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Sales booming for smart phones [The San Diego Union-Tribune](San Diego Union-Tribune (CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 23--With 285 million wireless subscriptions in the United States, just about everyone who wants a cell phone has one. Yet smart phone sales are forecast to increase 34.5 percent this year in North America, a rate is much faster than the overall mobile phone market, which is expected to grow 4 percent, according to Strategy Analytics, a market research firm in Boston. Clearly, the mobile phone market is in the throes of an upgrade cycle, akin to when VCRs gave way to DVD players. And the move up is to smart phones. Essentially mini computers, these handheld devices have the processing power of laptops made a couple of years ago. They can surf the Web, stream music, download applications ranging from navigation to games, update social networking pages and perform a host of other functions. Last year, smart phones made up 24.5 percent of mobile phone shipments in North America. This year, they're expected to reach nearly 32 percent, with the growth driven by promotions and lower prices. Worldwide, smart phone shipments grew 56.7 percent in the first quarter compared with the same quarter a year ago, according to IDC, an industry research firm in Framingham, Mass. "2010 looks like another year of large-scale consumer adoption of (smart phones)," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst at IDC. "Users are seeking, and finding, experiences that are intuitive, seamless and fun." Nokia is the top smart phone seller worldwide, but it doesn't have much market share in North America. Here, Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry devices, rules the roost. It was followed by Apple, Motorola, HTC and Palm as the top smart phone sellers in the first quarter in North America. Smart Phone Leaders RESEARCH IN MOTION Market share: 41.7 percent While Apple's iPhone gets a lot of attention, BlackBerry remains king of the smart phone market in North America with its Curve, Storm and other models. The company held a 41.7 percent share of smart phones shipped in the quarter. That's down slightly from a year ago. "It's the law of large numbers," Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst at IDC. "If you have a lot of market share, you have a lot to lose. Yet they're still making hay with a lot of mass-market devices." The company recently unveiled an upgraded operating system called Blackberry 6.0, which aims to smooth out some of the kinks that have made some of its previous operating systems hard to figure out for new users. APPLE Market share: 17.2 percent The iPhone ranked second with 17.2 percent of device shipments, down from about 18 percent a year ago. Apple has stuck with the strategy of selling the iPhone exclusively on AT&T's network, which has suffered from capacity issues from heavy use. Apple's strategy is to make one device very well and charge a premium for it, rather than introduce myriad models at lower price points. Apple's mobile operating system is by far has the most popular software platform for developers working on applications. About 160,000 apps are available through Apple. The company plans to release the fourth generation of the iPhone next month. "Apple has been the iPhone story," Llamas said. "The question is how many people will sign up with AT&T or the two different carriers up in Canada." MOTOROLA Market share: 11.7 percent The maker of the first mobile phone, Motorola bet big on Google's Android operating system and it appears to have paid off. The company had an 11.7 percent market share in North America in the first quarter, up from 2.4 percent a year ago. Llamas said Motorola didn't introduce many devices last year, so the comparison isn't exactly fair. But this year it introduced the Droid and Cliq smart phones based on Android, and Motorola plans to expand its lineup to 20 smart phones worldwide by year-end. "You can see what Droid does for Motorola," Llamas said. "If you look at their plans, they're looking at 12 million to 14 million smart phones this year, and a lot of those will arrive in the U.S." HTC Market share: 9.2 percent The maker of the HTC Hero comes in next with a 9.2 percent market share. It also has introduced Android-based phones, such as the Hero and Droid Eris. While it's just now making it to store shelves, the HTC Incredible, also powered by Android, has gotten positive reviews. "We saw a number of Android devices that were very well received out there, and I'm not referring just to the Motorola Droid," Llamas said. "Look at the HTC Hero and Eris. It's great to have a great device. But what we're hearing from everybody is the experience (with the operating system) is pretty darn solid." IDC and the NPD Group, another market research firm, said Android topped Apple's iPhone operating system for U.S. market share in the first quarter, with devices running Android from Motorola and HTC leading the way. PALM : 6.8 percent The maker of the Pre and other devices has struggled in the competitive market for smart phones, garnering a 6.8 percent market share in the first quarter. Hewlett-Packard has reached an agreement to buy Palm for $1.2 billion, with its mobile phone operating system as the prized asset, according to analysts. Mike Freeman: (760) 476-8209; [email protected] To see more of the San Diego Union-Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.signonsandiego.com/. Copyright (c) 2010, The San Diego Union-Tribune Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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