By Jason Hiner


There’s a lot of hyperbole about the expected growth of smartphones over the next three to five years, especially when you consider that in 2009 smartphones represent just 15% of total mobile phone sales. But, the X factor that’s changing the game and creating one of the hottest new trends in technology is smartphones evolving into an application platform.

The smartphone has arrived where it is today by taking the mobile phone and adding a qwerty keyboard plus “push” email and calendar functionality. But, the success of Apple’s iPhone App Store has demonstrated is that simple, functionality-focused applications can unlock a wealth of additional usefulness in the smartphone. Now, the race is on, as mobile vendors and application developers elbow each other in the ribs to gain an advantage in this potentially massive opportunity to capture audience, influence, and revenue.