The document discusses the history and development of smartphones. It describes how early smartphones combined the capabilities of mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other devices. The first true smartphone was the Simon Personal Communicator released in 1994. The document outlines several major smartphone operating systems including Symbian, Blackberry, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Palm OS, and Bada. It traces their origins and evolution. The document also discusses the rise of online app stores hosted by manufacturers like Apple's App Store and how this popularized the distribution of third-party apps.