Why can I not send or receive a fax directly from a smart phone?

[t5535]

Maybe someone can shed some light on this for me. A smart phone has a phone number ( a link to a land line) and has data capabilities so it can encode and decode the fax signal. why cant a smart phone just receive a fax save it as a PDF file and let you do what you what with it from there? I know there are online services and what not to use the web to send and receive but a smart phone should be smart enough to take the incoming signal and decode it and turn it into a pdf. It can be done with a pc and modem. The smart phone is not much different. It has a built in modem in a sense and has plenty of processing power and memory.

 

[Titillating]

Because that's not what it was designed to do? First off, having a phone number is not a link to a land line. Land lines require an actual physical connection to a phone jack. It's not exactly the same as a cell phone. Just because a smartphone can theoretically do something, doesn't mean it actually can. A Toyota Camry could theoretically outrace an F1 racing car, but that doesn't mean it actually will. It would require a lot of adjustments, changes, additions. It's not the best example, but I'm not sure how else to explain that.

 

[t5535]

I understand what you are saying but I still don't see why its not possible. from my understanding a fax is really no different then a old dial in type of connection. Like a old BBS or a direct connection between 2 computers through the phone lines. Data is just sound at that point. Cant the smart phone take the kaaashhhhhh data talk and record it and then decode it? Trying to make sense of it. Data over a phone line like a fax is sound. What I don't get is why the smart phone cant utilize that? What I am saying is couldn't a app be created or android incorporate into the dial app that could take the data signal coming as sound over the phone lines and like record it and decode it? I do understand the adjustments, changes and additions but isn't that what some apps, rooting and what not do? I remember back in the day when you could take a land line hand set and set it on a mic and speaker device to get data sent between computers lol. I may be way off but something as simple as a slow fax connection or conversation between 2 machines should not be all that hard for a device as powerful as modern smart phones. Isn't that the way your phone is programmed in the first place. Like if you put a Verizon phone on straight talk service. They have you punch in *xxxxx and it programs you phones apn and what not. By the way I love the car analogy.