{Cite web|last=Hirshfeld|first=Rachel|date=26 March 2012|url=https://www.IsraelNationalNews.com/News/News.aspx/154153|title=Introducing: a 'kosher phone' permitted on shabbat – the Zomet Institute has released a kosher telephone that can be used on Shabbat without breaking the Jewish laws of the day of rest.|website=www.IsraelNationalNews.com|publisher=Israel National News – Arutz Sheva|access-date=13 February 2021}}

In Pakistan and other South Asian countries, many mobile phone outlets use feature phones for balance transfer, referred to as Easyload.{{Cite web | url=https://www.telenor.com.pk/easyload/#:~:text=With%20Telenor's%20easyload%20you%20can,as%20per%20your%20price%20plan. | title=Easyload }}

In the late 2010s and early 2020s, multiple new companies were formed specifically to manufacture and sell such phones in North America. These companies reported accelerated growth in 2023 and early 2024, driven by those who find contemporary smartphones too addictive, including parents worried about their children developing such addictions.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-dumbphone-boom-is-real|title=The Dumbphone Boom is Real|first=Kyle|last=Chayka|magazine=The New Yorker|date=April 10, 2024|access-date=April 25, 2024}}

File:2 Nokia dumb phones.jpg

In developed economies in the mid 2000s to early 2010s, fashion and brand loyalty drove sales, as markets had matured and people moved to their second and third phones. In the United States, technological innovation with regard to expanded functionality was a secondary consideration, as phone designs there centred on miniaturisation.{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.BusinessWeek.com/stories/2008-06-16/the-iphones-impact-on-rivalsbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice|title=The iPhone's impact on rivals|magazine=Business Week|date=16 June 2008|access-date=16 August 2013}}{{Cite web|url=http://PixelsTech.net/article/1359363948_Why_does_Symbian_collapse_|title=Why does Symbian collapse?|website=PixelsTech.net|publisher=Pixels Tech|date= |access-date=16 August 2013}}{{Cite news|url=http://WashPost.Bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-MINFW26JTSEJ01-6588TGRTS2A0543182U6TMUOV|title=Business: Washington Post business page, business news|website=WashPost.Bloomberg.com|publisher=The Washington Post – Bloomberg|date=|access-date=16 August 2013|archive-date=20 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320232341/http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-MINFW26JTSEJ01-6588TGRTS2A0543182U6TMUOV|url-status=dead}}

Existing feature phone operating systems at the time were not designed to handle additional tasks beyond communication and basic functions, and due to the complex bureaucracy and other factors, they never developed a thriving software ecosystem.

By contrast, iPhone OS (renamed iOS in 2010) and Android were designed as a robust operating system, embracing third-party software, and having capabilities such as multitasking and graphics capabilities in order to meet future consumer demands.{{Cite news |url= https://www.TheGlobeAndMail.com/globe-investor/rims-long-road-to-reinvent-the-blackberry/article7901031/ |first=Iain |last=Marlow |title=RIM's long road to reinvent the BlackBerry |work=The Globe and Mail |location= Toronto |date=27 January 2013 |access-date=16 August 2013}} These platforms also eclipsed the popularity of smartphone platforms historically aimed towards enterprise markets, such as BlackBerry.{{Cite news|author=Jason Perlow|date=8 November 2009|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/in-smartphone-wars-darwinism-triumphs-over-intelligent-design/|title=In smartphone wars, Darwinism triumphs over intelligent design|website=www.ZDNet.com|publisher=ZDNet|access-date=}}

There has been an industry shift from feature phones (including low-end smartphones), which rely mainly on volume sales, to high-end flagship smartphones, which also enjoy higher margins, thus manufacturers find high-end smartphones much more lucrative than feature phones.{{Cite web|author=Ashraf Eassa|date=12 February 2013|url=http://SeekingAlpha.com/article/1173911-nokia-s-lumia-strategy-will-pay-off-nicely|title=Nokia's Lumia strategy will pay off nicely|website=SeekingAlpha.com|publisher=Seeking Alpha|access-date= }}{{Cite web|author=Chris Smith|date=24 December 2012|url=http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s4-spearhead-impressive-samsung-year-company-sell-390-million-smartphones-2013-142489/|title=Galaxy S4 to spearhead impressive Samsung year, company to sell 390 million smartphones in 2013|website=www.AndroidAuthority.com|publisher=Android Authority|access-date=|archive-date=28 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628200329/https://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s4-spearhead-impressive-samsung-year-company-sell-390-million-smartphones-2013-142489/|url-status=dead}}

The shift away from feature phones has forced mobile network operators to increase subsidies of handsets, and the high selling-prices of flagship smartphones have had a negative effect on the mobile network operators, who have seen their earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) margins drop as they sold more smartphones and fewer feature phones. To help make up for this, carriers typically use high-end devices to upsell customers onto higher-priced service plans with increased data allotments.{{Cite web|last=Goldman|first=David|date=8 February 2012|url=https://Money.CNN.com/2012/02/08/technology/iphone_carrier_subsidy/index.htm|title=Apple's subsidy makes iPhone a nightmare for carriers|website=Money.CNN.com|publisher=CNN Money|access-date=16 August 2013}}{{Cite news |url= https://www.TheGlobeAndMail.com/report-on-business/international-business/sprint-nextel-apple-drinks-the-juice/article544696/ |title=Sprint Nextel: Apple drinks the juice |work=The Globe and Mail |location= Toronto |date=9 February 2012 |access-date=16 August 2013}}{{Cite web|last=Gustin|first=Sam|url=https://Business.Time.com/2012/02/08/how-apples-iphone-actually-hurts-att-verizon-and-sprint/|title=How Apple's iPhone actually hurts AT&T, Verizon and Sprint|magazine=Time|date=8 February 2012|access-date=16 August 2013}} Trends have shown that consumers are willing to pay more for smartphones that include newer features and technology, and that smartphones were considered to be more relevant in present-day popular culture than feature phones.{{Cite magazine|last=Reisinger|first=Don|date=15 August 2013|url=https://www.eWeek.com/mobile/slideshows/smartphones-sales-finally-overtake-feature-phones-10-reasons-why/|title=Smartphones sales finally overtake feature phones: 10 reasons why|website=www.eWeek.com|publisher=eWeek|access-date= }}

File:Motorola RAZR V3i 03.JPG

During the mid-2000s, best-selling feature phones such as the fashionable flip-phone Motorola Razr, multimedia Sony Ericsson W580i, and the LG Black Label Series not only occupied the mid-range pricing in a wireless provider's range, they made up the bulk of retail sales as smartphones from BlackBerry and Palm were still considered a niche category for business use. Even as late as 2009, smartphone penetration in North America was low.{{Cite web|author=Hugo Miller|date=11 January 2013|url=http://www.TheSpec.com/news/business/article/868294--rim-says-150-carriers-keep-it-from-palm-s-fate-toronto|title=RIM says 150 carriers keep it from Palm's fate|website=TheSpec.com|publisher=The Spec|access-date=|archive-date=17 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117045934/http://www.thespec.com/news/business/article/868294--rim-says-150-carriers-keep-it-from-palm-s-fate-toronto|url-status=dead}}

In 2011, feature phones accounted for 60 percent of the mobile telephones in the United States,{{Cite web|author=Don Kellogg|date=1 September 2011|url=http://blog.Nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/40-percent-of-u-s-mobile-users-own-smartphones-40-percent-are-android/|title=40 percent of U.S. mobile users own smartphones; 40 percent are Android|website=blog.Nielsen.com|publisher=Nielsen Company|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021195835/http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/40-percent-of-u-s-mobile-users-own-smartphones-40-percent-are-android/|archive-date=21 October 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=2 September 2011}} and 70 percent of mobile phones sold worldwide.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ZDNet.com/blog/cell-phones/nokias-continued-feature-phone-focus-may-be-one-of-their-smartest-moves/7215|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202234544/http://www.zdnet.com/blog/cell-phones/nokias-continued-feature-phone-focus-may-be-one-of-their-smartest-moves/7215|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 February 2012|title=Nokia's continued feature phone focus may be one of their smartest moves|website=www.ZDNet.com|publisher=ZDNet|date= |access-date= }} According to Gartner in Q2 2013, 225 million smartphones were sold worldwide which represented a 46.5 percent gain over the same period in 2012, while 210 million feature phones were sold, which was a decrease of 21 percent year over year, the first time that smartphones have outsold feature phones.{{Cite web|author=Rob van der Meulen & Janessa Rivera|date=14 August 2013|url=http://www.Gartner.com/newsroom/id/2573415|title=Gartner says smartphone sales grew 46.5 percent in second quarter of 2013 and exceeded feature phone sales for first time|website=www.Gartner.com|publisher=Gartner|access-date= }} Smartphones accounted for 51.8 percent of mobile phone sales in the second quarter of 2013, resulting in smartphone sales surpassing feature phone sales for the first time.{{Cite web|author=Cyrus Farivar|date=14 August 2013|url=https://arstechnica.com/business/2013/08/smartphones-outsell-feature-phones-for-the-first-time-worldwide/|title=Smartphones outsell feature phones, for the first time|website=arstechnica.com|publisher= |access-date=}}

A survey of 4,001 Canadians by Media Technology Monitor (MTM) in late 2012 suggested about 83 percent of the anglophone population owned a cellphone, up from 80 percent in 2011 and 74 percent in 2010. About two thirds of the mobile phone owners polled said they had a smartphone, and the other third had feature phones or non-smartphones. According to MTM, non-smartphone users are more likely to be female, older, have a lower income, live in a small community, and have less education. The survey found that smartphone owners tend to be male, younger, live in a high-income household with children in the home, and residents of a community of one million or more people. Students also ranked high among smartphone owners.{{Cite web|last=Oliveira|first=Michael|date=1 May 2013|url=http://GlobalNews.ca/news/526081/smartphones-push-old-flip-phones-to-extinction/|title=Smartphones push old flip phones to extinction|website=GlobalNews.ca|publisher=Global News Canada|access-date=16 August 2013}}

Mobile phones in Japan diverged from those used elsewhere, with carriers and devices often implementing advanced features; such as NTT docomo's i-mode platform for mobile internet in 1999, mobile payments, mobile television, and near field communications; that were not yet widely used, or even adopted, outside of Japan. This divergence has been cited as an example of Galápagos syndrome; as a result, these feature phones are retroactively referred to as a {{nihongo|'gala-phone'|ガラケー|gara-kei}}, blending with {{nihongo|'mobile phone'|携帯|keitai}}. While smartphones have gained popularity (and implement features introduced on them), many gala-phones are still commonly used,{{when|date=January 2025}} citing preferences for the devices and their durability over smartphones.{{Cite web|title=Jargon watch|url=https://www.Wired.com/magazine/2009/10/st_jw/|quote=Galápagos syndrome n. The scourge of Japanese mobile companies, whose superadvanced 3G handsets won't work on foreign cell networks. It's named for the birds of the Galápagos, whose specialized beaks don't cut it on the mainland.|website=www.Wired.com|publisher=Wired|date=19 October 2009|access-date=24 June 2010}}{{Cite web|first=Devin|last=Stewart|author-link=Devin Stewart|date=29 April 2010|title=Slowing Japan's Galapagos syndrome|url=http://www.HuffingtonPost.com/devin-stewart/slowing-japans-galapagos_b_557446.html|quote='Galapagos syndrome', a phrase originally coined to describe Japanese cell phones that were so advanced they had little in common with devices used in the rest of the world, could potentially spread to other parts of society. Indeed signs suggest it is happening already.|website=www.HuffingtonPost.com|publisher=Huffington Post|access-date=24 June 2010}}{{Cite web|last=Adelstein|first=Jake|date=5 March 2015|url=https://www.Forbes.com/sites/jadelstein/2015/03/05/in-japan-people-are-flipping-out-over-the-flip-phone-galapagos-phone-whats-old-is-new-again/|title=In Japan, people are flipping out over the flip-phone (Galapagos phone): what's old is new again|work=Forbes|access-date=22 April 2019}}{{Cite web|last=Tabuchi|first=Hiroko|author-link=Hiroko Tabuchi|date=19 July 2009|url=https://www.NYTimes.com/2009/07/20/technology/20cell.html|title=Why Japan's smartphones haven't gone global|website=The New York Times|access-date=22 April 2019|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.WSJ.com/japanrealtime/2013/12/17/japan-as-galapagos-again-now-its-the-cars/|title=Japan as Galápagos again – now it's the cars|last=Takahashi|first=Yoshio|date=17 December 2013|website=blogs.WSJ.com|publisher=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=22 April 2019}}

Mobile games oriented towards smartphones have seen significant growth and revenue in Japan, even though there were three times fewer smartphone users in the country than in the United States as of 2017.{{Cite web|url=https://www.GamesIndustry.biz/articles/2017-10-17-japanese-mobile-market-outgrows-us-three-years-in-a-row|title=Japanese mobile market outgrows US three years in a row|website=www.GamesIndustry.biz|date=17 October 2017 |publisher= |access-date=22 April 2019}}

Java ME was a popular software platform for feature phones in the 2000s, with 3 billion devices supporting it as of 2013.{{Cite web |url=http://www.java.com/en/about/ |title=Learn about Java Technology |access-date=15 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308080819/http://www.java.com/en/about/ |archive-date=8 March 2013 |url-status=dead }} Other platforms which saw significant adoption at this time include Qualcomm's Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless, abbreviated as BREW, and Adobe's Flash Lite. Qualcomm has developed chips such as the Snapdragon 205.https://m.gsmarena.com/nokia_8110_4g-9089.php

MediaTek developed chips such as the MT6225, other chips in the MT62xx series such as the MT6252,https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2011/05/25/2003504066 MT6235, and an embedded operating system named MAUI Runtime Environment (MRE) which is based on Nucleus RTOS.{{Cite web | url=https://lazure2.wordpress.com/tag/maui-runtime-environment/ | title=MAUI Runtime Environment }}{{Cite web|url=http://MRE.MediaTek.com/en/start/what|title=What is MRE?|website=MRE.MediaTek.com|publisher=MediaTek|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104094204/http://mre.mediatek.com/en/start/what|archive-date=4 November 2015|access-date=26 May 2019}} Additionally, many phones could access the internet using Wireless Application Protocol.

KaiOS can be used as an operating system for feature phones that supports certain apps written using HTML5. Feature Phones can use iMelody or MIDI for storing ringtoneshttps://www.google.com.pa/books/edition/Mobile_Messaging_Technologies_and_Servic/Mfq5CwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=imelody&pg=PA131&printsec=frontcoverhttps://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna17594080https://uk.pcmag.com/reviews/26873/nokia-3220 Some phones had a feature to create custom ringtones with the number pad.https://www.androidauthority.com/history-custom-ringtones-1048392/

Spreadtrum also developed chips for feature phones such as the SC6531 familyhttps://androidpctv.com/spreadtrum-sc6531-the-most-sold-soc-in-china-that-surely-you-didnt-know/ including the SC6531E,https://www.hmd.com/en_ng/nokia-105-classic/specs?sku=SP01Z07Z1798Y the SC6531M, and the SC6531F.https://www.hmd.com/en_int/nokia-6310-2024/specs?sku=286944019 After Spreadtrum rebranded to Unisoc they developed the Unisoc T107,https://img-resizer.cyberport.de/cp/data/231220091047500601900063J.pdf T117https://www.hmd.com/en_int/nokia-225-4g/specs?sku=16QENG21A02 and T127.https://www.hmd.com/en_int/hmd-105-4g/specs?sku=1GF029BPH1S01 Infineon developed chips in the PMB series such as the PMB7900.https://electronics360.globalspec.com/article/216/video-teardown-what-s-inside-nokia-s-20-phone

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Category:Information appliances

Category:Mobile phones