As cellphones get smarter, are smartphones overkill?

How much difference is there anymore between smartphones and the “feature” phone — that breed of cellphone with basic social networking, games, and Internet connectivity?

A Microsoft exec says the two are blurring, though that may have something to do with the fact that Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 is a less-smart smartphone than many of its competitors.

Still, in Europe Samsung’s Bada mobile OS has done well, and Nokia recently announced its Asha line of feature phones for developing countries in an attempt to bring the basic capabilities of smartphones to the masses. And when Research in Motion ships its QNX-based BlackBerry smartphones next year, the company will continue to sell its current BlackBery OS models to developing nations.

Feature phones are being used more and more for application deployment, akin to a smartphone, says Joe Shirey, Microsoft’s director of developer and platform evangelism: “The big thing we’re seeing is this line between the feature phone and the smartphone is really starting to blur. People are starting to deploy apps to some of these feature phones.”

“I do see smartphones and feature phones blurring,” says Scott Schwarzhoff, vice president of marketing at mobile application development software platform vendor Appcelerator, “but we still have several market forces remaining that will keep feature phones in existence for a long time.”

A big reason that vendors are pushing feature phones has more to do with price than functionality. “The $199 price [of a typical carrier-subsidized smartphone] keeps these devices out of reach for many developing countries. Moreover, feature phones don’t require Internet connectivity, which accounts for the majority of the cost of ownership. I would imagine there’s a carrier preference in some countries for feature phones that can be monetized through old ways, such as text messaging,” Schwarzhoff says.

Even in developed countries some people want just a simple cellphone, without all the fancy features, for use in case their car breaks down or for short calls.

Even as they get smarter, feature phones will get more capabilities but not an OS, says Brent Iadaorola, an analyst at market research firm Frost & Sullivan. He puts Nokia’s Asha into this category, as that platform uses Java and not a smartphone OS. And as Samsung’s Bada experience in Europe shows, feature phones can attract users who like the concept of smartphones but want to save a few dollars. That may be why Nokia has submitted at least one Asha model to the FCC for approval to sell in the United States.

However, in the United States, users are much more interested in smartphones, Iadaorola says: “By 2015, we’ll have slightly over 75 percent of mobile devices [being] smartphones.”

Companies like Apple and Google’s hardware partners are doing their best to stoke that desire, with many Android device makers offering a mix of cheaper and pricier smartphones and Apple continuing to manufacture its iPhone 3G S — now two generations behind the flagship iPhone 4S — because its older, cheaper parts let Apple sell it at prices more palatable to poorer customers.

This story, “As cellphones get smarter, are smartphones overkill?,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Get the first word on what the important tech news really means with the InfoWorld Tech Watch blog. For the latest developments in business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.