Total Telecom 2010 Forecast for the Handset Industry
The possible demise of certain key vendors in both fixed and mobile.
As has become traditional at this time of year, the Total Telecom team has spent some time ruminating on what we think will happen in the telecom industry in 2010.
We\'re by no means infallible, but we\'re in a great position to make accurate predictions. Total Telecom predicts that next year...
There will be significant reshaping in the mobile handset space, and we\'re not necessarily talking about new form factors.
Yes, several of us highlighted the handset market as being in line for a shake-up.
\"Nokia will see its share of the smartphone market plummet, on the back of increased competition and its lack of a U.S. presence,\" one of us said. \"Even in its strong Western European markets, the Finnish vendor will fail to capture the imagination of high-end consumers, who will increasingly plump for iPhones and design-heavy Android devices.\"
On a similar note, \"Symbian\'s market share will plummet as other mobile OSs invade the smartphone market,\" another editor said. Symbian has been owned by Nokia since 2008.
\"There are too many operating systems in the mobile handset space and 2010 could well be the year we start to see consolidation,\" another added.
Nokia is not the only well-established phone maker in the firing line.
\"Sony Ericsson will either be bought or will collapse,\" one of us suggested, without elaborating.
Meanwhile, someone else sees a shift in the balance of power in the global mobile phone market.
\"North America will establish itself as a global mobile powerhouse as handset makers bring out more Android-powered phones.\"
The same person also predicts that Microsoft will continue - probably in vain - to drive Windows Mobile towards consumers, and that RIM will find itself desperately defending its position in the corporate space as Apple increasingly encroaches upon it.
He or she also sees a difficult year ahead for Palm. \"Noone will want to buy it,\" she says.
\"There will be changes in the app store market as operators increasingly realize they need to provide more of a “shopping mall\" experience for their customers, rather than trying to compete directly with Apple,\" someone else said.
We couldn\'t look ahead to the future of the telecoms industry without giving Apple a disproportionate share of column issues, so here\'s another prediction for what Mr Jobs and Co. will be up to in 2010:
\"Apple won\'t unveil a new iPhone. The 3GS was a refined iPhone 3G; there isn\'t a lot more they can do with the hardware at the moment - other than make one with a better camera, more memory, an OLED screen and a projector - and there isn\'t a lot more they can do to the software without forcing app developers to invest more time and money into a new SDK,\" one of us said.
As has become traditional at this time of year, the Total Telecom team has spent some time ruminating on what we think will happen in the telecom industry in 2010.
We\'re by no means infallible, but we\'re in a great position to make accurate predictions. Total Telecom predicts that next year...
There will be significant reshaping in the mobile handset space, and we\'re not necessarily talking about new form factors.
Yes, several of us highlighted the handset market as being in line for a shake-up.
\"Nokia will see its share of the smartphone market plummet, on the back of increased competition and its lack of a U.S. presence,\" one of us said. \"Even in its strong Western European markets, the Finnish vendor will fail to capture the imagination of high-end consumers, who will increasingly plump for iPhones and design-heavy Android devices.\"
On a similar note, \"Symbian\'s market share will plummet as other mobile OSs invade the smartphone market,\" another editor said. Symbian has been owned by Nokia since 2008.
\"There are too many operating systems in the mobile handset space and 2010 could well be the year we start to see consolidation,\" another added.
Nokia is not the only well-established phone maker in the firing line.
\"Sony Ericsson will either be bought or will collapse,\" one of us suggested, without elaborating.
Meanwhile, someone else sees a shift in the balance of power in the global mobile phone market.
\"North America will establish itself as a global mobile powerhouse as handset makers bring out more Android-powered phones.\"
The same person also predicts that Microsoft will continue - probably in vain - to drive Windows Mobile towards consumers, and that RIM will find itself desperately defending its position in the corporate space as Apple increasingly encroaches upon it.
He or she also sees a difficult year ahead for Palm. \"Noone will want to buy it,\" she says.
\"There will be changes in the app store market as operators increasingly realize they need to provide more of a “shopping mall\" experience for their customers, rather than trying to compete directly with Apple,\" someone else said.
We couldn\'t look ahead to the future of the telecoms industry without giving Apple a disproportionate share of column issues, so here\'s another prediction for what Mr Jobs and Co. will be up to in 2010:
\"Apple won\'t unveil a new iPhone. The 3GS was a refined iPhone 3G; there isn\'t a lot more they can do with the hardware at the moment - other than make one with a better camera, more memory, an OLED screen and a projector - and there isn\'t a lot more they can do to the software without forcing app developers to invest more time and money into a new SDK,\" one of us said.