2010 to be year of smartphones

LONDON,UK:Year 2010 is proving to be the year to usher in the smartphone as the leading device within the mobile phone industry.

Allowing users to not only call and text but enjoy entertainment on the go, run multiple applications at a time, customise their phone according to their own interests, and download 3rd party applications from dedicated platforms, the smartphone also offers advanced PC like capabilities such as editing office documents, and run on productivity based operating systems such as Windows Mobile or Google Android.

This year, market research companies have conducted polls confirming that the smartphone market is leading the way with dozens of new models being released every month from Android devices like the HTC Desire and Sony Ericsson Experia X10 to messaging based Blackberrys including the Curve 8520 9700 Bold 2.

Slideshow: iPhone Vs Competitors

Smartphones are also becoming cheaper as they become more popular with tariffs ranging from as little as GBP15 per month on leading networks such as Orange and Vodafone. The upcoming HTC Wildfire, budget equivalent to the Desire still operating on the HTS Sense software, is one such example proving that manufacturers are noticing the trend and shaping their releases accordingly, appealing to to the masses with low end alternatives.

The biggest contributor to the increasing Smartphone range however remains Apple Inc and their award winning iPhone. The 3G and faster 3GS was the first foray into mobile phones for the American based technologies company and their huge Apple Apps Store and user friendly operating system ensured the iPhone was the must have phone of the past two years.

With the announcement of their next model expected in June, Apple will hope to continue their dominance of the smartphone market, with HD video recording and a higher megapixel camera expected to be the most noticeable updates.

(SOURCE:Mobiles.co.uk)