Smartphones and Smarter Application Among the 2009 Business Big Stories

Digilifes News - Today, smartphones are the fastest-growing segment of the mobile device market, acoording to Gartner, the research firm. As manufacturers scramble to create offerings that allow user to view e-mail messages or streak across the Web, Gartner predicts smartphone sales could grow 9 percent in 2010.

The question is whether Apple, which held about 17 percent of the global smartphone market in the third quarter, behind Nokia and Research in Motion (which makes the BlackBerry), can continue to gain a bigger piece competition next year.

In Apple's corner is the fact that more operators around the world will begin offering the iPhone, said Carolina Milanesi, research director for mobile devices at Gartner. While the iPhone is available in 80 countries, exclusive agreements with carriers are beginning to expire. In Britain, for instance, where the carrier O2 had an exclusive agreement with Apple, the iPhone will now be available from Orange, Vodafone and even the British supermarket chain Tesco.

Another huge advantage for Apple is its app Store, which is stocked with more than 100,000 applications. But Apple will certainly face its threats next year. The Biggest will most likely come from Google Android mobile operating system. Several handset makers are adopting the Android system, including the Taiwanese company HTC and the PC maker Dell, which plans to sell its first smartphone handsets in China and later, Brazil.

Nest year, the global market could become even more of a free-for-all if Google moves forward with plans to sell its own smartphone.


from Jully Creswell's article - International Herald Tribune