Everyone knows that the first commercially available mobile phone was the Motorola DynaTac. But why have we forgotten the smartphone? It was 1993. The US telecommunications company BellSouth (now more popularly known as AT&T) took the bold step of taking the IBM Simon, and putting it up for commercial sale. The Simon was a fully-featured, full touchscreen mobile phone with calendar, clock, alarm, games, notepad, calculator and address book. Look closely at the specifications, what's changed in 15 years?

Needless to say, the basic specifications are still the same. Everything's just been improved upon manifold. The 50 MHz processor has given way to 624 MHz in some smartphones today. The 10 KB memory, which seemed like a lot then, is utterly insignificant compared to the 16 GB memory that the Samsung Omnia, Innov8, iPhone and Nokia N96 can boast of. The 2500 mAh battery, which could power a device for a few hours, has given way to a 1000 mAh battery which will do you good for 2 days.

Hitesh Raj Bhagat Sr. Assistant Editor, Living Digital

And that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Take a journey into our smartphone special issue to really see what's new. From the do-it-all Samsung Innov8 with an 8 megapixel camera to the svelte Sony Ericsson Xperia. Also read through the smartphone apps and download some for yourself. Find out about the different smartphone operating systems. And finally, learn about new things which you never knew your smartphone could do. This little wonder gadget may not have changed too much in the last 15 years, but it's still as indispensable a tool as any.