Good old-fashioned cell phones are officially passe; long live smartphones, the new kings of the mobile device world! According to research firm Gartner
, mobile devices as a whole saw a 8.6% decline year over year, but
smartphone sales actually saw a 12.7% increase over the same period.
So while other electronics companies face pressure from consumers
tightening their belts and going for more affordable options (e.g., Dell
(Nasdaq: DELL) and other computer builders seeing buyers opt for more
affordable netbooks), smartphones are actually accelerating in sales
versus their feature-light counterparts.
Before you vote on which company gives the best bang for your buck
in the smartphone arms race, let's take a brief look at where the
industry stands:
Nokia (NYSE: NOK) -- The current market leader with
an estimated 41% world market share. Nokia's not priced as aggressively
as its competitors, trading at only 14 times trailing earnings, but it
has struggled to maintain its dominant position against upstart
competitors.
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) -- Since Apple burst onto the
scene with its iPhone, it's shown no signs of slowing growth. Its
iPhone 3G S sold a million units in its first weekend earlier this month.
Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) -- Due in part to a promotion that gave consumers a "buy one get one free" offer on its Curve series, RIM has posted a series of strong quarterly results. However, even without promotions, RIM's traditionally business-user-focused phones have proven popular. A recent survey by ChangeWave Research found that more consumers planned to buy a BlackBerry than an iPhone.
Palm (Nasdaq: PALM) -- Don't be fooled by the
familiar name; Palm is playing the underdog. After years of sliding
toward irrelevance, the company regrouped to release its Pre smartphone,
which is essentially an all-or-nothing gambit. Initial reviews have
been positive, but the company still faces an uphill battle against
larger, more cash-rich competitors.
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) -- While Google doesn't build phones, its Android platform powers the G1 from HTC, and other phone makers, such as Motorola, are looking to build Android-powered phones.
Even after naming all these giants, there's still Microsoft 's Windows Mobile platform and a host of other smartphone makers such as Samsung . After taking our poll, drop a comment below and let us know your thoughts.
© 2009 UCLICK L.L.C.
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