There has been explosive growth in the smartphone market in the last couple of years.  This was really due to the release of the iPhone in 2007.  Mobile phone users instantly saw the value in these new phones, and it really was the start of a ‘computer in your pocket’ generation of phones.

Since 2007, almost all of the major phone manufacturers have launched a version of the smartphone, with most following a similar design to the original iPhone.  This is great news for consumers as they have a number of different phones to choose from, and as an added benefit, has also spawned a new industry in app development.  App developers have really embranced smartphones and as a consequence there are apps to inform and entertain, and generally make your life just that little bit easier.  Other more recent enhancements include high quality camera on most phones, so you really can get away with not needing a separate digital camera, and a video camera, takes video to a high enough standard for the casual user.

On account on the rapid and continuing growth of this area, you can take it as a given that the phones will only continue to improve in form and functionality, and the pace of development will continue to increase rapidly over the coming years as the manufacturers compete for dominance in this lucrative sector.  This is especially true as three of the biggest tech firms are competing to control the operating systems that run the phones, with iOS on the iPhone, Android from Google which is open to all manufacturers, and and Microsofts Windows Mobile 7 platform which like Android is open to all manufacturers.  It will be interesting to see who eventually comes out on top, with Apple being first into the market, but Windows and Android determined to catch up, and throwing huge resources at it.