Mobile phone predictions for 2010
Smartphone sales beat all expectations during 2009, in particular there was a huge growth in black slabby touchscreen devices, all trying to emulate the success of the iPhone. The battle for the high-end shows no sign of abating, all manufacturers are keen to establish themselves as being “sexy” when it comes to hardware .. and they are also keen to chase the high margins that these phones bring.
GPS is everywhere these days, and with the Nokia 2710 due in 2010, it is likely to be standard on all but the cheapest phones by the end of 2010, although basic GPS functionality will remain pretty limited for most users. At the high end of the market Google’s new Smartphone, the Nexus and the Motorola Milestone will really start to eat into the market for standalone devices such as TomTom with their GPS functionality.
The emphasis on cameras is shifting from still photos to video capabilities, especially as many phones can now upload video clips directly to YouTube. There are still only a surprisingly small number of handsets about that can boast an 8 megapixel camera or better and although some manufacturer is bound to breach the 12 megapixel barrier, consumers will be more interested in getting HD video from their phones instead.
When it comes to displays, the growth of the smartphone market is driving bigger and high-resolution panels in mobile devices. Given price sensitivities in the midrange market, it is unlikely that we will see anything greater than QVGA resolution screens for the time being, but expect QVGA displays to be the standard in all but the very cheapest phones.
Almost all 3G phones now support HSDPA high-speeddownloads and a lot support HSUPA uploads as well, this growth will continue. Most people can forget about 4G technologies at the moment, but expect a few small-scale launches of LTE networks in a few areas, leading up to a push for 4G in 2012 and beyond. WiFi hasn’t featured in as many phones as we expected this year, and this seems to be a deliberate attempt to steer users who want it to higher margin (i.e more profitable) handsets.
It is rumoured that 2010 will not be the year of mobile TV, despite Nokia and others producing DVB-H devices like the Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition, but it might not take off mostly down to a combination of consumer indifference.
See our Mobile phone section the GooglePhone, Blackberry Storm Smartphone, Orange and Google work together, Palm Pre now available, Smartphone Buyers Guide, Buying a Smartphone, Mobile deals with free gifts, How to select a mobile package, A to Z of Mobile Features
