TV-ready smartphones, strained carrier networks, 4G networks, Google Nexus One all converging
Michael Hanley, who heads up Ball State University’s Institute for Mobile Media Research, isn’t exactly going out on a limb in declaring 2010 as the Year of the Smartphone (through a press release that landed in my email inbox today). Then again, he’ll be right.
The Year of the Smartphone is already off to a rollicking start, with Google grabbing all sorts of headlines with its Nexus One announcement. Hanley expects the device to give the iPhone and Droid a run for their money.
He also foresees big things for TV-ready smartphones and says to look forward to 4G and never mind the Verizon/AT&T squabbling over 3G coverage. His other top trends for 2010 include preparing for more mobile ads and coupons, expecting more carrier choice regardless of mobile device and getting ready for the emergence of smartbooks for reading books and watching movies on the go.
Hanley keeps his pulse on the smartphone market in a variety of ways, including a twice-yearly survey on the use of mobile devices by college students. He’s conducted such surveys since 2004.
