With the hot summer handset releases behind us, who is the worldwide leader in the market? According to Strategy Analytics, Nokia (remember them?) sold the greatest share of the 308M handsets sold in Q2. Nokia’s share was 36.1%, follwed by Samsung at 20.7%, and LG at 10%. RIM, the only dedicated smartphone maker in the top 5, came in fourth at 3.6%. So while smartphones grab all of the media attention, the low-end of the market accounts for all the volume. If the market is largest at the low end, then why are all the manufacturers chasing the smartphone market? Because that’s where all the profits are. For example, Apple is nowhere to be seen on the market share list, yet they are far and away the most profitable mobile phone company.

Speaking of market share, a report on mobile search was released by StatCounter last week. At the top of the heap was Google, with a whopping 98.29% share of the market. I’m not sure how accurate the numbers are, but even if they are off by 20%, that’s still a dominant share of the market. If that doesn’t convince you that you should have a mobile presence that Google can index, then you’re losing lots of business to your competitors who do have one - without even knowing about it! Both Yahoo! and Bing, the two other big mobile search providers, account for just 1.25% of the market. On the bright side, I guess Yahoo! and Bing’s share can only get bigger, because it certainly can’t get any smaller!

Finally, just to kick start everyone’s favorite rumor mill, I am going to jump on the bandwagon and say that AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity may be coming to an end this year. Why? Well, AT&T made a statement that they are going to be the premier vendor for Microsoft’s latest mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7. I don’t understand why AT&T would back a competitor to the iPhone unless their exclusivity is coming to an end. It’s time to place your bets. I say that the iPhone is available on another carrier for the holidays, and I’ll predict T-mobile over Verizon since T-mobile’s GSM technology is the most compatible with AT&T and Apple, out of spite, wants to stick it to Verizon for their Android promoting, iPhone-bashing ads. What do you think? Feel free to sound off in the comments!

The releases of these new smartphones have not been without troubles. Even the iPhone 4.0 has had its share of issues, primarily with reception. The issue got so bad that it forced Apple to hold a press conference with Steve Jobs responding to the criticism. In Apple style, they did a great job of spinning the problem and declaring the iPhone reception as good (or as bad, depending on your viewpoint) as every other smartphone. I thought the point of paying the “Apple tax” was to be a cut above everyone else, not as good as the competition. Either way, the iPhone 4.0 is still the class of the field these days, and it certainly helped Apple post great earnings for last quarter. Whether you love Apple or hate them, one thing is certain – they are posting impressive results!

In addition to the iPhone 4.0, the Droid X from Motorola that launched on Verizon has also run into its share of issues. Screen problems are plaguing the device, although both Motorola and Verizon have been quick to step in and remedy the issue. The increasing problems with smartphone introductions leads me to believe that manufacturers are rushing devices out the door prematurely to save/gain marketshare at the expense of quality. Manufacturers need to start doing a better job of quality control in order to preserve consumers’ trust in purchasing new devices.

Finally, one large player that has been absent from all of the mobile discussion has been Microsoft. Once a leader in the smartphone market, they have become a laggard. They are trying to stem their losses with a new OS called Windows Phone 7 (WP7). Microsoft is working to push out the OS by the end of the year, and it appears on schedule as they released hardware last week to Microsoft employees and select press members for review. Initial reviews have been mixed, and I get the feeling that the first release of WP7 will be half-baked with rapid improvements planned, similar to Apple’s original iPhone release strategy in 2007. Unfortunately for Microsoft, the market has shifted dramatically since 2007. iOS and Android are mature enough that I’d be surprised if users are willing to adopt an immature smartphone platform. While Microsoft has lots of resources to place behind WP7, I predict that they will compete with HP/Palm for third place in the smartphone market behind leaders Apple (iOS) and Google (Android).

If you’ve picked up one these, or a different, handset this summer, leave a comment – I’d like to hear how your experience has been. I’d be particularly interested in hearing from anyone who picked up a Samsung Vibrant on T-mobile. It’s the most underrated phone on the market in my opinion, and variants of the device will be available on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon by this fall.

The headline for RIM is it’s upcoming summer release of BlackBerry OS6. During the WES keynote, RIM showed the following video highlighting its new features:

The features are nice and the interface is slick but they have one major problem… no one wants their touch screen phones yet they continue to showcase features for touch screen phones. No matter how good the OS, consumers these days want devices that have “style” to them – just look at what Apple, HTC and Samsung are releasing this year. RIM announced two new handsets this week, evolutions of the Pearl and Bold… but no new touch screen device? I’m confused since they only showcase the new touch screen features in the OS 6 video. It doesn’t make sense. I’ve said it before and will say it again… BlackBerry needs a game changer, fast. They are clinging onto their dominance in the enterprise but slowly IT managers are getting comfortable with different platforms and are allowing workers to choose their handsets to match their lifestyle instead of forcing them to conform to one corporate-standard. Watch out BlackBerry, you could sleep yourself to death… a la Palm. I’m an avid BlackBerry user who’s ready to drop his handset for something fresh.

Google announced this week that they scrapped plans to release the Nexus One for the Verizon network. I read a few articles that criticize Google or that it’s a step back for the giant, but I don’t think so. HTC just released the Incredible for Verizon, that is… well… incredible. Should Google care? No! Why not? Because the phone runs Android, so all Google cares about is getting its OS in as many hands as possible. Google is not in the phone business, it’s in the ad business.

To end this week’s summary, I’ll give a quick update of Palm. Last week there were rumors of several possible suitors for the financially-troubled company with HTC being the “crowd” favorite. HTC officially stepped down this week (probably because Palm’s financials are just too scary). So, that leaves Lenovo as the front runner. And the troubles continue for Palm…

As always, if you see or hear anything else interesting in mobile, let us know by leaving a comment below.

Google’s Android OS had a huge presence at this show. Almost every handset manufacturer  showcased a phone running Android. Over 20 new Android handsets were announced during the course of the show. It seemed like Android was turning many handset manufacturers, who previously never had much success in the smartphone market, into serious contenders overnight.

The most impressive smartphone that I saw at the show this year was the Samsung Galaxy S running Android 2.1. In terms of usability, speed, and responsiveness there are not many smartphones that are better than the iPhone, in fact, I personally don’t think there are any at the moment. The Motorola Droid was good and the HTC Nexus One comes very close and if I was an iPhone user (which I am not) wanting to switch to Android, that would be the one to go with…until now. The Samsung Galaxy S is definitely the best Android phone that I have seen to date. The device is fast and super responsive. And the AMOLED screen is amazingly sharp allowing playback of 720p videos. If I were to get an Android phone, this would be the one and it should be available later this summer.

Samsung Galaxy S

2010 will be an exciting year for wireless. It will be a big year for Android and I’m looking forward to seeing how Apple responds to this with their new iPhone. It’s great to see companies push each other to the limit in terms of innovation because as consumers, we all benefit from this, no matter what smartphone OS you prefer to use. With 4G networks becoming a reality, I see a trend for more devices that will allow you to share your data connection over WiFi across multiple devices (laptop, netbook, iPad, and even your phone). With 4G being an IP based network, voice usage will primarily be VoIP eliminating the need for voice minutes. It will be interesting to see how the service providers handle this and how data usage will be charged.

HTC has done it right by spreading around high-profile phones across all the major US carriers so everyone has the opportunity to touch on of their handsets. T-mobile seems to have embraced them the most and are rumored to be starting an iPhone replacement campaign where iPhone users might be paid up to $350 for switching to the HTC HD2 (and T-mobile of course). I’ve played with the HD2 and it’s a nice device, a little big, but nice. I’m really curious to see how it goes.

Finally, here are a few other stories that I found interesting but didn’t have time to write about:

Windows Phone 7 Series now just “Windows Phone 7″. Who cares… Microsoft really needs some branding help. If they spend as much time on product development as they do on trying to brand, they might actually release “Windows Phone 7”

Starbucks now letting you pay for your coffee fix via iPhone in 1,000+ Target stores. Pretty interesting concept and I’m looking forward to trying it out. I think it makes a lot of sense but it should also tie automatically into a loyalty program so regular users get some incentives.

Samsung already working on a Galaxy S Pro, complete with physical keyboard? If it’s real, this will be my next phone.

As always, if you see or hear anything else interesting in mobile, let us know by leaving a comment below.

Here’s a quick summary of my highlights from the conference:

Android, Android, and even more Android. Google did not have a booth at the show nor did they participate in the keynotes, but they were definitely present. Android was everywhere! Every booth I seemed to stop at had something to do with Android – new handsets, gadgets, apps, etc. The Google marketing machine is in full force and has taken a life of its own.

Samsung GalaxyS has the best screen I’ve ever seen. I want one! I stopped by the Samsung booth and played around with the GalaxyS. It’s a very iPhone-like device with a similar form factor and icons, but the GalaxyS has two things the iPhone doesn’t – an amazing screen and fast processor. Samsung’s new super AMOLED screens are truly amazing. The device and screen are very responsive and web pages load at blazing speeds. Best of all, it’s based on Android, so the interface is fairly intuitive. Samsung has not announced a US launch date or carrier but I’ll let you know when I find out.

Windows Phone 7 demo was “interesting”. As expected, Microsoft was there in full force giving demos of their upcoming Windows Phone 7 OS. It’s a clean user interface that can differentiate them in the marketplace (which is good) but sometimes I felt like it was too gimmicky. Unfortunately the demos were “guided tours” so I won’t really know what it’s like until I get my hands on a device.

BlackBerry really needs help. BlackBerry had a large booth to showcase their…umm…aging technology. Very very boring! I’m a huge BlackBerry fan and am clinging onto my handset hoping they will do something disruptive, but if this show was any representation of where the company is headed… all I can say is bring on Android.

Text-to-speech apps are everywhere, why? I saw at least a dozen text-to-speech companies on the show floor that all looked the same. I understand the value but I still find it very boring.  My car has now become the cone-of-silence… my place for solitude from being connected all the time. I use the time to listen to the radio or music and enjoy having my phone on silent.

That’s it for this week’s update. As always, if you see or hear anything else interesting in mobile, let us know by leaving a comment below.

Most noteworty announcement: Microsoft Windows Phone Series 7 was the biggest announcement of the show. They unveiled an OS architecture and UI based off the ZuneHD interface and talked a good game around mobile. The design of the OS is a winner, but the availability of late 2010 is a killer. It is all about execution now for Microsoft who can’t afford to fall any further behind Apple and Android for mobile mindshare.

Best handset announcements: HTC continues to design the best looking handsets. They unveiled three new handsets at the show: Desire, Legend and HD mini. I can’t wait to get my hands on these to try them out.

Attack of the OEMs: A new trend appears to be hardware OEMs making handsets. Acer, Dell, Huawei and ZTE all introduced or discussed handsets at the show. More consumer choice is always a good thing, but I wonder if these manufacturers can break the stranglehold that carriers have over handset manufacturers here in the US.

Most interesting phone announcement: Puma, yes the show company, announced a phone at the show. My first reaction was who cares, but after seeing the reviews, Puma may be onto something. Instead of trying to build a universal device, Puma has focused the phone on sports and leisure activites and included some fun and neat features, like a solar cell back for charging. I doubt the Puma phone will rival the iPhone, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it gain some traction among sporting enthusiasts. That’s the beauty of a market with billions of users, there are plenty of niches you can attack.

Most interesting product: SK Telecom has created a SIM card that holds a processor, memory, 1GB of flash storage, and the Android OS on it. Why do you care? You can store your entire mobile environment on the SIM card (contacts, customizations and OS) allowing you to switch phones as often as you like without having to set-up the phone each time you switch.

“I could have been a contender” product: The Samsung Wave received great reviews for its design, particularly its display which uses a new AMOLED technology from Samsung. Most AMOLED screens are unusable in outdoor lighting, but the Wave appears to fix that problem. Unfortunately, the Wave uses Samsung’s Bada operating system. Don’t be surprised if you don’t know what Bada is because I don’t either, except to tell you it will require you to learn a whole new operating system and hope that all of your favorite app developers are willing to support yet another platform.

Most hollow keynote: People expecting big things from Google’s keynote were severly disappointed. Outside of Eric Schmidt announcing a “mobile first” strategy and the fact that Android was shipping 60,000 units per day, nothing else was interesting.

“What took you so long” announcement: RIM finally demonstrated a usable browser for their loyal BlackBerry users. Unfortunately, it’s not available immediately, but for BlackBerry mobile web sufferers users, the new browser can’t come soon enough.

Most interesting mobile strategy: Facebook had an interesting announcement with their Mobile Zero web strategy. It is a stripped down mobile web version of the Facebook interface. It provides the advantage of offloading the strain on carriers networks and keeping costs down for people who pay by bit for mobile web surfing. It’s refreshing to see a company recognize that people do use the mobile internet on their phones and then spend the effort to optimize the experience.

“Maybe we should have done the Google phone” announcement: Sony Ericsson announced an impressive lineup of new phones (X10, X10 mini, Vivaz, Vivaz Pro) that are very consumer-oriented. The features are focused on camera quality and social networking integration with very little enterprise support. Personally, I don’t get Sony Ericsson’s strategy. If the rumor that they turned down the opportunity to build the first Android 2.1 phone is true, then they missed a huge opportunity. I can’t help but wonder how much longer these companies will continue to invest in this money losing venture.

“We had to announce something” announcement: Nokia and Intel made waves by announcing that they are going to combine their mobile OS efforts, Maemo and Moblin, into MeeGo. Nokia obviously needs to do something to head off the juggernaut that Apple and Android have become, and Intel needs to figure out a way to stem ARM’s microprocessor dominance in the mobile space. The announcement wasn’t meaty enough for me to decide if they have any chance of succeeding, but these two companies have access to way too many resources to count them out.

“What were they thinking” announcement: 24 wireless companies announced plans to create the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC), an open platform that lets developers build an application once, and then deploy it to work on any carrier, device and OS. A lofty goal, but as Jason Kincaid pointed out on Techcrunch, isn’t that the purpose of the mobile internet and web apps? The WAC is doomed (or whack), and I don’t expect we will see much of anything out of this group.

“Where’s Waldo” award: Apple continues to thumb its nose at the rest of the mobile industry and was noticeably absent from MWC, even though Steve Jobs won the GSMA award for mobile personality of the year. I could go off on my own personal rant, but Devesh took care of that for me earlier this week.

From 5,000+ miles away, MWC looked like a fun event to be at. Hopefully, I’ll get to go to it one of these days. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts on the big announcements out of MWC last week, or if there was anything I missed.

Last week was a big week in mobile with the Mobile World Conference (MWC) going on in Barcelona. If you follow us on twitter or facebook, you would have seen several posts on the announcements during MWC. The biggest stories during the week centered on Microsoft and Google. Microsoft released their highly anticipated finally presentable Windows Phone 7 and received great reviews from the critics (yes, I’m serious) … but we won’t see it until at least Q4 2010 which in today’s mobile environment is an eternity. Just imagine what Google will add to Android by then, especially considering they told the mobile world last week that Google advocates “mobile first”.  Google seems to be saying all the right things these days and the numbers prove it with over 60,000 Android-based phones shipping per day. Can Microsoft capitalize on Windows Phone 7 or is their finally-respectable mobile product just too late? Only time will tell. Either way, MWC got me even more excited about mobile in 2010.

I’m sure you noticed but one major mobile company made no news at MWC – and that was Apple. Why not? Simple, it’s because they are just too arrogant to attend. Apple wants the world to respect them as a mobile leader yet they don’t have enough respect for the industry to attend the biggest mobile conference of the year.  Ironically, Steve Jobs won the “Mobile Industry Personality of the Year” at MWC… I don’t think he’ll be getting that award again.  Although Apple was not at MWC, they still made the headlines last week. Apple decided to use their magic veto stick and remove apps from the app store that “suggested” explicit material (not contained, but “suggested”). OK, now that Apple’s removed all those “dirty” apps, the iPhone is free of smut, right? Hmm… ever heard of Safari and the web??? I used to respect Apple and their core corporate values, but with their over-the-top egos and authoritative control, I now see them for who they are – money vultures in angel’s clothing.

Along with all the MWC excitement, we saw lots of handset news last week. Below is the list I compiled, so enjoy and start planning your next purchase:

• Hands-on with HTC’s Smart for O2, based on BREW MP but sporting the Sense UI
• Live – the Pulse mini Android 2.1 smartphone for T-Mobile UK
• First look at Samsung’s bada-powered S8500 Wave
• Hands-on with the Acer’s Android powered Liquid e smartphone
• LG’s Android powered LU2300 smartphone to ship with augmented reality app
• The OT-980 is Alcatel’s first Android device and the first Alcatel handset to offer advanced smartphone features.
• AT&T launches Mobile-TV equipped LG KM900 Arena touchscreen phone
• AT&T to carry Android powered Motorola BACKFLIP with MOTOBLUR
• Acer outs beTouch E400 Android 2.1 powered touchscreen smartphone
• A look at HTC’s stunning Legend Android smartphone, carved from a block of metal
• Mobile World Congress Best Of Show: HTC Desire
• HTC reveals updated Sense user interface for Android smartphones
• T-Mobile gives an HTC HD2 reminder, now with more fun!
• Android 2.1 coming to Samsung Moment and HTC Hero in Q2, says Sprint
• LG GW990 to be among first MeeGo phones
• Motorola Quench hands-on with video
• Acer announces neoTouch P300 Windows Mobile 6.5.3 smartphone
• Acer shows off neoTouch P400 Windows Mobile 6.5.3 smartphone
• Acer Ferrari smartphone coming this March to handle your mid-life crisis
• Huawei makes the U8100, U8110, U8800 and U8300 with Android official
• Microsoft Turtle and Pure deets are revealed

As most of you know, I always end by sharing other stories or articles I enjoyed during the week, so enjoy:

• Shout for Android offers one-tap texting
• Can Any Smartphone Survive The Patent Gantlet?
• ITC Opens Second Apple Investigation In Three Weeks
• Motorola DROID running Flash 10.1 demo
• Firefox Mobile for Android launching “late this year”
• The New WebKit BlackBerry Browser: Yes, It’s Actually Good
• RIM to give away server software
• Verizon Wireless and Skype launch Skype Mobile for BlackBerry and Android devices
• Adobe bringing AIR to smartphones–Android first
• Mobile companies band together and rise against Apple

See or hear anything else interesting in mobile.  Let us know by leaving a comment below.

So… what were they saying? The first thing is Android, Android, and more Android. Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt, will be giving the keynote speech which will no doubt create more buzz (no pun intended) around their private-label Nexus phone line and a ever-growing portfolio of 3^rd party Android-based phones, as well as big opportunities for software/app developers that want to reach Android-users. Part of me hopes Google throws the industry another curve-ball to keep everyone on their toes.

In the past, most rumors leading up to MWC focus on new handsets, but this year the blogs already seem to have an inventory of what’s going to be announced, so it’s really not that exciting. Believe it or not, the big stories this year are focused on mobile operating systems, mainly Microsoft Windows Phone 7, MeeGo, and Samsung’s Bada. I know what you’re thinking, more OSes? Yup, it’s true. These companies just don’t want to give up on “owning” the platform, although I don’t think a mobile OS really equals owning the platform these days. If I wanted to “own” the platform, I would build a common user interface (UI) plus middleware that can sit on top of any OS and then build an ecosystem around that UI. That’s all most users really care about. We still need more consolidation in the mobile OS arena (although good work Nokia & Intel by joining forces and taking a step in the right direction with MeeGo).

As I mentioned earlier, the blogs have been previewing most new handsets expected to announce at MWC. Here’s a long list of handset news I saw last week:

• Acer launches beTouch E110 Android powered smartphone
• Acer outs beTouch E400 Android 2.1 powered touchscreen smartphone
• HTC Legend made more or less official, but not by HTC
• Marvell reveals new Pantheon platform for $99 smart phones
• Sony Ericsson announces Vivaz pro at Mobile World Congress
• Good job there, Samsung – truly innovative
• Sony Ericsson Debuts New Phones
• Samsung Unleashes First Wave in Ocean Platform
• ST-Ericsson paves the way to smartphones for all
• Motorola announces CLIQ XT (QUENCH) Android touchscreen smartphone with MOTOBLUR
• Nokia N8-00: first Symbian^3 handset with 12 megapixel camera, 720p video, and HDMI leaked in summer roadmap?
• HTC Hero shows off multitouch-enabled Sense UI on video
• HTC Incredible leaks, is as red as Mr. Incredible’s suit
• The HTC Scorpion may pack 1.5Ghz processor, Android v2.2, and WiMax – if it exists
• Pharos announces the 565, world’s “first” rugged Windows Mobile 6.5 PDA
• PUMA to announce a sports-centric, solar powered cell phone next week
• New T-Mobile myTouch 3G for 2010 available with 3.5mm jack and Swype
• LG outs GS500 Cookie Plus touchscreen phone
• Garmin-Asus announces Android-powered nuvifone A50

To conclude this weekly update, here are several other articles I enjoyed from last that I want to share with you:

• How many oranges does it take to charge an Apple? (video)
• BlackBerry stops bullet, at last proves itself useful beyond BBM
• Review of RIM’s Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones
• Nexus One still plagued with 3G issues after OTA software patch
• Motorola says will split in 2 in early 2011
• James Cameron to Keynote CTIA Wireless Show
• Skyfire acquires kolbysoft, plans Skyfire for Android
• BOLT Mobile Browser Gets Enhanced Capabilities for Its First Birthday
• Android update after next likely to be codenamed “Gingerbread”
• Opera readies mini browser for iPhone
• Adobe reveals AIR for Mobile, Flash Player 10.1 for mobile

This week will be exciting, so definitely check our blog next week for a summary of MWC news. See or hear anything else interesting in mobile.  Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The other big story this week was the latest handset numbers.  Strategy Analytics and IDC shared that global mobile phone sales rose 10% in 2009 and 11% in Q409 alone.  The top spots went to Nokia, Samsung, and LG (umm… Mr. Job’s where’s Apple?).  IDC’s report went on to predict big growth for Google Android which they expect to move into the #2 OS spot by 2013 behind Symbian (Nokia’s preferred OS).

With handset shipments increasing last year, it’s no wonder 2010 seems to be starting with a lot of handset news.  Here’s this week’s summary of articles:

• Motorola files complaint versus Research In Motion
• GSM Versions Of Palm Pre And Pixi Plus
• Apple Tablet: Microsoft Plans Counter Strike
• Leaked: HTC Bravo looks like a Nexus One with more Sense
• Leaked Photos of the HTC Supersonic Look Like A HD2, But Runs Android Supposedly
• Windows Mobile 7 roadmap elucidated, starts with MWC 2010 demo
• Microsoft Virtually Confirms Zune Phone
• New 16GB Nokia X6: Half the Storage, But At What Price?
• Motorola To Become Leading Android Supplier
• QWERTY FTW! T-Mobile myTouch Slide caught in the flesh
• Toshiba TG02 spotted cruising through the FCC
• What is this mysterious Motorola Android device?
• Review of Nokia’s N97 mini, a paired down QWERTY touch smartphone
• Leaked Pic of HTC Bravo and Details of HTC Legend Break Cover—Aluminum Unibody Will Turn Heads

As always, below are additional posts I found interesting and want to share with you (as I mentioned earlier, there is a lot this week):

• Apple reports fiscal Q1 2010 earnings, sells 8.7 million iPhones during last quarter
• Verizon reports Q4 2009 earnings, strong Verizon Wireless performance
• Holy wow! AT&T admits NYC/San Fran 3G service sucked
• AT&T: Wireless Is Top Investment Priority
• Ground Truth to provide weekly mobile Web stats
• All I wanna do is zooma-zoom-zoom: Overclocking the Droid
• Google Blames T-Mobile For Nexus One 3G Problem
• Google intros click-to-call in mobile ads, popular image search
• BlackBerry Presenter video review
• Does Google Voice on mobile pose a threat to carriers?
• Why carriers didn’t want to allow 3G VoIP before. And why they’re now setting it free
• Google Voice Finally Heads to iPhone, Palm Pre With HTML5 Webapp
• Motricity Files for IPO

See or hear anything else interesting in mobile.  Let us know by leaving a comment below.