iPhone may assist rivals
The global market for smartphones – devices that include telephone service, the Internet, email, music, a camera and videos – will reach 100 million dollars this year, or 10 percent of the one billion cellphones sold worldwide, according to analyst firms Canalys and IDC.
More than one billion smartphones are expected to be sold by 2010-2012 as they gradually replace regular cellphones.
The current leaders in the multi-purpose phone market include the BlackBerry of Canadian firm Research in Motion (RIM) and recent models created by Nokia, Palm and Motorola.
"We are still at an early stage of market development, with businesses and consumers only scratching the surface of what is and will be possible with such devices," said Canalys analyst Nick Spencer.
Several devices are battling for a limited number of consumers, but none are thriving as connectivity remains slow, said Jonah Bloom, editor in chief of marketing magazine AdAge.
"Many of these devices don't work that well," Bloom said. "The network in the US is slow. The iPhone can't change that."
But function and ergonomics are improving with each new smartphone release.
The iPhone's unique feature is its touch-screen, whose functions are oeprated by tapping or sliding a finger on the screen.
IPhone competitors have released new sophisticated models in recent months.
Experts say Apple will face stiff competition from Finnish firm Nokia's N95 device, which like the iPhone can be turned horizontally to make the screen wider for videos.
The iPhone will also have to compete with new devices from Sony, RIM, Motorola and Samsung.
Apple's rivals even believe they will benefit from the wide media coverage given to the iPhone.
"We think the (iPhone) buzz is very good," Samsung Telecommunications America vice president Peter Skarzynski told reporters. "It helps people understand the convergence of phones and music players."
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