Boy, did Apple have a great idea when they first came out with the iPhone (News - Alert) device on AT&T’s network in June 2007. Because of that, they are now monopolizing the touch screen industry—being the only company in the very beginning with a touch screen device.

 

“What you’re seeing right now is the first wave of competitors spurred by the media juggernaut for the iPhone,” said Ed Snyder, a telecommunications industry analyst with Charter Equity Research. Snyder said that when the iPhone hype hit, “no credible cellphone executive could not get a touch-screen phone started.”

 

Afterwards, companies struggled to keep up and soon came out with their own versions of touch screen devices that quite frankly appeared to look like Apple’s (News - Alert) iPhone in an attempt to fool the consumer in making them think that they purchased an Apple knock-off.

 

Don’t believe it? Take a look at the G1 (second picture), powered by Android software; the Instinct from Samsung (pictured with the iPhone); the LG Dare (third picture); and, most recently, Research in much-anticipated BlackBerry Storm (pictured last). All have a striking resemblance to its cousin, the iPhone.

 

However, with everyone on a money clench, analysts and industry experts say most touch-screen phones will have trouble getting onto the list of this season’s must-have gadgets.

 

Wireless service operators are now concentrating on retaining current subscribers as much as they are trying to reel in new ones, said Charles Golvin, a principal analyst at Forrester (News - Alert) Research. Part of that strategy, Golvin said, is offering perks like exclusive “presales” of hot new models to subscribers.

 

Phone shoppers say carriers and contracts have a big influence on their decisions about phones. “I’m pretty sure my next phone will be a touch screen,” said Vernon McIntosh, 40, a personal trainer from New York who is an AT&T (News - Alert) customer.

 

McIntosh was in a Verizon store last week and said he was choosing between an iPhone and the BlackBerry Storm. “But I’m not eligible for an upgrade at AT&T,” he said. “It might be cheaper to switch contracts.”

 

Over the weekend, an employee at a Verizon (News - Alert) Wireless store in Midtown Manhattan said that none of the company’s stores in Manhattan had the Storm in stock, but that people were still pouring in to place an order. The earliest ship date, Dec. 15.

Nancy Stark, a spokeswoman for Verizon, said she could not provide figures on sales or inventory for the Storm, although she did say it had been the company’s “fastest-selling phone to date.” Verizon’s next touch-screen models are the $350 HTC Touch Pro, available now, and the $249 Samsung Omnia, which is for sale online and will be in stores next week.

 

Although, companies are acknowledging that touch screen technology is not ideal for everyone and do have their disadvantages. The bigger screens are a drain on battery life, and the phones require users to look at the screen instead of getting to know the phone’s buttons by feel, said Snyder.

 

“You’re getting all these extras so you can look at the phone and stand still, when you bought the phone so you could move,” he said. “Only a niche of users are going to be willing to spend money to have the extra capability. The hype surrounding the touch-screen technology far exceeds its impact,” he continued.

 

Dave Perry, a business developer who was shopping in a Verizon store over the weekend, said he liked the user-friendliness and big screens of touch-screen phones. “But there are drawbacks: the accuracy of typing and reliability of the screen.”

 

Perry continued, “I don’t necessarily think the technology is where it needs to be. The occasional problems and slow responses from the devices are not something I’m willing to wait for.”

 

Ev Gonzalez, director of device marketing for Verizon Wireless, said the company recognized that touch-screen technology was not for everyone. In fact, he said, touch screens are likely to show up on a limited number of the company’s devices.

 

“There are consumers who are looking for straight phone services,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “Where the touch screen is not needed, we won’t provide it.”

Whether a touch screen device is a good buy for you the consumer, it is unequivocally up to you to decide. Whichever the case may be, this holiday season is the season for sensational touch screen devices.