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Motorola Mounts A Comeback |
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1. Motorola
Mounts A Comeback
Motorola's cell phone division has been doing so poorly over the
last few years that the company planned to spin off the division
into an independent company. While those plans were put on hold
because of the global economic recession, Motorola still needed
to find a solid direction for its handset division, as well as
achieve a few hit devices.
Co-CEO Sanjay Jha appears to have found that direction, and the
company is focusing on smartphones powered by the Google-backed
Android operating system. Motorola introduced two
Android-powered devices in 2009, and it plans to release
multiple smartphones in 2010 with the Linux-based OS.
Christy Wyatt, Motorola's VP of software platforms, said the
decision to hone in on Android will enable it to deliver
handsets that offer great end-user experiences. Calling Android
a "vehicle for innovation," Wyatt said Motorola wants to deeply
customize its handsets in order to stand out from the crowd.
The Motorola Cliq showed off this customization with the
MotoBlur service, which is an embedded service that aggregates a
user's photos, contacts, and other information from places like
Facebook, corporate e-mail accounts, Twitter, and other online
sources.
But Motorola's biggest moment of 2009 came with the introduction
of the Droid for Verizon Wireless. The handset is probably
Motorola's most visually appealing device since the popular Razr,
and it is the first smartphone to feature Android 2.0. The Droid
has been a hit with consumers and, thanks to a strong multimedia
campaign by Verizon Wireless, it is expected to sell more than a
million units by the end of the year. While the Droid and the
Cliq aren't enough to completely turn around the struggling
handset division, these devices lay a solid foundation for the
company that essentially invented the cell phone.
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BlackBerry Hits The Mainstream |
2.
BlackBerry Hits The Mainstream
A typical BlackBerry user five years ago was a busy mobile
professional who always needed access to corporate e-mail. While
Research In Motion still has a dominant share with this type of
user, BlackBerry smartphones have definitely gone mainstream.
During its second quarter of 2009, the company said more than
80% of its new subscribers were non-enterprise users.
RIM has noticed this shift as well, and it is rolling out
consumer-friendly devices like the BlackBerry Storm 2 and the
low-cost BlackBerry Curve 8520 to capitalize on this market. It
has also launched an application store and a social network to
appeal to mainstream users, and RIM's growth potential in the
casual market helped it top Fortune's list of the world's
fastest-growing companies.
Competing in the casual space does represent multiple challenges
though, as even the most die-hard BlackBerry fans have to admit
RIM's user interface and multimedia capabilities lag behind
companies like Apple. But RIM is confident that it can continue
to deliver enterprise-grade services while still catering to the
mainstream.
"It's much easier to go from enterprise to consumer because once
you get the foundation correct, it's easy to turn off features
if you want," said Mike Kirkup, RIM's director of developer
relations. "Things like security and the basic building blocks
that are required for businesses are difficult to add in after
the fact."
3. Apple
Revamps The iPhone
When Apple introduced the iPhone 3GS in June, most analysts saw
it as an evolutionary upgrade, rather than a revolutionary
improvement to the hardware. With a boosted processor, better
camera, more storage space, and a digital compass, the iPhone
3GS was arguably a larger improvement from the previous version
than the iPhone 3G was. Many IT departments also appreciated the
hardware encryption and true support for ActiveSync policies
because it made it easier for the iPhone 3GS to become a good
corporate citizen.
But Apple's smartphones have never really been technologically
above their competitors, as the first iPhone didn't have 3G
access or a GPS chip. Apple has been wildly popular in the
smartphone space because it continues to add new capabilities
with new versions of the software. The iPhone OS 3.0 fixed
multiple nagging holes in the platform like copy and paste, and
it added features like universal search, voice memos, and remote
wiping in conjunction with the MobileMe service. The latest OS
also added more than 1,000 application programming interfaces
for developers, and this opens the door for more innovative
programs.
Apple has sold more than 21 million iPhone units, and has inked
deals in new markets like China and South Korea. Thanks to 3.0
OS improvements, the device is also finding its way into
corporate environments.
There are still a few questions about the iPhone's exclusivity
in the United States though, as the deal with AT&T is reportedly
set to end in 2010. Additionally, the competition has gotten a
lot better since the debut of the original iPhone, and there are
credible competitors on every major U.S. carrier.
Even with its potential hurdles, the iPhone appears to have
strong momentum that shows little signs of slowing down.
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Android Army Gathers Soldiers |
4. Android
Army Gathers Soldiers
For most of 2009, the idea of Android was more appealing than
the devices. The T-Mobile G1 was a geek's dream but it lacked
enterprise support and the form factor was hit or miss. In the
second half of the year however, there has been a flood of
attractive Android smartphones from the likes of HTC, Samsung,
LG Electronics, Motorola, and smaller manufacturers. An Android
phone can now be purchased on Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, and
Verizon. So far, AT&T has not committed to Android, but rumors
suggest it will land a device sometime next year.
Google said it expected up to 20 Android-powered devices to be
released by the end of 2009, and companies including Sony
Ericsson and Asus-Garmin are expected to release Android
smartphones in 2010. Developers also are taking Android
seriously, as there are now more than 13,000 programs in the
Android Market.
But some studies suggest content creators aren't very happy with
Android because of low download volumes and trends that indicate
Android users aren't likely to pay for apps.
The wide range of Android devices also potentially presents
fragmentation problems, as some developers are already grumbling
about having to optimize apps for a variety of screen sizes and
form factors. Additionally, companies like HTC and Samsung are
layering their own user interfaces of top of Android, and this
could eventually lead to some compatibility issues.
For Google, the growing success of Android exposes more users to
its ecosystem and potentially to its online advertising
juggernaut. Enterprise mobility specialists like Good Technology
and Zenprise also said there is growing interest from
corporations wanting to use Android-powered smartphones.
While the 2.0 version boosted enterprise features, Android still
lacks crucial enterprise necessities like hardware encryption
and full ActiveSync policy support. Google said it plans to bake
in more enterprise-friendly features in future versions of the
mobile OS.
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Mobile App Market Explodes |
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5. Mobile
App Market Explodes
Mobile apps have been around nearly as long as smartphones, but
the space has really heated up over the last year thanks to the
success of Apple's App Store. Apple iPhone and iPod Touch owners
have downloaded over 2 billion programs, and developers are
flocking to the platform. It's particularly impressive
considering Apple CEO Steve Jobs originally wanted all iPhone
apps to be Web-based only.
While Apple is leading the space, the competition is not as far
behind as it may seem. The Android Market now has more than
13,000 programs, and there are more than 20,000 Windows Mobile
apps, although most of these aren't in the official store. RIM
hasn't given any download details about its BlackBerry World,
but it said it is pleased with the number of users and paid
downloads. Nokia, Samsung, and Palm have also rolled out their
own app stores, and many are trying to capitalize on the growing
discomfort with Apple's role as gatekeeper for the App Store.
The surge in apps is creating multiple opportunities for
developers, but these content creators are facing an
increasingly fragmented world. With the iPhone, BlackBerry,
Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Palm, it is becoming
increasingly difficult for developers to support all these
platforms. Tools like Qt may help alleviate these problems, and
Google is predicting that the Web may eventually be the ultimate
mobile platform.
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