comScore released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month period between October 2009 and January 2010.

The report found Motorola to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 22.9 percent market share, while RIM led among smartphone platforms with 43.0 percent market share.

LTE, the next-generation mobile broadband standard, is the clear choice for the next leap in wireless technology, reports In-Stat. The analysts claim that while WiMax appeared to be a competitor for 4G early on, that battle is now largely resolved.

The worldwide mobile phone market grew 11.3% in the fourth quarter of 2009, ending five consecutive quarters of retrenchment. According to IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped 325.3 million units in 4Q09 compared to 292.4 million units in the fourth quarter of 2008.

As 4G network deployments gather momentum, a substantial 22% of device subscription revenues will come from suites of operator-branded premium services.

Total 4G mobile consumer service revenue – including mobile internet services - will grow rapidly to exceed $70 billion worldwide in 2014, says ABI Research.

The release of 3G licenses in China is spurring a wireless data boom, with national revenue from such services rising by 18.9 percent in 2009 and nearly doubling from 2008 to 2013, says iSuppli.

According to the research group, as the one-year anniversary of the issuance of 3G licenses in China approaches, wireless data revenue, including both messaging and non-messaging service, is set to rise to $19.3 billion in 2009, up from $16.3 billion in 2008.

Juniper Research estimates that by 2011 the majority of all applications-related revenue will originate from applications delivered via applications stores. And this trend will continue, with the contribution of 4G (both WiMAX and LTE) giving subscribers the opportunity to experience better mobile voice and data services, via application stores.

Operators are only just beginning to realize that they have the existing assets to support their goal of launching an application store. By using the right avenues to tap into these assets, operators can fast track their venture into this exciting, profitable space.

There are 7 key factors that determine a winning application store strategy for operators.

There were more than 450 million mobile Internet users worldwide in 2009, a number that is expected to more than double by the end of 2013, according to IDC.

IDC's Worldwide Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast finds that most popular online activities of mobile Internet users are similar to those of other Internet users: using search engines, reading news and sports information, downloading music and videos, and sending/receiving email and instant messages.

Larger-scale mobile WiMAX network deployments are finally becoming a reality, according to recent ABI Research report.

The research shows Clearwire in the United States has already declared 173,000 subscribers, Yota in Russia has been growing at a decent rate reaching 100,000 subscribers in August and 200,000 in October, and PacketOne in Malaysia has reached 130,000 subscribers.

The number of smartphones sold each year will increase from around 165.2 million in 2009 to 422.96 million in 2013, with the total number of smartphone users approaching 1.6 billion, according to Wireless Expertise, an UK-based wireless market research and consulting firm.

Its latest report “The future of mobile application storefronts” shows how smartphone penetration will reach approximately 28-30% of the total mobile market by 2013.

According to The NPD Group, a market research company, when it comes to sales of mobile phones in the U.S. feature phones still rule the market, even as smartphone sales continue to increase their share of overall handset sales.

NPD’s Mobile Phone Track information reveals that unit-sales of new feature phones fell 5 percentage points to 72 percent of new handset sales in the Q2 2009, while sales of new smartphones reached 28 percent of overall consumer purchases – a 47 percent increase in the category’s share since last year.

According to Juniper Research, low-cost handsets and Smartphones will together account for almost 79% of all new mobile phones by 2014, or just over 1 billion units in all. New research has shown how the mobile handset market is becoming increasingly polarised between low cost handsets for emerging markets and high-end smartphones for developed regions.

Not owning a smartphone today is the social equivalent to not having email a few years ago - at least in the US.
That's the conclusion of a report in the New York Times, which says that having an iPhone, Pre or BlackBerry is pretty much mandatory these days unless you want to ostracise yourself from "society".

Mobile app revenues are expected to climb to more than USD $25bn by 2014 - fuelled by the launch of a raft of new application stores.
But while one-off downloads currently account for the majority of revenues, that will change with the increasing utilization of in-app billing, according to Juniper Research.

While cellphone shipments and subscription numbers have held up relatively well during the global recession, the outlook is more tumultuous for the mobile industry.
In-Stat forecasts that both handset sales and subscriptions will take a hit this year.

Forget a stylish smartphone packed with cutting edge features - if you want it to sell give it a cool name.
At least that's what research by Strategic Name Development (SND) claims in a report that links higher market share with cell phones having names that consumers prefer.

Demand for GPS-enabled mobile phones will slow in 2009 but will avoid the fall in shipments expected to affect handsets generally.
At least that's what ABI Research is predicting. It forecasts that feature-rich smartphones will post year-to-year unit growth through the current economic downturn.

Smaller than a notebook computer with a larger screen than a Smartphone – this is how the authors of research into Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) define them.
Consumers may still be relatively unaware of this emerging class of device, but that’s unlikely to be the case for long.
Global sales of MIDs expected to leap from 305,000 units shipped in 2008 to a projected 40 million in 2012, generating USD12 billion in revenue.
At least that’s the conclusion of a survey by semiconductor analysts Forward Concepts, which examined the market potential for MIDs and provided forecasts for both the devices and the integrated circuits that enable them.
It says that MIDs will have an unprecedented level of multimedia capabilities and typically will come in a tablet-like form factor.
“In our opinion, MIDs are not designed to replace mobile phones (or Smartphones) but to be used as companion devices,” the report states.