> As radio transmitting devices you will never be allowed to control them. There are actually two parts in a smartphone: the baseband/radio processor and the a

> As radio transmitting devices you will never be allowed to control them. There are actually two parts in a smartphone: the baseband/radio processor and the app processor. They are both complete systems, with their own CPU and software, sometimes, each have their own chip. The baseband controls the radio as well as a few other devices, it runs proprietary code, usually an encrypted, signed blob. It is only accessible through a well defined interface and doesn't run arbitrary code. This is the part you can't control. The app processor is the thing that runs your main OS (ex: Android) and all your apps. It can run arbitrary code and that's the "computer", the part you can control. In a traditional PC, the baseband could take the form of a PCIe card, and in fact, it is often exactly that. For example, a lot of laptops have a separate WiFi module slotted into the main board.