While many consumers are usually used purchasing electronics at a steep discount right before the holidays, the sheer number of smartphones having their prices cut is almost unbelievable. Included smartphone devices are Apple's iPhone 4 and iPhone 3Gs, Google's newly released Nexus S, Droid Incredible and Sony's XPERIA X10, among others-all since Dec. 1.

Apple's iPhone. The current iPhone 4 price cut is the second legitimate discount since its release; the first was at Radio Shack, which offered it for $149 and the iPhone 3GS for $49. This time, consumers are getting a break at Sam's Club in the U.S., according to a copy of a Kiosk Priority Note detailing the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3Gs sale^[1]. The Apple iPhone 4 will be offered at $147, $2 cheaper than Radio Shack, which is typically the cheapest offered at $149. The iPhone 3Gs will be offered at $47 and Radio Shack has them for $49. Both price cuts at Sam's Club will be available to members only but will end Christmas Eve 2010. Of course, both versions of the iPhones are offered with the usual two-year contract in addition to being locked to AT&T.

Google's Nexus S. Another unbelievable price cut in the works is that of the Google Nexus S. This smartphone was just released at Best Buy in the U.S. on Dec. 16, although the Nexus S price cut^[2] will only be available to European consumers. However, the device has yet to see European consumers since its previously announced release date today. The discount will apply to those shopping at the Carphone Warehouse in the U.K. -- the only place consumers can pre-order it for $665, $186 less than the original price. The upside is that for those who have already ordered the smartphone at the original price the discount will be applied to their accounts.

Free Droid Incredible, Sony XPERIA X10, LG Optimus S. Yes, Best buy has been offering a variety of smartphones free^[3] every day. This move was part of the original Phone a Day campaign, which ended Oct. 31. The overwhelming success of the campaign sparked the company to offer at least four different smartphones free every day until Dec. 31. While there is no way to know which phone will be offered on what day, Best Buy assured consumers in a news release that at least one phone from each major carrier -- AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile -- will be available. The details of the campaign state that consumers participating must agree to a two-year contract for new or upgraded smartphones.

With the recession finally letting up and the smorgasbord of new smartphones on the market, the reality is that many wireless carriers and manufacturers want to make up for lost ground. Just keep in mind, though, that many carriers, such as Verizon and AT&T have increased their respective termination fees for early ended contracts. While most do not have to worry, these increases make up for the subsidized prices of the smartphones, ensuring that the carriers do not lose out on the cost of the smartphones should a customer cancel their service. Many consumers are hoping to rake in deals for the holiday shopping season and these are certainly deals that they will not want to miss.

Jessica (JC) Torpey is a self-taught computer technician with more than 10 years experience in the field. JC's passion is studying the various political and business aspects of the technology industry. Combining that knowledge with her love of computers, JC uses it to influence her writing.

References

1. ^{^} iPhone 4 and iPhone 3Gs sale (us.rd.yahoo.com)
2. ^{^} Nexus S price cut (us.rd.yahoo.com)
3. ^{^} smartphones free (us.rd.yahoo.com)

A few days ago Microsoft^[1] did a reboot of their mobile phone strategy with the launch of Windows Phone 7^[2]. Microsoft for the past few years have been watching from the stands as Apple^[3] and Google^[4] have built up a dominant empire around their mobile phone operating systems. That’s probably why Microsoft is taking a page out of Apple’s book when it first launched the iPhone.

Electronista is reporting that an employee has revealed that Microsoft gave away 100 Windows Phone 7^[5] smartphones to AT&T^[6] employees during an event in Minneapolis. It isn’t clear whether this was just a regional giveaway or a national one, but the employee did state that it was an attempt to get AT&T employees familiar with Windows Phone 7 before they are released in stores on November 7th. Apple took a similar approach when it first launched the iPhone^[7] in 2007. To help spread the gospel of the new phone Apple gave an 8GB iPhone to all of its full-time professional and retail workers.

Read more at Electronista^[8].

References

1. ^{^} Microsoft (www.geek.com)
2. ^{^} launch of Windows Phone 7 (www.geek.com)
3. ^{^} Apple (www.geek.com)
4. ^{^} Google (www.geek.com)
5. ^{^} Windows Phone 7 (www.geek.com)
6. ^{^} AT&T (www.geek.com)
7. ^{^} iPhone (www.geek.com)
8. ^{^} Electronista (www.electronista.com)

More Smartphone Buyers Choose Android Over iPhone [STATS]

Do you like this story?

References

1. ^{^} Android (mashable.com)
2. ^{^} strongly challenging (mashable.com)
3. ^{^} Froyo (mashable.com)
4. ^{^} Android (www.blippr.com)
5. ^{^} Charm (mashable.com)
6. ^{^} superphones (mashable.com)
7. ^{^} Droid X (mashable.com)
8. ^{^} Galaxy S (mashable.com)
9. ^{^} most successful iPhone launch ever (mashable.com)
10. ^{^} fan frenzy (mashable.com)
11. ^{^} Nielsen (blog.nielsen.com)
12. ^{^} BlackBerry (mashable.com)
13. ^{^} BlackBerry Rocks! (www.blippr.com)
14. ^{^} Flickr (www.blippr.com)
15. ^{^} jesusbelzunce (www.flickr.com)
16. ^{^} View more jobs » (jobs.mashable.com)

If you suffer from chronic smartphone dysfunction, Windows Phone 7 may be for you.

Today I received a curious email. It was from my dad, a retired, 65-year old dentist who teaches at his local dental school in Southern Florida.

“Which is the best Android phone at AT&T?”

I was of course, perplexed.

Now, mind you, my father is as atypical a senior citizen as it gets — this is a man who networked his entire condo with Wi-Fi using range extenders (with no help of my own) and customized his own La-z-Boy recliner to act as a computer workstation — not a technology-averse person by any means whatsoever.

But he’s never had any interest in having a smartphone, not at least until a few months ago, when I visited my parents and showed them my new iPad and my Motorola Droid, which has been serving me faithfully for about a year.

Had my father been a Verizon or a GMail user like myself, my response would have been fairly cut and dry — get the Motorola Droid X, The HTC Droid Incredible or the Motorola Droid 2. Or if he was on T-Mobile, to get the new G2 or the Samsung Galaxy S. On Sprint, I’d probably recommend the Samsung Epic or the HTC EVO 4G.

But AT&T? Uh… The iPhone, I guess. But based on the god-awful things AT&T does to its Androids, such as loading them up with all sorts of extra carrier crap and ripping out Google search components, I’m not comfortable reccomending any of them, and that includes the Samsung Captivate which is otherwise a pretty decent piece of hardware.

But then it dawned on me — my dad is a Hotmail user.

Yes. Hotmail. I realize they’re not the coolest of webmail providers, and they’re not GMail, but they’ve got millions and millions of users. As does AOL Mail and Yahoo! Mail. And you know what? When it comes to integrating them with Android’s email, calendar and contact management, they all suck, as do the 3rd-party solutions for attempting to make them work halfway decently on Android.

For all the techno-goodness that Android is, it is ultimately tied to GMail and Google services.

Simple, right? Just make grandma and grandpa switch to GMail, and hand them a shiny new Droid. Problem solved.

Uh, no.

Have you ever actually tried to make a Baby Boomer change their email address? Chances are, they’ve been using the same email provider since they’ve had dial-up. Yes, dial up, the way we used to get onto the Internet, with these things we used to call modems.

Also Read: Microsoft To Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android — Daddy’s Home^[1]!

Although the wretched AOL software itself is now long gone, My Mother-in-Law still uses AOL Mail using their web interface, even though I told her it would be a simple matter of getting her contact list and importing it over to GMail, switching her over her mailbox to GMail with POP3, and sending out a broadcast message to her friends and family that she switched. You know what she told me? Forget it.

So my dad has Hotmail. He has AT&T. You know what? I think he’d be a good candidate for a Windows 7 Phone. And yes, I realize the iPhone can easily integrate with Hotmail, and all sorts of 3rd-party email services, but bear with me for a moment.

Why Microsoft? Windows Phone 7’s got an easy-to-use interface with large tile visual icons and large text which might be appealing to someone that might be intimidated by something as sophisticated as a Droid or the iPhone, which can easily become a dizzying array of tiny icons and difficult to read text.

It’s no wonder that older folks have chronic smartphone dysfunction.

A 65-year old who’s never owned a smartphone device might be completely intimidated by an Android or an iOS device. Look, I’m only 41, I own a Droid and an iPad and find both platforms not particularly accessibility-friendly either.

And now that I’ve given it some thought, I think Microsoft should be thinking about positioning their product towards the just-retiring Boomer generation, rather than those Gen-Xers and Y-ers looking for the “Un-Android” or the “Anti-iPhone” — which as far as I am concerned, is a demographic that does not exist. As I’ve said in the past, the smartphone market has chosen its technology leadership platforms, and Windows Phone isn’t going to displace them.

Instead of Microsoft’s marketing de-emphasis of 3rd-party Apps (well, because the platform doesn’t have any yet) and spending less time with the smartphone and getting on with one’s busy life as depicted in their latest commercials^[2], I think they should be putting ads for Windows Phone 7 in TV spots for shows that “younger” Seniors watch and magazines that age demographic reads, and getting into bed with Boomer and Senior-friendly companies like AARP.

The same sort of shows and magazines that have Cialis commercials. Seriously.

Sounds nuts? Do you have any idea of how many Baby Boomers^[3] there are? If we’re talking about age 65 and older, it’s about 13 percent of the US population. That’s not insignificant if we consider that as a whole, the population of the US is growing older.^[4] When you consider that most smartphone products are being marketed towards a younger generation of buyers, it leaves open a considerable marketing opportunity for a company like Microsoft that the others might not be addressing.

If I were Microsoft, I’d make absolutely sure that Windows Phones are everywhere that people 55 and older can find them, that patient and helpful salespeople at retailers and carrier stores are there to demo them, and that the devices are compatible and easy to configure with the email services that these seniors and Boomers use today.

Could Windows Phone 7 be the Smartphone platform for the Boomer Generation? Talk Back and Let Me Know.

References

1. ^{^} Microsoft To Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android — Daddy’s Home (www.zdnet.com)
2. ^{^} as depicted in their latest commercials (news.cnet.com)
3. ^{^} Baby Boomers (en.wikipedia.org)
4. ^{^} as a whole, the population of the US is growing older. (factfinder.census.gov)

When Microsoft introduced its Windows Phone 7 operating system^[1] on Monday, it couldn't make its traditional sales pitch to consumers: We're Microsoft, this product has "Windows" in its name, get on board now!

Instead, it had to ask something different: Trust us to build this platform.

You've heard that before from other companies. Smartphones may be the most interesting product of the electronics industry, but the flip side of that excitement is uncertainty. Buying into a new phone platform amounts to placing an expensive bet, equal to the cost of the phone, plus the cost of its required service plan, plus the cost of any apps you buy -- plus the opportunity cost of not being able to switch to a competing phone for the next two years.

Sometimes the bet pays off. Apple had never built a phone before launching the iPhone in 2007, but that venture has succeeded beyond any sane expectation. Google's Android operating system didn't reach the market until the iPhone had secured an enormous head start, but it's on its way to passing Apple^[2].

Sometimes a new phone venture sinks almost instantly, like Microsoft's Kin, which the company axed less than two months after it arrived in stores^[3]. Other platforms don't crumble until years of success tempt their developers to slack off. Palm's defunct Palm OS and Microsoft's now-abandoned Windows Mobile come to mind.

And then there are the cases that leave buyers wondering if they bet on the wrong contender.

Palm's webOS looked like a breakthrough^[4] when it debuted on its Pre smartphone two summers ago. Less than a year later, without any significant hardware upgrades and with support stalled from third-party software developers, Palm's project appeared to be circling the drain^[5]. Now that HP has bought the company^[6], its prospects look brighter, but only if HP's financial backing helps it ship a reinvigorated lineup of phones that sell well enough to draw renewed interest from programmers.

With Windows Phone 7, Microsoft seems to be off to a better start than Palm in some important ways. It has lined up the likes of Dell, HTC, LG and Samsung to build devices running this software, to be sold by AT&T and T-Mobile, thereby avoiding Palm's mistake of introducing one phone on one carrier.

But WP7's software selection seems even more up in the air than Palm's did when the Pre launched. At its launch event in New York on Monday, it showed off programs from such name-brand sources^[7] as Twitter, eBay, Netflix, EA, Slacker and Amazon's IMDB; others are on the way, such as Foursquare's upcoming app^[8]. And one of the most important mobile applications, Facebook, comes built into Windows Phone 7.

(The companies that rush to ship software for new phones face risks of their own. Yelp shipped an app for webOS early on but now seems to have come down with a case of developer's remorse^[9].)

But think about all the names we haven't heard from yet: Evernote, Dropbox, Yelp, OpenTable and Pandora, to name a few. Quantity counts, as well, and here Microsoft will inevitably start out light-years behind the iPhone and Android. Microsoft may brag about "thousands" of apps in the works, but I would be surprised if a four-digit number of apps were available when the first WP7 phone, AT&T's Samsung Focus, ships Nov. 8.

For Windows Phone 7 to secure a viable share of the market, Microsoft will have to work with the tenacity of a Chilean miner at getting developers to spend time writing apps for it -- presumably, after they've already put in time on separate iPhone and Android programs.

Windows Phone 7 buyers also have to trust that the company will keep plugging away at its own software, adding such missing features as copy and paste (promised for early next year), visual voicemail, video conferencing and voice text input.

For all of those obstacles, however, Windows Phone 7 seems a safer bet than this season's other product launch: the PlayBook tablet computer^[10] coming from Research In Motion. That device represents RIM's first venture into a new category of hardware, and it doesn't run on the same operating system as RIM's BlackBerry phones.

Windows Phone 7 has one other thing going for it: Microsoft doesn't have any other options left. Either this platform succeeds, or the company gets wiped off the map in the most exciting part of the computer industry.

This post is a draft of this weekend's column, and you can help make it better. What factors do you consider when deciding whether to invest in a new computing platform? What warning signs do you watch out for? How long will you wait to judge a new smartphone operating system a success?

References

1. ^{^} introduced its Windows Phone 7 operating system (voices.washingtonpost.com)
2. ^{^} on its way to passing Apple (gigaom.com)
3. ^{^} axed less than two months after it arrived in stores (voices.washingtonpost.com)
4. ^{^} looked like a breakthrough (voices.washingtonpost.com)
5. ^{^} appeared to be circling the drain (voices.washingtonpost.com)
6. ^{^} bought the company (voices.washingtonpost.com)
7. ^{^} programs from such name-brand sources (www.engadget.com)
8. ^{^} Foursquare's upcoming app (voices.washingtonpost.com)
9. ^{^} a case of developer's remorse (voices.washingtonpost.com)
10. ^{^} PlayBook tablet computer (voices.washingtonpost.com)
11. ^{^} Report abuse (news.google.com)

For 2010, International Data Corporation (IDC) is now predicting total shipments of 269.6 million smartphones, compared with 173.5 million units in 2009 - growth of 55.4 percent. That's up nearly 25 percentage points from the company's 30.7 percent growth forecast released in March.

More Smartphones that Work for Business

New smartphones that are suitable for business use.

With these numbers and the rate of growth, it’s easy to see why consumers have come to expect anytime, anywhere access to the Internet, data and applications, whether they interact using their computer, mobile device, tablet or kiosk. And what makes mobile access possible? Why, the cloud, of course.

So what are the factors that have led to adoptions of these technologies?

Widespread Wi-Fi

Access to Wi-Fi is one of the driving forces that is increasing adoption of the smartphone and cloud-based technologies. Today you can access an Internet connection in any local coffee shop, bookstore, or restaurant you visit, making it easy to surf the Web, complete online transactions, update your Facebook and more. It’s only natural that a more personal, mobile device would be needed to access these Wi-Fi networks quickly and easily.

Rise of the Mobile Operating System

Users have moved beyond simple feature phones and on to smartphones in large part because of the development of advanced mobile operating systems. No longer do you have to scroll through endless black and white text menu options to complete tasks. Now advanced visual experience, easier navigation and touch screens lead the way to sophisticated mobile operating systems, making them easier to use and in turn easier for the masses to adopt.

Open Source Applications

Open source application development has also paved the way for increased smartphone and cloud technology adoption. With barriers to mobile OS application development being broken down, developers are free to capitalize on mobile Internet technology, creating applications for the smartphone customer that make their day-to-day life easier. Applications like GPS, restaurant locators, personal finance tools, and more combine the use of the Internet with the personalization of the smartphone features.

Decreased Cost of the Smartphone

In 2007, Apple introduced its own version of the smartphone, the iPhone, retailing for $500 for the cheapest version. While smartphones are far from cheap today, the cost has come down, with costs hovering around $200 to $300, making adoption of these devices and the cloud technology they utilize more common.

As the adoption of the smartphone and cloud-based technologies increases, developers of each technology are sure to find more and more uses that will become functional in consumers' everyday lives. For now, the convenience these technologies offer makes you wonder how you ever got along without them in the past.

DynaSis is a computer support Atlanta^[1] firm that has been serving small and midsized businesses since 1992. DynaSis offers managed IT plans, cloud computing, managed hosting, IT strategy, and professional installation services. To find out more about DynaSis, visit www.dynasis.com^[2].

References

1. ^{^} computer support Atlanta (www.dynasis.com)
2. ^{^} www.dynasis.com (www.dynasis.com)

Research in Motion's BlackBerry may soon lose its lock on the enterprise market, as companies look to add support for more consumer friendly smartphones--like Android and iPhone^[1] devices--and the BlackBerry's vaunted security features become less unique.

RIM has built its business on providing mobile e-mail and messaging services to corporate users. Thousands of companies use BlackBerry exclusively for mobile communications. And the company dominates the market with well over 60 percent market share. Much of the corporate loyalty stems from the company's reputation for strong device management and security^[2]. But a major shift is underway as IT departments are no longer dictating which mobile devices workers can and cannot use. Instead, employees are bringing their own smartphones and tablets into the office and finding ways to work them into their professional lives.

Forrester Research recently issued a report concluding that the iPhone and iPad are "secure enough," with the right policies and technical controls.

"The choice of which mobile device to support in a company is no longer happening in the CIO's office," said John Herrema, senior vice president of corporate strategy at Good Technology, a company that offers enterprise class device management and mobile security solutions. "It's happening at a retail store one consumer at a time. It's a big shift, and companies have to adapt."

While RIM is still considered the gold-standard when it comes to security, CIOs say they can no longer ignore the needs and demands of their workers, who want to use their personal cell phones for work.

"We've always been a BlackBerry house," said Rusty Yeager, deputy chief information officer of HealthSouth, one of the largest health care providers in the U.S. "But we recently started to dip our toe into supporting other platforms. Our employees and some of our doctors are really pushing us to support iPhones, iPads, and Android devices."

John Dick, CIO of Western Union, another BlackBerry-only firm, said his company is already testing applications developed for the iPhone, and it will eventually support Android devices, too. The company is still evaluating the costs involved with supporting an additional mobile platform or two. But Dick said Western Union will get there.

"Our CEO already has an iPhone," he said. "The truth is that most people carry two devices. And they really only want to carry one, so it just makes sense if we can make that happen."

Indeed, the proliferation of smartphones in the market, and the success of the Google Android^[3] devices and the iPhone among consumers, is driving demand in the enterprise. And it's not just iPhones and Android phones that people want to bring into work, the Apple iPad^[4], which sold 3 million units in its first 80 days on the market^[5], has also become popular among workers.

"There's no question that tablets are hot right now," Good's Herrema said. "So any company that is considering adding more device support is looking at that category and thinking about how it can best address the needs of its users."

This is likely why RIM announced its own tablet, the PlayBook^[6], months before it will even be available. Even though many of the details of the device were missing at the launch and reviewers have yet to get their hands on it for a full review, RIM may have announced something just to prevent its corporate customers from allocating money in 2011 budgets toward buying iPads and Android tablets.

No longer a lock on the market
Until recently, many corporate IT departments resisted supporting any devices other than those running on RIM's BlackBerry Enterprise Server. The reason was that the original iPhone and Android software lacked adequate security features for business users. But over the past two years that has changed.

With Apple's OS 3.1 and Google's Android 2.2, the software platforms now each offer enough security features built-in to satisfy most enterprise requirements. And this is coupled with support from companies like Good Technology, which offers message encryption and server architecture similar to what RIM offers. The main difference is that the Good technology allows companies to support multiple mobile platforms, including iPhone and Android, along with traditional Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Palm Treo devices.

The combination in enhancements has been enough to satisfy some analysts. Forrester Research recently issued a report concluding that the iPhone and iPad are "secure enough,"^[7] with the right policies and technical controls. Just like RIM, Apple now supports e-mail message encryption, device wipes, passcode locks, autolock, automatic autowipes, protected configuration profiles, and continuous refresh.

Google Android phones using version 2.2 of the software also now meet most enterprise security criteria. And device makers, such as Motorola, are also trying to enhance the hardware to provide even better security and remote management. At last week's CTIA trade show in San Francisco, Motorola introduced the Droid Pro^[8], a BlackBerry-looking device with a touch screen and full QWERTY keypad that offered security features inherent in Android 2.2 as well as additional features added by Motorola.

The added competition from the iPhone and Android phones is already starting to eat into RIM's market share. From May to August of this year, RIM's market share dipped from 69 percent to 66 percent, according to a survey by ChangeWave Research.

The added competition from the iPhone and Android phones is already starting to eat into RIM's market share. From May to August of this year, RIM's market share dipped from 69 percent to 66 percent, according to a survey by ChangeWave Research, which tracks spending trends among businesses.

Meanwhile, Android usage among business users has steadily climbed since November 2009. Nearly a year ago, only about 3 percent of companies said they supported Google's mobile operating system. In August 2010, that percentage jumped to 16 percent of surveyed companies saying they support Android.

The iPhone has also become popular among business users, and Apple now accounts for about 30 percent of the enterprise smartphone market share. And as the iPad grows in popularity that figure is likely to climb.

Most experts agree that RIM is not likely to disappear from the corporate landscape anytime soon. There are still many corporate consumers who like the look and feel of the BlackBerry. What's more, the company is trying to develop devices that will appeal to consumers, such as the new touchscreen BlackBerry Torch^[9].

So it's likely that RIM will remain a major player for some time. But it will have a lot more competition. Herrema said that market opportunity for Android and Apple in the enterprise is not in getting existing, company-issued BlackBerry users to migrate to a different smartphone. Instead, he said, the biggest opportunity is in enabling the other 70 percent of workers who haven't been issued a BlackBerry access to corporate e-mail and other company resources on the go.

A recent survey from Morgan Stanley suggests that 14 percent of CIOs said their companies are already doing away with company-issued phones and plans and are moving toward allowing employees to use their own phones and service. Another 32 percent said they were currently considering moving in this direction or toward a hybrid approach where the company pays for some cell phone bills and not others.

"RIM may see its overall marketshare decline," Herrema said. "But the entire pie for smartphones is growing, which means it may actually be able to grow sales. The exciting trend right now is not fighting over the 30 percent of a company that has company-issued phones and service, but to address the rest of the employees who already are buying a smartphone and want to use it for work."

References

1. ^{^} iPhone (www.cnet.com)
2. ^{^} reputation for strong device management and security (news.google.com)
3. ^{^} Google Android (www.cnet.com)
4. ^{^} Apple iPad (www.cnet.com)
5. ^{^} sold 3 million units in its first 80 days on the market (news.google.com)
6. ^{^} announced its own tablet, the PlayBook (news.google.com)
7. ^{^} recently issued a report concluding that the iPhone and iPad are "secure enough," (www.zdnet.com)
8. ^{^} introduced the Droid Pro (news.google.com)
9. ^{^} touchscreen BlackBerry Torch (news.google.com)

   (Seattle, WA)  --  Microsoft is seeing some success in its attempt to get a foothold in the smartphone market.
   The company's lineup of nine new multi-featured smartphones won positive reviews at this morning's launch events in New York and London.
   The new phones will be similar in look and feel to the iPhone.
   The phone's features include Xbox and Zune music software.
   Three of the new phones will be available on AT&T's network  in the U.S. in November.
   Analysts say the new lineup is Microsoft's last chance to catch up with rivals in the smartphone industry.

   (Copyright 2010 by VERTEXNews/Newsroom Solutions)

«back^[1]

References

1. ^{^} «back (www.google.com)

The new phones, from handset makers including Samsung (SSNHY), LG (LGLD) and HTC (HTCXF), will be available with AT&T (T) coverage starting next month, Reuters reported.^[2][3][4][5]

Sponsored Links

The new phone will resemble Apple's (AAPL^[6]) iPhone, with a touch screen and colored tiles to let users access services like e-mail and music.

Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, has just 5% of the smartphone market, compared with 17% for Google's (GOOG^[7]) Android platform.

Worldwide sales of smartphones will rise 56% in 2010, according to research company Gartner. Sales of personal computers are expected to rise 19%.

Earlier this year, Microsoft pulled its Kin phone less than three months after the launch. The Kin was aimed at teenagers.

References

1. ^{^} MSFT (-%20http)
2. ^{^} SSNHY (www.dailyfinance.com)
3. ^{^} LGLD (www.dailyfinance.com)
4. ^{^} HTCXF (www.dailyfinance.com)
5. ^{^} Reuters reported. (www.reuters.com)
6. ^{^} AAPL (www.dailyfinance.com)
7. ^{^} GOOG (www.dailyfinance.com)

AT&T is doing the unthinkable and raising its smartphone early upgrade cost to $200, or $125 higher than the original fee. This means if you want to upgrade your smartphone before you’re eligible for a full upgrade^[1], $200 will get tacked onto the fully subsidized price (e.g., the BlackBerry Torch, which sells for $199 with a two-year contract will go for $399).

It seems AT&T hasn’t been too pleased with the tons of customers who have been taking advantage of the early exception upgrades and decided to give customers an incentive to hang onto their current handsets. Perhaps what’s most infuriating is that with the original option, you were signing two years of your life away anyway. Now you’re committing to two years and forking over an additional $125 over the original $75 upgrade cost.

AT&T’s reason? The same one it gave for its exorbitant hike for early termination fees: smartphones are growing more sophisticated and the carrier has to pass on the cost to you, the consumer.

So, let’s do a quick summary. If you’re not near the end of your contract and you want to upgrade your smartphone, you’ll have to pay $200 on top of the fully subsidized cost of the phone. This is bringing you dangerously close to the non-commitment price of most smartphones. Oh, and if you decide to cancel after upgrading, you’re going to have to pay a $325 ETF^[2] or early termination fee. Excellent.

Or you can just do like many do and hang onto your device for a full two years. You wouldn’t have to worry about either upgrade exception fees or ETFs, either. Then again, if you’re the type who actually holds onto a device for that long, you probably wouldn’t be reading a mobile fanatic site like IntoMobile.

If it’s any consolation to you, however, the iPhone and basic messaging phones aren’t included in this change, but that’s because the iPhone already has its own special upgrade cost.

[Via: BGR^[3]]

References

1. ^{^} Early Adopters Rejoice! AT&T Moves iPhone Upgrade Eligibility Up (www.intomobile.com)
2. ^{^} AT&T raising ETFs to $325 in June (www.intomobile.com)
3. ^{^} AT&T’s early upgrade smartphone program detailed (www.boygeniusreport.com)