Jan 8, 2010

smartphone news for 2010

2010: the year of the smartphone

Now is the time for predictions. From fashion trends to technology insights, the new decade has spawned a sea of blogs, articles and opinions on the subject. But what trends are Telstra’s product managers tipping in 2010? Richard Fink, Telstra’s Director Tool Management, takes a look at what’s set to be hot in the fast moving world of mobile tech.

First off it’s clear 2010 will be the year smartphones become a consumer must-have. Aussie businesses were fast to adopt email-capable mobiles like the BlackBerry. But 2010 will be the year mobile applications and exciting new devices push smartphones well and truly in to the consumer space.

Expect some impressive devices from all the top manufacturers in the first half of `10– as well as more features at lower price points as competition hots up.

Perhaps the most compelling thing about smartphones — other than getting your email on the go — is their ability to run apps downloaded to your phone.

Also expect 2010 to be the year the Android operating method becomes over a niche player with offerings from most of the major tool manufacturers. A mature operating method as well as a rapidly growing ecosystem of applications means Android is now a compelling consumer offering.
We’ll look at our mobiles as much as they speak on them

Apps are mini programs that run on mobiles. In 2010 more Aussies will download them than ever and head online on their mobiles.

Today there's over 100,000 iPhone apps on Apple’s iTunes store, up from 10,000 a year ago. That means you can set your iPhone up to do anything – be it order a pizza, watch Mobile FOXTEL from Telstra, or access your online banking account.

In 2009 leading handset and program makers set up their own app stores. These were giant name developers. BlackBerry App World, Nokia Ovi Store and Windows Marketplace all launched. Android Market (Google’s apps store that was launched over a year ago) already boasts around 20,000 apps.

So in 2010, expect to see a mass of useful, entertaining and simple fun apps – both free and charged-for – obtainable on a diversity of smartphones from all the major manufactures.
Socials media apps will be massively popular

Using your mobile to get online in general will boom . Mobile net is so popular with Telstra’s customers that traffic on our Next G mobile network is doubling every 8 months.

Social media apps in particular will take off with improved mobile experience, and convergence with your on-device contacts. We’re already seeing a huge appetite for social media sites on our Next G network. The number of users visiting Facebook alone over doubled between January and October. The availability of these apps across more tool types will spur further growth in the use of services like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.
Getting online on your mobile

In all it’s an exciting year ahead. Over to you, what are do you think is set to be hot in 2010?
Top 5 developments for mobiles in 2010

This year, mobiles that pack better web browsers, bigger screens, more intuitive touch controls and fast mobile net speeds will deliver the best mobile net experience on phones yet. Reading the news, catching up on sport and/or streaming YouTube clips on the go will be less hard than ever.

  1. Rise of the smartphone – three in three phones bought by Australians in 2010 will be smartphones
  2. Apps become popular across a range of tool types – social media apps
  3. Processing power of smartphones will double – with some matching the grunt of laptops obtainable a few years ago
  4. Mobile net use will boom as new devices pack better web browsers and use these faster processing speeds
  5. The range of phones powered by the Android operating method will expand dramatically

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