According to a recent report published by Infonetics Research, the total number of mobile phones to be shipped this year will be lower by 8 percent compared to the 2008, down to 1.1 billion globally from 1.2 billion registered last year, a forecast that resembles the ones made by Nokia and other mobile phone makers. At the same time, it seems that the only segment that performed very well last year, and also managed to maintain revenue growth in the second half of 2008, when the world entered recession, was that of smartphones.

During the ongoing year, smartphones are expected to do well, managing to outpace the downturn and even show some growth, while being the only segment of the mobile phone industry to be able to maintain the revenue growth during the next five years. At the same time, the smartphone area is the only one expected to post double-digit annual revenue growth between 2011 and 2013. The wide adoption of high-end mobile phones it said to be driven by the fact that HSPA deployments are accelerating in North America and Western Europe, as well as in developed regions in Asia Pacific.

“Smartphones are evolving quickly, and differentiation is becoming increasingly based on software and OS rather than form factor. Smartphones still compete on hardware features that support key apps like photography or video viewing, but software and applications that enable a user's preferred mobile uses have an increasing influence on device selection – personalization will be king. For instance, the Android platform may be a work in progress, but the first handset to use it, the G1, is attracting high levels of interest, and future models are likely be optimized for key web applications like social networking. Open source platforms like Android are gaining traction and shaping the new competitive landscape,” said Richard Webb, directing analyst, WiMAX, Microwave, and Mobile Devices, Infonetics Research.

According to the research firm, when it comes to the proportions on the mobile phone market, CDMA2000 has registered a downgrade in favor of W-CDMA, while GSM remained about the same. The leading mobile phone maker throughout 2008 was Nokia, as it registered the largest market share due to its established brand, the performance of the Symbian OS, as well as its implication in several segments of the market (low-end, high-end/feature phone, smartphone). Samsung managed to strengthen its second position last year, outpacing Sony Ericsson, while Motorola fell behind LG.

When it comes to smartphone operating systems, Symbian accounts for the largest market share, with BlackBerry following the trail on the second position, although it was overtaken by iPhone in the third quarter of last year.