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The Ericsson R380 is a GSM
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The Ericsson R380 is a GSM smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
developed by Ericsson Mobile Communications
Ericsson Mobile Communications AB was a subsidiary of Ericsson, entirely focused on development of mobile phones (handsets). The major offices were located in Lund, Kumla, Raleigh, North Carolina and Lynchburg, Virginia.
History
Under the command ...
. It combines the functions of a mobile phone and a personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant (PDA), also known as a handheld PC, is a variety mobile device which functions as a personal information manager. PDAs have been mostly displaced by the widespread adoption of highly capable smartphones, in partic ...
(PDA), and was introduced at CEBIT
CeBIT was the largest and most internationally representative computer expo. The trade fair was held each year on the Hanover fairground, the world's largest fairground, in Hanover, Germany. In its day, it was considered a barometer of cur ...
on 18 March 1999.
Released in November 2000, it was the first device marketed as a 'smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
'. In December 1999, the magazine Popular Science
''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...
appointed Ericsson R380 to one of the most important advances in science and technology. It was a groundbreaking device, as it was as small and light as a normal mobile phone.
Hardware
The display was a black and whitetouchscreen
A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...
, partially covered by a flip which, when opened, reveals a large wide display. For that reason it can be considered the clear forerunner of the popular P800/ P900 series of smartphones. It predates the UIQ
UIQ (formerly known as User Interface Quartz) was a software platform based upon Symbian OS, created by UIQ Technology AB. It is a graphical user interface layer that provides additional components to the core operating system, to enable the deve ...
user interface which runs on those later phones, but again, the heritage is clear.
Software
The R380 ran theEPOC EPOC may be:
* Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption
* Emotiv EPOC, consumer brain–computer interface devices for PC.
* EPOC (operating system), the precursor OS to the Symbian operating system
* Efficient Probabilistic Public-Key Encryption ...
Release 5.1 operating system, which can thus be considered the first Symbian OS device. It uses a sophisticated user interface
In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...
that originated as 'Emerald', one of the device family reference designs (DFRD) that was planned by Symbian Ltd.
Symbian Ltd. was a software development and licensing consortium company, known for the Symbian operating system (OS), for smartphones and some related devices. Its headquarters were in Southwark, London, England, with other offices opened in C ...
However users could not install their own software on the device.
The phone and the software was developed at Ericsson's lab in Kista
Kista () is a district in the borough of Rinkeby-Kista, Stockholm, Sweden. It has a strategic position located in between Sweden's main airport, the Stockholm-Arlanda International Airport and central Stockholm, and alongside the main nationa ...
, Sweden. The user interface (UI) was developed at Ericsson's Software Applications Laboratory in Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
, UK. The UI was built using an in-house developed library called the Ericsson Control Kit (ECK).
The device was delivered in three variants. The most common being the R380s (dual 900/1800 GSM bands) and the (rarer) R380 World (dual 900/1900 GSM bands). The final variant with minor software and cosmetic upgrades was designated the R380e.
At introduction, the R380s pricing was around US$700 (compared to the T28s at US$500), and the device was never network-locked.
See also
*Nokia 9210 Communicator
The Nokia 9210 Communicator is a third-generation Communicator series smartphone produced by Nokia, announced on 21 November 2000 and released in June 2001. It greatly improved on the second generation Nokia 9110 Communicator, providing a colour ...
External links
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References
{{Sony Ericsson phones R380 Symbian devices Ericsson Mobile phones introduced in 2000