Blackberry

Blackberry have always had a stronghold on the US market, but thanks to the increasing success of their Enterprise integration, as well as the explosive growth in the 16-24 age group thanks to Blackberry messenger (BBM), they now have a significant market share in the UK too. In fact, in the 13-24 age group, Blackberry adoption has increased by over 400% in the UK.

Whats more, not only are they exploring alternative form factors for their devices for broader appeal (e.g. The Torch is their first slider touch/keypad device), they are attempting to attract developers to harness their strengths and spread their services accordingly (e.g. BBM API set to launch Q1 2011). And to top it all off, early indications suggest their first tablet, the Playbook, is going to be a real winner.

Samsung

One thing Samsung have never struggled doing, is selling phones. They have consistently been in the top 3 manufacturers in the world, with significant presence in the US, Europe and Asia. They have always had great hardware, but their operating system selection has always been debatable. Unlike Nokia, when significant OS launches such as Android and Windows Phone 7 came along, they swallowed their pride and accepted they could increase their reach and reinforce their foothold in smartphone market share by embracing new partners.

They now have a delightful handset in the Galaxy S, which is selling phenomenal amounts globally, including almost 8 million in China alone. They have also been the second into the tablet foray with the Galaxy Tab, utilising the flexibility of Android to deliver a decent piece of kit. Samsung definitely on the ascendancy into 2011.

HTC

What can we say about HTC! Just a few years ago a relative unknown in Western markets, now, with thanks to a brilliant new brand identity and a hefty marketing strategy, its making a real splash in the smartphone market. Adopting Android appears to be the best move HTC ever made; acting as a vehicle to get their hardware into the hands of a whole new range of consumers.

The Desire HD is an object of utter beauty for example, and not only demonstrates the power of the Google OS, but the quality of hardware HTC continue to produce. Even though they don’t use their own OS, they add their own little touches with their Sense UI and services, which help establish a sense of familiarity in a world where the consumer doesn’t are about the brand of OS.

All in all, if there are 3 manufacturers to watch over the next 12 months, these are the guys!!

In a time when Android continues to go from strength to strength, what was supposed to be the landmark handset to earmark the operating system’s dramatic introduction to the market, the Nexus One seems to be slipping into the mire of Google’s ‘could have beens’.

Tipped to be the ‘superphone’ that would challenge and revolutionise the smartphone market, it has now be dropped by two major MNOs in the states, and has had absolutely no impact on the continual rise of Android. There are people who stand by the handset, continuing to herald it as the best handset they have ever owned, but unfortunately it seems that the majority have lost faith.

Only 20,000 handsets were sold in its first week, and other Android handsets such as Motorola’s Droid heavily outsold Google’s HTC manufactured offering. Goldman Sachs originally predicted that there would be 3.5 million Nexus One sales this year. Not long ago that number has been slashed to just one million.

So where exactly did the Nexus One go wrong? Here’s my thoughts:

It’s no Apple! – There is no doubting that Google is an extremely strong global brand, however in a market that is led (and led pretty damn well too) by Apple, it takes a true army of fanatics to make an outright market leader. Considering this was Google’s first ‘hardware’ outing, there was nothing to precede it to ensure the established market initiated sales.

Consumer Trust – Google’s products continue to come under scrutiny for their issues relating to privacy, and therefore consumer trust in the organisation is delicate enough as it is. Considering that the mobile phone is already a very personal and private device makes it an even easier decision for a consumer to not trust their personal, location and financial data with Google.

Poor marketing strategy – This was supposed to be a SUPERPHONE! There was nothing super about the marketing campaign to support the launch, and if anything was overshadowed by the brilliant campaign for the Motorola Droid. Google too heavily relied on what they thought was the geek/tech communities excitement too cause a buzz, when in fact they neglected to target the average joes seeking an iPhone alternative. Without the hype and major marketing strategy, it was always going to be flawed.

Selling Direct – “If it ain’t broke, dont fix it!” – Trying to sell directly to the customer is a risky business for any handset manufacturer, especially at the first attempt. Apple does it, but this is not exclusive, and instead partners with MNOs/carriers as well. When there are plenty of operators who would have taken on the handset and supplied great customer service support, why did Google think it could manage it all on its own?! Especially with the following point in mind…

Poor Customer service – After launch, the decision to have an online only customer service centre for the Nexus One backfired, and the publicity behind this decision put a dramatic halt to sales as the issues causing complaints leaked out very publicly. This also caused a significant delay to the UK launch, by which time many ‘shoppers’ looked elsewhere.

Stronger Android handsets – Even after the launch of the Nexus One in all its markets, it was evident that there were (going to be) better Android handsets available, mainly from HTC. The Desire in particular which is awfully similar to the Nexus One, but has the impressive Sense UI from HTC, and Flash 10.1 support.

The Nexus One is no doubt a brilliant phone, but it has failed to be the major catalyst for Android adoption and competitor to the iPhone that Google had hoped. Its just as well that Android continues to grow stronger with the support of HTC and Samsung who are regularly releasing handsets utilising the operating system. Will the Nexus Two learn from the lessons of its older brother? Lets hope so…

I have rapidly established a reputation for ‘iPhone bashing’, which is nothing to do with not owning a suite of Apple Products or disliking Steve Job’s hair. Oh no. For those of you that are not aware, my main ‘beef’ is with brands who do not consider other platforms simply because its a) too hard, b) too expensive/not as cheap as iPhone or c) just want to tick a box that says ‘We have an iPhone app’.

There is a wealth and breadth of great (and some not so great) operating systems out there that can offer brilliant, rich and engaging experiences for their users, that despite having a substantially larger market share than Apple, continue to be overlooked. For a long time I have wanted to put together a presentation to demonstrate this very point, but Ewan MacLeod of Mobile Industry Review has pulled it out of the bag.

When it comes down to offering consumer utilities or CRM extensions, it is important to closely consider which platform to employ, but whether you should even consider the mobile web before apps! The iPhone is just 4% of the UK mobile handset share, so can you really justify spending a vast amount of your marketing budget on an app that might reach only 4% of your target audience (assuming your brand is a national brand with a fair reflection of the British population). The most likely scenario is that you cannot.

As mobile moves from ‘bit-part’ to mainstream, the importance of understanding this audience, their handsets and how they interact with brands via their mobile will be of the utmost importance. Mobile ‘strategists’ and planners will, like social media this year, start cropping up at agencies all over the world, and become an integral part of the planning and creative process. And this here, this is your first free piece of advice, condensed into a succinct yet effective presentation from Ewan. Enjoy.

p.s. still need more convincing? Martin Wilson and Tomi Ahonen can offer further support

There are a few noticeable and obvious trends (namely rise of RIM, Apple and Android, fall of Windows and Linux), but I honestly believe this year will throw up several more surprise. Keep an eye out for:

• The rebirth of Windows Phone – This will depend on the time of its official launch, but after the positive reception at and post MWC, it is clear that it will start to reclaim some of that last market share. This may not be too evident until 2011 however, with a proposed Q4 2010 launch.
• The Android explosion continues – 2009 was very much a testing the water year fro Android, with the high profile Motorola Droid, Nexus One and HTC Hero all contributing to a jump in share, however 2010 will be the year when Android is a success based on the broad range of other handsets it will feature on. I expect an even more significant leap this year.
• Symbian stability – Despite receiving several body blows in the form of the iPhone and Blackberry, I still expect due to their huge huge sales figures for Symbian not to make its fall from grace just yet. It will take a lot more than a few rivals to bring down this behemoth.

Some smart alec Apple fan boy has replied with their very own take on the Droid Does viral.

The iPhone/Android battle is heating up, and with analysts predicting the open source OS to overtake Apples 2nd place slot behind Symbian on OS market share, its going to get very interesting over the next few months!

The customisable, interchangeable mobile phone cover was a real fad in the early days of mobile going mainstream. I fondly remember my Homer Simpson X-Press On cover for my Nokia 3210, which I eventually swapped for a ‘blingy’ mirror effect case with jewel like buttons. I disgust myself when I think about it. What we must remember was that back in the day, this was how we customised our mobiles! Long before applications, downloadable images, and even ring tones, the interchangeable cover was our way of expressing who we were via our mobile. But as the industry matured, it was recognised that people didn’t care about changing their handset aesthetics….or do they?

HTC has made several strong steps into the limelight in recent months, with its Hero and Magic handsets (the latter now a Top 10 smartphone in Western Europe according to the Admob Report for August) and with the highly anticipated Tattoo, is bringing back customisable covers! But not just any ordinary covers. Oh no. That would be far too 2001. They are allowing users to design their own sparkly covers for an incredibly reasonable price! I personally think this is a brilliant idea, however the fluctuating nature of HTC’s hardware leaves me with low expectations of the quality of the cases themselves. Until I get my hands on one myself I wont be able to tell. In the meantime, feel free to get yourselves a Mobsessed case!

Ok, or go design your own at http://www.tattoomyhtc.com/

So after much anticipation, Vodafone 360 has landed! V360 integrates a host of social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, and includes a store of applications that will eventually be available to the company’s more than 315 million global customers.

It will replace the Vodafone Live suite of mobile internet services, which was heralded as the company’s most important launch ever when it was unveiled seven years ago but has been made to look “tired” by the recent proliferation of mobile applications and the success of devices such as the iPhone, Palm Pre and handsets using Google’s Android software.

This is an attempt by the world’s largest network to retain the direct connection between mobile phone operators and consumers, especially as nowadays consumers are downloading directly from device and OS App stores such as the Android Marketplace.

Mobile widgets, accompanied by the boom of touch screen handsets, is the hottest thing in mobile technology and has given handset manufacturers a way of making revenues from users above and beyond the initial sale of a handset. Nokia, with its Ovi store, RIM, with its Blackberry App World, and Samsung have all leapt into the applications market.

Vodafone is marking the launch with the release of the V360 H1 by Samsung, which sports a 3.5-inch multi-touch, high definition OLED screen, 720p video recording, 16GB memory, Wi-Fi and a 5-megapixel camera.

Check out a brief glimpse of V360 in action in the video below.

So what quantifies me as being mobsessed?

I do not think there is a straight answer to that question, but having over 15 phones in 9 years certainly goes great lengths to contributing towards it. Below you will see a rather lovely visual representation of my mobile handset history. These are the phones that stick out for me one way or another (plus there are some I cannot remember!) however the bigger impact they had on me as a mobile user, the bigger they are represented on the diagram.

As you can see, I was a bit of a Nokia fan boy throughout my teens, however as the early signs of the smartphone emerged, I wanted to be part of it. After playing with the Hero however, I get the impression I may be an Android convert for good!

Feel free to link to your own mobile handset history in the comments below. Do you have any fond memories of any of the following handsets, or even have support for the ones I have slated?

In the mean time, please enjoy the new blog!