Smartphone now takes a bite at Apple

I HARDLY tackle the subject of IT in this column. The main reason is that I’m not exactly tech savvy.However, as my work revolves around computers and telecommunication gadgets, I have been forced (or shall I say I force myself) to be regularly updated on the latest in the IT sector. Still, I must concede that I’m way behind in my knowledge and application of the latest technological advancements.

During the recent Chinese New Year break, I followed reports from the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain, with much interest.

Like computers, the evolution in the world of mobile phones or cellular phones (or handphones as we are used to calling handsets locally) is fast and furious. From those days when we used to carry the heavy and bulky phones to the slim, sleek piece we can easily slip inside our pockets today, the telecommunication industry has certainly come a long, long, way.

What I wish to share with BP readers today are interesting developments coming out from the Mobile World Congress. A ‘war’ (and not just a mere ‘battle’) is on among the major players in the mobile phone industry.

The smartphone battleground looks set for a great smack-down among the world’s mobile phone makers and it could be a good thing for consumers.

The Barcelona congress from Feb 15-18 unveiled potential announcements by key players that will probably shape the mobile phone industry in the near future.

A plethora of new products and applications were launched and suddenly Apple’s dominance of mobile apps and its iPhone market looks shaky. Market observers have noted that Google’s Android operating system for the wireless industry was a big buzz in Barcelona.

An ‘alliance’ of some of the world’s leading mobile phone operators such as AT&T, Telefonica, Orange, China Mobile, Sprint, Vodaphone and others is reported to be planning an open technology platform that will deliver apps to all mobile phone users.

Market analysts see a profound change in the mobile web business in the next year or two. And indications are that there’s growing interest towards the mobile Android platform.

Technology research company iSuppli estimates that 30 per cent of all smartphone models launched this year will use the Android OS, compared with 9 per cent last year.

In an interview with Reuters, chipmaker Freescale sales and marketing head Henri Richard was quoted as saying: “Android is getting a lot of traction… It’s an enabler, for sure.”

As the apps market is fragmented at present without a common standard, it makes sense to see these players come together to establish one. There are indications of support from Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG, including the GSM Association, the industry body that organised the Barcelona trade show.

The alliance, which they called the Wholesale Applications Community, is believed to have access to more than three billion customers in the world.

This initiative was unveiled at the trade show, attended by some of the world’s largest mobile phone operators with 1,300 exhibitors.

It’s interesting to note that the company everyone wants to take a bite at — Apple — was not present in Barcelona. But Apple’s shadow still hovered over the show.

Expectations were high that the show would reveal upcoming technology trends and the directions companies are taking as the mobile phone industry shifts its focus from hardware to software.

Mobile phone makers were expected to unveil new smartphones that are as versatile as a PC and allow users to surf the Internet. And they did not disappoint.

The smart-looking Samsung Wave smartphone generated great interest and Sony Ericsson, not to be outdone, unveiled two high-end smartphone models — the Xperia X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro. Both are shrunken versions of Sony’s high-end Xperia X10 smartphone that was launched at the end of last year.

The popular smartphone has caught the imagination of the so-called ‘smart set’, who know a good thing when they see it. When Apple introduced the iPhone for the first time in mid-2007, it became a white-hot product with the savvy users.

It was only when Apple launched the iPhone that the smartphone market really took off. Although economic hard times last year saw mobile handset sales drop, smartphone sales galloped ahead.

The iPhone made tons of money for Apple in an explosive mobile web business. Up to January last year, more than 21 million iPhones were sold.

There are more than 50,000 applications that are available for download at Apple’s successful online AppStore — a marketplace for developers to write software programmes that range from productivity utilities to games.

Since setting up its AppStore, more than three billion apps were reported to have been downloaded to iPhones in less than 18 months.

Analysts at research firm Gartner are predicting that handset apps spending will rocket to US$6.2 billion this year. And downloads will top 21 billion by 2013.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was reported as saying the ranks of cell phone subscribers would swell to five billion people this year. The UN agency said the growth of smartphones in developed nations and mobile services in poor nations has added to the rising figure.

The ITU also said the number of mobile broadband subscriptions would exceed one billion this year after reaching 600 million last year.

“Even during an economic crisis, we have seen no drop in the demand for communications services,” ITU secretary-general Hamadoun Toure said in a statement at the Mobile World Congress.

As new competitors started entering the marketplace, Apple undoubtedly is hardly standing still. Rumours have it that the Curpertino, California, company is working on new iPhones and upgrading its operating system in the face of keen competition for the lucrative market.

Google made a high profile appearance at the show with CEO Eric Schmidt, reminding the industry just how quickly relationships and revenue sources that once seemed assured can change.

The Web search giant last month launched its ‘Superphone’ called Nexus One, which analysts see as a challenge to Apple’s iPhone and Research In Motion’s Blackberry.

Even before the Nexus One introduction, Google’s open Android platform also presents a threat to makers of rival smartphone platforms, including Nokia and Microsoft, which unveiled a new mobile software platform on the first day of the trade show.

Market analysts say the notion that Apple’s ‘untouchable’ position as a top handset maker is about to be debunked. Google’s Android is moving into a vacuum left wide open by Apple for allowing itself to be too exclusive. The Android OS is seen as a solution to reducing the fragmentation in mobile operating systems, and it’s converting many handset makers.

If present trends are anything to go by, the smartphone race can be seen as a marathon, not a sprint, with plenty of harvests further down the road for those who play it ‘smart’. And the marathon has just started.

(Comments can reach the writer at paulsir99@hotmail.com)