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Dec. 31, 2009

Overall, smartphones were pretty much all the rage in the wireless industry this year. In February 2009, analysts were already talking about the potential of the smartphone market, and now many of them believe sales of the advanced MIDs (mobile Internet devices) that connect to the Internet will soon overtake sales of regular mobile (read passive) phones.

The year began with the rapid expansion of Google's new Android phones. Google's open development operating system was actually launched in 2007, and as of the beginning of 2009, there was only one Android device on the market: the G1 sold by T-Mobile USA.

Palm was also one of the first to get the hype machine whirring at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January with its new Palm Pre.

When Palm finally launched the Pre in early June exclusively on Sprint Nextel's network, loyal Palm fans lined up for the new smartphone. Initial sales were okay, but the Palm Pre didn't even come close to creating the sales momentum experienced by Apple's iconic iPhone when it was first launched in 2007.

Still, the Pre launch was a turning point for the mobile industry, and more wireless handset makers and mobile service providers continue to flood the market with MIDs.

The most noteworthy Android device hit the market in early November. Verizon Wireless launched the Motorola Droid amid a $100 million marketing campaign. The aggressive advertising push seems to be working. Analysts now estimate that Verizon and Motorola will sell at least 1 million devices by the end of the year.

In June, T-Mobile USA and HTC introduced the second Android handset into the U.S. market, the MyTouch. And just before Android's second birthday, the much-anticipated flood of Android device announcements began. Mobile handset makers such as Samsung, Motorola, LG and HTC all announced multiple Google Android devices.

Not to be left out, Apple certainly didn't stand still either this year. In June, the company started selling the iPhone 3GS. AT&T agreed to subsidize the older iPhone 3G even more, and consumers were suddenly able to buy an iPhone for $99.

Overall, a faster CPU and more functionality on the iPhone 3G S rapidly increased sales for the new smartphone this year. Apple also reported that it sold a little over one million devices worldwide the first weekend it was on the market.

Apple's competitors also launched their own app stores in an effort to capitalize on the mobile applications frenzy. Google launched the Android Market, which today has more than 20,000 applications.

Research In Motion, which makes BlackBerry devices, launched the BlackBerry App World. Nokia launched its Ovi Store in some U.S. markets in 2009, though the store is still not available in the U.S.

Not wanting to be left out, Microsoft launched its Windows Marketplace for Mobile in October.

Apple's iTunes-based App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch had a good year as well. As of November, the new App Store had more than 100,000 applications and almost 2.2 billion application downloads.

So now wireless analysts are now saying that 2010 could be a repeat of this year, and that the smartphone frenzy is likely to continue unabated.

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Source: MNT.